Who Shot Mr. Burns?

"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"
The Simpsons episode
Promotional artwork showing Mr. Burns and potential suspects
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 25
Directed byJeffrey Lynch
Written by
Production code2F16
Original air dateMay 21, 1995 (1995-05-21)
Guest appearance
Episode features
Chalkboard gag"This is not a clue... or is it?"[1]
Couch gagIn the style of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, the family attempts to run across a continuously repeating background.[2]
Commentary
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Lemon of Troy"
Next →
"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)"
The Simpsons season 6
List of episodes
"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 1
Directed byWes Archer
Written by
  • Bill Oakley
  • Josh Weinstein
Production code2F20
Original air dateSeptember 17, 1995 (1995-09-17)
Guest appearance
Episode features
Chalkboard gag"I will not complain about the solution when I hear it"[1]
Couch gagThe Simpsons line up for a mug shot, with the theme to Dragnet.[3]
Commentary
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"
Next →
"Radioactive Man"
The Simpsons season 7
List of episodes

"Who Shot Mr. Burns?" is a two-part episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. Part One is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the sixth season and originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 21, 1995, while Part Two is the season premiere of the seventh season and aired on Fox on September 17, 1995.

The episodes begin with Springfield Elementary School striking oil, but Mr. Burns steals it, bringing misery to many of Springfield's citizens. Part One has a cliffhanger ending where Mr. Burns is shot by an unidentified assailant. In Part Two, Springfield's police try to find the culprit, with their main suspects being Waylon Smithers and Homer Simpson.

Both episodes were written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein; Part One was directed by Jeffrey Lynch and Part Two by Wes Archer.[1] Musician Tito Puente guest stars as himself in both parts.[4] "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" was conceived by series creator Matt Groening, and the writing staff decided to turn it into a two-part mystery episode. Part One contains several clues about the identity of the culprit because the writers wanted it to be solvable.

  1. ^ a b c Richmond & Coffman 1997, pp. 176–177, pp. 180–181.
  2. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)". BBC. Archived from the original on 2003-06-23. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  3. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Who Shot Mr Burns? Part Two". BBC. Archived from the original on 2005-09-02. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  4. ^ "Tito Puente". Frinkiac. Retrieved January 17, 2022.