During production of the first episode, Matt Groeningwas nervous about "The Raven" segment, a… In the second part, which parodies the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life", Bart is omnipotent, and turns Homer into a jack-in-the-box, resulting in the two spending more time together. "Treehouse of Horror II," the second edition of the Treehouse of Horror series of episodes, was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jeff Martin, George Meyer, Sam Simon, and John Swartzwelder. "Treeh… [3], In the opening sequence of the episode, the Peanuts gang scurry by as trick-or-treaters, à la It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Episode - 8F02 First Aired - 10/31/1991 This year's Halloween special comes from candy- … Homer's wish - He asks for a turkey sandwich, but then it turns out the. Contains some good episodes...but few that truly measure up to brilliant parody 'Bart Simpson's Dracula' (Season 5) or James Earl Jones' pitch-perfect reading of 'The Raven' (Season 2). After Dr. Marvin Monroe says Bart is desperate for attention from his father, Homer spends quality time with his son. TWEET. Homer experiences this trope......or rather, a subversion if it. The beginning of an annual The Simpsons tradition! [10] That episode had also inspired the third segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie, which starred Nancy Cartwright in her debut feature film role. Mr. Burns scolds the robot he created with the insult: "Clinking, clattering cacophony of collagenous cogs and camshafts", similar to, Homer and Mr. Burns's heads sharing the same body reference. When Homer refuses to turn off a football game so Bart can watch The Krusty the Clown Show, Bart transports him to the football stadium in place of the ball for a field goal kick. Hungry Are The Damned The Simpsons are abducted by aliens, Kang and Kodos, who seem to have plans on eating the family. Lisa tells a story of the Simpsons moving into a cursed mansion, Bart tells a story of the Simpsons being abducted by aliens who are desperate to eat them, and Lisa tells the story of … With all the wishes used, he gives the paw to his neighbor Ned, who wishes for the aliens to leave and transforms his home into a castle. After eating too much Halloween candy, Homer, Lisa and Bart have nightmares. His second wish changes his house into a castle, but the story ends before we can see if there is anything wrong with it. Duration: 22:06 11/2/2020. "[19] The episode's reference to Midnight Express was named the 18th greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film's Nathan Ditum. Lisa's wish - She asks for world peace, but the universal pacifism and lack of weapons makes it easy for extraterrestrial aliens to conquer Earth. Although every episode is entitled Treehouse of Horror, the first was the only episode that actually used the treehouse motif. But apparently his family did after he got up. [5] Bart's prank call to Moe was thought of by John Swartzwelder, one of the writers; however, Hank Azaria detested the line. SHARE. [...] The humor that is derived from the multiple movie and literary parodies was enough to leave a last impression on us as an audience — and who doesn't like a robot whose primary function is to find donuts? Homer wakes from the nightmare to find Burns' head grafted on his shoulder. Jim Reardon was the director. After restoring the brain to Homer's body, Burns kicks the robot, which topples over and crushes him. "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" The Simpsons episode: Promotional poster. (2003). Time: 0:55] In the living room, Homer watches TV. Despite her efforts, Maggie is granted the first wish: a new pacifier. [12] Jasper's transformation into a dog is a reference to the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I'm A Stupid Moron With An Ugly Face And A Big Butt And My Butt Smells And I Like To Kiss My Own Butt, The Simpsons S 2 E 3 "Treehouse of Horror", The Simpsons S4 E5 "Treehouse of Horror III", The Simpsons S 3 E 6 Like Father Like Clown. "Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons' third season. He encourages the Simpson men to spend quality time together. Bart wishes for the Simpsons to be rich and famous, but the public soon tires of the family's antics and ubiquity. can be seen. While he, Bart and Lisa argue, Marge pleads with them to heed the vendor's warning and not use it at all. [8] While writing the segment, Sam Simon, one of the writers, wanted the fingers to go down in such an order so they would eventually have the middle finger sticking up. Homer reacts to eating a turkey sandwich with meat that's a little dry with more fervor and anguish than Earth being enslaved by aliens. The footage of Lisa saying, "Don't forget, Dad: tonight, my class is having an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner." “Treehouse of Horror XXVII” gets underway with a nod to the dystopian Hunger Games franchise. The Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials allow The Simpsons to spoof classic movies, indulge in a little blood and guts, and have some macabre fun in … [7] In addition, though it took a long time, the design of the monster version of Snowball II by Dale Hendrickson was greatly enjoyed by the producers, who thought it looked "just hideous, just right". [14] While Mr. Burns scoops out Homer's brain, he hums the tune of "If I Only Had a Brain" which is sung by the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. It finished the week ranked 39th. Bart and Lisa are in their treehouse, making scary stories up by scaring each other. is recycled from ", The gravestones at the start show the tombstones of, The children in Halloween costumes running past Homer's door are a reference to, Homer being searched by the Moroccan police at the airport is a reference to the arrest of the drug smuggler in. Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror II", in, Jean, Al. Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror II", in, Reardon, Jim. The episode received positive reviews, and in 2006, IGN listed the third story as the eighth best Treehouse of Horror segment. [12] Marge's hair in the opening segment recalls Elsa Lanchester's character in Bride of Frankenstein. Summary Short summary describing this issue. Maggie's wish - At first, it seems she's requested a gigantic, fancy limo... Bart's wish - He wants the Simpsons to be rich and famous, which eventually results in the world at large getting sick of them. They wrote, "'Treehouse of Horror II' contained three quality segments, but [the third] was easily the best. It is the second annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments, told as dreams of Lisa, Bart and Homer. (On the other hand, Kang and Kodos state that humanity will now build bigger and bigger boards with nails, until they destroy themselves.) [5][14] A billboard advertisement with Bart saying "Get a Mammogram, Man!" "Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season and the fourth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials. In the same segment, Bart and Lisa only realize Homer went missing when Marge informed them he'd been gone for two days. SHARE. It was the highest rated show on Fox the week it aired, tied with In Living Color. (2003). [12][13] Near the beginning of the segment, Moroccan soldiers stop and search the Simpsons, finding souvenirs taped to Homer's body which he was attempting to smuggle out of the country. Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror II", in, Reiss, Mike. [11] The segment parodies the narration of The Twilight Zone, and the producers were pleased with Harry Shearer's portrayal of Rod Serling. [12] Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict lauded the episode for having "wonderfully wild moments", especially "the parody of The Twilight Zone's 'It's a Good Life,' with Bart in the place of Billy Mumy's omnipresent monster". When he and Smithers first walk into the lab and pass by the. The episode is presented in a similar format to the previous season's "Treehouse of Horror", and contains several similarities to the previous episode, such as Marge's opening warning, the tombstones in the opening credits and the appearance of the alien characters Kang and Kodos. Example of:The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday. It is the only Treehouse of Horror episode to date where each segment name is not stated inside the episode. (2003). There was a debate about whether to include them in all Halloween specials after the episode; eventually, the writers agreed to make it a tradition. has a full mouth of teeth in Bart's dream. Treehouse of Horror 2-Pack - Sherri & Terri and Bart the Raven Cross Stitch Patterns SadGirlStitches. "[17], In 2006, IGN published a list of the top ten Treehouse of Horror segments, and they placed the third segment at number eight. Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror » Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #2 - Sideshow Blob; The Exorsister released by Bongo on September 1, 1996. Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror II", in, Martin, Jeff. Even though it was tough and took up more time, the producers felt it was a necessary tour-de-force. While building a giant robotic laborer to replace human workers, Burns searches a graveyard for a human brain to implant in the robot. (2003). "[3][13], The plot of Bart's nightmare is a parody of The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life",[14] which was remade as part of Twilight Zone: The Movie- the remake featured Nancy Cartwright in the role of Ethel. But the show soon replaced this framing device, with the second special seeing the stories framed as each family member’s nightmares, the third turning them into Halloween party stories, and the fourth framing them as a Night Gallery style anthology … [9], Homer's nightmare is based on much of the film Frankenstein, and the end references The Thing with Two Heads. The animators decided to make the animation a bit more impressive, and decided to do the concave and convex images of Burns and Smithers. [14] When Mr. Burns puts on Homer's brain, he says "Look at me! Treehouse of Horror II is the seventh episode of the Season 3. I'm Davy Crockett", a reference to Crockett's popular image as a frontiersman who wore a hat made of raccoon fur. Since Robo-Homer is just as incompetent as the old Homer, Burns declares the experiment a failure. Flanders' castle is a reference to the Disneyland castle. Homer tries to reassure himself that he is only dreaming, but Burns' head insists otherwise. [16] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson critiqued the episode as "not so hot their first couple of years", though he admitted that "the 1991 incarnation does top the original from 1990". Contains some good episodes...but few that truly measure up to brilliant parody 'Bart Simpson's Dracula' (Season 5) or James Earl Jones' pitch-perfect reading of 'The Raven' (Season 2). Kang and … [20], The episode was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special and Alf Clausen for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror II", in, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, "The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season", "The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991)", "Top 10 Segments from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror", "The 50 Greatest Simpsons Movie References", The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family, Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Treehouse_of_Horror_II&oldid=1000244326, Television shows written by John Swartzwelder, Short description is different from Wikidata, Television episode articles with short description for single episodes, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 08:36. ("Treehouse of Horror XIII" was the first to feature "Treehouse of Horror" in the on-screen title.) From shop SadGirlStitches. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. The first Treehouse of Horror installment aired in 1990 as part of the second season, and its on-screen title was "The Simpsons Halloween Special." It begins with Marge giving a warning to viewers, in a parody of Frankenstein (1931). -- Marge's second disclaimer, ``Treehouse of Horror II'' Under the title, ``The Simpsons Halloween Special 2'', we take another pan over Springfield Cemetary. [4] Although the names quickly became more silly than scary, there has been a wide variety of special credits. As Mr. Burns, having been crushed by his robot, is telling Smithers to grab surgical tools and some ether, we cut to Homer screaming in bed before we learn. "Treehouse of Horror XII", though, is a strong start to the season. Gypsies curses, Pierce Brosnan playing a knockoff HAL, and a half-baked Harry Potter parody (saved by … Then-head writer Jay Kogen, who created the Davy Crockett joke, thought it was so funny he actually mimicked the actions of Mr. Burns putting on Homer's brain in the writing room; the producers thought it was hilarious, so they decided to add it into the episode. The best "Treehouse of Horror … "Treehouse of Horror II" was the first episode that employed the "scary names" idea, in which many of the credits have unusual names. "[18] Writing for the Star Tribune, Neal Justin rated the episode as the one of his ten favorite episodes, writing, "The annual Halloween specials glow because all the rules are thrown out, never with more ingenuity than in this second installment. [3] Originally, Homer's robotic voice was done post-animation in order to avoid stress on the voice actor. Usually, the writers get inspiration for the Halloween specials from old horror stories, but recently, the writers tried to conceive of their own stories instead of creating more parodies. Determined to make a harmless wish, Homer demands a turkey sandwich, but the turkey is dry. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" is the fourth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the animated television series The Simpsons, and the 600th episode of the series overall. Chalk up this episode as a decent Halloween set. [1][3] The episode is presented in a similar format to the previous season's "Treehouse of Horror", and contains several similarities to the previous episode, such as Marge's opening warning, the tombstones in the opening credits and the appearance of the alien characters Kang and Kodos. Top 20 Best Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Stories. This being The Simpsons, it's still 22 minutes of great animated fare, it's just a middle-of-the-road Treehouse of Horror outing. 4 Treehouse Of Horror III (1992) - 8.5. (2003). [6] According to George Meyer, the animation for when Bart sits up screaming was extremely tough, especially to make the mouthlines natural. Burns also calls the robot that had Homer's brain a "clinking, clattering cacophony of caliginous cogs and camshafts", similar to the Wizard's line to the Tin Man: "You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk! [5] The "scary names" became such a burden to write that they were cut for "Treehouse of Horror XII" and "Treehouse of Horror XIII", but after hearing complaints from the fans, Jean decided to bring them back. They had considered the alternative of deliberately blurring the middle finger themselves, but decided that Fox would have also refused. Bart restores Homer's human form and they share a warm moment, causing Bart to wake up screaming. However, he thought that "None of the three stories stands out as particularly excellent, though the monkey's paw one probably works the best. He gave the episode a score of 90 out of 100 a possible score. Free shipping for many products! In Bart's nightmare, Springfield lives in fear of his omnipotent powers, including the ability to read minds, magically move objects and turn living things into grotesque forms. They realized their error only after the broadcast. It was inspired by EC Comics Horror tales. [2] It is the only Treehouse of Horror episode to date where each segment name is not stated inside the episode. Horrified by the wasteful wishes, Lisa wishes for world peace, but aliens Kang and Kodos enslave the defenseless Earth. [3], In its original airing on Fox, the episode had a 12.1 Nielsen rating and was viewed in approximately 11.14 million homes. After mistaking Homer, asleep in an open grave, for a corpse because of his foul stench, he removes his brain and places it in the robot. [9], The second segment is based on The Twilight Zone television series episode "It's a Good Life". All three tales succeed, with Bart's nightmare of gaining awesome powers being perhaps the most successful". They would go on to be a regular contributor for the series until season 10. In Homer's nightmare, he becomes a grave digger after Mr. Burns fires him for incompetence. In Lisa's nightmare, Homer buys a cursed monkey's paw that will grant its owner four wishes. Flanders wishes to get rid of the aliens, and they're immediately chased off by Moe with a board and a nail. "[17] He thought the best quote was "Damn it Smithers, this isn't rocket science. Not to mention the obvious fact that the first Treehouse of Horror was the only one of all The Simpsons' Halloween Specials that actually took place in a TREEHOUSE. [4] The alien characters Kang and Kodos had been introduced in the previous year. The episode is presented in a similar format to the previous season's "Treehouse of Horror" and contains several similarities to the previous episode, such as Marge's opening warning, the tombstones in the opening credits and the appearance of the alien characters Kang and Kodos. The episode contains numerous parodies and references to horror and science fiction works, including The Twilight Zone, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Thing with Two Heads and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In the first segment, which was inspired by W. W. Jacobs's short story The Monkey's Paw and The New Twilight Zone episode "A Small Talent for War", Homer buys a Monkey's Paw that has the power to grant wishes, although all the wishes backfire. They do so, become much closer, and say that they love each other. It's brain surgery! In the first segment, which was inspired by W. W. Jacobs's short story The Monkey's Paw and The New Twilight Zone This was a reference to Bart's popular slogan "Don't have a cow, man! This was also the first episode (in production order) to be animated by a company outside AKOM, specifically Anivision. Lisa wishes for world peace, which shows scenes of Argentina and the United Kingdom making up over the Falklands and people dancing in a large peace symbol to the tune of the hippie anthem "Get Together" by The Youngbloods. In the opening of the 2020 “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween episode, the action fast-forwards to America’s election day that November (including such … Homer then gently kisses Bart on the head...which causes the. A page for describing Recap: Simpsons S3 E7 "Treehouse of Horror II". This is a reference to the opening drug-smuggling scene of the film Midnight Express. The episode was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jeff Martin, George Meyer, Sam Simon and John Swartzwelder while Jim Reardon was the director. In the final segment, Mr. Burns attempts to use Homer's brain to power a giant robotic laborer. (2003). Summary: In the backyard treehouse on Halloween, Bart and Lisa try to frighten each other by telling three scary stories. In its original airing on Fox, the episode had a 12.1 Nielsen rating and finished the week ranked 39th. 5 out of 5 stars (24) 24 reviews $ 6.99. Episode no. EMAIL. [6], During the beginning of the segment "The Monkey's Paw", Hank Azaria faked some Arabic. [12], The plot of Lisa's nightmare is a reference to W. W. Jacobs's short story The Monkey's Paw, and The New Twilight Zone episode "A Small Talent for War". As Homer creeps into the house trying to surprise him with a blow to the head, Bart transforms him into a jack-in-the-box. "Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons' third season. [8] The scene in which Homer goes out with Bart during Bart's nightmare to spend time with the boy, as well as the music accompanying the scene, parody an old anti-smoking public service announcement, while the church layout was taken from a Norman Rockwell painting. Featuring a story reminiscent to Frankenstein, this episode made us laugh from beginning to end with Homer's crazy antics. "Treehouse of Horror II" was the first episode that employed the "scary names" idea, in which many of the names in the opening and closing credits have unusual nicknames. The idea came from Al Jean, who was inspired by old issues of EC Comics. We also don't immediately see the right part of Homer's body. The episode was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special and Alf Clausen for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. 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