Bobby, It's Cold Outside
Sideshow Bob and Bart team up to catch package thieves.
The Simpsons' thirty-first season included its 672nd episode, "Bobby, It's Cold Outside," which aired on Fox on December 15, 2019. Jeff Westbrook and John Frink wrote it, with Steven Dean Moore directing. In the story, Bart and Sideshow Bob investigate a string of package thefts. Scott Bakula and Steve Ballmer appeared as themselves. Reviews were mixed.
Quick Facts
- Season
- 31
- Episode
- 10
- Director
- Steven Dean Moore
- Writer
- John Frink; Jeff Westbrook
- Production
- ZABF01
- Air date
- 15 December 2019
- Guests
- Scott Bakula as himself
- Steve Ballmer as himself
- Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Lenny ordered a Christmas gift online five weeks before the holiday, and it arrived via UPS two days later, only to be stolen immediately. At the same time, Sideshow Bob was working as a lighthouse keeper when his neighbor, Cassandra Patterson, visited. She mentioned that she had talked about him around town, and Bob realized he had been too relaxed around her. Soon after, two men came to see him and offered him a job playing Santa Claus at the Springfield Mall. Meanwhile, more people had their delivered gifts stolen. The Simpsons went to Santa’s village, where Bart cut the line to see Santa and discovered it was actually Sideshow Bob in disguise. Bob began strangling Bart but stopped to avoid breaking character. Lenny tried to trap the thieves with gunpowder, but the plan failed, and he wrote “SB” in his own blood. When the news reported this, Homer assumed “SB” stood for Selma Bouvier, leading to her arrest and the release of other suspects: Scott Bakula, Steve Ballmer, and Sandra Bullock. Bart suspected Bob because his nickname was also “SB,” but Bob agreed to help by hiding inside a box left on the porch. The thief took the box with Bob inside, and the Simpson family followed the van to a hangar. There, they discovered the real culprits were Waylon Smithers and Mr. Burns, with “S” for Smithers and “B” for Burns. Lisa correctly guessed that Burns was acting out of depression, and he explained that as a child, he had been heartbroken one Christmas. He had asked Santa for just a hug and a smile from his parents, but they never delivered, instead sending him to boarding school. Bob, still dressed as Santa, convinced Burns that his difficult upbringing had made him the successful man he was. This persuaded Burns and Smithers to return all the stolen presents to the town. On Christmas Day, Homer and Marge snuggled together just before the kids opened the returned gifts, then headed to the basement for some private time. Grampa took a picture and wished everyone “Merry Christmas from the Simpsons!” Back at the lighthouse, Cassandra gave Bob a rake as a Christmas present and told him she knew his true identity. She asked him to kiss her, and they sang “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” together.
Reception
Leading out of an NFL doubleheader, the episode earned a 1.7 rating with an 8 share and was watched by 4.97 million viewers, which was the most watched show on Fox that night. Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave this episode a C, stating that the episode at least sees Sideshow Bob back in town for the holidays, and that of all the recurring non-cast characters, Bob is the one most likely to brighten up any episode due to Kelsey Grammer's obvious joy in the villainous role. Perkins noted that Bob's appearances have waxed and waned in comic effectiveness. Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave this episode three and a half stars out of five and called it a double-stuffed bag for the chimney, describing it as the annual Christmas episode with evergreen favorite recurring villain Sideshow Bob, who trims his tree with ornaments of bleeding Barts.
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