| "Sideshow Bob Roberts" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland |
| Written by | Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein |
| Production code | 2F02 |
| Original air date | October 9, 1994 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
| Episode features | |
| Couch gag | Five pairs of eyes float in the air, before being reunited with the Simpsons' bodies. (original airing) |
| Commentary | Matt Groening David Mirkin Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein |
"Sideshow Bob Roberts" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 9, 1994.[1] Kelsey Grammer returns in his fourth major appearance as Sideshow Bob, who, in this episode, wins the Springfield mayoral election through electoral fraud to get revenge on Bart. The episode received a favorable reception in the media, including a positive mention in I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide and Green Bay Press-Gazette. A review in Press & Sun-Bulletin placed the episode as the seventh best of the series.
The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein and directed by Mark Kirkland. Oakley and Weinstein drew inspiration for the episode from the Watergate scandal, and included many cultural references to political films and real-life events, among them All the President's Men and the 1960 United States presidential debates between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. It marks the debut of Birch Barlow.