"Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. The title is a reference to the 1977 film Twilight's Last Gleaming, which featured a similar plot about nuclear blackmail. Al Jean (left) and David Mirkin (right), have both been writers for The Simpsons for more than ten years. ... Spike Feresten is an American television writer and personality. ... The three people are caricatures of (left to right) Rich Moore, Wes Archer and David Silverman[1] The following is a list of directors who have worked on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Dominic Polcino is an animation director who has worked on The Simpsons, Mission Hill, King of the Hill and Family Guy. ... Bart writes The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan The chalkboard gag is a running visual joke that occurs during the opening credits of many episodes of The Simpsons. ... The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... (left to right) Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Homer, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Brian Setzer guest starred in the heavily promoted season 14 episode How I Spent My Strummer Vacation. This is a list of guest stars who appeared on The Simpsons. ... Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955 in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) is a six-time Emmy and a two-time Golden Globe-winning American actor who is best known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane, whom he played for nine years on Cheers... Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known by his stage name Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. ... Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor and later Golden Globe-nominated actor, often playing the roles of authority figures, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning and Sheriff Hoyt... The Simpsons DVD season boxsets have been released since 2001 in different regions all over the world. ... Bill Oakley (born in 1966) is an American televison writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. ... This article is about The Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein. ... Dominic Polcino is an animation director who has worked on The Simpsons, Mission Hill, King of the Hill and Family Guy. ... The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Who Shot Mr. ... Radioactive Man is the second episode of The Simpsons seventh season which originally aired September 24, 1995. ... Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily is the third episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired October 1, 1995. ... Bart Sells His Soul is the fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Lisa the Vegetarian is the fifth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Treehouse of Horror VI is the sixth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, as well as the sixth Halloween episode. ... King-Size Homer is the seventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired on November 5, 1995. ... Mother Simpson is the eighth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular is the tenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, and is, as the title suggests, the 138th episode. ... Marge Be Not Proud is the 11th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Team Homer is the 12th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Two Bad Neighbors is the 13th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, first aired on February 4, 1996. ... Bart the Fink is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Lisa the Iconoclast is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, and is probably the most important episode for Jebediah Springfield since The Telltale Head. The episodes plot bears a striking resemblance to the short story The Washingtonians by Bentley Little. ... Homer the Smithers is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired February 25, 1996. ... The Day the Violence Died is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... A Fish Called Selma is an episode of The Simpsons from season seven. ... Bart on the Road is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... 22 Short Films About Springfield is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons seventh season, airing on April 21, 1996. ... Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in The Curse of the Flying Hellfish is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Much Apu About Nothing is the 23rd episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Homerpalooza is the twenty-fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and originally aired on May 19, 1996 as part of the season finale. ... Summer of 4 Ft. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... The Simpsons Season 1 DVD Digipak. ... The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 1990 and July 1991, beginning on October 11, 1990. ... The Simpsons Season 3 DVD. The Simpsons 3rd season (September 1991 – May 1992) began on September 19, 1991. ... The Simpsons Season 4 Digipak The Simpsons fourth season originally aired between September 1992 and May 1993, beginning on September 24, 1992. ... The Simpsons Season 5 DVD Digipak. ... The standard Season 6 DVD box. ... The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. ... The Simpsons Season 8 DVD Digipak. ... The Simpsons Season 9 DVD Digipak. ... The Simpsons tenth season originally aired between August 1998 and May 1999, beginning on Sunday, August 23, 1998. ... The Simpsons 11th season (September 1999 - May 2000) began on Sunday, September 26, 1999 with Beyond Blunderdome. ... The Simpsons 12th season (November 2000 - May 2001) began on Sunday, November 1, 2000 with Treehouse of Horror XI. The season contains three hold-over episodes from the season 11 (BABF) production line. ... The Simpsons 13th season (November 2001 - May 2002) began on Tuesday, November 6, 2001 with Treehouse of Horror XII. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 12 (CABF) production line. ... The Simpsons 14th season (November 2002 - May 2003) began on Sunday, November 3, 2002 with Treehouse of Horror XIII. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 13 (DABF) production line. ... The Simpsons 15th season (November 2003 - May 2004) began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with Treehouse of Horror XIV. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 (EABF) production line. ... The Simpsons 16th season (November 2004 - May 2005) began on Sunday, November 7, 2004 with Treehouse of Horror XV. The season contains six hold-over episodes from the season 15 (FABF) production line. ... The Simpsons celebrate Labor Day in this promotional artwork for the series 17th season. ... The Simpsons 18th season (2006 - 2007) began on Fox on September 10, 2006[1] and ended on May 20, 2007. ... The Simpsons 19th season (2007 - 2008) began airing on Fox on September 23, 2007. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Twilights Last Gleaming is the story of Lawrence Dell, a renegade USAF general, who escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to launch the misslies and start World War III unless the President revels the real reason why America fought in... Nuclear blackmail is a term used in nuclear strategy to refer to the threat of use of nuclear weapons to force an adversary to perform some action, hence a type of extortion. ...

Plot

At Springwood Minimum Security Prison, Sideshow Bob is disturbed when he hears the other inmates laughing at the inane antics of Krusty the Klown's TV show. The embittered ex-TV star begins to defame that and other 'trash TV' shows, all of which he sees as "mindless drivel". While on work duty at a local Air Force Base (which is being cleaned for an annual air show), the quality of television programming eats at Bob's mind, and he hatches a plan. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known by his stage name Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. ... Krusty the Clown, or Herschel Schmoikel Krustofski (full name: Herschel Pinkes Remochel Krustofski), is a fictional character in the cartoon The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ... A WNYW-TV full screen segment intro from 2005. ...

While everyone in town is waiting for the air show to begin, Bob impersonates an Air Force colonel in order to gain access to a restricted area of the hangar, where he finds a 10-megaton nuclear weapon. The show begins, but the signal on the giant-screen television is interrupted by Sideshow Bob. Bob announces that life would be better without television and so he threatens to detonate the nuclear bomb unless Springfield gives in to his demand to shut down all television broadcasts. The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ...

Upon hearing the announcement, everyone flees the airfield in panic except for Bart and Lisa, who get separated from their parents during the crowd's mad rush to evacuate. National Guardsmen frantically search the base for Sideshow Bob to no avail, and all out of options, Mayor Quimby decides to give in to Bob's ultimatum — despite Krusty's objections. In accordance with Bob's demands, TV transmitters are destroyed and studios hastily plan farewell programs. Bob, who was televising his demands from a stolen Duff Blimp, gleefully celebrates the success of his plan. For the comic book series of the same name, see Bart Simpson comics. ... Lisa Marie Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Yeardley Smith; Lisa is the only character Smith voices on a regular basis. ...

Krusty, determined not to give in, takes refuge in a civil defense shed. After turning on the transmitter, he heavily improvises a show, which he claims will run "8... no, 12" hours-a-day. Bob finds out about this and becomes outraged - "Not even a mere atom bomb can fell the Chattering Cyclops!" (Television) Congressman Herschel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofski (Hebrew: הרשל שמויקל פינקוס ירוחם קרסטופסקי, born c. ... The old United States civil defense logo. ...

Bart and Lisa find their way into the cockpit of the Duff Blimp, where Bob, having lost his patience, tries to detonate the bomb. However, the bomb turns out to be a dud and does not blow up. The police eventually find Bob, thanks to Lisa, who uses the controls inside the blimp to print a message on its giant electronic ticker outside. When Chief Wiggum tries to arrest Bob, Bob deflates the blimp and takes Bart hostage. Once there, he steals the original Wright Brothers aircraft, which had been an exhibit at the air show. He then reveals to Bart that he plans to crash the plane into the civil defense shed where Krusty is hiding. However, the plane ends up merely bouncing harmlessly off the shack's roof. The authorities quickly tackle Bob and take him into custody. Police Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Hank Azaria. ... The Wright Flyer (often retrospectively referred to as Flyer I and occasionally Kitty Hawk) was the first powered aircraft designed and built by the Wright brothers. ...

Production

In producing this episode, Kelsey Grammer required several takes to complete the line regarding Chuck Yeager's Acura when his character was impersonating Col. Hap Hapablap, because he found it difficult to contain his laughter.^[1] Charles Elwood Chuck Yeager (born February 13, 1923) is a retired Brigadier General in the United States Air Force and a noted test pilot. ... Acura (Japanese: アキュラ, Akyura) is the luxury vehicle brand of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. ...

The episode was due to air on BBC Two on 14 September 2001, but was replaced with another due to its perceived insensitivity towards the then-recent September 11^th attacks (Sideshow Bob plans to kill Krusty by crashing the Wright Brothers plane into his shack).^{[citation needed]} For the BBC radio station, see BBC Radio 2. ... is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... The Wright brothers, Orville (19 August 1871 – 30 January 1948) and Wilbur (16 April 1867 – 30 May 1912), were two Americans who are generally credited[1][2][3] with inventing and building the worlds first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human...

Trivia

• When Kent Brockman gives his farewell broadcast to the television audience, he states one of the events that brought him closer the audience was a story about dogs mistakenly issued major credit cards. This was later used in 8th season episode The Canine Mutiny
• A quick scene when Homer leans out to catch Bart from the Wright Brothers plane, Marge's pearl necklace is white instead of red.

Kenton Kent Brockman, (nee Brockelstein), is a recurring fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... The Canine Mutiny is an episode from the eighth season of The Simpsons. ...

Cultural references

Doctor Who in his fourth incarnation while appearing on this episode.

• The slopstacle shown on the Krusty the Clown Show is similar to the Sundae Slide that appeared in some episodes of the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare. Additionally, Nickelodeon came under fire in 1989, for using canned food donations for Double Dare's slopstacle course, similar to what Krusty does.

• When Bob is berating the TV network responsible for Krusty the Clown, he encounters another prisoner who angrily declares "that's enough now. I own 60% of that network." The man looks and sounds almost exactly like Fox Network owner Rupert Murdoch. He later says "I suppose you don't like tabloid newspapers either", a reference to Murdochs News Corporation's numerous tabloid holdings.

• The Colonel describes the "British-made Harrier Jump Jet" as the pride of the United States Air Force. It actually serves with the USMC as well as the RAF and others and the AV-8B model was re-designed and built by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing).

• A number of scenes in this episode parody those of films involving nuclear scares. One such film is the 1964 Cold War thriller Fail-Safe by Sidney Lumet: At the beginning of the third act of the episode, we see scenes of everyday life across Springfield, and one by one, with a "zooming" sound effect, they all freeze-frame in anticipation of the (supposedly) imminent nuclear blast; Such was the ending of Fail-Safe.

• One of the scenes before the supposed nuclear blast shows Maggie picking flowers in a field, with the camera zooming into her eye, and then the minuscule blast occurs. This is a parody of the infamous and controversial Daisy ad in the 1964 U.S. presidential election campaign.

• There were also several references to Dr. Strangelove: The underground compound resembles the War Room from the film, and Professor Frink parodies the title character; The tune that Sideshow Bob whistles while preparing the bomb is "We'll Meet Again," as sung by Vera Lynn at the end of the film; Also, Krusty's line that "the survivors would envy the dead" is similar to a line spoken by one of the generals in the War Room in reference to living in a post-apocalyptic world.

• Tom Baker arrives in character as the Doctor (from Doctor Who), as part of a delegation of "esteemed TV representatives". Other representatives include Krusty the Clown, Bumblebee Man, Kent Brockman and Steve Urkel. The "High Flight" sonnet quoted by the purportedly American Air Force general is actually more affiliated with the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is a similar jab to the British-made Harrier joke.

• Col. Leslie "Hap" Hapablap (voiced by R. Lee Ermey) says, "What is your major malfunction?" to Sideshow Bob, which is a line delivered by Ermey's character in another Stanley Kubrick war movie, Full Metal Jacket. Col. Hapablap also exclaims, "What in the World According to Garp?", which is a reference to the famous John Irving novel and film adaptation, "The World According to Garp".

• Sideshow Bob laments hearing the The Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane" at the airshow. Later, the song plays during the Harrier flyby. It is also plays during the last boss battle in The Simpsons Game.

• While searching for Sideshow Bob, one of the soldiers checks inside a hangar numbered 18, which has an alien in it. This is a reference to the 1980 movie Hangar 18

Image File history File links Simpsons_Doctor_Who. ... Image File history File links Simpsons_Doctor_Who. ... This article refers to the childrens game show. ... This article is about the TV channel. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company is a television network in the United States. ... Keith Rupert Murdoch AC, KCSG (born 11 March 1931) is an Australian born United States citizen who is a global media executive and is the controlling shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation, based in New York. ... A tabloid is a newspaper — especially in the United Kingdom — that uses the tabloid format, which is roughly 23½ by 14¾ inches per spread. ... 1211 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), where News Corporation is based News Corporation (abbreviated to News Corp) (NYSE: NWS, NYSE: NWSa, ASX: , LSE: NCRA) is an American media conglomerate company and the third worlds largest. ... The Harrier Jump Jet, often referred to as just Harrier or the Jump Jet, is a British invented military jet aircraft capable of Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) via thrust vectoring. ... USAF redirects here. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... See also Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Harrier II is a second generation, vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) light_attack jet aircraft used by the United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force, Spanish Armada and Italian navy. ... DC-10, retired from American Airlines fleet at gate McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661) is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by William Edward Boeing. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Fail-Safe is a 1964 film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1962 novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. ... Portrait of Sidney Lumet, May 7, 1939. ... For nuclear detonations, see nuclear explosion. ... Daisy, sometimes known as Daisy Girl or Peace Little Girl, is a famous campaign television advertisement. ... Strangelove redirects here. ... Well Meet Again is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music written by Ross Parker and words by Hughie Charles. ... Dame Vera Lynn DBE (born 20 March 1917) is a retired British singer whose career flourished during World War II, when she was nicknamed The Forces Sweetheart. She is best known for the popular songs Well Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover. Lynn is one of the... Congressman Herschel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofski (Hebrew: הרשל שמויקל פינקוס ירוחם קרסטופסקי, born c. ... This page is about the video game; for the documentary film, see The War Room. ... For other persons named Tom Baker, see Tom Baker (disambiguation). ... This article is about the television series. ... Krusty redirects here. ... Bumblebee Man is a fictional character in the animated television show The Simpsons. ... Kenton Kent Brockman, (nee Brockelstein), is a recurring fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... Steven Quincy Urkel (born 1976[1]), better known as Steve Urkel (portrayed by Jaleel White) was the breakout character on the 1990s sitcom Family Matters. ... Harrier can mean: Harrier vertical take-off and landing fighter/attack aircraft and derivatives: Hawker-Siddeley Harrier - 1st generation Harrier BAE Sea Harrier - Maritime strike/air defence fighter AV-8 Harrier II - 2nd generation Harrier BAE Harrier II - 2nd generation Harrier used by the UK Harrier (dog) Harrier (bird), several... Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor and later Golden Globe-nominated actor, often playing the roles of authority figures, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning and Sheriff Hoyt... Kubrick redirects here. ... For the type of ammunition, see Full metal jacket bullet. ... John Winslow Irving (born March 2, 1942 as John Wallace Blunt, Jr. ... The World According to Garp book cover The World According to Garp is a novel by John Irving. ... For other bands named The Scorpions or other meanings of scorpion, see scorpion. ... Rock You Like a Hurricane is one of the most famous songs by German hard rock/heavy metal band Scorpions. ... The Simpsons Game is a video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons. ... Hangar 18 may refer to a hangar at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base which allegedly houses evidence from the Roswell UFO incident. ...

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