Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)
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- "Ever since the beginning of time, man has yearned to destroy the sun. I shall do the next best thing: block it out."
- ―Mr. Burns
"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"
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Episode Information
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"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)" is the twenty-fifth and final episode of season 6 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and twenty-eighth episode overall. It originally aired on May 21, 1995. The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein and directed by Jeffrey Lynch. It guest stars Tito Puente as himself.
"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)" is part one of the first two-part episode of The Simpsons and was concluded in the season 7 premiere "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)".
Synopsis[edit]
- "Mr. Burns brings untold misery to many of Springfield's citizens and is later found shot outside the city hall with the main suspects being Waylon Smithers, Jr. and Homer Simpson."
Plot[edit]
At the beginning of the normal school week, Principal Skinner opens the school to find Superdude, the fourth-grade gerbil, has died. He gives Willie the task of burying the gerbil, and in the process, Willie strikes oil. Meanwhile, on the roof, Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers inspect what caused the explosion when a worker arrives and tells them they struck oil. He also holds up the corpse of Superdude. After thanking Superdude, he tosses the gerbil off the roof. Everyone in the school rejoices, as they now have all the money they could ever want. Several teachers request new equipment, Willie wants a crystal slop bucket, and Lisa wants to hire Tito Puente to teach jazz at the school. However, Monty Burns has his eyes on the well and wants to steal the oil (since Smithers forbids him from literally stealing candy from a baby). First, he tries to get Skinner to give the money to the Nuclear Plant by poorly disguising himself as Jimbo Jones, but to no avail. Finally, he uses a "slant drilling" operation to tap the well before the school can, thereby stealing the oil.
After launching the oil, it causes mayhem in the town. The jet of oil smashes into Bart's treehouse, leaving it in ruins and breaking Santa's Little Helper's legs. The drill also collapses the ground under Grampa's retirement home, and the oil fumes force Moe's Tavern to close. All of the faculty and Lisa lose their special equipment (and Tito Puente) because the school is now bankrupt from building the oil well, and some faculty (including Groundskeeper Willie) are laid off as a result. Many of these people (along with Homer, who flips out when Burns fails to remember his name one too many times) swear revenge on the old man. Even Smithers cannot stand the acts his beloved employer has undertaken, sarcastically saying Burns has crushed all his enemies: an old folks' home, the local tavern, and Springfield Elementary. Burns responds that he has not yet taken out his biggest enemy: the sun. He plans to block out the sun, thereby forcing the town to use his electricity forever. Smithers, saying he has stood by enough of Burns' schemes but that this one is too much, refuses to take part. Burns then fires him.
Mayor Quimby calls a town meeting. After noticing many in the audience are stroking guns, he opens the floor. Several people complain: Mr. Smithers tells everyone that since Mr. Burns fired him, he has become a drunken wreck and always watches Comedy Central; Moe is mad he lost his bar; Barney is mad he lost Moe's bar; Lisa is mad he robbed the school of music; Skinner is mad he robbed the school of financial security; Tito is upset because he "robbed the school of Tito"; Homer is enraged because Burns fails to remember his name; Marge is mad he is making everyone yell; and Bart is disgruntled because Santa's Little Helper's leg was broken during the oil drilling (although he initially says, "Look what he did to my friend," causing people to assume Burns did something horrible to Milhouse until Bart clarifies that he meant Santa's Little Helper). Mr. Burns then shows up, and Bart charges at him in rage. Burns brandishes a gun hidden in his jacket, stating that ever since he was attacked in his office by an unidentified assailant (Homer, of course), he has decided to protect himself. Burns moves the machine into place, blocks out the sun, and as he leaves, it is noticed that many townspeople are missing.
A gunshot is heard, and Mr. Burns staggers out of an alleyway, collapsing onto the sundial, shot. Marge comments that they may never know who did this, since everyone in town is a suspect. After a long silence, Dr. Hibbert, with his trademark chuckle, says, "Well, I couldn't possibly solve this mystery. Can YOU?" pointing at the screen at what is thought to be the viewer. The camera zooms out to show he is pointing to Chief Wiggum, who says he will give it a shot, since it is his job. An ominous tune plays after this. The words To Be Continued appear onscreen.
Production[edit]
In a cut scene, after Mr. Burns had dressed up as Jimbo, Skinner asks him what he had done with Jimbo. It is then shown that Mr. Burns has given Jimbo a butchers shop in return for his shirt and hat and Jimbo was making sausages.[1]
Reception[edit]
The episode (and the second part) received positive reviews from critics and the writers of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "A superb end to the season - and what's more, it's a genuine whodunnit. There's no cheating - all the clues are there." "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" ranked 25th in Entertainment Weekly's Top 25 Simpsons episodes' list, in 2003.
Promotional images[edit]
References[edit]
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Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)". |
Two-part episodes
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| Who Shot Mr. Burns? (part 1 • part 2) • The Great Phatsby (part 1 • part 2) • Warrin' Priests (part 1 • part 2) • A Serious Flanders (part 1 • part 2) | ||
