It's kinda interesting... Thought I'd share. Lemme know what you think!
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Robert Underdunk Terwilliger
A Case History
As a psychologist, I see all types of people. Many of these people are in serious need of help. Help that, fortunately for them, I can often provide. Every so often, however, I find an incredible challenge in a patient. Some people just have such deeply rooted problems that it can take years to just figure out the magnitude of their troubles. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger is one of those patients.
When Robert “Bob” Underdunk Terwilliger walked into my office, I could see that I had my work cut out for me. I had heard about the man on television. He had committed a number of crimes by the time he came to see me; armed robbery, two counts of attempted murder, terrorism, and election fraud to name a few. I had expected an antisocial personality disorder at the very least. What I began to uncover was much more, however.
First, let me go into Mr. Terwilliger’s past. It is possible that his current condition may be able to be linked to events in his childhood. As a child, Bob was never very popular. Abnormally large feet and uncontrollably wild red hair were easy targets for the cruel heckling of childhood classmates. He was forced to take comfort in books, learning all he could. His parents, poor and usually working to support the family, offered little support. While his parents cared about young Bob, they were rarely around when he needed them. The lack of money in the household resulted in very little for the boy to play with. His parents were able to afford nothing more than a simple slide whistle to stimulate Bob’s apparent musical talent. Bob mastered that slide whistle, but unfortunately was unable to do anything with it. Slide whistle performances rarely create excitement, and his dreams of crowded recitals were swiftly dashed. To add to the trouble, the slide whistle was yet another cause for the neighborhood children to tease Bob. While they all played guitar, drums, saxophone, or other “cool” instruments, Bob was left with his simple whistle.
Bob’s transition to high school was as rough as his childhood. Puberty was not kind to the young man. His feet got bigger, his hair got more out of control, and he remained rather scrawny. Possibly the worst change of all was Bob’s voice. It changed to an oddly deep tone at a very early age, earning him the status of “freak” early on. Names like “Bassy Bob” and “Circus Freak” followed him throughout his early high school years. Once the relative awkwardness of puberty had passed for the majority of the boys in Bob’s class, the taunting about his voice pretty much stopped. Bob gained a bit of confidence then. He even pushed himself to try out for school plays. His deep bass voice made him the perfect leading man for many plays, Shakespearian (as Bob preferred) or musical. Much to Bob’s dismay, however, he always seemed to get cast as the comic relief. While Bob may have had the talent and voice for a leading man, his crazy hair and oversized feet left him no option than to play a clown. Discouraged but not one to quit, Bob resentfully participated in his school productions until graduation.
Bob’s love of studying helped him attend a good college, and he chose to major in both English and theater. He had hoped to get through college quickly and get a job as an actor or a writer. Unfortunately, his college experiences were quite similar to his high school experiences. He never did get a leading role in college. He did manage to get in the spotlight a few times, however. He wrote his own monologues and performed them. The public did not receive his intellectual writing as well as he had hoped, and most reviews were quite bad. Bob attributed this to the public’s collective lack of intellect. He believed that his intelligence far surpassed those who did not appreciate what he created.
After college, Bob met Herschel Shlomo Krustofsky. Bob and Herschel formed a two man comedy team, and began to become quite popular. Bob’s skill for writing slapstick comedy paled in comparison to that of Herschel, so he gradually became more of a sidekick than a partner. He was often the butt of Herschel’s jokes and physical gags. After a few years of developing their act (or Herschel’s act, rather) they managed to start the “Krusty the Clown” television show. Herschel, of course, became Krusty the Clown. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger then became known as “Sideshow Bob”.
Bob continued to go on as Sideshow Bob for years; all the while his resentment for Herschel grew. On the show, he walked around in nothing but a grass skirt and a bone necklace. Not permitted to speak, he had only his slide whistle with which to communicate. Bob’s levels of confidence and self esteem dropped drastically during his time as Sideshow Bob. It was at this point in his life that his psychological issues began to manifest themselves.
It seems as though Bob had developed a dysthymic disorder. He became sad and depressed. He lost all interest in his work (especially since his work seemed to be the cause of his distress). Most noticeably, he became irritable and angry at times. This feeling of unrest and irritability caused Bob to commit his first crime. Bob held up the Springfield Quick-E-Mart at gunpoint. He committed this crime dressed as Krusty the Clown in an effort to frame Herschel for the crime. He attempted to take over the television show (making it more intellectually based). He nearly got away with the crime. Bart Simpson, a 10 year old boy from Springfield, managed to uncover Bob’s plot and clear Herschel’s name.
From the time Bart exposed Bob as a criminal, Bob has had an obsession with getting his revenge. He calmly and peacefully waited out his prison sentence, only to attempt to get close to Bart and his family. Close enough to get revenge on the boy who ruined his plot and sent him to jail (the “Die Bart, die” tattoo on his chest shows just how obsessed he became). Bob became acquainted with Bart’s aunt Selma through a prison penpal program, and married her upon his release. He then tried to kill Selma for her money. Bart foils this plan again, increasing Bob’s hatred of him.
When Bob is released from jail a second time, he once again goes after Bart. Bart and his family enter a witness protection program, but Bob manages to find them anyway. When Bob has Bart cornered, and is about to kill him, Bart convinces Bob to sing an entire musical. This gave the police time to arrive and arrest him.
Bob, though not overly concerned with his appearance, seems to think quite highly of his own abilities. He also seems to put himself over others, thinking he is far superior. This seems to suggest a narcissistic personality disorder. This psychological problem is what helped Bart bring Bob to justice.
As I have mentioned before, Bob seems to quite obviously have an antisocial personality disorder. He has exhibited poor judgment in the numerous times he has attempted to murder Bart Simpson. His attempts always seem to fail, yet he tries again and again. He has shown that he can frame his friends, attempt to murder his lovers, and wish death upon children without feeling remorse. He is extremely egocentric, and seems to show a lack of responsiveness to emotion.
I believe that Bob’s overburdened parents may have influenced the emergence of this disorder. The ridicule Bob endured all throughout his school years may have caused him to withdraw further, cultivating the disorder even more. Finally, his humiliating experiences with Herschel most likely pushed him over the edge, allowing his disorder to fully manifest itself.
Bob will need years of therapy to learn to deal with his problems. However, I believe he can be taught to accept other people, and not see himself as superior. In this way, his feelings of inferiority when put in less-than-desirable situations will diminish.
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Robert Underdunk Terwilliger
A Case History
As a psychologist, I see all types of people. Many of these people are in serious need of help. Help that, fortunately for them, I can often provide. Every so often, however, I find an incredible challenge in a patient. Some people just have such deeply rooted problems that it can take years to just figure out the magnitude of their troubles. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger is one of those patients.
When Robert “Bob” Underdunk Terwilliger walked into my office, I could see that I had my work cut out for me. I had heard about the man on television. He had committed a number of crimes by the time he came to see me; armed robbery, two counts of attempted murder, terrorism, and election fraud to name a few. I had expected an antisocial personality disorder at the very least. What I began to uncover was much more, however.
First, let me go into Mr. Terwilliger’s past. It is possible that his current condition may be able to be linked to events in his childhood. As a child, Bob was never very popular. Abnormally large feet and uncontrollably wild red hair were easy targets for the cruel heckling of childhood classmates. He was forced to take comfort in books, learning all he could. His parents, poor and usually working to support the family, offered little support. While his parents cared about young Bob, they were rarely around when he needed them. The lack of money in the household resulted in very little for the boy to play with. His parents were able to afford nothing more than a simple slide whistle to stimulate Bob’s apparent musical talent. Bob mastered that slide whistle, but unfortunately was unable to do anything with it. Slide whistle performances rarely create excitement, and his dreams of crowded recitals were swiftly dashed. To add to the trouble, the slide whistle was yet another cause for the neighborhood children to tease Bob. While they all played guitar, drums, saxophone, or other “cool” instruments, Bob was left with his simple whistle.
Bob’s transition to high school was as rough as his childhood. Puberty was not kind to the young man. His feet got bigger, his hair got more out of control, and he remained rather scrawny. Possibly the worst change of all was Bob’s voice. It changed to an oddly deep tone at a very early age, earning him the status of “freak” early on. Names like “Bassy Bob” and “Circus Freak” followed him throughout his early high school years. Once the relative awkwardness of puberty had passed for the majority of the boys in Bob’s class, the taunting about his voice pretty much stopped. Bob gained a bit of confidence then. He even pushed himself to try out for school plays. His deep bass voice made him the perfect leading man for many plays, Shakespearian (as Bob preferred) or musical. Much to Bob’s dismay, however, he always seemed to get cast as the comic relief. While Bob may have had the talent and voice for a leading man, his crazy hair and oversized feet left him no option than to play a clown. Discouraged but not one to quit, Bob resentfully participated in his school productions until graduation.
Bob’s love of studying helped him attend a good college, and he chose to major in both English and theater. He had hoped to get through college quickly and get a job as an actor or a writer. Unfortunately, his college experiences were quite similar to his high school experiences. He never did get a leading role in college. He did manage to get in the spotlight a few times, however. He wrote his own monologues and performed them. The public did not receive his intellectual writing as well as he had hoped, and most reviews were quite bad. Bob attributed this to the public’s collective lack of intellect. He believed that his intelligence far surpassed those who did not appreciate what he created.
After college, Bob met Herschel Shlomo Krustofsky. Bob and Herschel formed a two man comedy team, and began to become quite popular. Bob’s skill for writing slapstick comedy paled in comparison to that of Herschel, so he gradually became more of a sidekick than a partner. He was often the butt of Herschel’s jokes and physical gags. After a few years of developing their act (or Herschel’s act, rather) they managed to start the “Krusty the Clown” television show. Herschel, of course, became Krusty the Clown. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger then became known as “Sideshow Bob”.
Bob continued to go on as Sideshow Bob for years; all the while his resentment for Herschel grew. On the show, he walked around in nothing but a grass skirt and a bone necklace. Not permitted to speak, he had only his slide whistle with which to communicate. Bob’s levels of confidence and self esteem dropped drastically during his time as Sideshow Bob. It was at this point in his life that his psychological issues began to manifest themselves.
It seems as though Bob had developed a dysthymic disorder. He became sad and depressed. He lost all interest in his work (especially since his work seemed to be the cause of his distress). Most noticeably, he became irritable and angry at times. This feeling of unrest and irritability caused Bob to commit his first crime. Bob held up the Springfield Quick-E-Mart at gunpoint. He committed this crime dressed as Krusty the Clown in an effort to frame Herschel for the crime. He attempted to take over the television show (making it more intellectually based). He nearly got away with the crime. Bart Simpson, a 10 year old boy from Springfield, managed to uncover Bob’s plot and clear Herschel’s name.
From the time Bart exposed Bob as a criminal, Bob has had an obsession with getting his revenge. He calmly and peacefully waited out his prison sentence, only to attempt to get close to Bart and his family. Close enough to get revenge on the boy who ruined his plot and sent him to jail (the “Die Bart, die” tattoo on his chest shows just how obsessed he became). Bob became acquainted with Bart’s aunt Selma through a prison penpal program, and married her upon his release. He then tried to kill Selma for her money. Bart foils this plan again, increasing Bob’s hatred of him.
When Bob is released from jail a second time, he once again goes after Bart. Bart and his family enter a witness protection program, but Bob manages to find them anyway. When Bob has Bart cornered, and is about to kill him, Bart convinces Bob to sing an entire musical. This gave the police time to arrive and arrest him.
Bob, though not overly concerned with his appearance, seems to think quite highly of his own abilities. He also seems to put himself over others, thinking he is far superior. This seems to suggest a narcissistic personality disorder. This psychological problem is what helped Bart bring Bob to justice.
As I have mentioned before, Bob seems to quite obviously have an antisocial personality disorder. He has exhibited poor judgment in the numerous times he has attempted to murder Bart Simpson. His attempts always seem to fail, yet he tries again and again. He has shown that he can frame his friends, attempt to murder his lovers, and wish death upon children without feeling remorse. He is extremely egocentric, and seems to show a lack of responsiveness to emotion.
I believe that Bob’s overburdened parents may have influenced the emergence of this disorder. The ridicule Bob endured all throughout his school years may have caused him to withdraw further, cultivating the disorder even more. Finally, his humiliating experiences with Herschel most likely pushed him over the edge, allowing his disorder to fully manifest itself.
Bob will need years of therapy to learn to deal with his problems. However, I believe he can be taught to accept other people, and not see himself as superior. In this way, his feelings of inferiority when put in less-than-desirable situations will diminish.
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