The Simpsons: 10 Exceptional Episodes From The Last 10 Years

9. "Gone Maggie Gone" - Season 20

Plot: Homer inadvertently allows Maggie to be taken into a convent by a group of mysterious nuns, and must keep Marge - who has been temporarily blinded by a solar eclipse - from discovering the truth. Meanwhile, Lisa goes undercover into the convent to find her sister, and becomes entangled in a Da Vinci Code-esque adventure. This homage to movies like National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code was nominated for two Emmys- Outstanding Animated Program and Outstanding Music Composition- an Annie Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award for 2010. It was a break in style from traditional episodes, with silly brain-twisters, word-play, and anagrams preceding the commercial breaks aimed at helping Lisa find Maggie (who is the mysterious "Gem Child" that the nuns have been searching for since leaving Spain for the New World in the 1700s.) Unlike many newer episodes that sacrificed plot for Family Guy-style jokes, the laughs in this episode coincide with the attempts at parody, and the engaging story follows an arc that entertains throughout. Funniest Moment: Mr. Burns- wanting to find the Gem Child for himself- orders Lisa to solve the anagram ("GREAT CRIMES KILL HOLY SAGE" becomes "REGALLY THE ROCK GEM IS LISA") - and orders her fellow amateur puzzle-solvers Comic Book Guy and Principal Skinner - to dig their own graves. CBG, despondent over the thought of manual labor, prays for help: "I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there, please help me Superman!" (Also, the anagram ultimately and correctly reads: "IT'S REALLY MAGGIE, SHERLOCK."