The Simpsons: Every Sideshow Bob Episode Ranked Worst To Best

Sideshow Bob’s family tree is a surprisingly well crafted piece of Simpsons lore, and in this episode they add John Mahoney to the mix as the Terwilliger patriarch. Best known as the dad from Frasier, Mahoney’s addition is gimmicky, but enjoyable all the same, and the world building of Bob’s relatives adds to a well plotted mystery in the vein of old Bob episodes.

After one foiled scheme too many, Bob fakes his own death, turning Bart into the town pariah for pilfering his heart medication. The episode harks back to the likes of Black Widower, with a genuine (if slight) puzzle to be solved by attentive viewers.

With neat pop culture spoofs (Krusty’s clown-themed cover of “Candle In The Wind”) and a busy plot, the episode has a lot going for it. The writers return Bob to his usual position, and make the most of him and a high quality guest cast for a story that would just about fit into classic era Simpsons.

The Bob continuity goes out of the window after this (he has a son and wife here, of whom we hear little more), but The Simpsons pulls out many of the stops for this episode.