10 TV Show Twists Absolutely EVERYONE Hated
6. Who Shot Mr Burns? (The Simpsons)
The freewheeling, ever changing nature of The Simpsons means genuine twists are few and far between. A rare exception to this was the season 6/7 two parter “Who Shot Mr Burns”, in which the titular tyrant was gunned down by a mystery assailant. With theories spreading like wildfire, the solution - baby Maggie Simpson - was quite a let down.
The idea of getting annoyed at the resolution of a Simpsons twist seems quaint now, but in the mid-’90s it was a big deal. Fox ran a competition for amateur sleuths with the chance to be animated on the show up for grabs. So obtuse was the solution that no one had the correct answer (the winner, a chancer who didn’t watch The Simpsons, took a cash prize instead).
Being The Simpsons, the wackiness of the twist was part of the point, as the show looked to spoof the wild storytelling of popular soaps. But they tried to have their cake and eat it, here - to have a swerve so daft you’d never see it coming, but to implore your viewers to play detective at the same time.