Simpsons Writer Mike Reiss Talks Trip On Lost Titanic Sub

Comedy writer Mike Reiss has a perspective that few people in the world have: he has been on the submersible that went missing while visiting the Titanic.

For Simpsons nerds, Reiss is a legend. He and his writing partner Al Jean were part of the show's original writing staff when the long-running series began. He has worked on the show on and off ever since and also created the cult hit The Critic with Jean.

In his free time Reiss is a big-time traveler (or as he says in the interview below, his wife loves to travel), and last year he and his wife went on a voyage on Titan, the submersible that went missing earlier this week.

Reiss appeared on TMZ Live to discuss his trip to the Titanic, which he revealed was one of 4 he took inside the sub.

The veteran comedy writer said that his trip to visit the Titanic went so smoothly that he fell asleep.

"It was smooth sailing to the point where I got on the submarine and it just drops for two and a half hours," he said. "It takes two and a half hours to go two and a half miles down, and I fell asleep.

He mentioned, however, that waking from a nap, only to realize that you're in a tube more than two miles underwater is an odd feeling.

"It's a very shocking experience to wake up from a nap and think you were in bed and know you're in a tube two miles down under the ocean."

Reiss seemed positive about the experience, however, he said most of his trip was spent looking for the wrecked ship, which only allowed enough time for some quick photos.

Reiss Did Reveal One Concern He Had

As far as concerns, Reiss said the only one that got to him involved how the sub returns to the surface.

"The one scary element of the whole voyage is the idea that to go back up, they push a lever that releases these lead weights," Reiss said. "And the weights fall off and then bob to the surface like a cork.

That's how simple the whole trip is: You sink like a stone and then you bob up like a cork.

He said that if the lever didn't work, he had no idea what the contingency plan would be.

"You obviously can't get out of the sub and do it manually."

One other thing Reiss mentioned is that communications issues were very common with Titan. However, he said he believed that had more to do with deep water, than the sub itself.

He also praised the simplicity of the sub, including its use of a gaming controller to steer.

"Everyone's focused on the detail and it makes them think, 'oh, this was a real rinky-dink operation,'' Reiss said. "But that is one of the prime assets I think it was a whole sub is just how simple it was."

As of Wednesday evening rescue crews are still searching for the submersible, which went missing on June 18.

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