13th episode of the 20th season of The Simpsons
"
Gone Maggie Gone
" is the thirteenth episode of the
twentieth season
of the American animated television series
The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the
Fox network
in the
United States
on March 15, 2009. The episode was written by both
Billy Kimball
and longtime
Simpsons
writer
Ian Maxtone-Graham
, and directed by
Chris Clements
. In the episode,
Homer
leaves
Maggie
on the doorstep of a convent, but when she disappears,
Lisa
goes undercover as a
nun
to solve the mystery and find her. Meanwhile, Homer tries to keep Maggie's disappearance a secret from
Marge
, who was temporarily blinded while watching a solar eclipse.
Plot
[
edit
]
The Simpsons are excited for a
solar eclipse
over Springfield. After Homer's
camera obscura
breaks, Marge gives up her own. As the family expresses delight at seeing the eclipse, Marge takes a peek, which
blinds her
.
Dr. Hibbert
informs the family that Marge's eyes must be covered for two weeks, and she must not be put under any stress. After a rat infestation, Homer takes
Maggie
and
Santa's Little Helper
to buy rat poison. On the way home the baby and the dog's bickering causes the car to fall off a bridge. Homer tries to
get them all across a lake in a small boat
. He first takes Maggie across and puts her on the doorstep of a
convent
, where the nuns take her in and refuse to give her back.
While Homer hides the truth from Marge,
Lisa
goes undercover as a nun and infiltrates the convent. When Mother Superior refuses to tell her where Maggie is, Lisa discovers that they are seeking a jewel. The first clue is to "seek God with heart and soul," which she accomplishes by playing a few measures of the
song by the same name
on an organ, activating a
Rube Goldberg
-type contraption. The next clue to find the "biggest man-made ring" in Springfield; after considering circular rings, she believes the biggest "ring" is in the Springfield Bell Tower. Arriving there, she meets
Comic Book Guy
and
Principal Skinner
, who tell her that
St. Teresa of Avila
had a deathbed vision of a jewel that would bring peace and harmony to the world. The gem will be revealed on the first full moon after a solar eclipse, which is that night. However, the bell is actually
papier-mache
, so they conclude that the answer is the RING in the
Springfield Sign
.
When they arrive, they are met by
Mr. Burns
and
Smithers
, who are also looking for the gem. Lisa finds writing on the letters of the sign, "Great crimes kill holy sage", and unscrambles a message that reads "Regally, the rock gem is Lisa". Mr. Burns takes the others back to the convent where Lisa announces that she is the gem child. However, Mother Superior tells her that the gem child is Maggie and rearranges the message into "It's really Maggie,
Sherlock
". Maggie is put on a throne, creating a rainbow that brings peace over Springfield. Marge suddenly bursts in and takes Maggie back, and her eyes are healed upon seeing Maggie. On the way home she asks Homer if she was being selfish, but he says that he found a
replacement child
;
Bart
assumes the role of the "gem child", and the paradise turns into a living
Hell
.
Cultural references
[
edit
]
- The main plot of this episode parodies
National Treasure
and
The Da Vinci Code
.
[2]
For example, the bell in the tower turning out to be the wrong one was a scene in
National Treasure
, regarding the
Liberty Bell
. For
The Da Vinci Code
, the Holy Grail turned out to be
Mary Magdalene
, and Sophie was the last remaining heir to the Christ bloodline; whereas in this episode, the gem turns out to be Maggie. In another reference to
The Da Vinci Code
, Mr. Burns calls Smithers his loyal albino servant, a reference to Silas from
The Da Vinci Code
.
[1]
The large portion of the first part of the episode involving the rats was an homage to
Ratatouille
.
[3]
The song that is played when Lisa walks into the monastery is "
O Fortuna
". Bart turning everything to Hell is an homage to
The Omen
. The title references the movie
Gone Baby Gone
.
[4]
- The clue "Great crimes kill holy sage" is quite possibly a reference to the fallout from the
Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
.
Reception
[
edit
]
The episode was well received by television critics.
Robert Canning of
IGN
said: "as entertaining as the story was, it would not have made a difference if it weren't just as equally funny. I laughed throughout the retelling of the legend of St. Theresa, which included pirate nuns and a fake
war for independence
. Mr. Burns referring to Smithers as his albino was another hilarious bit. Overall, it was the combination of a fully engaging story and great laughs that made ‘Gone, Maggie, Gone’ another winner for
The Simpsons
in their post-hi-def series run."
[1]
Steve Heisler of
The A.V. Club
gave the episode an A? stating, "It's been a long time since the show has done something fresh, and I think this is about as good as it's gonna get for a while?even if the episode took a while to get going."
[5]
TV Verdict's Erich Asperschlager said: "Part
Da Vinci Code
, part
National Treasure
, and part
Professor Layton
, ‘Gone Maggie Gone’ shakes up the
Simpsons
formula in a fun way by introducing one of those American-history-conspiracy-theory-cult-mysteries that are so popular with the kids, as well as those brain-bending-word-and-logic-puzzles that aren’t. ‘Gone Maggie Gone’ is one of the best so far this season."
[6]
The episode was nominated for
Primetime Emmy Awards
for
Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
and
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
. It lost both awards, to the
South Park
episode "
Margaritaville
" and
Legend of the Seeker
, respectively.
[7]
It was also nominated for the
Annie Award
for "Best Writing in an Animated Television Production."
[8]
Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham were nominated for a
Writers Guild of America Award
in the Animation category in
2010
for writing the episode.
The Simpsons
was the only show to be nominated in the category, with the other nominated episodes being "
The Burns and the Bees
", "
Eeny Teeny Maya Moe
", "
Take My Life, Please
" and "
Wedding for Disaster
" (the winner).
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Canning, Robert (March 17, 2009).
"The Simpsons: "Gone Maggie Gone" Review"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
March 17,
2009
.
- ^
"Yahoo! TV"
. Yahoo!
. Retrieved
March 13,
2009
.
- ^
MacIntyre, April (September 25, 2008).
"
'The Simpsons' Al Jean interview, new season begins September 28"
. Monsters and Critics. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2008
. Retrieved
September 25,
2008
.
- ^
"IMDB"
. IMDB
. Retrieved
August 5,
2010
.
- ^
Heisler, Steve (March 15, 2009).
"
"Gone Maggie Gone"/"Uncool Customer"/"The Juice Is Loose"/"Jack's Back"
"
.
The A.V. Club
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
"The Simpsons 20.13: "Gone Maggie Gone"
"
. Tv Verdict. March 16, 2009
. Retrieved
March 20,
2009
.
- ^
"The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards and 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Nominees are..."
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
. July 16, 2009. Archived from
the original
on July 18, 2009
. Retrieved
July 16,
2009
.
- ^
"37th Annual Annie Nominations"
. Annie Awards. Archived from
the original
on December 4, 2009
. Retrieved
December 26,
2009
.
External links
[
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]