The Italian Bob
The Simpsons encounter a reformed Sideshow Bob in Italy.
"The Italian Bob," the eighth episode of The Simpsons' seventeenth season, aired December 11, 2005. Written by John Frink and directed by Mark Kirkland, it follows the family to Italy to retrieve Mr. Burns' car, where they encounter Sideshow Bob. Kelsey Grammer won an Emmy for his ninth performance as Bob, and Frink won a Writers Guild Award.
Quick Facts
- Season
- 17
- Episode
- 8
- Director
- Mark Kirkland
- Writer
- John Frink
- Production
- HABF02
- Air date
- 11 December 2005
- Guests
- Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Francesca; Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Mr. Burns, after being teased about his old car by Springfield Elementary School children, sends Homer Simpson to Italy to pick up a new Lamborgotti Fasterossa. The Simpsons fly on Alitalia and tour the country. A large wheel of mortadella falls onto their car, crushing the hood, and they push it into the fictional Tuscan village of Salsiccia. Told the mayor speaks English, they visit him and discover he is Sideshow Bob, equally shocked to see them. Bob explains that after his last attempt to kill Bart, he started fresh in Italy, helping villagers crush grapes with his feet and being elected mayor. He introduces his wife, Francesca Terwilliger, and son, Gino, and begs the Simpsons not to reveal his past crimes, arranging car repairs. A month later, at a farewell party, Lisa gets drunk on wine and reveals Bob is an attempted murderer. As she stumbles, she tears off his suit, exposing his prison uniform. The village sacks Bob as mayor, and he swears a murderous vendetta. The family flees in the repaired car, pursued by Bob on a motorcycle. Homer drives into a ditch and onto a Roman aqueduct, landing atop Trajan's Column in the Roman Forum. Bob's wife and son catch up; Francesca professes loyalty and offers to help with revenge. The Simpsons, left without car or money, see a bus poster for Krusty the Clown performing Pagliacci at the Colosseum. They join as extras. Bob, Francesca, and Gino corner them on stage while Krusty escapes through a trap door. Lisa warns the audience, but Bob tricks them by performing Vesti la giubba. Before the Terwilligers can kill the Simpsons, Krusty's limousine picks them up; he needs them to smuggle an ancient artifact to America. The Terwilligers walk away plotting revenge together.
Reception
The episode pulled in a 3.7 rating and 10.30 million viewers, making it the 28th most-watched program that week. TV Squad’s Ryan J. Budke thought it was funny but took issue with the sudden ending featuring Sideshow Bob singing, and he specifically praised the gag where Peter Griffin from Family Guy is accused of plagiarism and Stan Smith from American Dad! is accused of plagiarizing plagiarism. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide remarked that while Sideshow Bob episodes are typically strong, this one “doesn’t live up to those heights, but it manages to mostly work well.” On the podcast Four Finger Discount, Brendan Dando and Guy Davis enjoyed the episode, noting that the travel plot made sense and that they liked how it poked fun at Italian stereotypes. In 2009, IGN’s Robert Canning ranked “The Italian Bob” last on his list of the top ten Sideshow Bob episodes, explaining that Bob had no plan to kill Bart, the setting was unfamiliar, and the usual elaborate schemes were absent, which made it less entertaining. Lloyd Farley of Collider also placed it last out of 15 Sideshow Bob episodes in 2022, saying it lacked the schemes and murderous intent that define the character’s best outings. Kelsey Grammer won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance at the 58th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for his work in this episode, making him the third credited guest star to win an Emmy for the show after Marcia Wallace and Jackie Mason (though Wallace and Mason won jointly with the main cast in 1992). John Frink received the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 59th WGA Awards for his script.
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