Shary Bobbins

Shary Bobbins
Gender/Sex
Status
Hair Color	Brown
Occupation	Nanny for The Simpson family (Former)
Relations	Ex-fiancé: Groundskeeper Willie
First episode appearance	Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
Portrayed by	Maggie Roswell

"I've been singing you songs all day; I'm not a bloody jukebox!"

―Shary Bobbins

Shary Bobbins was the Simpson family's magical nanny and the former fiancé of Groundskeeper Willie.

History

After discovering that she is losing hair at an alarming rate, Marge Simpson decides to hire a nanny who can help relieve her of some chores. They start interviewing several candidates, but none of them are right for the job. Bart and Lisa sing a song about what they would consider the perfect nanny, and their wishes are answered when a woman with an umbrella glides down from the sky and introduces herself as Shary Bobbins, a parody of Mary Poppins. She seems perfect and is immediately hired. Shary Bobbins proves to be a big help for the Simpson family, although her own methods are questionable on their own; in one example, by helping the kids clean their rooms, she leads them with the song "Do It Half Assed", and even helping to make Mr. Burns happy- by having him thunderstruck by a kite. Nevertheless, her methods has Marge recover from her stress and her hair returns to normal.

The next day, Shary Bobbins declares that her work is finished and leaves the Simpsons house. Just as she is starting to miss the Simpson family, she sees Homer choking Bart; the family seems to have instantly reverted to its previous state of dysfunction. She realizes that her work is far from complete and decides to stay at the Simpsons house for a while longer. The family now starts to treat her rudely and lose interest in her songs and zest for life. Declaring that the Simpsons would be the death of her, she becomes depressed and starts drinking (and singing "Margaritaville") with Barney. The family realizes that they have crushed her spirit and decide to cheer her up. Marge tells Shary that nothing can be done to change the Simpsons and they’re happy just the way they are. The family sings a song; Shary declares that the Simpsons are a bunch of apes and takes off with her magical umbrella. As Shary flies away, Lisa asks whether they’ll see her again and Homer is positive that they will. As he says these words, Shary is killed by being sucked into an airplane turbine.

Non-canon

She appears in The Simpsons: Tapped Out where she has been revived from the dead. She also makes and appearance in Flanders' Ladder as a ghost inside Bart's dream.

Trivia

• Although she's no longer alive, she has appeared in the new opening in the title screen gags of Bart Gets a "Z" & Pranks and Greens, and had a cameo in Treehouse of Horror XXV.
• A robot version of her was seen in London.
• Lots of nannies that look like Shary Bobbins can be seen flying into London accompanied by "A Spoonful of Sugar" music from Mary Poppins in The Regina Monologues.
• It’s possible she‘s from Scotland, as Willie says that back in the "old country" he was engaged to Shary Bobbins, and Willie comes from Scotland. However, Superintendent Chalmers said that Willie is an escaped mental patient, which means that Willie could be from England.

Behind the Laughter

She is a caricature of Mary Poppins from the book series and film of the same name.

Appearances

• Episode – "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious"
• Episode – "Bart Gets a "Z"" (Opening sequence)
• Episode – "Pranks and Greens" (Opening sequence)
• Episode – "To Surveil With Love" (Robot)
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXV" (cameo)
• Episode – "Much Apu About Something" (Opening sequence)
• Episode – "Flanders' Ladder" (as ghost)
• – The Simpsons Movie
• Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out