Black Widower
Encyclopedia
"Black Widower" is the 21st episode of The Simpsons
third season
, originally airing on the Fox network in the United States on April 9, 1992. It was written by Jon Vitti
, directed by David Silverman
, and saw Kelsey Grammer
guest star as Sideshow Bob
for the second time. In the episode, Sideshow Bob—Bart
's archenemy—marries Bart's Aunt Selma. Bart believes that Bob is planning something sinister rather than marrying for love. He realizes that Bob is planning to kill Selma; he prevents the attempted murder, and Bob is sent back to prison. "Black Widower" finished 39th in Nielsen ratings
for the week that it originally aired. Reviewers generally enjoyed the episode, and gave Grammer's portrayal of Sideshow Bob particular praise.
—Bart's
archenemy. During dinner, Bob talks about his time in prison: the cells were overcrowded, his ChapStick
was co-opted, and his Emmy
was confiscated. While there, he spent every waking moment planning his revenge on Bart for exposing his plan to frame Krusty, but after receiving Selma's response to his Prison Pen Pal ad, he was inspired to become a model prisoner, and subsequently earned his release. Bob's tale of turning over a new leaf wins over the family, except Bart, who remains suspicious. However, Bob thanks Bart for putting him on the path which led him to Selma, and surprises the family by proposing to Selma, who eagerly accepts. Later, Sideshow Bob makes an appearance at a Krusty the Clown telethon and makes amends; Lisa encourages Bart to be as forgiving as Krusty, but Bart refuses to believe that Bob has changed. When Selma discovers that Sideshow Bob detests her beloved MacGyver
and cannot hide his hatred, the marriage is nearly called off, much to Bart's delight. To save Bob and Selma's relationship, Homer explains to Bob his solution for his and Marge's dissonant tastes in television: when Marge watches TV, Homer goes out for drinks and returns "in the mood for love". Bob then agrees to take a "vigorous constitutional" whenever Selma watches MacGyver, much to Bart's anger.
While planning the wedding, Selma reveals that she is unconcerned about money, as she made a good profit in the stock market; Bob states that he hopes that nobody thinks that he is marrying her for the money. At the wedding, most of Springfield appears to be in attendance, including Krusty the Clown and incompetent Police Chief Wiggum. Selma later sends the Simpsons a videotape of her honeymoon with Bob, which includes his tirade over the absence of a gas
fireplace in his hotel room that he had requested. She retires one evening to watch MacGyver in their suite, and while Bob is downstairs having a drink, the hotel room explodes behind him. Bob feigns a frantic phone call to the front desk about the accident. He makes his way back to the room to survey the damage, hoping to see if Selma is already dead, but he actually finds Bart waiting for him. Selma then appears to be unscathed, Bart having saved her life at the very last moment, and Bob is apprehended by the police while Selma angrily calls for a separation from Bob for trying to kill her.
Bob and Wiggum ask Bart how he managed to figure out Bob's scheme. Bart explains that he recalled Selma's promise to cut back her smoking habit to only smoking after meals and after watching MacGyver on Bob's advice during the wedding, as well as Bob's statement that he is intending to inherit Selma's money she made in the stock market. Bart also remembered that Bob insisted on getting a room with a fireplace, which convinced him that Bob was interested in the gas in order to generate an explosion. Bart also recalled that Selma had previously mentioned that she had lost her senses of smell and taste
due to a bottle rocket
incident as a child, and would therefore never have noticed the gas leak Bob had caused by intentionally leaving the gas valve open. When he realized what Bob's plan was, Bart fruitlessly explained it to Homer
four times, before explaining his theory to Marge
, Patty, and Lisa, who immediately understood him. It was then the Simpson family and Patty informed the police about Bob's scheme while they raced to the hotel, where Bart saved Selma from lighting her cigarette. After Bart finishes explaining his story, Bob asks why the room exploded if Bart had already foiled his plot. Chief Wiggum reveals that he, Lou, Eddie, and Homer smoked cigars in celebration after saving Selma; Wiggum, forgetting the gas, accidentally threw his match into the room. Bob is taken away by the police, vowing to return as soon as the Democrats
are back in power. As Selma calls herself a fool for almost letting this happen, Marge cheers her up that Bob fooled almost everyone except for Bart, thanking him for not losing his mistrust.
"Black Widower" was written by Jon Vitti
, and directed by David Silverman
. The staff wanted an episode involving a "mystery", so executive producer Sam Simon
approached Thomas Chastain
, head of the organization Mystery Writers of America
, to help construct the mystery. A number of clues leading up to the revelation at the end were inserted into the script so that the viewers would be able to solve the mystery on their own. As the episode was being written, the writers had their eyes towards winning an Edgar Award
, which is awarded to the best mystery fiction
in television and film published or produced in the past year. Despite their efforts, "Black Widower" did not win an Edgar Award.
In the episode, the writers echoed the premise of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner
from Looney Tunes
cartoons by having Bob unexpectedly insert himself into Bart's life and attempt to kill him. Executive producer Al Jean
has compared Bob's character to that of Wile E. Coyote, noting that both are intelligent, yet always foiled by what they perceive as an inferior intellect. For "Black Widower", director David Silverman
updated the character model of Bob to reflect the animation of director Brad Bird
. One of Bob's friends from jail seen in the episode is Snake Jailbird. The character first appeared in the season two episode "The War of the Simpsons
" only as "Jailbird", but his full name was first mentioned in "Black Widower". The writers gave him the name Snake because of the snake tattoo on his arm, and the character has gone by that name ever since.
"Black Widower" was the second episode Kelsey Grammer
guest starred in as the voice of Sideshow Bob. He had previously appeared in the season one episode "Krusty Gets Busted
", in which Bart gets Bob sentenced to jail for framing
Krusty for armed robbery. Grammer initially expected Bob to be a one-time role, but it eventually became one the most popular roles he ever played, as Bob became a recurring character on the show. Grammer bases his Bob voice on theatre actor and director Ellis Rabb
. He had once worked for Rabb, whose "lamenting tones became [the] foundation for Sideshow Bob."
on television. The staff thought Dinosaurs was a knock-off of The Simpsons, so at one point Bart exclaims "It's like they saw our lives and put it right on screen," and points at the television screen. Before she reveals to the Simpson family that Selma's new boyfriend is Bob, Patty says there is something "disturbing" about him, which results in Lisa imagining him as being The Elephant Man
. As Bob remembers his time in prison, a scene with him picking up road side trash is seen, referencing the film Cool Hand Luke
. The music in the scene is a reference to the soundtrack of the film as well. Bob also remembers winning a Daytime Emmy Award
in the "Best Supporting Performer in a Children's Program" category. In Selma's letters to Sideshow Bob, she refers to him by his prison number, 24601, which is Jean Valjean
's prisoner number in the novel Les Misérables
. The reunion between Krusty and Bob at the telethon is a reference to a surprise reunion between former comedy partners Jerry Lewis
and Dean Martin
on a 1970s telethon. The telethon logo features an Al Hirschfeld
-style caricature of Krusty.
"Black Widower" was the first episode to show Patty and Selma's obsession with the character Angus MacGyver
from the television show MacGyver
, which has become a recurring joke on The Simpsons. When Sideshow Bob goes into the room to see Selma's corpse, he turns around the chair, only to see Bart sitting in it. Sideshow Bob turns around and sees Selma in the doorway. These shots, from Bob turning the chair to Selma in the doorway, are a reference to the ending of the film Psycho
. The music in the scene, written by composer Alf Clausen
, is also a reference to Psycho. In Bart's retelling of the story at the end of the episode, Homer's shouts "To the Simpsonmobile!" as the family rushes to the hotel to save Selma's life. This is a reference to Batman
's Batmobile
and his recurring catchphrase, "To the Batmobile!"
for the week of April 6–12, 1992, making The Simpsons the third-highest rated television series on the Fox television network that week, after Married... with Children
and In Living Color
. In I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn wrote that he considered the episode a "terrific show", appreciating Grammer's work in particular, and he also enjoyed the Dinosaurs gag and Bob's reaction to McGyver, which he remarked "make the whole thing great fun". Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict rated the episode 97%, and considered it a "timeless treat" because of Sideshow Bob's appearance, calling it "excellent from beginning to end". Nate Meyers of the website digitallyOBSESSED rated the episode 3 out of 5. He felt that the episode was "not a strong entry to the series", noting that "the love story between Bob and Selma never seems to play as well as it should". Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide remarked that later episodes of The Simpsons seasons were typically of lesser quality than episodes that appeared earlier in a season because of "general tiredness and the pressure of creating so many programs". However, he found that "Black Widower" was an exception, noting that most episodes featuring Sideshow Bob rarely disappoint. Hock Guan Teh of DVD Town applauded Grammer's performance as Sideshow Bob in the episode, saying he could not "get over Sideshow Bob´s evil and conniving tone of voice, all delivered in a pseudo-Anglophile accent".
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
third season
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, originally airing on the Fox network in the United States on April 9, 1992. It was written by Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
, directed by David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
, and saw Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
guest star as Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
for the second time. In the episode, Sideshow Bob—Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's archenemy—marries Bart's Aunt Selma. Bart believes that Bob is planning something sinister rather than marrying for love. He realizes that Bob is planning to kill Selma; he prevents the attempted murder, and Bob is sent back to prison. "Black Widower" finished 39th in Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
for the week that it originally aired. Reviewers generally enjoyed the episode, and gave Grammer's portrayal of Sideshow Bob particular praise.
Plot
The Simpsons have dinner with Aunt Selma and her new boyfriend, Sideshow BobSideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
—Bart's
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
archenemy. During dinner, Bob talks about his time in prison: the cells were overcrowded, his ChapStick
ChapStick
ChapStick is a brand name for lip balm manufactured by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and used in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Colombia, Italy, Chile, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Argentina, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is intended to help treat and prevent chapped...
was co-opted, and his Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
was confiscated. While there, he spent every waking moment planning his revenge on Bart for exposing his plan to frame Krusty, but after receiving Selma's response to his Prison Pen Pal ad, he was inspired to become a model prisoner, and subsequently earned his release. Bob's tale of turning over a new leaf wins over the family, except Bart, who remains suspicious. However, Bob thanks Bart for putting him on the path which led him to Selma, and surprises the family by proposing to Selma, who eagerly accepts. Later, Sideshow Bob makes an appearance at a Krusty the Clown telethon and makes amends; Lisa encourages Bart to be as forgiving as Krusty, but Bart refuses to believe that Bob has changed. When Selma discovers that Sideshow Bob detests her beloved MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
and cannot hide his hatred, the marriage is nearly called off, much to Bart's delight. To save Bob and Selma's relationship, Homer explains to Bob his solution for his and Marge's dissonant tastes in television: when Marge watches TV, Homer goes out for drinks and returns "in the mood for love". Bob then agrees to take a "vigorous constitutional" whenever Selma watches MacGyver, much to Bart's anger.
While planning the wedding, Selma reveals that she is unconcerned about money, as she made a good profit in the stock market; Bob states that he hopes that nobody thinks that he is marrying her for the money. At the wedding, most of Springfield appears to be in attendance, including Krusty the Clown and incompetent Police Chief Wiggum. Selma later sends the Simpsons a videotape of her honeymoon with Bob, which includes his tirade over the absence of a gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
fireplace in his hotel room that he had requested. She retires one evening to watch MacGyver in their suite, and while Bob is downstairs having a drink, the hotel room explodes behind him. Bob feigns a frantic phone call to the front desk about the accident. He makes his way back to the room to survey the damage, hoping to see if Selma is already dead, but he actually finds Bart waiting for him. Selma then appears to be unscathed, Bart having saved her life at the very last moment, and Bob is apprehended by the police while Selma angrily calls for a separation from Bob for trying to kill her.
Bob and Wiggum ask Bart how he managed to figure out Bob's scheme. Bart explains that he recalled Selma's promise to cut back her smoking habit to only smoking after meals and after watching MacGyver on Bob's advice during the wedding, as well as Bob's statement that he is intending to inherit Selma's money she made in the stock market. Bart also remembered that Bob insisted on getting a room with a fireplace, which convinced him that Bob was interested in the gas in order to generate an explosion. Bart also recalled that Selma had previously mentioned that she had lost her senses of smell and taste
Anosmia
Anosmia is a lack of functioning olfaction, or in other words, an inability to perceive odors. Anosmia may be either temporary or permanent. A related term, hyposmia, refers to a decreased ability to smell, while hyperosmia refers to an increased ability to smell. Some people may be anosmic for one...
due to a bottle rocket
Bottle rocket
A bottle rocket is a very small skyrocket. A typical bottle rocket consists of a rocket engine attached to a stabilizing stick. The user can place the stick in an empty bottle , and ignite the rocket engine; the mouth of the bottle guides the stick, stabilizing the rocket in its first moments of...
incident as a child, and would therefore never have noticed the gas leak Bob had caused by intentionally leaving the gas valve open. When he realized what Bob's plan was, Bart fruitlessly explained it to Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
four times, before explaining his theory to Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, Patty, and Lisa, who immediately understood him. It was then the Simpson family and Patty informed the police about Bob's scheme while they raced to the hotel, where Bart saved Selma from lighting her cigarette. After Bart finishes explaining his story, Bob asks why the room exploded if Bart had already foiled his plot. Chief Wiggum reveals that he, Lou, Eddie, and Homer smoked cigars in celebration after saving Selma; Wiggum, forgetting the gas, accidentally threw his match into the room. Bob is taken away by the police, vowing to return as soon as the Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
are back in power. As Selma calls herself a fool for almost letting this happen, Marge cheers her up that Bob fooled almost everyone except for Bart, thanking him for not losing his mistrust.
Production
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
, and directed by David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
. The staff wanted an episode involving a "mystery", so executive producer Sam Simon
Sam Simon
Samuel "Sam" Simon is an American director, producer, writer, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was...
approached Thomas Chastain
Thomas Chastain
Thomas Chastain was an American author of crime fiction. He is best known for his bestseller Who Killed the Robins Family? And Where and When and Why and How Did They Die? as well as the sequel to that work. He was born January 17, 1921 and died in September 1994. He served as the president of...
, head of the organization Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
, to help construct the mystery. A number of clues leading up to the revelation at the end were inserted into the script so that the viewers would be able to solve the mystery on their own. As the episode was being written, the writers had their eyes towards winning an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
, which is awarded to the best mystery fiction
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
in television and film published or produced in the past year. Despite their efforts, "Black Widower" did not win an Edgar Award.
In the episode, the writers echoed the premise of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
from Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoons by having Bob unexpectedly insert himself into Bart's life and attempt to kill him. Executive producer Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
has compared Bob's character to that of Wile E. Coyote, noting that both are intelligent, yet always foiled by what they perceive as an inferior intellect. For "Black Widower", director David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
updated the character model of Bob to reflect the animation of director Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
. One of Bob's friends from jail seen in the episode is Snake Jailbird. The character first appeared in the season two episode "The War of the Simpsons
The War of the Simpsons
"The War of the Simpsons" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 2, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets drunk at a party and embarrasses his wife Marge, so she decides to sign them up for a marriage counseling retreat...
" only as "Jailbird", but his full name was first mentioned in "Black Widower". The writers gave him the name Snake because of the snake tattoo on his arm, and the character has gone by that name ever since.
"Black Widower" was the second episode Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
guest starred in as the voice of Sideshow Bob. He had previously appeared in the season one episode "Krusty Gets Busted
Krusty Gets Busted
"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired on April 29, 1990. The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Brad Bird. In the episode, Krusty the Clown, a famous TV comedian, is convicted of the armed robbery of the...
", in which Bart gets Bob sentenced to jail for framing
Frameup
A frame-up or setup is an American term referring to the act of framing someone, that is, providing false evidence or false testimony in order to falsely prove someone guilty of a crime....
Krusty for armed robbery. Grammer initially expected Bob to be a one-time role, but it eventually became one the most popular roles he ever played, as Bob became a recurring character on the show. Grammer bases his Bob voice on theatre actor and director Ellis Rabb
Ellis Rabb
Ellis Rabb was an American actor and director who in 1959 formed the Association of Producing Artists, a theatre company that brought new works and noteworthy revivals to Broadway and to regional theatres...
. He had once worked for Rabb, whose "lamenting tones became [the] foundation for Sideshow Bob."
Cultural references
The episode begins with the family, except for Marge, watching a parody of the show DinosaursDinosaurs (TV series)
Dinosaurs is an American family sitcom that was originally broadcast on ABC from April 26, 1991 to July 20, 1994. The show, about a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Television in association with Walt Disney Television and Buena Vista...
on television. The staff thought Dinosaurs was a knock-off of The Simpsons, so at one point Bart exclaims "It's like they saw our lives and put it right on screen," and points at the television screen. Before she reveals to the Simpson family that Selma's new boyfriend is Bob, Patty says there is something "disturbing" about him, which results in Lisa imagining him as being The Elephant Man
Joseph Merrick
Joseph Carey Merrick , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital...
. As Bob remembers his time in prison, a scene with him picking up road side trash is seen, referencing the film Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
. The music in the scene is a reference to the soundtrack of the film as well. Bob also remembers winning a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
in the "Best Supporting Performer in a Children's Program" category. In Selma's letters to Sideshow Bob, she refers to him by his prison number, 24601, which is Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables...
's prisoner number in the novel Les Misérables
Les Misérables
Les Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
. The reunion between Krusty and Bob at the telethon is a reference to a surprise reunion between former comedy partners Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
on a 1970s telethon. The telethon logo features an Al Hirschfeld
Al Hirschfeld
Albert "Al" Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist best known for his simple black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.-Personal life:Born in St...
-style caricature of Krusty.
"Black Widower" was the first episode to show Patty and Selma's obsession with the character Angus MacGyver
Angus MacGyver
Angus MacGyver, known as just MacGyver or Mac until the final season of the American spy television series MacGyver, is the highly intelligent, optimistic action hero played by Richard Dean Anderson. He prefers non-violent conflict resolution wherever possible and refuses to carry or use a gun...
from the television show MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
, which has become a recurring joke on The Simpsons. When Sideshow Bob goes into the room to see Selma's corpse, he turns around the chair, only to see Bart sitting in it. Sideshow Bob turns around and sees Selma in the doorway. These shots, from Bob turning the chair to Selma in the doorway, are a reference to the ending of the film Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
. The music in the scene, written by composer Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of The Simpsons, of which he has been the sole composer since 1990...
, is also a reference to Psycho. In Bart's retelling of the story at the end of the episode, Homer's shouts "To the Simpsonmobile!" as the family rushes to the hotel to save Selma's life. This is a reference to Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
's Batmobile
Batmobile
The Batmobile is the automobile of DC Comics superhero Batman. The car has evolved along with the character from comic books to television and films. Kept in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is a gadget-laden vehicle used by Batman in his crime-fighting...
and his recurring catchphrase, "To the Batmobile!"
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Black Widower" finished 39th in Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
for the week of April 6–12, 1992, making The Simpsons the third-highest rated television series on the Fox television network that week, after Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
and In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
. In I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn wrote that he considered the episode a "terrific show", appreciating Grammer's work in particular, and he also enjoyed the Dinosaurs gag and Bob's reaction to McGyver, which he remarked "make the whole thing great fun". Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict rated the episode 97%, and considered it a "timeless treat" because of Sideshow Bob's appearance, calling it "excellent from beginning to end". Nate Meyers of the website digitallyOBSESSED rated the episode 3 out of 5. He felt that the episode was "not a strong entry to the series", noting that "the love story between Bob and Selma never seems to play as well as it should". Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide remarked that later episodes of The Simpsons seasons were typically of lesser quality than episodes that appeared earlier in a season because of "general tiredness and the pressure of creating so many programs". However, he found that "Black Widower" was an exception, noting that most episodes featuring Sideshow Bob rarely disappoint. Hock Guan Teh of DVD Town applauded Grammer's performance as Sideshow Bob in the episode, saying he could not "get over Sideshow Bob´s evil and conniving tone of voice, all delivered in a pseudo-Anglophile accent".
External links
- "Black Widower" at The Simpsons.com