# Simpsons 3/15: "Gone Maggie Gone" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573 "2009-03-16T00:37:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/1 "2009-03-16T00:37:57Z")
LABF04 Written by Billy Kimball & Ian Maxtone-Graham It’s obvious from the get-go what this episode is meant to be (heck, they even spell it out at the start), but for what it’s parodying, it does a good job of it, and gives a good goofy “fantasy” element that really hasn’t been seen since episodes like, say, "Homer the Great’ or “Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in the Curse of the Fighting Hellfish.” I liked the whole bit poking fun at the old “river puzzle,” the history of the puzzle that mixes _National Treasure_ with that other code thingy (especially the nun pirates and the “Join or Die” snake), and the whole mocking of how ridiculous and unsolvable the puzzles are (“Can you try and figure out the answer? We can’t.”) along with the gags in which it appears the characters are asking the audience directly but aren’t- it’s been done before, but I’m a sucker for that type of gag. “The solar eclipse is like woman breastfeeding in a restaurant- it’s free, it’s beautiful, but under no circumstances should you look at it.” ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/2 "2009-03-16T00:41:21Z")
I liked this episode. I laughed more at this episode than I have at a new Simpson’s episode in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/3 "2009-03-16T01:31:31Z")
Has anyone else noticed the artwork seems to be of a higher quality since they started with the HD episodes a few weeks ago? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/4 "2009-03-16T01:39:47Z")
Great episode. “Tex Avery Syndrome” – loved it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/5 "2009-03-16T01:41:31Z")
I laughed, and I’m proud to say I figured out what Springfield’s biggest “RING” was before it was revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/6 "2009-03-16T03:44:43Z")
That was a good episode. I thought the ring was going to be the giant doughnut but in my defense I was hungry at the time. A couple of lines that really had me laughing. I loved Milhouse’s line, “I’m not a smart nerd, I’m a weak nerd.” and Marge’s line whilst putting “Lisa” to bed. “Oooh Jazz.” I also loved the nun pirates coming to america. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/7 "2009-03-16T03:48:08Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I laughed, and I’m proud to say I figured out what Springfield’s biggest “RING” was before it was revealed. Likewise. I laughed a lot at this one, and I laughed hard. The nun pirates, the exchange between Homer and the nun at the door… well, I guess I think nuns are funny. “Nissan Quest” was also very funny. I was wondering how they’d pull off a Da Vinci Code parody in 22 minutes, but they did, with a funny Ratatouille riff for good measure. Great stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/8 "2009-03-16T08:19:09Z")
I liked it. I love puzzles. Though I only got the first two. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/9 "2009-03-16T17:59:37Z")
I was surprised that on her first time through the wall puzzle, when she read “One more time. **Your** hopeless. Try again, numbskull,” that Lisa didn’t notice the misspelling of “You’re” as “Your”. There must have been a mistake in the storyboard that got carried through to the animators. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/10 "2009-03-16T18:12:13Z")
I laughed more and harder at this episode than I have in a while. It was absolutly hilarious…keep it up Simpsons!!! Fave line: “Do not enter…Or do, I’m a sign not a cop” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/11 "2009-03-16T18:33:32Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I was surprised that on her first time through the wall puzzle, when she read “One more time. **Your** hopeless. Try again, numbskull,” that Lisa didn’t notice the misspelling of “You’re” as “Your”. There must have been a mistake in the storyboard that got carried through to the animators. I dunno, it might’ve been more difficult to create a coherent master sentence with the substitution. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/12 "2009-03-16T18:37:55Z")
This is the first new Simpsons episode I’ve seen in years - I was pleasantly surprised. How long have they been doing them in 16:9? ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/13 "2009-03-16T18:41:43Z")
This is the third or fourth week in 16:9. ---
**Author:** ![ekweizn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@ekweizn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekweizn)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/14 "2009-03-16T18:46:15Z")
The past four episodes have been in 16:9. Unfortunately, the 4:3 version shown on my TV cuts off strangely–like in this week’s intro, “Da V\_nci Code Spoof” was cut to “Da V\_nci Code S”, which I mentally added “ucks” to, which was misleading for the first few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/15 "2009-03-16T20:51:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I laughed, and I’m proud to say I figured out what Springfield’s biggest “RING” was before it was revealed. Yes..um…so did I. Now let us walk..or drive…to the location for the solution. My puzzle done puzzled through itself. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/16 "2009-03-16T21:12:41Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I dunno, it might’ve been more difficult to create a coherent master sentence with the substitution. _Was_ it as coherent sentence? I don’t think they ever gave us a good look at it, and the last three words would have been “numb ring skull.” “Ack! Catholics!!!” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/17 "2009-03-16T21:54:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I was surprised that on her first time through the wall puzzle, when she read “One more time. **Your** hopeless. Try again, numbskull,” that Lisa didn’t notice the misspelling of “You’re” as “Your”. There must have been a mistake in the storyboard that got carried through to the animators. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I dunno, it might’ve been more difficult to create a coherent master sentence with the substitution. But it wasn’t coherent as a whole. It read (and I have the scene in freeze-frame from Hulu, so I can quote it exactly): One Turn More Around Time Seek Your Springfield’s Hopeless Biggest Try Man Again Made Numb Ring Skull Not very coherent. But, turned into two sentences, they read: “Turn around. Seek Springfield’s biggest man-made ring.” And “One more time. Your (_sic_) hopeless. Try again, numbskull.” So, it was probably a mistake that wasn’t caught before animation. “Seek Your Springfield’s Hopeless” makes as little sense as “Seek You’re Springfield’s Hopeless,” but the latter would have made a more correct sentence-within-the-sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/18 "2009-03-16T21:59:29Z")
I’m annoyed at my DVR this week - or, really, annoyed at Fox. Usually my recording starts in the middle of the credit sequence and I don’t mind, but this time the first few seconds of the episode actually got cut off because they started early (to fuck with TiVo, I guess). My recording starts with the O/solar eclipse icon fading into focus and Kent Brockman’s newscast beginning. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/19 "2009-03-16T23:15:52Z")
I’ve learned the hard way to allow some overlap in my DVR recordings where Fox is concerned. For the Simpsons, I start the recording 2 minutes before the scheduled start. Since I also DVR King of the Hill, which immediately follows it, I don’t worry so much about the end. If it gets cut off at the end, it’ll be at the start of the KOTH recording. But I also do the same for House. I’ll add 2 minutes to the start and extend the end by about 2 or 3 minutes more. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573/20 "2009-03-16T23:17:57Z")
One of the better episodes I have seen in a long time. “Why did I bring the baby and the dog to the poison store??” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-3-15-gone-maggie-gone/489573.md?page=2)