Brother from Another Series (S08, E16-169)

I'm surprised there was never an episode where Bob tries to kill Wiggum.

Plot Summary
Bart freaks out when seeing Sideshow Bob on the TV during a prison show, but despite that it turns out Bob has reformed during his latest stay in jail, and Reverend Lovejoy has helped Bob enroll in a work release program.  The person willing to help Bob out?  Bob's brother, Cecil, who had been estranged from Bob for some time but is willing to take Bob on for his work.  Though the town is furious over Bob's release, he's able to calm them by explaining that everyone should get a second chance (never mind that Bob's had several already).  Bart, however, is still suspicious.

At Cecil's apartment, Bob learns he'll be supervising the construction of a dam just outside Springfield.  As Bob notes Cecil's rather superior demeanor, he realizes that Cecil is still angry over an incident years ago that led to the estrangement.  Cecil, as it turns out, was a big fan of Krusty the Klown and wanted to be his sidekick since he was 5.  He got his big shot one day, with Bob having driven him to an audition, however Cecil messes it up and as Krusty demonstrates how to do the 'pie gag' right by having one sent Bob's way, Bob's reaction to getting hit is apparently so funny they hire Bob on the spot.  Though Cecil may still be a bit resentful over those events, he's still willing to allow Bob to work for him.

Bob's frustrations quickly mount, however.  The workers Cecil has given Bob to construct the dam are nothing but slack-jawed yokels, and Bart constantly hounds Bob wherever he goes.  Bob catches Bart (along with Lisa) snooping in a dumpster, and takes them home, claiming he won't be held responsible should he catch them again.  Regardless, Bart and Lisa head to the dam to find clues.  Bart finds a suitcase full of money, but just then Bob enters the scene.  The two escape to an inner room of the dam, where they expose Bob's supposed embezzlement.  While Bob claims he hasn't seen that money before, Cecil enters the scene.  He is the one behind the embezzlement, creating a faulty dam that he's going to blow up, which will be blamed on Bob while Cecil walks away with millions of dollars (also he plans to blow up Bob and the kids in the dam).

With the kids now finding themselves unable to foil Cecil's plan, much to Bob's displeasure, he leads the kids to an escape route.  As Bob and Lisa attempt to disarm the bomb, Bart confronts Cecil, causing him to lose his money.  Cecil is able to grab Bart, though, and toss him off the cliff.  Heroically, Bob uses the dynamite as a rope to grab Bart, then cuts the wire to prevent Cecil from activating it.  Bob and Bart fall, but 'land' on a well-placed pipe.  Bart helps Bob off of it onto a nearby stanchion, essentially saving Bob's life, and the two make amends.

The police arrive to arrest Cecil, but Chief Wiggum arrives, and absolutely refuses to believe Bob wasn't responsible, eventually talking his way into having Bob arrested for 'resisting arrest' despite Bob, Lisa, Lou the cop and even Cecil proclaiming Bob's innocence.  In frustration (and on Cecil's clever tip), Bob accidentally yells out that people will pay for this, thereby establishing himself as a villain later on.  The dam does crumble, though the damage remains minimal.  Though Wiggum theorizes that Cecil and Bob could concoct one hell of a scheme in prison, the two merely just bicker.

Quick Review
I thought this episode was interesting already in the voice casting.  Kelsey Grammer, of course, voices Bob, but also plays Frasier Crane in both Cheers and the spinoff Frasier.  In the latter, Frasier's brother is played by David Hyde Pierce who, in this episode, voices Bob's brother Cecil.  To further show the Frasier connection, the first commercial bump featured a quick bit about the show so that the audience could get that, yes, this episode has the Crane brothers from Frasier as the Terwilliger brothers on the Simpsons.  Well, I found that interesting, anyway.

I found that dynamic between the two to be a strength for this episode, as the dry wit shared between the two I found funny from time to time.  Bart's role in the episode, the slack-jawed yokels, and Chief Wiggum's deductive reasoning all help make this episode one of Season 8's best and one of the best Sideshow Bob episodes around.

Final Score: 10