Funeral for a Fiend

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = Funeral for a Fiend
episode_no = 408
prod_code = KABF01
airdate = November 25, 2007
show runner = Al Jean
writer = Michael Price
director = Rob Oliver
guest_star = Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob
David Hyde Pierce as Cecil
John Mahoney as Dr. Robert Terwilliger, Sr.
Keith Olbermann as himself
blackboard =
couch_gag = A magician walks into the empty living room and uses his cape to make the couch and the family appear from thin air.


image_caption= Bob's funeral with his brother Cecil and their father
season = 19

"Funeral for a Fiend" is the eighth episode of "The Simpsons"' nineteenth season and first aired on November 25, 2007. It was written by Michael Price and was directed by Rob Oliver. It features Kelsey Grammer in his tenth appearance as Sideshow Bob, as well as David Hyde Pierce in his second appearance as Cecil Terwilliger. John Mahoney made his first appearance as Dr. Robert Terwilliger, Sr., the father of Bob and Cecil. Keith Olbermann also made a guest appearance as himself.cite news | author = | title = SIDESHOW BOB and family RETURN for the ultimate simpsons revenge on "the simpsons" sunday, NOVEMBER 25, on fox | publisher = The Futon Critic | url = http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20071102fox16| accessdate=2007-11-26]

Plot

Homer goes to Circuit Circus to buy a camera battery, but winds up purchasing a TiVo because the batteries are free with the purchase of a TiVo. The family enjoys using the TiVo to watch TV without the commercials, especially Marge, who happily skips over them. Late one night, Marge dreams of Keith Olbermann accusing her of not watching the commercials that pay for the TV shows, and convinces her to watch them. One such ad is for a new rib restaurant, owned by a cowboy named Wes Doobner. The restaurant is perfectly suited to each member of the family, and they decide to visit it for its grand opening.

When they arrive they find the building deserted, and the door locks behind them. Wes Doobner is revealed to be Sideshow Bob after he speaks, since Lisa recognizes his voice and realizes that "Wes Doobner's World Famous Family Style Rib Huts" is an anagram of "Sideshow Bob's World Famous Family Style Return." After tying the Simpsons up, Bob shows them a slideshow of how he got to Springfield, built the restaurant, and produced the commercial. Sideshow Bob then reveals a large pile of TNT. Bob is going to use a laptop with a defective battery (which will cause it to overheat and explode) as a detonator. While gloating, Bob incorrectly quotes William Shakespeare, and Lisa tells him to look up the correct phrase causing the laptop to explode in Bob's hands. Bob is then arrested and taken to prison.

During Bob's trial, Bob's father, Dr. Robert Terwilliger Sr. is brought to testify. He explains Bob has a rare heart condition, and also suggests that Sideshow Bob's psychosis is because of Bart. This convinces Springfield that Bart is to blame, and they turn against him. Bart, however, tries to tell the town that they are being played by Bob. Bob then takes out a vial labeled nitroglycerin, which Bart snatches and throws out the window, thinking it was an explosive. The vial was actually Bob's heart medication and he collapses on the floor, unconscious, and is pronounced dead.

Attending the funeral includes Bob's entire family: His mother, Dame Judith Underdunk who is a well-known Shakespearian actress; his father, Dr. Robert Terwilleger Sr.; his brother Cecil who was let out of jail for the occasion; his wife Francesca who is now a widow; and his son, Gino. As well, many people of Springfield attend Bob's funeral. Bart shows little remorse for Bob despite Krusty and the rest of Springfield grieving. After Bart speaks to Bob's brother Cecil, he decides to go to the Springfield Funeral Home to make peace with Bob's corpse before it gets cremated; however, Bob leaps out of the coffin, very much alive, and traps Bart in the coffin to be incinerated, all the while gloating about what he was accomplishing. Back at home, Lisa realizes that everything was an elaborate plot put together by Bob's entire family, explaining that his mother, an actress, knew Shakespeare too well for Bob to have misquoted him accidentally and that he must have done so intentionally to get to get caught and go to trial, where he was put in a temporary death-like state with a special drug injection by his father, a doctor (Cecil helped by exploring Bart's guilt and encouraging him to visit the corpse). The Simpsons race to the funeral parlor (but waste time driving in circles around the building ten times for Lisa to finish her explanation of Bob's scheme) and narrowly save Bart from being burned alive by blinding Bob with unclaimed ashes. Bob asks Lisa how she knew of his scheme, and Lisa explains that she was suspicious that Bob's coffin had extra room for his large feet, which the family would not have bothered to put in if Bob was really dead. Bob and his family are arrested and sentenced to prison for 87 years, where Bob daydreams of killing the Simpson family, and laughs maniacally, going completely insane.

Production

The scene where Homer blocks Marge from getting Bart out the coffin, telling her, "He has "got" to get over his fear of coffins," is derived from a deleted scene from "The Simpsons Movie" where Bart is trapped in a sarcophagus. [cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1565538/20070725/story.jhtml|title='Simpsons' Trivia, From Swearing Lisa To 'Burns-Sexual' Smithers|accessdate=2008-08-28|date=2007-07-26|author=Carroll, Larry|publisher=MTV]

Cultural references

*The episode title is a reference to the Elton John song "Funeral for a Friend".
*At the funeral, Krusty sings a parody of "Candle in the Wind".
* When Homer is looking for batteries he sees "Ever-Ready", the brand for Energizer batteries, and then parodies of the name, i.e, Sometimes Ready, Dead Already.
* Marge Simpson, for skipping commercials while watching shows on TiVo, is named Keith Olbermann's Worst Person in the World.
* Marge mentions using TiVo to save "Lost", watch all of "Rome" in a day and get through "Two and a Half Men" in two and a half minutes.
* The family layout in the popular series "Frasier" is repeated in this episode; Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce play brothers in both series, while John Mahoney plays their father.
* After showing The Simpsons family his evil plot, Sideshow Bob says that the commercial gained him position as director of "The Hills Have Eyes 3: The Hills Still Have Eyes".
* Sideshow Bob tries to kill them with the laptop battery that will over-heat and set on fire on top of boxes of TNT. This is a reference to what happened with a number of complaints about over-heating laptop batteries that caused for a whole laptop reclaim program.
*Moe runs behinds the Hibbert's car and watches "Sesame Street" (Big Bird in China) where Derek Jeter guest stars.
* When Sideshow Bob tries to blow up the laptop, Clippit, the paperclip office assistant from "Microsoft Office", appears and states: "I see that you're about to blow up this computer.Mind If I hug my kids?"

Reception

An estimated 9.0 million viewers tuned into the episode.cite web|url=http://www.simpsonschannel.com/cgi-bin/newspro/addons/iSay.cgi?Page=Comments&ID=EEAAZyVZZFpSRHiqnG
title=Funeral for a Fiend|accessdate=2008-01-28|date=2008|publisher=Simpsons Channel] Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 6.2/10, saying "there were some enjoyable scenes, but the half hour lacked in the number of laugh-out-loud moments, and Bob's ultimate scheme wasn't very surprising."cite news | author = Robert Canning | title = The Simpsons: "Funeral for a Fiend" Review | publisher = IGN | date = 2007-11-26 | url = http://tv.ign.com/articles/837/837504p1.html| accessdate=2007-11-26] Richard Keller of tvsquad.com said "While Pierce and Mahoney did have their moments it was all Grammer this episode as a Sideshow Bob coming apart at the seams". He went on to say, "For the most part this week's episode was entertaining. Plus, it also brought a bit of continuity into the show, something that comes and goes on the program."cite web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/11/12/the-simpsons-little-orphan-millie/|title=Little Orphan Millie|accessdate=2008-01-29|author=Keller, Richard|date=2008|publisher=AOL]

References

External links

* [http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/1908.htm "Funeral for a Fiend"] at The Simpsons.com