(My ISP sold its dialup accounts to a new ISP. I had a configuration problem getting my news client to play with their news server, which kept me from posting my review. It now appears that I have things solved, so here's the review I meant to post the day after "The Great Louse Detective" aired.)
[The long of it]
Before we start review, let's look at Sideshow Bob's nefarious life of crime, shall we? He tried to frame Krusty and then replace him on his own show. He tried to kill Selma. He tried kill Bart. He tried rig a gubernatorial election. He tried to kill all of Springfield (and Bar specifically) with a nuclear bomb. He did redeem himself later by preventing his brother from killing Springfield, but he lapsed back into his old habits and tried to kill Bart (yet again) *and* Krusty simultaneously. Whew. I don't know where Springfield is, but clearly it's in a state without a "three strikes" law.
The Simpsons might wish to be rid of him, but for the audience Sideshow Bob is a welcome guest. However, his last episode, "Day of the Jackanapes (CABF10)" was a bit weak. Bob himself was excellent, but an interesting premise (Bob brainwashes Bart to be his personalized killing machine) wasn't as funny as it could be. Was the Sideshow Bob franchise getting played out? The writers might have thought so; "Jackanapes" ends with Bob's head in a guillotine, suggesting the character might not come back. Fortunately, Bob must have gotten a last-minute reprieve from the governor, because he returns for "The Great Louse Detective." This time around, the writers have not only have a better story situation for him, but the premise is better carried out.
The plot is set in motion when an unknown assailant tries to kill Homer at a plush health spa. The Springfield Police are -- surprise, surprise -- baffled, so they hatch a desperate plan: Enlist the aid of Springfield's most notorious criminal mastermind to track down the would-be assassin. It's the "it takes a thief to catch a thief" theory, I suppose. By now, you've probably guessed it's Sideshow Bob who must help the Simpsons. He was on the side of good in "The Brother from Another Series (4F14)," so this isn't a completely new concept, but it is a fresher idea than yet another plan to kill Bart.
Bob's scenes are usually the best ones in his episodes and, happily, this episode gives the writers an excuse to give him plenty of screen time. In the normal setup of Bob vs. the Simpsons, the story has to cut between scenes of Bob hatching a plan and scenes of Bart and Lisa trying to foil it. Here, Bob and OFF work with one another, so you can have them both on at the same time. It leads to some great jokes, like the ones involving the "shock garter." To keep Bob in line, Chief Wiggum issues him a little device that straps to his leg and is capable of delivering powerful electric shocks. It operates by a remote control, and the Simpsons find no shortage of excuses to use it. Even the inevitable scene where the family tests it out is funny. Waving it in the air and shocking Bob, Homer observes, "You don't even have to point it at him!"
The highlight of the episode for me is its self-referential humor. Some gags are fairly overt, like when Bart claims Bob tried to kill him so often, "it's not funny anymore." Others have more subtlety. In Moe's Tavern, Lenny wonders why Bart should be such a difficult target; after all, he's just a ten-year-old. I'd never thought to ask that before, since previous Bob episodes show how resilient Bart is, but now that you mention it, it's a good question. (By the way, the closing scene provides an answer.) There's also a knowing self-wink when Bob digs into Homer's enemies list and is amazed to discover this seemingly ordinary man has scores of foes. In one hilarious scene, Bob sets up an effigy of Homer in front of the Simpson home to draw out the murderer. Half a dozen townspeople stop by to attack him with cinderblocks and garden tools. Like most normal people would be, Bob is nonplussed by the intensity of the rage directed toward Homer, but his family takes it in stride. They're just his friends and family, Marge reasons, and they don't want to kill Homer. They just want him to suffer.
The show loses a little momentum when Homer and Bob confront the assassin in a chase scene, but the identity of the man's identity was a surprise for me. (But maybe not for everyone. Former a.t.s. regular Ondre Lombard was thinking along eerily similar lines in his fanscript, "Privately Saving Homer.") Things pick up a bit with a musical number, of all things, at the closing of the show.
That number suggests that Bob will return yet again to menace Bart. After a strong showing like "The Great Louse Detective," I'm looking forward to it.
[The short of it]
This episode jump-starts a franchise that was getting a little played out after "Day of the Jackanapes." This time, the writers have a good premise that gives Bob plenty of good scenes with the Simpsons, and lets him put his criminal talents to good use. A thread of self-aware humor runs through the show, helping it to stand out. I also liked the running gag with the electric shock device, and the musical number at the end. This episode suggests Bob will be back again, and this time, I'm looking forward to it. (A)
[DYNs]
... technically, Homer doesn't deny having a *double* life? ... Marge comes close to guessing the mystery assailant's ID? ... Bob calls the Kwik-E-Mart robbery a success, even though the larger goal -- framing Krusty -- failed? ... after the assailant tries to kill Homer in Moe's, we can briefly see the tow truck through the doorway?
[References]
"The Great Mouse Detective" (movie) - title of episode a spoof
George Foreman grilles - the ex-boxer has expanded his line to include mail sorters
"The Greatest Generation" (book) - Tom Brokaw's comment about "the greatest regeneration" echoes the title of his best-selling book
"Caddyshack" (movie) - Bart's Baby-Ruth-in-the-pool prank was featured in this movie, wasn't it?
Dr. Seuss (children's author) - "Dr. Mas-Seuss" massage area inspired by him - decoration drawn in his artistic style - Bart's masseuse talks in Seuss's distinctive nonsense-rhyme style
"The Cat in the Hat" (children's book) - speaking of Seuss, Thing 1 and Thing 2 from this book give Lisa her facial
"Hogan's Heroes" (TV series) - Ranier Wolfcastle says, "I wore nothink" the way Sgt. Schultz says, "I know nothink"
"Juggs" (porno mag) "Guns & Ammo" (gun-enthusiast magazine) - "Jugs & Ammo" some sort of hybrid
Larry Flynt (pornographic publisher) - "Jugs & Ammo" a Larry Flintlock publication - [fittingly, a "flintlock" is a part of some old-fashioned guns]
Mr. Goodwrench (advertising campaign) - Homer calls Grimes Jr., "Mr. Sass-Wrench"
"That 70's Show" (TV series) - "That 30's Show" obviously a spoof
[Previous episode references]
[9F09] Not only is Homer overweight, but this episode shows he has a heart condition, as well [4F14] Bob on the side of law & order
Homer's Enemy List:
[AABF20] The Emperor of Japan [3F09] Ex-President Bush [4F10] Frank Grimes (Sr.) [BABF11] PBS [AABF18] Stephen Hawking [BABF16] Florida
(Also Fat Tony and Mr. Burns, featured in too many episodes to count.)
[FFF]
Mail sorter:
/--------\
[George's] | I LIKE |
[Picture ] < MONEY! |
\--------/ +----+ +---+
|GOOD| |BAD|
+----+ +---+"Bad" mail:
VISA BILL JURY Patty and Selma
SUMMONS are throwing a
PARTY!Spa sign:
Stagnant
Springs
Health SpaFOLLOW THE SMELL
Turtle wastebin:
USED
TURTLESSteam room settings:
| |
INVIGORATIING | BROIL | MURDER
| |Steam room warning:
DO NOT USE
STEAM ROOM
IF YOU ARE
OVERWEIGHT
OR HAVE A
HEART
CONDITIONSPD badge:
RINGFIE
P L
S D P E
OLIC TO PROTECT
AND SERVEMagazine Homer holds up:
J U G S & A M M O
A LARRY FLINTLOCK PUBLICATIONTow truck sign:
Junior's
GARAGEAddress on Homer's mail:
Homer Simpson
742 Evergreen Terrace
Springfield, USAMardi Gras ballots:
MARDI GRAS
B A L L O T Homer
SimpsonMuseum sign:
MUSEUM OF
SWORDFISHBrick wall sign:
SANDERSON'S
HIGH BRICK WALLS
NO ONE
BUILDS 'EM HIGHERLisa's guess:
Bumblebee Man
[Personal Comment & Observations]
Bart says that Sideshow Bob, "tried to kill me so much it's not funny," which is a nod to those who felt the Sideshow Bob franchise was getting a little tired.
Lenny tells Sideshow Bob that Bart should be really easy to kill. Which, come to think of it, he ought to be. [Not everyone shares Lenny's opinion. Principal Skinner likens Bart to the invincible Road Runner in "Day of the Jackanapes (CABF10)."]
J. Lo and P. Diddy -- Are, respectively, singer Jennifer Lopez and singer/songwriter/producer Sean Combs (a.k.a. "Puff Daddy" or "Puffy"). They were a romantic item a couple of years ago, and their relationship was a volatile one. Once, Lo and Diddy were caught driving away from the scene of a nightclub shooting with a pistol hidden in their truck. (They weren't implicated in the shooting, though.) Since then, they've gone their separate ways.
Gary Coleman -- Short actor best known for playing Arnold Jackson on "Diff'rent Strokes." You might already know him, for he was seen in "The Grift of the Magi (BABF07)."
Tom Brokaw -- News anchor who wrote "The Greatest Generation," which lauded the achievements of the World War II generation. It was well- received, both by people who actually were of that generation, as well as their grandchildren who wanted to know more about them.
Tom Shales -- TV critic for "The Washington [DC] Post," who freely walks the streets.