In Part Two, Springfield's police try to find the culprit, with their main suspects being Waylon Smithers and Homer Simpson.

was conceived by series creator Matt Groening, and the writing staff decided to turn it into a two-part mystery episode.

Groundskeeper Willie discovers oil under Springfield Elementary School while attempting to bury a dead gerbil.

Mr. Burns disguises himself as a student and tries to trick Skinner into selling him the drilling rights to secure an energy monopoly over Springfield.

Marge encourages Homer to send Mr. Burns a box of chocolates with a picture of the Simpson family underneath the candy.

As a result, Mr. Burns writes a "thank you" card addressed only to Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, further angering Homer.

Mr. Burns reveals to Smithers that he plans to construct a giant disc that will permanently block out the sun in Springfield, forcing the residents to continuously use the electricity from his plant.

While passing news reporters on his way to the police station, Smithers says something that Sideshow Mel recognizes from an episode of the fictional Comedy Central program, Pardon My Zinger, that aired at the same time as the shooting.

Mr. Burns demands for Maggie to be arrested, but Chief Wiggum refuses and says no jury in the world would convict a baby for a crime, except for "maybe Texas".

[6] It was important for them to design a mystery that had clues, took advantage of freeze frame technology, and was structured around one character who seemed to be the obvious culprit.

[6] While deciding who the culprit was, Oakley and Weinstein pitched Barney Gumble because he was a character that could go to jail and it could change the dynamic of the show.

[11] Tito Puente and his Latin jazz ensemble appear in the episode and sing the song "Señor Burns".

[15] Over the years, fan theories have emerged which hypothetically propose that other characters, such as Marge, Lisa, Grandpa, Bart, and Homer, could have shot Mr. Burns instead of Maggie.

In season 9's "The Cartridge Family", Homer incorrectly recalls that Smithers was the culprit, which Lisa grumbles would have made more sense.

In the season 18 episode "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times", Homer casually mentions that he shot Mr. Burns and pinned it on Maggie.

The competition worked "much differently than most fans would've thought", with staffers including Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein later criticizing the methodology.

From among all valid entrants, a small subsample of 200 people was randomly selected to be eligible, meaning that the vast majority of participants were never truly involved in the contest, nor were the bulk of them necessarily Simpsons fans (explaining the eventual outcome of a non-viewing winner).

The winner, Fayla Gibson of Washington D.C., did not watch the show and opted to accept a cash prize in lieu of being animated.

"[22]The contest was foreshadowed at the end of Part One when Dr. Hibbert, ostensibly breaking the fourth wall, says: "Well, I couldn't possibly solve this mystery... Can you?

[22] Nonetheless, on the DVD commentary, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein remarked that they knew of only one person who had correctly guessed Maggie was the shooter based on the several clues in the episode.

A parody of Walsh's television series, this special was designed to help people find out who shot Mr. Burns, by laying out the potential clues and identifying the possible suspects.

It features opinions from former Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates and predictions from Dennis Franz, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Kevin Nealon, Chris Elliott, and Andrew Shue.

The identity of the assailant was not revealed until the following season, leaving viewers to wonder for months which of Ewing's many enemies was the culprit.

[5] During the scene where Moe's bar is closed, an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is playing on the television in the background following a promotion for the fictional program Pardon My Zinger at 3:00 pm.

[1] Chief Wiggum's dream in which Lisa speaks backwards is, as mentioned above, a reference to Special Agent Dale Cooper's interaction with the Man from Another Place.

[8] Several other parts out of the segment are direct references to the dream, including a moving shadow on the curtain, and Wiggum's hair standing straight up after waking.

[29] In 2003, Entertainment Weekly published a Top 25 The Simpsons episode list and placed both parts of "Who Shot Mr.

[33] The authors 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.

[35] The song "Señor Burns", which was composed by Alf Clausen and written by Oakley and Weinstein, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1996 for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics".

Burns?, Part One' is such an inspired romp that I can't find a reason to fault the show for not being able to follow through on it 100 percent.