Sideshow Bob Roberts
Yet another in the line of excellent Sideshow Bob episodes. This was from the time when Sideshow bob wasn't primarily obsessed with killing Bart and was on to other things, such as becoming mayor, getting rid of TV and stopping his brother in a nasty scheme. But we'll focus on the time he became mayor.
Written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstien, those two people manage to craft out a plot that seems natural and very ripe. There is very little that seems forced and out of place, every part of that script hits it's marks effectively and the jokes that liter this script are really funny, with only a very small number of them failing. I have to say that seeing Bob fall out into the sea was very funny for me.
A lot of the characters deliver their A-Game. Which means that they're themselves in terms of characters and they're really funny in the jokes and the moment that they bring. I'm surprised by the number of moments Bart, Lisa and Homer deliver as I thought Sideshow Bob was going to be the show-stealing moment of the show (he does get in some best moments though). A lot of the episodes best moments come from them and they really make this episode the memorable episode as it is. Most of the minor characters barely get a word in hinesight but those that do display themselves prominently play their part well and some of them even manage to make memorable moments/memorable lines.
Of course, there are a lot of jokes that aren't delivered by the characters. Even though this is a political satire per say, there are a lot of visual gags and sign gags that manage to make this episode such a hoot. From the scenes in the beginning to the scenes halfway through the episode, they're just about everywhere that you can turn your eyes too. I don't know if I have a favorite but I do say that I did love the republican headquarters, the Dr. Demento bit and the minimum security prision bit... The political satire is also very effective as well; alot of it still resonates years after the episode aired, that's an example of how good it is. The way it shows how politicians play up the comedy role to gain appeal, the way they make the other candidate look like a monster, and the way the republicans appear to be needed in Springfield. As a bonus, the Democrat's here didn't have a headquarters at "Trader Planet's". Nice!
The only thing I didn't like was how the rigged voting was sprung on so suddenly but that's like a minor thing compared to the nicely paced plot, the exceptionally used characters, the funny as hell jokes and the relevancy and memorability of this episode. Even 10 more years from now, people will be talking about this episode both as an exceptional Sideshow Bob episode and as brilliant political satire.
10/10
P.S. Most of the other reviews have pictures on them. I don't know if I'm going to put one up or not but I'm thinking about it. Also it was nice that they revealed Sideshow Bob's real name, greatly appreciated.