San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
13 These are the best “Treehouse of Horror” episodes. Ever.
The annual “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween specials from “The Simpsons,” beginning with the second season in 1990 and proceeding every year since, have become as much an institution as the show itself. With each episode containing three segments parodying dark corners of the popculture firmament, they’ve provided a gateway into some of the most revered classics in horror films, television and books.
But with almost a hundred segments tallied up in 30 specials (the most recent aired Sunday, Oct. 20), what are some of the most memorable? Realizing this was too much for one person to curate, I enlisted the aid of television and comic book writer Brian Hall, whose lifelong affinity for “The Simpsons” can be readily seen in his work on the “Bob’s Burgers” comic from Dynamite and the hit show “Puppy Dog Pals” on Disney Junior.
“I’ll never forget the opening of the first ‘Treehouse’ episode, where Marge warns parents that the following episode may be too scary for children. I was 10 at the time, and it was an actual foreboding moment to me,” Hall says.
So proceed, dear reader, as we delve into some of the most scaryfunny installments in “Treehouse of Horror” history ... if you dare. And if you do dare, the latest “Simpsons” episodes can be streamed on Hulu while the catalog can be accessed through the FX app. But, after Nov. 12, they’ll be found on the Disney+ streaming service.
From: “Treehouse of Horror I” (Original airdate: Oct. 25, 1990)
The premise is probably the most straightforward of any
“Treehouse of Horror” parody: James Earl Jones reads the text of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” verbatim, against the backdrop of Homer Simpson as the protagonist and a feathery Bart as the titular bird.
“Not the funniest episode, but ‘The Simpsons’ was already showing how elastic and wonderful they could be right from the start,” Hall says.
And as the first one out the chute, “The Raven” ensured that the show’s Halloween specials wouldn’t be seen nevermore.
From: “Treehouse of Horror IV” (Oct. 28, 1993)
“I don’t think I saw a full episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’ until some point in my 20s,” Hall says. “And it was to my surprise that I knew the plots, and twists, of nearly half the episodes,” because of parodies like this one.
A gradeschool version of iconic “Twilight Zone” episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” with Bart Simpson swapped in for William Shatner’s persnickety airplane passenger who sees a creature on the wing of a plane, the genius of this installment can be found in how fully it digs into its conceit, honoring its inspiration while wringing genuine laughs from the premise. This is a better tribute to that original episode than either of the remakes made under the official “Twilight Zone” brand.
From: “Treehouse of Horror V” (Oct. 30, 1994)
This is the “Treehouse” segment that most likely introduced an entire generation of kids to the concept of the butterfly effect (before a lessmemorable Ashton Kutcher movie would do the same for a subsequent generation). Homer Simpson causes a short in a toaster, sending him careening through the timeline in this parody of Ray Bradbury’s chilling short story “A Sound of Thunder.”
“Homer in a state of panic is always hilarious, but the added scifi angle, mixed with the quick, peakSimpsons cartoonish pacing is the perfect ‘Treehouse’ blend of weird and funny,” Hall says.
A highlight is Homer falling back on what his father told him on his wedding day — “If you ever travel back in time, don’t step on anything,” which is just good advice for all of us, don’t you think?
From: “Treehouse of Horror III” (Oct. 29, 1992)
Another Twilight Zone parody (this time poking fun at “Living Doll” — the infamous “Talky Tina” episode), “Clown Without Pity” has a desperate Homer Simpson buying a possessed Krusty the Clown doll for birthday boy Bart, after which numerous horrific/humorous shenanigans follow.
“The ‘frogurt’ exchange at the beginning is one of the series’ alltime amazing comedic backandforths,” Hall says.
From: “Treehouse of Horror XI” (Nov. 1, 2000)
As Hall says, “While earlier ‘Treehouse’ installments may be more readily remembered,” this parody of the unintentionally hilarious 1973 George C. Scott thriller “The Day of the Dolphin” still contains a divine mix of the “wacky, funny, slightly terrifying” elements that comprise the very best installments.
Extrapolating on the movie’s premise by positing what would happen if intelligent dolphins got fed up with us and decided to take over, of course it would be wellintentioned Lisa Simpson who opens the door (literally, in this case) for the great dolphin domination.
The best moment is Chief Wiggum’s response to a clearly dolphinrelated death: “Bottlenose bruises. Blowhole burns. Flipper prints. This looks like the work of rowdy teens. Lou, cancel the prom.”
Zaki Hasan is a Bay Area writer.