R&R: The Bob Next Door

[Blobulle]

I have to watch this episode again.
But for the moment, it's the worst episode of the season 21. 8/20 2/5

[MarTay]

During the original airing, I absolutely hated it. However, I didn't know they were referencing Face/Off (as I've never actually seen it). But as it reaired, I began to come around. While not the best Sideshow Bob episode, it's a decent. If I were to point out some specific criticisms, it's that I think at this point in the series, Bob needs some real motivation to attack Bart now. While I'm glad they don't feel the need to run down all of SSB's misdoings, they should provide a new reason for him to get involved in the Simpsons' lives. Also, Bart's solution/prevention isn't that creative. He's foiled Bob in much more impressive ways that call the cops.

Overall, though, the episode is pretty good. The ending with Flanders' relatives moving in is fantastic.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

The Bob Next Door

Okay... This is by far the worst Bob episode in history. The reason for this being that despite referencing Face/Off, it kinda strips the remaining intelligence that Sideshow Bob has, and the uniqueness that he had. See, later Sideshow Bob episodes had Sideshow Bob trying to kill The Simpsons family, then singlehandedly reduced it to killing Bart for like no reason. I don't even know why he has a vendetta against Bart, I mean he did ruin his plan to replace Krusty as host but we've seen Sideshow Bob with Krusty in later episodes and in the earlier episodes he didn't want to kill Bart. So why does he want to kill him now? I mean why go to all the effort to kill Bart in extravagent ways, I mean why doesn't he just shoot him right there and now, why go to all the effort?

Anyways, the plot is what needs the most criticism here. It just shows that these creators care about adding in the most stuff they possibly can within 22 minutes rather then keeping it simple. I mean Sideshow Bob is supposed to be smart to the point where fine arts, personal opinions, feelings and underexpectation of things are supposed to be his downfall. Here he's just smart for the purpose of the plot, which could of had a lot more work done to it. For one, most of the scenes don't seem to fit within a Bob episode, especially the one where "Bob" invites most of Springfield for wi-fi, the one where Marge suddenly appears in Bob's house and the one where Homer orders a taco while yet again misunderstanding another foreign culture.

I also take slight offense to the face switching scene. The first time it's funny but the second time it's just weak and meant to incite shocks in the audience... Yup, you heard me. I mean sure, it's an alright way to enforce the Face/Off parody thing but if you use that same scene again for shock humor then it just shows that the writers are really, really weak. Additionally the confrontation in the Four Corners just feels off, like Sideshow Bob has lost the ruthfulness that he had in the past (Hint: Bob seems to have lost the ability to shoot a gun quickly, nor reasonably shoot somebody important. I mean if you're going to kill somebody in the four corners then you should at least push him down to the ground and shoot him, don't let him jump around while cheap animation accompanies him.) He just seems to be a shell for whatever happens until the end where police officers obviously capture him due to some stupid lampshade reason (The hybrids being tracked by the government is just okay, though it does contradict Sideshow Bob's republicanism.) I expected Bart to like knock down Bart and Walt Warren to assist in knocking him out but I guess I was wrong. Also I really doubt that it would be that easy, I'm guessing the conversation should of gone like this.

BART: Hello, Police...
WIGGUM: Bart? What is it young man?
BART: Listen, I was wondering if you could do me a favor.
WIGGUM: Ah, what kind of favor?
BART: The guy next to me, Walt Warren. I have a feeling that he's Sideshow Bob...
WIGGUM: Yeah (laughs) Him Sideshow Bob, like he actually swaped faces with someone else.
BART: Look, can you just follow him around? I have a pretty strong feeling that it's him.
WIGGUM: Look, you're request is ridiciolous. I mean look at how stupid you're sounding right now.
BART: Please, I mean just think to all the times I caught Bob for you.
(Clancy Wiggum then takes a moment to think.)
WIGGUM: Alright, I'll follow him for you if it'll make you happy. What kind of car does he drive.
BART: Uh, a hybrid... A blue hybrid sedan. Please hurry, I don't know if I'm safe with him.
WIGGUM: Don't worry, we'll follow that car around like Knight Rider.
BART: Ah, thanks a bunch, you have no idea how much debt I owe you.
WIGGUM: I'm pretty sure I'm aware of that.

At least that'd make more sense then the lampshade that we got.

So about the characters. I have to say that Bart was alright in this, he got in some lines that were decent enough to serve the episode. Walt Warren (despite him escaping like an escape artist) was a serviceable guest star and Kelsey Grammar does the best he can with the material he's given, almost having the best lines of the episode. Much of the Simpsons family felt disposable and only served some purpose in scenes involving Bart and his worry about the new neighbor, the rest of the episode we see them in Mexico while Homer orders a Taco. So by reading the above sentence, the only characters that get decent spotlight time is Walt Warren, Bart and Sideshow Bob; all of the others were a waste, including that unfunny waitress lady who's only purpose was to provide the shock value gag.

Speaking of which... Most of the jokes were 50/50, that means they either hit or missed. I have to say that their attempts at recession humor just fall flat, despite the material still being relevant. Much of it just feels one note and they don't really feel much need to go further and deeper with this type of humor; additionally much of the humor involving the Simpsons was only okay, including that bit with the prision and some of Marge's lines. Bart does manage to get in some good lines and Sideshow Bob does manage to bring some funny moments but Bart's good lines need to be weighed in with emotion/fear or else this episode loses most of it's weight.

At the end of the day though, it's just one of the line in Season 21 episodes that just happens to feature Bob. If you don't care about the fact that Bob doesn't feel like himself in these post Season 13 episodes and if you ignore the obvious flaws he does then this is a decent Season 21 episode good for a killing of 21 minutes, but even in that context it still does not live up to previous episodes, even previous Bob episodes.

4.0/10

[gayformoleman]

I gave this episode a 1/5, despite the fact that there were isolated moments that I liked. Like most season 20-22 episodes that I’ve seen, the beginning (especially Homer’s fantasy about cooking the books and fudging the numbers) was pretty good and the ending (with Flanders’ cousin moving into the neighborhood) was alright. In terms of overall quality (characterization, humor, etc), The Bob Next Door wasn’t as appalling as any other 1/5 episode in my book (Greatest Story, Saddlesore, KTAAR, Principal/Pauper, etc). Still, it deserves a 1/5 for the way it bastardized the Bob/Bart dynamic, specifically turning Bart into the victim instead of the hero.

Whereas early Sideshow Bob episodes had Bart as the hero who cleverly outsmarted the self-important villain, this episode had Bart playing the victim until (highly coincidental/improbable) intervening forces rescued him. True, Bart sort of tried foiling Bob by “jumping” between jurisdictions at the very end, but ultimately those intervening forces saved the day.

This episode felt like it was written to be a Sideshow Bob episode rather than a Bart episode. (What did we learn about Bart in this episode? What did Bart’s character accomplish in this episode? How did Bart’s character develop in this episode? I’m drawing blanks on all 3 questions). Personally, I think all Sideshow Bob episodes should really be about Bart. Half the fun of watching classic “Simpsons” as a kid was relating to Bart’s character: e.g. how awesome it would be (in pure theory) to get into the kinds of trouble he got into, such as (*especially* such as) defeating an evil arch-nemesis like Bob. I think the show’s writers understood that as well. They seemed to get that Bart was *the* icon for kids our age back then (not sure to what extent that’s the case now) and that his adventures should play out like 10-year olds’ daydreams. Here, I felt like Bart was really just there to serve the plot. (I could say that about other OFF members’ placements in a lot of other “post-classic” episodes as well). It seemed like the writers simply asked themselves, “Okay, what can we do with Sideshow Bob?” ripped off a (bad) movie’s premise, and filled in the blanks. It seemed like the writers failed to even attempt considering why Sideshow Bob episodes are so legendary in the first place, and this kind of sloppiness can be more irritating than episodes like “Saddlesore Gallactica” and “The Principal and the Pauper,” which, despite butchering the show’s internal logic, at least try to be something.

[The Governor]

If you want to do an ultimate S.B. episode, at least have him be intimidating and involved in a interesting story that doesn't involve seeing the movie they are parodying. How about an episode where Bob takes over the power plant, kidnaps Mr. Burns and Smithers and makes a false threat of if Bart's not turned over in one hour, he'll push the Plant's "Meltdown" switch when there isn't a meltdown switch. The drama would be Bart vs. Springfield, and since the plant is maintained by idiots, they also believe Bob's threat of an intentional meltdown.

Honestly, the "Face off" parody wasn't a complete waste, but the writing staff behind it managed to fuck it up like the way the town fucked up Ned's house in Hurricane Neddy and they expect us to laugh at "The Bob Next Door," unquestionably, despite their good intentions.

[Diversity Pumpkin]

They've done all they can with Bob. I think they realized that when they had him move to Italy, but now he's back in Springfield in a Road Runner-type chase with Bart and/or The Simpsons.

[Chalmskinn]

I like the Face Off reference. An episode with tension and surprises, just the mexico thing is stupid and pointlss.

[Bartesque]

Slightly worse than Funeral For A Fiend, slightly better than Italian Bob.

The face switching was one of the most disgusting things I've seen on the show, and made worse by seeing the face loosen on both Bob and Walt (when around the diner). It simply kills any potential for this episode to be the likeable, tense Bob adventure it wants to be. The highlight: "someone switched your face, with a butt".

4/10

I've actually changed my mind. This is worse than Italian Bob.

3/10.

[irvine_11]

Second best post-classic Bob episode after Day of the Jackanapes.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Why does everyone hate the face scene so much? It's no worse than this scene from Spongebob:

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

I'm used to those scenes in SpongeBob, many of the viewers don't expect this from The Simpsons and aren't used to seeing someone's face being ripped off

[Jesse Pinkman]

most of the people here are teenagers/adults who probably don't watch spongebob anymore, if they ever did. that episode's probably post-movie and i stopped watching a couple years after the movie. so i'm pretty sure people complain about this episode and not that scene from spongebob because most of them probably haven't seen it, or like comicshow molemanbob said, they're probably more used to it from spongebob

[Bartesque]

Why does everyone hate the face scene so much? It's no worse than this scene from Spongebob:
[IMG]http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h332/poochiedawg/spongebobplanktonsregular.png[*/IMG]

Because The Simpsons isn't Spongebob. Well, maybe HD-era Simpsons is trying to be.

But I think the rest of this episode was pretty boring as well.

[HMS pinafore]

I gave this a 3/5?

How drunk was I?

1/5

[J Dog]

1/5.

Worst Bob episode ever. Hell, this episode alone was responsible for me starting that thread whether it should be considered to retire of kill him off.

The face-splicing alone makes it one of the worst episodes ever in my mind. I know I should try and have a more in-depth review, but that and the fact that Bob doesn't even have a line after he gets arrested (which could've helped set up a future ploy) made his a horrible episode.

If we see Bob again, I suppose they'll have to explain that he had his face re-surgically grafted, and it'll probably be done by Dr. Nick, followed by a series of images of Bob's face turning into one of those "dirt faces" Moe referred to at the end of "Pygmoelian" before seeking plastic surgery to fix all those errors.

But, most importantly, this was the biggest waste of using him.

[Cartoonnetwork]

I like Spongebob and I love that kind of grotesque/scary/weird scenes in that series or Ren and Stimpy.

However I despise this kind of scenes in The Simpsons.

It all depends of context.

Spongebob and Ren and Stimpy are like Looney Tunes, very cartoony and unrealistic. You expect these weird things to happen. Also they're funny cause the drawings are exaggerated and well drawn in original ways.

While I'd like to see more cartoony animation in The Simpsons, and by that I mean a little more squash and stretch or Homer's wacky faces like in The Shining I hate when impossible or nasty-looking stuff like that happens. I also hate gags like Homer sucking the blood out of Burns' nose. What kind of sick person would find that funny? All these things look like "gags" made only for shock value humor, and they're not very humorous at all.

Other than that, I think "The Bob Next Door" is a pretty decent episode and it could get a B+ if those scenes had not been included.

[uruguayo]

Excellent from start to finish! 5/5

[The Angry Animated Comedy Nerd]

I have never not liked a Sideshow Bob episode to date... I know that many disagree and that's cool.

And other than the simple fact that peoples faces fell off a bit to much.. I loved it.

For me having SB in an episode turns any kind of script into a good episode... thus far.

[Nebuchanezzar]

i just caught this one for the first time and it was a lot of fun. i haven't seen any "new" episodes for a while but if they're all as good as this one i might start trying to catch them more often.

---

i think people who are getting upset over bob's face falling off are kidding themselves if they don't think this type of stuff belongs on the simpsons. i know it's a sore point for a lot of fans here. that's fine, and although i can't be bothered to do a thorough analysis of violence through the show's history, i'm willing to bet that there's been a fair bit of it historically. i'd be pretty upset if this scene hadn't passed the internal (metaphorical) censor in the writing room though, because it's tame. and it's infrequent. and i laughed at it so i'm glad it was there. i laughed at it before learning that it was (apparently) a reference to "face off" which this episode (apparently) referenced. i haven't seen or heard of that film before.

i think people here have too many boundaries when it comes to this show. the show is better when it doesn't have any limits but, when called into question by its fans, is put back into place by a responsive writing staff (such as occurred post-scully).

[Kid Moe]

[QUOTE=Nebuchanezzar;3032803]I haven't seen any "new" episodes for a while but if they're all as good as this one i might start trying to catch them more often.[QUOTE]

Don't hold your breath. A bunch of them are pretty good, but some of so bad, it seems that every season we get a new worst episode ever. Ever seen "Moe Goes From Rags To Riches" or "Lisa Goes Gaga"? Trust me, you DON'T want to see those.

[Nebuchanezzar]

i remember the gaga one, or i at least remember reading about it. i don't remember it being very good in any case.

i caught another newish one today, where bart owned a cow. that was pretty decent too. these aren't classic quality but on a relaxed viewing they're pretty entertaining. i guess the few episodes that i've seen might not be representative. we'll see.

[Kid Moe]

Yeah, just don't watch "Moe Goe From Rags To Riches". Trust me, you'll thank me later.

[Diversity Pumpkin]

Remember when Sideshow Bob talked like an intelligent person instead of a dumb person writing for an intelligent person.

He makes a fucking reference to Harry Potter. "The greatest murder since Snape killed Dumbledore!" Why did they include this? Because it's a reference to a book and Sideshow Bob likes books?

[kidpresentable]

I like most people, liked it up until the face switching. This was just another over the top Sideshow Bob scheme that i never really cared for. I liked it better when he came up with more plausible realistic schemes. There are certainly weaker Bob episodes, but this one didn't do it for me.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

"What a shitload of fuck!" (Irate Gamer)

-245/10

[Financial Panther]

"What a shitload of fuck!"

…………………………………………………………………………………takes one to know one!

[Nebuchanezzar]

Remember when Sideshow Bob talked like an intelligent person instead of a dumb person writing for an intelligent person.

He makes a fucking reference to Harry Potter. "The greatest murder since Snape killed Dumbledore!" Why did they include this? Because it's a reference to a book and Sideshow Bob likes books?

who cares why they included it. it may have been a slight bit ooc, but they made up for it with him singing that high brow pinafore stuff. also, i was mildly amused by the conversation between bart and bob thereafter, so it was worth it.

if there were a bunch of ooc moments for bob in the episode that didn't have comedic (or what have you) payoff then i'd be genuinely interested to discuss.

[Diversity Pumpkin]

what's your argument, i don't get what you're saying

[Nebuchanezzar]

i'm asking what your argument is.

you were upset with the writing of bob throughout, and listed the harry potter bit as evidence. i found it funny as a throwaway and though it was forgivable. i then asked if there were other moments in the episode, indicative of a poorly written bob, that you could list to back up what you were saying.

[Diversity Pumpkin]

i have a few more examples but they're all funny throwaways so they don't count