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The Simpsons episode
"Black Widower"
Sideshow Bob & Selma drive to the hotel after their marriage
Episode no.	56
Prod. code	8F20
Orig. Airdate	April 9, 1992
Show Runner(s)	Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Written by	Jon Vitti
Directed by	David Silverman
Chalkboard	"Funny noises are not funny. Funny noises are not' at cutoff."
Couch gag	Two thieves (complete with striped shirts and masks) are carting the couch away. The family leap onto the couch, but the thieves dump OFF onto the floor and continue on their way.
Guest star	Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob
DVD commentary by	Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Julie Kavner Jon Vitti David Silverman
Season 3 September 19, 1991 – August 27, 1992
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?
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Black Widower" is the 21st episode of The Simpsons' third season.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 How Bart Figured Out The Trap 3 Trivia 4 Cultural references 5 External links

The Simpsons are set to have dinner with Aunt Selma and her new boyfriend, who they are forewarned is an ex-con; the man who arrives on Selma's arm is Bart's archenemy Sideshow Bob. During dinner, he relates the story of his time spent languishing at the Springfield prison: the cells are overcrowded, and his chapstick is co-opted; he wins an Emmy, which is confiscated ("awards for excellence in entertainment are contraband"). He spent much time seething with desire to exact revenge on Bart, but after receiving Selma's response to his Prison Pen Pal ad, he is inspired to become a model prisoner and earns his release. Bob's tale of supposedly turning over a new leaf wins over the family, save Bart, who remains suspicious. Bob thanks Bart for putting him on the path which led him to Selma, and surprises the family by asking Selma to marry him. She eagerly accepts.

Sideshow Bob makes an appearance in a Krusty the Clown telethon and makes amends; Marge encourages Bart to be as forgiving as Krusty, but he refuses to believe Bob has changed. When Selma discovers that Sideshow Bob detests her beloved McGyver and cannot hide his hatred, it's nearly a deal-breaker, but Homer explains his solution for his and Marge's dissonant tastes in television: when Marge watches her non-violent programs, Homer goes out for drinks and returns "in the mood for love." Bob agrees to take a "vigorous constitutional" whenever Selma watches McGuyver.

Most of Springfield appears to be in attendance at Selma and Bob's wedding, including derelict Police Chief Wiggum. Selma takes to videotaping her honeymoon with Bob, including his tirade over the omission of the hotelroom fire place he had requested. She retires one evening to watch McGuyver in their suite, and as Bob is downstairs having a drink, we see their hotel room explode behind him. Bob feigns a frantic phonecall to the front desk about the "accident."

Sideshow bob makes his way back to the room to survey the damage, only to find Bart, very much alive, awaiting him. We discover that Selma too is unscathed, Bart having saved her life at the very last. Bob is apprehended by police, vowing to return as soon as the the Democrats are back in power. Everyone thanks Bart for not losing his mistrust of Sideshow Bob.

• In Selma's video, Bob was eager to have a fireplace in their room. Bart noticed the gas tap. Selma didn't smell the gas as she had lost her senses of smell and taste due to a bottle rocket accident as a child.
• Selma promised at the wedding that she'll give up smoking except for after meals and after MacGyver. The spark from a match was enough to make the room explode.
• The explosion that Bob later heard was Chief Wiggum tossing his cigar behind him.

• This is the second (speaking) appearance of Sideshow Bob.
• Sideshow Bob drives a late 1980s model Mercury Cougar
• This is the first time Snake's name is heard.
• The groan Bob makes when Selma wants him to give her a foot rub is the same one used in every Sideshow Bob episode after this.
• When Sideshow Bob speaks French he says "son pied sent il beau", which translates to "(his/her) foot smells it lovely". The correct translation of "her foot smells lovely" is "son pied sent bon".
• When Sideshow Bob speaks Spanish he says "Voy a matar a usted", which he says means "I am going to kill you". However, that particular phrase is a literal translation of "I am going to kill to you". The grammatically correct translation would be "Voy a matarla".

• The episode begins with a parody of the show Dinosaurs.
• Bob wins a Daytime Emmy Award.
• In Selma's letters to Sideshow Bob, she refers to him as number 24601, the same number assigned to Jean Valjean in the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.
• Bob's line, "Snake, I'm going to miss you most of all," refers to a line in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy says she'll miss The Scarecrow before leaving Oz.
• Bart's line, "Fiddle-dee-dee. Tomorrow's another day," refers to a line in Gone with the Wind.
• The languages Bob claims to be speaking to Selma are French, Sanskrit, and Spanish.
• Krusty and Bob's reunion is a reference to the way Frank Sinatra tried to reunite Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.
• When Homer says "To the Simpson-Mobile" before going to the hotel, it is a reference to the old Batman Series with Adam West.
• The cartoon of Krusty hung over the stage during the telethon is a parody of Al Hirschfeld's work.
• The sequence at the end with Bart explaining how he foiled Sideshow Bob's plan is a reference to the classic Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? cartoons, complete with the lame joke at the end ("Now let's get out of this gas-filled hallway before we all suffocate!")

• "Black Widower" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive