The Simpsons: Every Sideshow Bob Episode Ranked Worst To Best

15. The Man Who Grew Too Much

The Simpsons, it goes without saying, is a cartoon. There are no two ways about it. But back in the day, it didn’t used to be so cartoony. It could break the laws of physics at times, and it used its medium to bolster its comedy. But there was a limit - it never became so silly that we couldn’t relate to it.

Sideshow Bob genetically mutating himself so that he can unhinge his jaw like a python and swim underwater? That’s just too far! If this sounds like a family show being taken too seriously, well, it is. But at the same time, episodes like this, 25 years into the run of a show, seem like a slap in the face.

It would be alright if there were decent jokes to be derived from the farfetched setup, but there aren’t. The episode teams up Bob and Lisa, which is fresh to start with, but brings out the more tedious characteristics of both. It becomes an excuse for the writers to show off the research they’ve done on, for some reason, Walt Whitman. Kelsey Grammer remains unassailable, but even with Sideshow Bob in the mix, this is a dud.