This was an odd episode for me. Normally, any of the "Sideshow Bob" episodes are great, and this one had some hilarious parts on it's own, but for some reason it just didn't gel with me. I think the ending is what did it, or more appropriately, didn't do it. It was just very abrupt. As I said though, there were a lot of very funny parts and you should definitely give it a look-see if you're a fan of Sideshow Bob. So now that I'm done talking in circles, on with the show!After Bart and the other kids make fun of his old jalopy, Mr. Burns decides to buy a new car; the Lamborgotti Fasterossa. Needless to say, it's nice. As Homer puts it: "That's the car I think about when I make love to my wife". To save money in taxes, Mr. Burns sends Homer to Italy to pick up the car and ship it directly to him. After some mischief in the Lamborgotti factory, Marge actually encourages Homer to spend a little extra time exploring Italy. They see the McDonald's that serves booze, among other ancient sites. Then, while on their way to finally ship the car, there is a horrible accident involving a cheese truck. The family regroups and pushes the demolished Fasterossa to a local town. No one there speaks english, except for the mayor. The family goes to see him only to discover, it's Sideshow Bob! Dun dun dun.
Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that after the last time Bob tried to kill Bart, he decided to start a new life and ended up in this small Tuscan village. After some initial trepidation, the townsfolk idolized him because of his amazing grape stomping ablility. He's a clown. He's got big feet. You do the math. Bob's settled in, even married and had a kid while in Italy. Everything's going well for him, but we all known that won't last with our favorite yellow family there. At a town celebration, Lisa gets a little intoxicated (hey, it's Italy, the town drunk is only two years old) and outs Bob as the homicidal criminal he is. The town revolts and exiles him. After a high-speed chase in the newly fixed Fasterossa, the Simpsons manage to escape Bob at an opera that Krusty is performing at.
Again, the ending lost me. It was going fine up until the opera, where it just seemed to be an excuse for Kelsey Grammar to sing. Just didn't care for it. There were some great parts in this episode though, when the italian police were looking through the book of criminals, and there was a picture of Peter Griffin (Family Guy) and his crime was "Plagiarismo" and then Stan Smith (American Dad) was in there for "Plagiarismo de Plagiarismo", I was cracking up. "It's called a hangover sweetie, and it's an unavoidable part of life" is another line that I know I'll get a lot of mileage out of. Bob's evil offspring was also surprisingly enjoyable. Decent episode in an otherwise great season. Let me know what you think.
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-12-2005 @ 12:59PM
Mack Swift said...
I about pissed in my pants laughing when Homer treated the meat grinder like a beer bong and then made the kissy lips towards Marge saying 'I love you!'.
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 2:18PM
l0ne said...
(It's "plagio", not "plagiarismo"; and "plagio di plagio". Oh well, they'll correct it in the Italian dubbing. :D)
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 1:35PM
Hank Shiffman said...
My favorite bit, not counting the Plagiarismo gags, was Krusty singing the Rice Krispies version of Pagliacci. Kellogg's had a whole series of opera-inspired commercials that I remember from my childhood. Obviously, someone on the writing staff remembers too.
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 1:35PM
Erik Cohen said...
Lone - I'd say most americans wouldn't know plagio but would have guessed what plagiarismo is.
I found the episode quite funny...though this is the second italian themed episode this season (Milhouse teaching Lisa to speak italian).
I nearly fell over when homer put his picture up to the GPS for Mr. Burns for the 'technical difficulty' message.
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 3:06PM
Alan said...
I thought it was a very funny episode too... I particularly liked Homer railing on about how he wished that Italy had remained a loose confederation of city-states.
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 3:17PM
ScottR said...
Well, the opera Krusty and Bob were singing *was* about a clown.
Same one as in that Seinfeld episode...
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 4:03PM
Annie Wu said...
The Art History class I'm in JUST finished Rome, so I was super-excited that I recognized a bunch of the landmarks in the background. I felt so accomplished when the Simpsons crashed and I screamed, "OMG! THE COLUMN OF TRAJAN."
Public school DOES work!
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 3:55PM
Duane said...
The little Bob junior yelling "Vendetta! Vendetta!!" while brandishing the butcher knife was great. "He's evil at an 8yr old level!"
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 3:55PM
Duane said...
The Pagliacci references also called to mind The Untouchables and some assorted Al Capone memories. Isn't there a connection to The Godfather as well?
Reply
12-12-2005 @ 5:18PM
CBXweb said...
I still dont know what "The Simpsons" writers beef with "Family Guy" or anything to deal with Seth McFarlene, and how almost everyother aminmation house hates "Family Guy".
Reply
12-13-2005 @ 4:21AM
CBXweb said...
I still dont know what "The Simpsons" writers beef with "Family Guy" or anything to deal with Seth McFarlene, and how almost everyother aminmation house hates "Family Guy".
Reply
12-13-2005 @ 12:28AM
Jessy Scholl said...
CBXweb, I think it is because writers of the Simpsons know that they are getting long in the tooth with herky-jerky type episodes while both Family Guy and American Dad are fresh and exciting (and better written) shows.
Reply
12-13-2005 @ 12:12AM
Erik Cohen said...
CBXweb - well compare the shows. Both have a dumb father and three children. Both female (older children) are smarter then the younger brother. The simpons baby is female while family guy's is male, yet both are very smart for their age (family guy's talks) but like Maggie shot burns, shot the mafia to save homer, etc she more then just a baby. They both have a dog as a pet...Simpsons also has a cat. I'm sure the list can go on and on. It's too coincidental how many similarities there are...and a lot of the topics covered on the simpsons are repeated in the family guy to some extent...although as Southpark pointed out, the Simpsons have done pretty much everything already.
Reply
12-13-2005 @ 12:13AM
Erik Cohen said...
Err...forgot Bart is slightly older then Lisa. But the point is still pretty valid.
Reply
12-13-2005 @ 10:45AM
B said...
The funny thing about the Simpsons accusing Family Guy of "plagiarismo" is the Simpsons is a rip-off of the Flintstones (which has been parodied on the Simpsons, remember the "simpson, homer simpson" song in an earlier season. Well, as Krusty the Clown would say "If this is anybody but Steve Allen, you're stealing my bit." Or as Roger Myers Jr would say "If animators arn't allowed to steal ideas, what are they going to do, come up with something on thier own? I don't think so."
Reply
12-26-2005 @ 9:59PM
emerald baxter said...
I'm so sick of people who say that the Simpsons is on its way out and that Family Guy is the new thing. I got so many people telling me to watch it because "if you like the Simpsons, you'll love Family Guy!" Well guess what. I found it totaly random and offensive just to be offensive, and I usually love offensive humor. Praising Amarican Dad is just the limit. It's nothing more than a pathetic excuse to rip right wingers a new one. It's the most unoriginal thing I've seen in ages. It really is just a left wing carbon copy of Family Guy. It doesn't have to be identical just because it's by the same people. Futurama was original and exciting. Futurama should be the one revived and Family Guy the one rotting in it's grave. And for the record the Simpsons isn't a ripoff of the Flintstones, the Flintstones was a ripoff of the Honeymooners.
Reply