When news broke that the Simpsons were to kill off a main character, many fans worried for the safety of their favourites. The Simpsons is a popular show, its characters likable, and bumping one of them off is a dangerous occupation - just look at Family Guy. When Family Guy killed off Brian Griffin last month, there was uproar. Twitter went into a virtual meltdown as fans vented their fury over the plot, while petitions were launched to have the anthropomorphic pet brought back from the grave. The Simpsons probably want to avoid a similar backlash, and thus, following suit and killing off a member of the Simpson family is completely out of the question. There would be a storm if Homer was written out of the show, while the same goes for Bart. Killing Sideshow Bob on the other hand is low-risk. He has a sizable fan-base, but there certainly wouldn't be a revolt were he to be bumped off. Grammer's appearances on the show are becoming increasingly sporadic anyway - his appearance in 'Homerland' was his first since March - and of all the characters who could die next year, his death would arguably be the least devastating.