# Black Widower

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For other uses, see [Black Widower (disambiguation)](/source/Black_Widower_(disambiguation)).

21st episode of the 3rd season of The Simpsons

"Black Widower" The Simpsons episode Episode no. Season 3 Episode 21 Directed by David Silverman Story by Sam Simon Thomas Chastain Teleplay by Jon Vitti Production code 8F20 Original air date April 9, 1992 (1992-04-09) Guest appearance Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob Episode features Chalkboard gag "Funny noises are not funny" Couch gag Two thieves are carting the couch away. The family leaps onto the couch, but the thieves dump them on the floor and continue stealing it. Commentary Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Julie Kavner Jon Vitti David Silverman Episode chronology ← Previous "Colonel Homer" Next → "The Otto Show" The Simpsons season 3 List of episodes

"**Black Widower**" is the twenty-first episode of the [third season](/source/The_Simpsons_season_3) of the American animated television series *[The Simpsons](/source/The_Simpsons)*. It originally aired on [Fox](/source/Fox_Broadcasting_Company) in the United States on April 9, 1992. The episode was written by [Jon Vitti](/source/Jon_Vitti), with a story conceived by [Sam Simon](/source/Sam_Simon) and [Thomas Chastain](/source/Thomas_Chastain), and directed by [David Silverman](/source/David_Silverman_(animator)). [Kelsey Grammer](/source/Kelsey_Grammer) guest-starred as [Sideshow Bob](/source/Sideshow_Bob) for the second time, becoming a reoccurring character as [Bart](/source/Bart_Simpson)'s [archenemy](/source/Archenemy).

In this episode, Sideshow Bob — Bart's new archenemy — returns, apparently in a romantic relationship with Bart's aunt [Selma](/source/Selma_Bouvier), but when Bart later 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](/source/Nielsen_ratings) 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](/source/Simpson_family) have dinner with [Selma](/source/Patty_and_Selma) and her new boyfriend [Sideshow Bob](/source/Sideshow_Bob). Bob's presence frightens [Bart](/source/Bart_Simpson) and [Lisa](/source/Lisa_Simpson). During dinner, Bob reveals that while he was in prison, he began building up hatred and the desire to kill Bart for exposing his crime of framing [Krusty the Clown](/source/Krusty_the_Clown)[N 1] and started plotting revenge. However, after receiving Selma's response to his "Prison Pen Pal" ad, he fell in love with her and was inspired to become a model prisoner, earning an early release.

Bob proposes to Selma and she accepts. He makes an appearance at a Krusty the Clown telethon and they reconcile. Lisa encourages Bart to forgive Bob, but Bart refuses to believe he is reformed. When Selma discovers that Bob detests *[MacGyver](/source/MacGyver_(1985_TV_series))*, the marriage is nearly called off until Bob takes [Homer](/source/Homer_Simpson)'s suggestion to let Selma watch it alone while he takes a walk.

Whilst planning for the wedding, Selma reveals that she has no sense of smell or taste after a mishap with a bottle rocket as a child, and at the wedding reception, she announces that she has cut back on cigarettes, smoking only after meals and episodes of *MacGyver*. Selma sends the Simpsons a tape of their honeymoon which captures Bob's tirade over the lack of a gas fireplace in their hotel room. While watching *MacGyver* with [Patty](/source/Patty_and_Selma) that night, Bart realizes that Selma is in danger and the Simpsons rush to the hotel room.

When Selma retires alone to watch *MacGyver*, her hotel room explodes. Bob returns, expecting Selma dead, but she is unscathed, and the Simpsons and the police apprehend Bob. Bart explains how he exposed Bob's scheme: Bob opened the gas valve in the hotel room, knowing Selma would not smell the leak. He left while she watched *MacGyver*, knowing she would light a cigarette afterwards and cause an explosion. Although Bart foiled the plot, [Chief Wiggum](/source/Chief_Wiggum) absent-mindedly threw a match into the room after lighting a celebratory cigar, causing the explosion. Bob, vowing revenge on Bart, is led away by the police. As Selma blames herself for almost getting killed, [Marge](/source/Marge_Simpson) praises Bart for foiling Bob's plot and not losing his mistrust of Bob.

## Production

[Kelsey Grammer](/source/Kelsey_Grammer) returned to play Sideshow Bob for the episode "Black Widower".

"Black Widower" was conceived by Sam Simon and Thomas Chastain who received story credits, with a teleplay written by Jon Vitti and direction by David Silverman.[1][2] The staff wanted an episode involving a "mystery", so executive producer [Sam Simon](/source/Sam_Simon) approached [Thomas Chastain](/source/Thomas_Chastain), head of the [Mystery Writers of America](/source/Mystery_Writers_of_America), to help construct the mystery.[3] A number of clues leading up to the revelation at the end were inserted into the script so viewers would be able to solve the mystery on their own.[4] As the episode was being written, the writers had their eyes towards winning an [Edgar Award](/source/Edgar_Award), awarded by the Mystery Writers of America to the best [mystery fiction](/source/Mystery_fiction) in print, television and film. Despite their efforts, "Black Widower" was not nominated for an Edgar Award.[3]

In the episode, the writers echoed the premise of [Wile E. Coyote](/source/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner) by having Sideshow Bob unexpectedly insert himself into Bart's life and attempt to kill him. Executive producer [Al Jean](/source/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.[4] For "Black Widower", director David Silverman updated the character model of Bob to reflect the animation of director [Brad Bird](/source/Brad_Bird).[5] One of Bob's prison friends is [Snake Jailbird](/source/Snake_Jailbird). He first appeared in the season two episode "[The War of the Simpsons](/source/The_War_of_the_Simpsons)" only as "Jailbird",[6] but his full name was first mentioned in "Black Widower".[7] The writers named him Snake after the snake tattoo on his arm, and he has been so called ever since.[6]

"Black Widower" was the second episode in which Kelsey Grammer guest starred as Sideshow Bob. He had previously appeared in the season one episode "[Krusty Gets Busted](/source/Krusty_Gets_Busted)", in which Bart gets Bob sentenced to jail for [framing](/source/Frameup) Krusty for armed robbery.[4] Grammer initially expected to voice Bob in a one-time role, but the character was well-liked enough to have him brought back. Sideshow Bob eventually became one of the most popular roles Grammer ever played, and Bob became a recurring character.[8] Grammer bases his Bob voice on theatre actor and director [Ellis Rabb](/source/Ellis_Rabb). He had once worked for Rabb, whose "lamenting tones became [the] foundation for Sideshow Bob".[8]

## Cultural references

Lisa imagines that Selma's new boyfriend is [The Elephant Man](/source/Joseph_Merrick).

The episode begins with the family, except for Marge, watching a parody of *[Dinosaurs](/source/Dinosaurs_(TV_series))* on television.[5] The staff thought *Dinosaurs* was a knock-off of *The Simpsons*; at one point Bart exclaims "It's like they saw our lives and put it right on screen!"[3] 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's imagining him as [The Elephant Man](/source/Joseph_Merrick).[7] Bob tells Homer he's forgetting the first two noble truths of the [Buddha](/source/Buddha). As Bob remembers his time in prison, there is a scene of him picking up roadside trash, modeled on *[Cool Hand Luke](/source/Cool_Hand_Luke)* (1967). The music in the scene is a reference to the film's soundtrack.[5] Bob also remembers winning a [Daytime Emmy Award](/source/Daytime_Emmy_Award) in the "Best Supporting Performer in a Children's Program" category.[4][7] In Selma's letters to Sideshow Bob, she refers to him by his prison number, 24601, which is [Jean Valjean](/source/Jean_Valjean)'s prison number in [Victor Hugo](/source/Victor_Hugo)'s *[Les Misérables](/source/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables)*.[3] The song Selma and Sideshow Bob sing as a montage is "[Somethin' Stupid](/source/Somethin'_Stupid)", made famous by [Frank Sinatra](/source/Frank_Sinatra) and his daughter [Nancy](/source/Nancy_Sinatra). The reunion between Krusty and Bob at the telethon is a reference to a surprise reunion between former comedy partners [Jerry Lewis](/source/Jerry_Lewis) and [Dean Martin](/source/Dean_Martin) on a 1970s telethon.[5][7] The chairman character in the telethon scene is a reference to Frank Sinatra, who was nicknamed "the chairman of the board" and who reunited Martin and Lewis at the surprise reunion. The telethon logo features an [Al Hirschfeld](/source/Al_Hirschfeld)-style caricature of Krusty.[4]

"Black Widower" was the second episode to show Patty and Selma's obsession with *[MacGyver](/source/MacGyver_(1985_TV_series))*, which has become a recurring joke.[4] When Sideshow Bob goes into the room to see Selma's corpse, he turns around the chair, only to see Bart sitting in it. 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 climax of [Alfred Hitchcock](/source/Alfred_Hitchcock)'s [*Psycho*](/source/Psycho_(1960_film)) (1960).[5] [Alf Clausen](/source/Alf_Clausen)'s music in the scene references to [Bernard Herrmann](/source/Bernard_Herrmann)'s in *Psycho*.[5] In Bart's retelling of the story at the end of the episode, Homer shouts "To the Simpsonmobile!", a reference to [Batman](/source/Batman)'s [batmobile](/source/Batmobile).[4] When Sideshow Bob realizes he's been caught he says, "My best laid plans have gang agley," referencing [Robert Burns](/source/Robert_Burns)'s poem "[To a Mouse](/source/To_a_Mouse)".

## Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Black Widower" finished 39th in [Nielsen ratings](/source/Nielsen_ratings) for the week of April 6–12, 1992, making *The Simpsons* the third-highest rated television series on Fox that week, after *[Married... with Children](/source/Married..._with_Children)* and *[In Living Color](/source/In_Living_Color)*.[9]

In *I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide*, [Gary Russell](/source/Gary_Russell)[10] 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 MacGyver, which he remarked "make the whole thing great fun".[2] 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".[11]

Nate Meyers of the website digitallyOBSESSED rated the episode a 3 (of 5). He felt 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".[12] 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 "Black Widower" an exception, noting that most episodes featuring Sideshow Bob rarely disappoint.[13] 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".[14]

[Nathan Rabin](/source/Nathan_Rabin) asks, "How great is Grammer as Sideshow Bob? He manages to make a prissy elitist scary. There is a musicality and a poetry to his performance, an almost hypnotic rhythm to the way he delivers a line like, 'Ah, fire: scourge of Prometheus, toaster of marshmallows, eradicator of dead wood.' In depth, richness, multi-dimensionality and language, Sideshow Bob might just be the most Shakespearean character in *The Simpsons* universe... It's a testament to how thoroughly Sideshow Bob and Grammer's performance dominate the episode that Bart, our ostensible boy detective hero, barely registers. Then again, the bad guy always gets the best lines. Where *The Simpsons* and Sideshow Bob are concerned, he also gets the best episodes and this funny, scary, and quietly sad episode is right up there."[15]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** As depicted in the 1990 episode "[Krusty Gets Busted](/source/Krusty_Gets_Busted)".

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Vitti_2-0)** Vitti, John (2003). *The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Black Widower"* (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bbc_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bbc_3-1) [Martyn, Warren](/source/Gary_Russell); [Wood, Adrian](/source/Gareth_Roberts_(writer)) (2000). ["Black Widower"](https://web.archive.org/web/20030820143321/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page21.shtml). BBC. Archived from [the original](https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page21.shtml) on August 20, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2009.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Reiss_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Reiss_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Reiss_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Reiss_4-3) Reiss, Mike (2003). *The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Black Widower"* (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Jean_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Jean_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Jean_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Jean_5-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Jean_5-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Jean_5-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Jean_5-6) Jean, Al (2003). *The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Black Widower"* (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Silverman_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Silverman_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Silverman_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Silverman_6-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Silverman_6-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Silverman_6-5) Silverman, David (2003). *The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Black Widower"* (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Groening_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Groening_7-1) Groening, Matt (2003). *The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Black Widower"* (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-book_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-book_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-book_8-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-book_8-3) [Groening, Matt](/source/Matt_Groening) (1997). [Richmond, Ray](/source/Ray_Richmond); Coffman, Antonia (eds.). *[The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family](/source/The_Simpsons_episode_guides#The_Simpsons:_A_Complete_Guide_to_Our_Favorite_Family)* (1st ed.). New York: [HarperPerennial](/source/HarperPerennial). p. [86](https://archive.org/details/simpsonscomplete00groe/page/86). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-06-095252-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-095252-5). [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [98141857](https://lccn.loc.gov/98141857). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [37796735](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/37796735). [OL](/source/OL_(identifier)) [433519M](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL433519M)..

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Grammer_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Grammer_9-1) Grammer, Kelsey (2006). *The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode "Brother From Another Series"* (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** "Nielsen Ratings". *The Tampa Tribune*. April 16, 1992.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Preddle, Jon (June 1997). ["Gary Russell: From Peladon to Placebos"](http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv51/garyrussell.html). *Time Space Visualiser*. No. 51. The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club. Retrieved August 20, 2020. I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Gibron, Bill (December 15, 2003). ["The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090629194944/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason3.php). DVD Verdict. Archived from [the original](http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason3.php) on June 29, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Meyers, Nate (June 23, 2004). ["The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160313103432/http://digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?id=6129). digitallyOBSESSED. Archived from [the original](http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=6129) on March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Jacobson, Colin (August 21, 2003). ["The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991)"](http://dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonthree.shtml). DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved August 2, 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Teh, Hock Guan (August 21, 2003). ["Simpsons, The: The Complete 3rd Season (DVD)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060319094014/http://www.dvdtown.com/review/simpsonsthethecompletethirdsea/10929/1717/). DVD Town. Archived from [the original](http://www.dvdtown.com/review/simpsonsthethecompletethirdsea/10929/1717/) on March 19, 2006. Retrieved August 2, 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Rabin, Nathan (August 21, 2011). "The Simpsons (Classic): "Black Widower"". *[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club)*.

## External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Black Widower](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Simpsons/Season_3#Black_Widower)***.

- [The Simpsons portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:The_Simpsons)

- ["Black Widower episode capsule"](http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/8F20.html). *[The Simpsons Archive](/source/The_Simpsons_Archive)*.

- ["Black Widower"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701070/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

v t e The Simpsons Sideshow Bob episodes Major appearances "Krusty Gets Busted" "Black Widower" "Cape Feare" "Sideshow Bob Roberts" "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" "Brother from Another Series" "Day of the Jackanapes" "The Great Louse Detective" "The Italian Bob" "Funeral for a Fiend" "The Bob Next Door" "The Man Who Grew Too Much" "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" "Gone Boy" "Bobby, It's Cold Outside" "Treehouse of Horror XXXIV" "The Yellow Lotus" Minor appearances "The Telltale Head" "Lisa's First Word" "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" "Wedding for Disaster" "American History X-cellent" "At Long Last Leave" "Clown in the Dumps" "Blazed and Confused" "Gal of Constant Sorrow" "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" "The Fat Blue Line"

v t e The Simpsons episodes Seasons 1–20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Season 21–present 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Season 3 "Stark Raving Dad" "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" "When Flanders Failed" "Bart the Murderer" "Homer Defined" "Like Father, Like Clown" "Treehouse of Horror II" "Lisa's Pony" "Saturdays of Thunder" "Flaming Moe's" "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" "I Married Marge" "Radio Bart" "Lisa the Greek" "Homer Alone" "Bart the Lover" "Homer at the Bat" "Separate Vocations" "Dog of Death" "Colonel Homer" "Black Widower" "The Otto Show" "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" See also Treehouse of Horror list The Simpsons episode guides "The Simpsons Guy" Category

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