One of The Simpsons’ Longest Running Gags May Have Been Seen for the Last Time

The Simpsons has been running for so long that many of its running gags have become part of the fabric of the show. However, even producer Al Jean has grown tired of one of the show’s most iconic repeated moments – the Sideshow Bob rake gag.

Although it is hard to believe, the first time Bob found his face being smushed by the gardening tool was all the way back in Season 5’s brilliant “Cape Feare” episode. After making an appearance in almost every episode that Sideshow Bob has featured in, the gag has recently appeared twice in the space of a week – first in Season 36 episode “The Yellow Lotus” and then twice in the Disney+ short, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” While speaking to Inverse, Jean revealed that although the gag has always been one of his favorites, he won’t personally be using it again. He said:

“I love the joke. [Director] David Silverman wanted to put it in at the end and have Bob say, ‘Tired gag.” So to me, the point of the gag was that we kept repeating it, but that’s the last time I’ll do it. I mean I can’t tell anybody else not to, but I’ve finally had my fill.”

Like many gags in The Simpsons, the sheer volume of comical moments makes it hard to notice when one particular recurring gag goes missing for a while. For this reason, it may be a case that many fans wouldn’t notice if the rake gag was never seen again in a new episode, especially when many people much prefer to revisit older episodes that they believe to be superior to some of the more recent seasons of the 35-year-old series.

Another Long-Running Simpsons Gag Seemed to Be Ending

After more than three decades, it is not surprising that some audiences have begun to find The Simpsons repetitive and past its sell-by date. However, for everyone else, staple jokes such as the rake gag have become an integral part of the world built by Matt Groening over the years. That being said, times change, and for a short while it seemed that another oft-used gag was about to be shelved.

In Season 35, the third episode, entitled “McMansion & Wife” saw Homer seemingly declaring that he would not be seen strangling Bart in future episodes. As one of the constants of the series, Homer’s declaration that “I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed,” made it appear that one of The Simpsons’ controversial moments had finally come to an end. However, in the first episode of Season 36, the tradition proved to have not been consigned to the past, when once again Bart’s eyes were forced to bulge as his loving father throttled him in a nightmare sequence.

Showrunner Matt Selman confirmed subsequently that there had never been any intentions of ending that particular gag, and that Homer’s Season 35 speech was more of a joke in itself than any kind of confirmation that he was done strangling “the boy.” So while we may not see Sideshow Bob taking a rake to the face that often in the future, we will certainly be seeing Homer’s abuse of his son continue for many years to come.

Release Date

December 17, 1989

Seasons

35

Studio

Fox

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