Sideshow Bob returned to Springfield and this time he brought his whole family. Last Sunday’s episode, "Funeral for a Fiend," featured the entire Terwilliger family. The reappearance of his brother Cecil, along with Bob’s father, mother, wife and son, helped this give this episode a little oomph.

The episode begins with Homer’s purchase of a TiVo. The Simpson family embraces television without commercials until Marge begins feeling guilty and decides to watch nothing but the commercials she has been skipping. The family sees a commercial for a new restaurant that promises to please the entire family. Upon arriving, they discover that it was all a master plan by Sideshow Bob to lure them to their deaths.

While the intro was a bit shaky, it eventually got to the meat of the plot and Sideshow Bob was able to put his plan into action. Unfortunately Lisa foils his attempt and Bob is taken away once again.

At the trial, we meet Bob’s family. His wife Francesca, and his son, Gino, join Bob’s mother, Dame Judith Underdunk. His father, Dr Robert Terwilliger Sr., (voiced by John Mahoney) testifies as an expert witness on his son’s behalf. He states that Bob had a serious heart condition growing up and claims that he was mild mannered until Bart began to torment him. The courtroom is filled with citizens that Bart has wronged in one way or another and he is soon blamed for Sideshow Bob’s mental state. As Bart tries to defend himself, Bob grows agitated and produces a vial of nitroglycerin. Bart nabs the vial thinking that he’s saving the town when in fact it was Bob’s medication. Bob collapses and is pronounced dead.

The town quickly turns against Bart and blames him for the death of Sideshow Bob. Bart refuses to feel guilty until Bob’s brother Cecil (David Hyde Pierce) convinces him that he should pay his respects to Bob before the cremation. Bart rushes to the funeral home where a not-so-dead Sideshow Bob traps him. The entire Terwilliger family pitched in to help with this scheme, but is soon stopped once again by Lisa. Homer throwing "hobo ashes" into Bob’s face as a distraction was one of the funnier moments in the show for me.

This was Kelsey Grammer’s tenth time to lend his voice to Sideshow Bob and allow him to wreak havoc on Springfield. It was exciting to have him back along with his brother Cecil. Having John Mahoney play their father Robert Sr. was a fun twist and brought back fond memories of Frasier. While the episode was not the best Simpson’s ever, it was definitely not the worst. The feeling of being rushed through the plot was there, but I think the solid storyline helped distract from that.

The next episode of The Simpsons, "Homer of Seville," airs December 2^nd