Pop Vultures

Guest poster Erin is here to share the Halloween spirit in this week’s Friday 5: The Best Moments from The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror.

I have a special love for The Simpsons, likely because I was not allowed to watch it as a child. My mother seemed to consider it inappropriate or uncouth, and I still get a giddy, disobedient feeling when I watch it now.

My husband is an even bigger fan than I am, and I figured out quickly when we started dating that whenever he’d make a random reference I didn’t get it was a Simpsons quote. I’ve learned them all now, of course, and am prone to doing the same thing myself. The husband (hereafter “the boy” because saying “the husband” makes me feel old) helped me significantly with this list, particularly because I would say “Hey, which episode has the thing and that other thing?” and he’d respond with the episode title, number, original air date and selected quotes. Also, he does a very good impression of Milhouse doing an impression of sprinklers.

The Simpsons Halloween Specials (aka Treehouse of Horror) have always been our favorites because of how they function a bit outside the (already rather large) box. There are power-hungry and yet strangely practical aliens. The regular characters die in enjoyably horrible ways — some multiple times per episode. Pop culture references ricochet off the walls with frightful speed. Each episode is broken into three story segments out of respect for your Halloween-candy-induced short attention span.

There have been 17 (XVII) Halloween specials to date, which means 51 (LI) segments to choose from. It was a trying task, but we’re not ones to back down from a Simpsons-based challenge. So the boy and I are pleased to bring you this week’s Pop Vultures Friday 5 (V).

The Top Five Treehouse of Horror Segments of All Time. The Definitive List Based on Biased Personal Opinion and Entirely Subject to Change
1. The Raven (Treehouse of Horror I)

Synopsis: In the very first Treehouse of Horror, Lisa reads the Poe classic with Homer pondering weak & weary, Marge as the sweet Lenore and Bart as a smart-ass version of the infamous bird. Narrated by James Earl Jones.

Quotable Dialogue:
Narrator: Quoth the raven-
Bart: Eat my shorts!

Why it makes the list: Well, we are talking about the episode that started it all. And not to diss the other segments in this episode (I do very much love Hungry are the Damned), but this one has a special something that makes it a classic. Maybe it’s the combination of apropos literature with thoroughly modern cartoon, maybe it’s the fact that it actually animates all the rapping and tapping from the poem, maybe it’s James Earl Jones. James Earl Jones + Edgar Allan Poe = Auditory Gold. Seriously, he should do like, Poe anthologies on audiobook. And the contrast between his narration and Bart’s “Nevermore!”s is brilliant. Everything combines into perfect Halloweeny goodness.

2. Reaper Madness (Treehouse of Horror XIV)

Synopsis: The Grim Reaper shows up to collect Bart, but Homer kills Death (with a bowling ball, natch) and is forced to become the new Reaper, complete with scythe and creepy skeletal hand.
Quotable Dialogue: Death! Death! We miss you so much! You were a busboy in the restaurant of life. Clearing away the oldies and the sickies and the junkies. And you made NASCAR racing exciting!
Why it makes the list: It has a Benny Hill-style chase at the beginning, followed by the hilarity bound to ensure in a world without death (complete with frustrated mobsters). In case that chaos isn’t enough, resident idiot Homer only adds fuel to the fire when he starts reaping. For regular viewers, the Jasper cameo is my favorite (“Where’s the regular guy? Where’s Doug?”), but the segment is full of great moment after great moment. It’s definitely a stand-out among the more recent years of Halloween Specials.

3. The Genesis Tub (Treehouse of Horror VII)

Synopsis: After Bart disrupts Lisa’s science experiment (”Will Cola Dissolve a Tooth?”) with one of his own (”Do Nerds Conduct Electricity?”) a miniature world develops in her petri dish and the tiny inhabitants view Lisa as their god and fear the evil Bart.
Quotable Dialogue: I created Lutherans!
Why it makes the list: I know, it is an odd choice. But the boy and I both agree that it’s one of the best ToH segments, largely due to its originality. It has a nice sort of Twilight Zone feel to it, and while it’s not outright scary it’s certainly creepy. It combines religion and dentistry and it’s nice to have Lisa in the starring role for a change, even though she gets stuck in toothland forever at the end and Bart wins the science fair. Ah well. At least Martin’s milk carton ukulele didn’t win.

4. The Shinning (Treehouse of Horror V)

Synopsis: It’s a parody of The Shining, extra “n” added to avoid copyright infringement.
Quotable Dialogue: No TV and no beer make Homer …something…something
Why it makes the list: Maybe you need to have seen Kubrick’s The Shining to really appreciate it, but it’s such a spot-on parody. From the title cards at the beginning (WEDNESDAY) to the blood on the elevator (“That’s odd, Usually the blood gets off at the second floor”), and even the “Heeeeere’s Johnny!” door bit (which must be seen, as quoting won’t do it justice). It condenses all the iconic bits of the film while staying true to the Simpsons form. No TV and no beer would make anyone go something something, don’t you think? Bonus points for quality use of Groundskeeper Willy in the role of Hallorann.

5. Homer³ (Treehouse of Horror VI)

Synopsis: While hiding from Patty and Selma, Homer finds a gateway to the third dimension behind a bookcase. Computer animated wackiness ensues. Anyone ever seen that movie Tron?
Quotable Dialogue: Homer: That’s odd. It’s like something out of that twilighty show about that zone.

Why it makes the list: Dude, it’s in 3D! It’s perhaps the best use of the leeway the Halloween episode allows to truly mess with the Simpsons universe. 3D Homer would be fun in any context, but with the Tron-esque grid? And the shapes and the black hole and that house from MYST? It just doesn’t get old, even if it gets dated. They really pull out all the stops, and supposedly it took them 4 months to create 3.5 minutes of animation. That’s dedication. And, in my opinion, it doesn’t seem gimmicky, even at the end when it drops 3D Homer into the real world. Maybe it’s the erotic cakes:

That’s our list. We feel kind of bad that it doesn’t contain any Kang & Kodos (the Treehouse of Horror resident aliens), so we give you a K&K heavy bonus list of five favorite ToH quotes:

Kodos: Do we want to do a commercial for something called “Old Navy”? (ToH XI)
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Kang: Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others! (ToH VII)
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Kang: Pathetic humans, they’re showing a Halloween episode in November!
Kodos: Who’s still thinking about Halloween? We’ve already got our Christmas Decorations up! (ToH XIV)
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Kang: On this cable system, we receive over one million channels from the furthest reaches of the galaxy.
Bart: You get HBO?
Kang: No. That would cost extra. (ToH I)
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And our personal favorite…

House of Evil Clerk: Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse!
Homer: That’s bad.
Clerk: But it comes with a free frogurt!
Homer: That’s good!
Clerk: The frogurt is also cursed.
Homer: That’s bad.
Clerk: But you get your choice of topping!
Homer: That’s good!
Clerk: The toppings contains Potassium Benzoate.
Homer: …
Clerk: That’s bad.
Homer: Can I go now? (THOH III)

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We’ve been catching commercials for the upcoming Treehouse of Horror XVIII while watching baseball this week, and it looks rather promising. The E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial parody is bound to be at least vaguely amusing. Also, I give them credit for promoting the November 4th special with the presumption that “Halloween isn’t over until The Simpsons say it’s over.” Even though we’ll already have our Christmas decorations up.

How does this list compare to your own Treehouse of Horror favorites? Is it spot on, or were some of yours left off?