Line #37 Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E5SideshowBobRoberts


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simpsons_06_04.jpg]]
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3	'''Original air date:''' 10/9/1994
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5	'''Production code:''' 2F02
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7	With help from the Creator/RushLimbaugh-esque Birch Barlow (a conservative talk radio personality), Sideshow Bob gets released from prison again and runs for mayor against "Diamond" Joe Quimby -- and Bart and Lisa investigate how one criminal running for public office got so many votes while another criminal got so few.
8	----
9	!!This episode contains examples of:
10	* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Quimby gets a very literal application of this trope, even without taking into account Bob's ballot stuffing.
11	-->'''Kent Brockman:''' The results are in: for Sideshow Bob, one hundred percent; and for Joe Quimby, one percent. And, we remind you, there is a one percent margin of error.
12	* AccidentalPublicConfession: Well, not quite accidental: Bart and Lisa get Bob to confess by [[AccuseTheWitness accusing him]] of being Barlow's front man. [[SkewedPriorities He immediately produces several binders and floppy disks detailing his "masterpiece of electoral fraud"]].
13	* AccuseTheWitness: When Bart and Lisa discover that Bob won through voter fraud, they don't accuse him outright. [[BatmanGambit Rather, they claim Birch Barlow did it and Bob was just his patsy. This works in their favor, as Bob's bruised ego compels him to confess to his crime and produce massive amounts of evidence proving he committed it.]]
14	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Bart's opinion of the "Les Wynan" joke.
15	-->'''Lisa:''' There's no Councilman Les Wynan.\
16	'''Bart:''' Good line, though.
17	* AnythingYouCanDoICanDoBetter: When Bob is campaigning at the Springfield Retirement Castle, Grampa Simpson taunts him with the fact that Mayor Quimby already promised to name the town's new expressway after {{Series/Matlock}} and dares him to top that. Bob then promises to not only also build the Matlock Expressway if the old folks vote for him, but he'll spend the rest of the afternoon listening to their interminable anecdotes. That wins them over immediately.
18	* ArchEnemy: Along with Bob, Bart evidently has one in the form of Creator/DrDemento.
19	* AmbiguouslyGay: This episode marks one of the first times that Smithers is implied to actually be gay, with him going against the Republican party's schemes because their positions [[HeteronormativeCrusader "conflict with [his] choice of lifestyle"]].
20	* ArtisticLicense: The gravestone for Music/RitchieValens mistakenly states he was born in 1942. Valens was 17 years old at the time he died, but was actually born in 194'''1'''.
21	* AsHimself: Creator/DrDemento; Larry King.
22	* AsYouKnow: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]; the name "Sideshow Bob" doesn't ring any bells for Homer, compelling Lisa to provide a recap.
23	-->'''Homer:''' ''Oh,'' [[AccentUponTheWrongSyllable SideSHOW Bob]].
24	* AuthorAppeal: Writers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were very interested in the Watergate scandal and based a lot of the second act on that.
25	* BaitAndSwitch: When Bart and Lisa make Quimby look good at the mayor debate at their school, Bob and his aides drag Bart into their limo. Bob angrily threatens Bart that no children have meddled with the Republican party and lived to tell about it, and snaps his fingers. His aides reach into their coats, and Bart's expecting them to pull out weapons...but they pull out some campaign buttons and pin them on his shirt. They then dump him unharmed on the Simpsons' front lawn before driving away.
26	* BitingTheHandHumor:
27	-->'''Larry King:''' Now, a word to our audience: even though we're being broadcast on ... Creator/{{Fox}}, there's no need for obnoxious hooting and hollering. [''The audience does just that; King groans.'']
28	* BlackAndGreyMorality: The race between Quimby and Bob is basically this, parallelling common appraisals of Democrats and Republicans. Quimby is incompetent, stupid, and controlled by his vices, but he's not out to hurt anyone; he just wants to keep Springfield running. Bob, on the other hand, is a psychotic megalomaniac who wants to rule like a king and kill anyone he has a grudge on.
29	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Mayor Quimby's campaign jingle includes a list of Quimby's [[DamnedByFaintPraise "achievements"]]:
30	-->''Without a Mayor Quimby, our town would really stink.\
31	We wouldn't have a tire yard, or a mid-sized roller rink.\
32	We wouldn't have our gallows, or our shiny Bigfoot trap.\
33	[[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial It's not the mayor's fault that the stadium collapsed!]]''
34	** At the end, Bob states that Springfield residents secretly want a Republican mayor to "lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king".
35	* BrickJoke:
36	** The bats in the public library.
37	** Homer gets thrown out of Riverdale for reasons unknown. When he drives Bart and Lisa to meet the unknown informant in the parking garage, Homer stays in the car, reading ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'', muttering, "Lousy stuck-up Riverdale punks! Think they're too good for me."
38	* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: In the CouchGag for this episode (recycled from "Boy Scoutz 'n the Hood"), the lights are out with only the Simpsons' eyes visible as they enter. The lights turn on revealing it's only their eyes, until the family rushes in and sits down, reconnecting with their eyes.
39	* CaligulasHorse: Most of the Springfield Republican Party mistakenly assume the mayoral candidate they've chosen to back was a water cooler. They seemed to think it would make a fine representative.
40	* CallBack: Sideshow Bob exits the Springfield prison in the exact same manner as he did in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E2CapeFeare Cape Feare]]," only this time plummeting off the edge of the island.
41	-->'''Guard:''' Boat's on the other side!
42	* TheCameo: Archie and his pals Jughead, Reggie, and Moose from the Archie comics make a cameo, throwing Homer from their vehicle and telling him to "Stay outta' Riverdale!"
43	* CardboardPrison: The fact that the Springfield prison system is made of them is highlighted by Bob in an AttackOfThePoliticalAd (even pointing out that ''Quimby released him''). The ad still manages to take it up to eleven by showing a prison full of methods for quick getaways, from a revolving door up to a ski lift that takes prisoners over the perimeter wall and lets them drop safely on the other side.
44	* CardCarryingVillain: The Springfield Republican Party appears with a ''Literature/{{Dracula}}''/''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''-style SupervillainLair castle and cult-like procedures headed up by Mr. Burns. Bob's grand speech at the end even makes it clear that the whole InUniverse party and everybody that supports it are a bunch of megalomaniacs that want to rule with an iron fist and idiots that think they would have HappinessInSlavery.
45	* CarRadioDispute: Lisa argues with Homer when he tunes his car radio to a Creator/RushLimbaugh {{expy}}.
46	-->'''Lisa:''' Dad, I had to listen to this jerk all morning! Can we listen to something else?\
47	'''Homer:''' When I'm driving the car, I get to choose the radio station. When ''you're'' driving, we'll listen to ''your'' radio station.\
48	''(GilliganCut to 8-year-old Lisa driving the car, with the radio playing "St. Elmo's Fire" by John Parr)''\
49	'''Homer:''' Ooh, I can't take this anymore! Let's switch back!
50	* CassandraTruth: [[invoked]]Bart telling Marge that he was told to bring in fireworks.[[note]][[FridgeLogic Given Bart's history, one would think Skinner would personally tell Homer and Marge about the project.]][[/note]]
51	* CaughtByArrogance: This is how Sideshow Bob's plot of rigging the mayoral election is revealed. Enraged at being accused of being only a puppet and Birch Barlow of being TheManBehindTheMan, Bob flaunts in open court how the scheme was all his idea and his alone. Naturally, this gets him arrested.
52	* CelebrityParadox: Archie and the Riverdale gang apparently exist in ''The Simpsons'' universe. And yet, while Lisa and Bart do some investigating, Homer is waiting in the car reading an Archie comic.
53	* ChekhovsGag:
54	** The Matlock Expressway, which Quimby promised to the old people to get their vote. Bob decides to actually build it, on top of the Simpson residence.
55	** The ongoing references to Smithers being gay end up being a critical plot point, as he asserts that he [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness he would never operate secretly against Mr. Burns]] if Sideshow Bob's ultraconservative platform weren't in conflict with his "choice of lifestyle." Armed with the tip he gives them, Lisa and Bart blow up the whole scheme.
56	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Smithers gives Bart and Lisa a name, and Bart finally finds its owner--[[VoteEarlyVoteOften in a cemetery plot]]. His takeaway is not the same as Lisa's.
57	-->'''Bart:''' Oh my God! The dead have risen and they're voting Republican!
58	* ComicBooksAreReal: A rare non-Superhero example. Homer reads ''Archie Comics'', while in the same episode, he is kicked out of Riverdale by Archie and his friends.
59	* ComicBookTime: Lisa specifically mentions that Sideshow Bob framed Krusty for armed robbery in "1990," the year "Krusty Gets Busted" came out, four years before the release of this episode.
60	* ContinuityNod: Lisa reminds Homer of [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E12KrustyGetsBusted Bob framing Krusty for robbery]] and his more recent attempts to kill [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E21BlackWidower Selma]] and [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E2CapeFeare Bart]].
61	* CreatorCameo: A caricature of Simpsons producer Richard Sakai can be seen in the pro-Sideshow Bob ad.
62	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Quimby: If you were voting for mayor, he'd vote for ''you''. (Paid for by the Mayor Quimby for Mayor Mayoral Committee."
63	* DevilInPlainSight: The reaction to Bob's below-mentioned evil laugh? "And just look how happy he is!" If you hear well, it sounds like everyone is laughing with him.
64	* DevilishHairHorns: Quimby inadvertently sports hair horns during the mayoral debates after he runs his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair, leading the news team to electronically demonize him in their broadcast.
65	* DickDastardlyStopsToCheat: Bob goes for ballot-stuffing in an election where Quimby may have actually had a ZeroPercentApprovalRating. Several elements of his platform also legitimately appealed to various voters, like Homer approving of his "Selma killing policy" and Krusty liking Bob's proposed upper class tax cut. Justified, as he didn't know how guaranteed the race was, and his rant at the end shows he didn't expect Springfield to vote Republican even if they secretly wanted to.
66	* EngineeredPublicConfession: Once Bart and Lisa have proof Bob stole the election, they bring him to court and get this out of him via reverse-AppealToFlattery.
67	* EvilIsPetty: As soon as he is elected, Bob uses his power to make the Simpsons as miserable as possible, planning to mow down their house to make room for the new Matlock Expressway and sending Bart to kindergarten (being a class flunky, however, he only ends up enjoying this). He also has plans to kill Bart and Selma ''that he included in his political platform''.
68	* EvilLaugh: Sideshow Bob, of course, delivers a long, utterly [[EvilIsHammy hammy]] one after he wins the election.
69	* ExplosiveStupidity: After misunderstanding a report of Sideshow Bob being a political prisoner and being told to "do whatever it takes to get him out of jail", Moe hands out a grenade to each of his barflies. When Barney corrects him that they meant "through non-violent grassroots political action", Moe takes the grenades back, only to find out that somebody pulled the pin on their grenade almost the second they were given it.
70	* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Bob's ''Film/CapeFear''-style menacing exit from prison is ruined by him not noticing that he was walking towards the camera but also right towards the edge of a cliff.
71	* FairWeatherFriend: Except for the Simpsons, everyone with Quimby at his campaign headquarters leaves as soon as Sideshow Bob is announced as the new mayor.
72	* FalselyReformedVillain: Sideshow Bob pretends to go straight so he can get paroled out of prison and rig the election campaign for mayor.
73	* FlawExploitation: Bart and Lisa falsely accuse Birch Barlow of being the mastermind behind the electoral fraud, knowing that Bob's {{pride}} won't allow him to stand for being called a mere pawn in someone else's scheme.
74	* FriendToPsychos: While he's plenty psycho himself, Mr. Burns lends some respectability to Bob by endorsing his campaign. Birch Barlow is a better example, since he really is a fool and has no idea what he's getting into.
75	* GilliganCut: Lisa asks Homer if they can listen to something else. He replies that, as the driver, he chooses the radio station. When ''she'' drives, then she can choose the station. Cut to Lisa driving and listening to "[[Film/StElmosFire St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)]]".
76	-->'''Homer:''' Ooooh. I can't take it anymore! Let's switch back!
77	* HammerspaceHair: Where Sideshow Bob keeps his multivolume records of voter fraud, hardcopies in three-ring binders, digital copies on 3.25" floppy disks.
78	* {{Handwave}}: Lisa can have the results of the votes ''and'' the voters identity because no one cares. This is vital to find out Bob stuffed the ballots with dead people.
79	* HeteronormativeCrusader: After Smithers is revealed to be the Deep Throat-esque MysteriousInformant who starts Bart and Lisa's path to revealing Bob's fraud, he gives a speech that heavily implies that Bob is one of these, so he's helping the kids to prevent whatever punitive measures Bob may bring to the Springfield gay population (and Smithers in specific).
80	* HiddenDepths: Barney Gumble, [[DumbassHasAPoint of all people]], is the one who points out to Moe that Bob meant "take political action" and not "[[BombThrowingAnarchists grenade-tossing rebellion]]" when he asked for people to help him get out of jail.
81	* {{Homage}}: The entire second act, including the bird's-eye shot of Lisa studying in the library, is an homage to ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen''.
82	* HoldTheLine: While Bart and Lisa dig up evidence and take Bob to court, Homer and Marge keep the construction crew from demolishing their house; Homer by using his own body to soften the wrecking ball's swings and Marge warding off the workers with promises of rolling pin attacks.
83	* HypocriticalHumor:
84	** The ad Bob created to attack Quimby accuses him to let criminals easily walk free.
85	--->'''Announcer:''' Mayor Quimby supports revolving door prisons. Mayor Quimby even released Sideshow Bob, a man twice convicted of attempted murder. Can ''you'' trust a man like Mayor Quimby? [''Hushed and rushed''] Vote Sideshow Bob for mayor!
86	** Also, Homer had earlier in the episode stated a low opinion about people who vote, but he's later seen voting for Sideshow Bob. (He approved Bob's "Selma-killing policy".)
87	** At the end, Bob states that Springfield residents secretly want a Republican mayor to "brutalize criminals", despite being a criminal himself (of course, [[InsaneTrollLogic Bob doesn't believe "attempted murder" is actually a crime]], but he did commit electoral fraud--another crime).
88	* ImmediateSelfContradiction: Describing the perfect mayoral candidate for the Republican Party, Burns states they need someone with media savvy and name recognition, "a true leader, who'll do ''exactly'' as he's told."
89	* InsaneTrollLogic: Sideshow Bob runs on this, as seen in his aforementioned campaign ad.
90	-->'''Sideshow Bob:''' ...I'm presently incarcerated. Convicted of a crime I didn't even commit. "Attempted murder", now honestly, what is that? Do they give a Nobel Prize for "attempted chemistry"?
91	* InstantlyProvenWrong: When Bob tells the Simpsons their house will be demolished to clear the path of the freeway.
92	-->'''Homer:''' I know what you're up to, Mayor [[AccidentalMisnaming Terwigager]]. And no one in my family's gonna stand for it!
93	-->'''Abe:''' ''(honking his car horn from the top of the unfinished construction)'' Move your goddurn house, son!
94	* InventedIndividual: During the mayoral debate, Barlow asks Sideshow Bob what he thinks of a criticism leveled at his campaign by "Councilman Les Wynan," to which Bob responds that the councilman "ought to do more thinking and ''less whinin'."'' As no one but Lisa realizes, there's no such person as Les Wynan [[PunnyName and the name was just invented to set Bob up for the line]].
95	* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne:
96	-->'''Birch Barlow:''' There are three things we are never going to get rid of in this town. One, the bats in the public library; two, Mrs. [=McFuly=]'s compost heap; and three, our six-term mayor — the illiterate, tax-cheating, wife-swapping, pot-smoking spendocrat, "Diamond" Joe Quimby.\
97	'''Mayor Quimby:''' [''as he's watering a marijuana plant in his office''] ''Hey!'' I am no longer illiterate!
98	* ItsPersonal: Lisa states this after finding out one of the dead people and pets that "voted" for Bob was her long-deceased cat, Snowball I. Bart, understandably, takes offense at this:
99	-->'''Bart:''' Um... he ''did'' try to kill me!
100	* {{Kevlard}}: Homer grabs onto the wrecking ball to stop it from tearing down the Simpson's house. The ''[[{{Series/Mythbusters}} MythCrackers]]'' showed that his heft actually protected the house in this instance.
101	* KidsDrivingCars: Apparently Homer regularly lets his children take turns driving the car so they can pick the music.
102	* LandslideElection: Exaggerated. Bob wins the mayoralty by a margin of at least 99 percentage points, but [[StatusQuoIsGod Quimby is reinstated when Lisa and Bart expose Bob's cheating.]]
103	* LaserGuidedKarma:
104	** Barlow's is having Bart and Lisa accuse him of being TheManBehindTheMan for Bob's electoral fraud.
105	** Bob is arrested immediately after revealing he's been massively corrupt.
106	* LaughingMad:
107	** Bob, after being elected mayor.
108	--->'''Kent Brockman:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint And look how happy he is!]]
109	** Mrs. [=McFuly=] has a pretty deranged cackle as well.
110	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Homer is thrown out of Riverdale by the ComicBook/ArchieComics gang.
111	* LesserOfTwoEvils: Mayor Quimby is outright stated to be this by the Simpson children, as they believe Bob would really spell disaster as mayor (and then proved right when he wins).
112	* LesserStar: Bart and Lisa invoke this in their plan to get Sideshow Bob to confess to rigging the mayoral election, by accusing him of playing second-fiddle to [[Creator/RushLimbaugh Limbaugh]] {{expy}} Birch Barlow.
113	-->'''Bart:''' You were just Barlow's lackey!\
114	'''Lisa:''' You were [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Ronnie]] to his Nancy!\
115	'''Bart:''' [[Music/SonnyAndCher Sonny to his Cher]]!\
116	'''Lisa:''' Music/{{Ringo\|Starr}} to his rest of Music/TheBeatles!
117	* LighterAndSofter: Subverted. Although Bob doesn't try to murder anyone onscreen (and children who meddle with the Republican Party get the FauxHorrific fate of having Republican buttons pinned onto their clothes and unceremoniously sent home), he openly advocates killing both Bart Simpson and Selma Bouvier in his platform, and warns the Simpsons that if they don't vacate their house within 24 hours, he will blow it up along with any remaining family members.
118	* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Quimby is a {{Sleazy\|Politician}} and CorruptPolitician, but at least he isn't making it his mission to destroy the Simpsons' lives like Bob is, which is why Lisa and Bart campaign for him. It's also why people like Homer and Krusty vote for Bob, even though they both have reason to loathe him.
119	* MadeOfIron: Homer can somehow cushion a wrecking ball from hitting his house and doesn't even flinch.
120	* TheManBehindTheMan: Played with when Bart and Lisa shift the accusation of the rigged election to Birch Barlow to get Sideshow Bob to confess.
121	* MatchCut: Homer says that something about Birch Barlow ''really'' speaks to him. Cut (actually a very quick fade) to Birch sitting in Homer's exact same pose, eating Homer's exact same doughnuts.
122	* MayorPain: The whole episode is a battle between the evil variety and the incompetent variety.
123	* MeaningfulName: "Birch" is likely meant to be a reference to the infamous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society John Birch Society]], a radical conservative/ConspiracyTheorist group formed during the 1950s.
124	* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: The minimum-security prison that Bob is sentenced to features canoe races between [[IvyLeagueForEveryone Yale and Princeton]] alumni. That, and a gate left ''wide open''.
125	* MysteriousInformant: Parodied; the informant of this type Bart and Lisa meet in a parking garage is blatantly Waylon Smithers, even as he stands in the shadows wearing a trenchcoat and smoking a cigarette (his distinct hairstyle is clearly noticeable, along with slightly disguising his voice)... and well before Homer confirms this by shining his car headlights on Smithers.
126	* NeverMyFault: Bob is introduced in this episode complaining about being imprisoned for attempted murder, specifically saying that he's falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit.
127	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Quimby has flu at the time of the debate, so Bart gives him medicine -- specifically, extra-drowsy medicine, which just impairs his performance even more.
128	* TheNicknamer: Birch Barlow makes pejorative nicknames for anything remotely liberal, using [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal alliterations]] and {{portmanteau}}s.
129	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: As noted, Birch Barlow is one of real-life conservative radio personality Creator/RushLimbaugh.
130	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: [[ComicBook/ArchieComics Archie and his friends]] are drawn in their own style when they make their cameo.
131	* NoodleIncident:
132	** What did Homer do to [[PersonaNonGrata get thrown out of]] [[ComicBook/ArchieComics Riverdale]]? Better yet, how'd he get there in the first place?
133	** And what did Bart do to gain the enmity of Doctor Demento?
134	* NotHyperbole: When Birch Barlow says Springfield will never get rid of Mrs. [=McFuly=]'s large, disgusting compost heap, he's not just exaggerating. She guards it madly with a shotgun.
135	* ObnoxiousInLaws: Maybe Homer has other reasons to vote for Bob, but the one that we hear him approve of out loud is Bob's campaign promise to kill his sister-in-law Selma if he's elected.
136	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Krusty hasn't forgotten Bob framing him for armed robbery, but he votes for Bob anyway because he really likes Bob's proposed upper-class tax cut.
137	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Smithers gives Lisa and Bart a tip, claiming he's never gone behind Burns' back before but that "Sideshow Bob's ultraconservative views conflict with my...choice of lifestyle."
138	* OpenSecret: Apparently who you voted for mayor is not anonymously done and everyone can learn it.
139	* ParkingGarage: {{Parodied\|Trope}} when Bart and Lisa go to meet an informant (who turns out to be Mr. Smithers) in a garage. He goes to great lengths to conceal his identity (wearing a trench coat, smoking, standing in the shadows, etc.) but the effect is ruined when Homer drives up, turns on his headlights, and loudly greets him.
140	-->'''Smithers''': [''Annoyed''] Well, you might as well give me a ride home now...
141	* ParodyAssistance: Bart plays with a ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Flintstones]]'' toy phone, which features Henry Corden as the voice of Fred Flintstone.
142	* PasteEater: When Quimby and Bob come to Springfield Elementary:
143	-->'''Skinner:''' Now, students, I want you to be on your best behavior for this carefully-choreographed media event. Now this means there is to be no wising-off, no face-making, and no [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking grass-eating]]. [[EspeciallyZoidberg This means you, Ralph]].
144	-->'''Ralph:''' [''Mouth full of grass''] Yes, sir.
145	* PompousPoliticalPundit: Birch Barlow is a caricature of Rush Limbaugh that labels Quimby as one of the biggest obstacles in the improvement of Springfield as a city (he's right, of course, but his delivery is as ham-fisted an AttackOfThePoliticalAd as it gets) to the point he endorses and helps a convicted criminal, and when it comes to asking on debate night, well:
146	-->'''Birch Barlow:''' Mayor Quimby, you are well known, sir, for your ''lenient'' stance on crime. But suppose for a second that ''your'' house was ransacked by thugs, ''your'' family tied up in the basement, with ''socks'' in their mouths, you try to open the door but there's ''too much blood on the knob''--\
147	'''Mayor Quimby:''' What is your ah, question?\
148	'''Birch Barlow:''' My question's about the budget, sir.
149	* RailroadPlot: Deliberately created by Sideshow Bob to harass the Simpsons when he directs the construction of a new freeway right toward their house.
150	* RamblingOldManMonologue: To secure the senior voters, Bob promises that, besides building the expressway, he'll patiently spend the entire afternoon listening to the residents in the Springfield Retirement Castle. Abe goes ahead and call dibs to start.
151	-->'''Abe:''' Not many people know, I owned one of the first radios in Springfield. T'weren't much on the air then, just Edison repeating the alphabet oooover and oooover. "A", he'd say. Then "B". "C" would ''usually'' follow...\
152	'''Bob:''' [''annoyed grumble'']
153	* RealityIsUnrealistic: As it turns out, graveyard votes, votes cast by people who are deceased, is a common form of fraud still used today.
154	* RiggedContest: The mayoral debates have Barlow giving Bob easy questions from a nonexistent "Les Wynan", and Quimby a rambling, disturbing question about his family being kidnapped and murdered by thugs that's somehow about the budget.
155	* RiddleForTheAges: What was Homer doing in Riverdale, and how did he get kicked out of there?
156	* ShoutOut:
157	** Politicians using the votes of people who passed away happened earlier in American history.
158	** Quimby and Sideshow Bob's TV debate is a reference to UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's 1960 TV debate.
159	** The "about the budget" question appears to be a reference to the 1988 presidential debate, where Bernard Shaw asked Michael Dukakis if he--hypothetically--would still refuse to support the death penalty for a criminal [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dukakis#Crime that had murdered and raped his wife]].
160	** Sideshow Bob posing in front of his election poster references ''Film/CitizenKane''.
161	** The entire second act is a parody of the Watergate scandal, specifically spoofing its depiction in ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen''.
162	** The commercial described in HypocriticalHumor is a parody of the infamous "Willie Horton" advertisement by the UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush campaign during the 1988 presidential race.
163	** The episode's title is a reference to the satirical political mockumentary ''Film/BobRoberts''.
164	** Sideshow Bob tries to demolish the Simpson family home to make way for a bypass. [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Why does that sound familiar?]]
165	** There are a number of striking parallels to the "Penguin-for-Mayor" main plot of Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/BatmanReturns'': a killer runs for municipal office despite having no previous political experience and does surprisingly well; the incumbent mayor is (hypocritically) accused of being soft on crime; research is conducted at the Hall of Records; and the mastermind behind the campaign is an energy-sector tycoon who is sabotaged by a seemingly mousy underling.
166	* SingleTargetSexuality: Subverted. Smithers alludes to being gay when, in previous episodes, it was heavily implied that he was either sexually confused or straight, but had a crush on his boss.
167	* SkewedPriorities:
168	** Homer votes for Bob because he promises to kill Selma despite also wanting to kill Bart.
169	** Krusty votes for Bob for the tax cuts for the upper class despite Bob framing him for armed robbery.
170	** Lisa declares that ItsPersonal after Bob used her dead cat as one of the fraudulent votes. Bart indignantly reminds her that Bob tried to kill him.
171	* SpecialGuest: Henry Corden as Fred Flintstone;[[note]]The voice on the Flintstone phone.[[/note]] Creator/KelseyGrammer (a registered Republican in real life) as Sideshow Bob; Creator/PhilHartman as Lionel Hutz.
172	* StealthPun: In the scene where Homer argues with Lisa about radio channels, their dominant hands are different -- right and left, respectively. (They're in the driver's and shotgun seat of an American car, respectively.)
173	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Homer starts to hear Barlow's broadcasts because he feels a kind of kindred spirit connection with Barlow. Just as he says this, we cut to Barlow inside of the recording booth and he's gobbling down on donuts in a similar fashion to Homer.
174	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: A TV ad for Quimby ends with: "It's not the mayor's fault that the stadium collapsed!"
175	* TakeThat:
176	** This is the first time the show really takes stabs at the Republican Party, which garnered a lot of complaints from viewers ([[http://simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/2F02.html particularly the ones on snpp.com]] who were used to seeing the show skewer both political parties (or only focus on local politics and not national stuff). Of course, considering that Mayor Quimby is the episode's representative of the Democratic Party, it does even out somewhat.
177	** Of course, even though the episode was meant to spoof both Democrats and Republicans (but especially Republicans, as Creator/MattGroening is a left-leaning Democrat), he revealed this episode [[MisaimedFandom attracted many right-wingers who invited him to join their political groups/organizations.]][[invoked]]
178	** Also, disappointment was expressed in the DVDCommentary[[invoked]] of the episode that Lisa would listen to "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)".
179	** Apparently, Mayor Quimby got sick right before the debate due to shaking hands with old people.
180	* TheTelevisionTalksBack: More like "The Radio Says 'Ow' When You Throw It Through A Glass Window", but that's too specific.
181	* TemptingFate: Just before the disastrous debate, Lisa wonders if Quimby's flu will effect his performance. Bart assures her that he'll be fine, having taken dozens of anti-flu capsules. ''Then'' [[OhCrap he sees they're an "extra-drowsy" formula]].
182	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Bob reacts this way when Grampa starts the first of the many {{Rambling Old Man Monologue}}s he'll have to listen to for the rest of the afternoon.
183	* TitleOnlyOpening: The second FOX airing and the DVD version goes from the ''Simpsons'' cloud title straight to the executive credits on the TV, while the original airing and the syndicated version had couch gags that were used in other episodes (the original airing had the couch gag from "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E8BoyScoutzNTheHood Boy Scoutz 'n the Hood]]"[[note]]The Simpsons' eyes are floating in the dark.[[/note]] while the syndicated version had the oft-used one from "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E4Rosebud Rosebud]]"[[note]]The Simpsons run in and find identical versions of themselves on the couch.[[/note]]). This is one of the few times they did this after season one and before the high-def episodes from season 20 on (barring the special episodes, like the ''Treehouse of Horror'' episodes and the two Troy [=McClure=]-hosted episodes: "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E10TheSimpsons138thEpisodeSpectacular The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular]]" and "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E24TheSimpsonsSpinoffShowcase The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase]]").
184	* UngratefulBastard: After being pardoned by Mayor Quimby, Bob not only runs against him for the opposing party, but runs a rather nasty (read: ''slanderous'') attack ad claiming Quimby was soft on crime, seeing as he had pardoned a convict who was twice convicted of attempted murder -- Bob himself. Bob won the election after rigging the votes, even though he would have won legally since he apparently got 100% (or some figure traditionally rounded up to 100%) of the vote.
185	* {{Unishment}}: Bob uses his power as mayor to [[EvilIsPetty get Bart sent back to kindergarten]]. Bart loves it: he's finally acing a class and he gets to play with kid's toys ("I call the Flintstone phone!")
186	* VaryingCompetencyAlibi: Sideshow Bob is on trial for committing electoral fraud to get himself elected mayor of Springfield. Bart and Lisa accuse Bob of ''not'' being the real mastermind behind the fraud, pinning it instead on PompousPoliticalPundit Birch Barlow, with Bob being little more than Barlow's lackey. This, of course, was just a ruse to get Bob to confess, as his ego wouldn't allow him to be seen as incompetent.
187	* VillainDecay: Whereas Sideshow Bob was striving to enact a mortal grudge against Bart in his last appearance and attempting murder even before that, here he's just [[EvilIsPetty trying to make life as annoying for the Simpsons as possible]]. Compare their highest personal stake—the possibility that they could lose their home—to the fact that last time around they themselves opted to [[StartingANewLife leave town and adopt new identities just to get Bart off his radar]]. There ''is'' a gag about killing Bart and Selma being [[ObviouslyEvil part of his platform]], but the worst he does to either of them personally is [[PokeThePoodle get Bart bumped down to kindergarten]]. Which he ''[[{{Unishment}} enjoys]].''
188	* VillainHasAPoint: Birch Barlow's not wrong that Quimby is extremely corrupt, but he blames his long reign in Springfield on "tie-dyed tree huggers who would rather play hacky sack than lock up the homeless."
189	* VoteEarlyVoteOften: Sideshow Bob's victory in the election is swiftly undone when he's revealed to have rigged it [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat even though he probably would've won legitimately]].
190	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Music/BuddyHolly, Music/RitchieValens, and Music/TheBigBopper, who were all killed on "The Day The Music Died", are among the dead people who allegedly voted for Sideshow Bob. Holly and the Big Bopper were both buried in Texas, and Valens was buried in California, neither of which borders one another.
191	* WorfHadTheFlu: A literal example in that Mayor Quimby's really sick after having shaken hands with a bunch of old people. Bob easily demolishes him in the televised debate.
192	* WorstNewsJudgementEver: After Bart and Lisa expose Sideshow Bob and send him back to prison, the newspaper headline reads "Toddlers Topple Mayor."
193	* YouCantHandleTheParody: "...No truth handler, you! Bah, I deride your truth-handling abilities!"

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS6E5SideshowBobRoberts