Treehouse of Horror II

"Ahem. Hello, everyone. Before last year's Halloween show, I warned you not to let your children watch. But you did anyway. Mm. Well, this year's episode is even worse. It's scarier, more violent, and I think they snuck in some bad language, too. So please, tuck in your children and... [sighs] Well, if you didn't listen to me last time, you're not going to now. Enjoy the show."

- Marge Simpson

"Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of the season 3. The episode aired on October 31, 1991. It is the second annual Treehouse of Horror episode.

Plot
"Hello everyone. Before last year's Halloween show, I warned you not to let your children watch. But you did anyway. Hmm. Well, this year's episode is even worse; it's scarier and more violent and I think they snuck in some bad language, too. So, please, tuck in your children and... well, if you didn't listen to me the last time, you're not going to now. Enjoy the show."

Act I: Lisa's nightmare
When Homer, Lisa, and Bart come back from Trick-or-Treating, they get a load of candy. Marge tells them not to eat too much, or they'll get nightmares. They all scoff at her, but they do have nightmares.

The Simpsosn visit Morocco, where Homer buys a mysterious monkey paw granting wishes but with great misfortune. Once back home, the family begins to wish upon the paw. Maggie wishes for a golden pacifier, and Bart wishes for the family to be rich and famous. The pacifier seems to have no negative connotations, but the money and fame cause a public backlash to grow around the Simpsons, because they appear on everything from T-shirts to billboards for mammogram tests. Lisa wishes for world peace, but when Kang and Kodos see the Earth's vulnerable, they conquer it, enslaving humanity. Homer wishes for a turkey sandwich without any "weird surprises," which he claims is a wish that can't backfire. The sandwich appears to be perfect... except the turkey is a little dry. This 'abnormality' causes Homer to fly into a rage, before throwing the monkey paw away. When Ned Flanders sees Homer throwing it out, Homer offers the paw to him, assuming wishes with misfortunes will soon plague his neighbor. However, Ned's first wish (to get rid of the aliens) frees the human race, and he's considered a hero. Shortly afterward, Flanders wishes for his home to become a castle, as Homer watches, seething and says, "I wish I had a monkey's paw."

Act II: Bart's nightmare
After Lisa has her nightmare, she goes into Bart's room and wakes him up to ask if she can sleep in his bed. Bart tells her to get lost, so she offers him a candy necklace. He eats it, spits out the string, and tells her she can sleep with him. She climbs into his bed and thanks him. He replies, "less talk, more sleep." as he spends the last moment staring at the Krusty the ClownJack-in-the-box on his night-table before falling back to sleep...

Bart's a boy able to bend reality with his mind, as well as read the minds of others, and he will turn anyone who thinks badly about him into a creature. The whole town lives in fear of him because of this, constantly forced to be happy and fulfill his every demand. Bart comes home from school, and Homer and Lisa are watching TV. Bart demands to watch Krusty. After Homer refuses, Bart replaces the football on the TV with him, and he smacks into the field post. When Homer comes back, he tries to bash Bart over the head with a chair. Bart reads his mind and turns him into a Jack-in-the-box. Upon discovering this, Marge takes them to see Dr. Marvin Monroe, who suggests Bart and Homer spend more time together doing father/son activities. Homer takes Bart to a baseball game, fishing, shooting a BB gun, church, and an amusement park. Bart becomes less mean because he enjoyed the time with his father, and decides to turn Homer back to normal. Homer gives Bart a fatherly kiss and Bart wakes up, horrified. This is a parody of It's a Good Life Episode.

Act III: Homer's nightmare
After Bart has his nightmare, he and Lisa run into Homer and Marge's room and ask to sleep in their bed. Homer looks at the clock and comments in 2 hours he will have to go to work...

Homer's fired from his job, and he becomes a grave digger. He falls asleep in an open grave. Mr. Burns and Smithers are out looking for a brain for their experiment to create the ultimate worker. They find Homer, and, thinking he's dead, take him to their lab, remove his brain, and place it into a robot. The robot acts like Homer (clumsy and lazy), to Mr. Burns's disappointment. Smithers convinces him to put Homer's brain back where it came from, but after this is done, the robot falls on top of Mr. Burns, crushing his body.

Homer wakes up from his nightmare, and realizes Mr. Burns' head's sewn onto his body. As the Simpsons are eating breakfast, Lisa reminds Homer that evening, the kid's school will be having an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner. Homer looks forward to it, but Mr. Burns reminds him that same evening, they will be attending the reception for Queen Beatrix in The Netherlands. Homer complains he hates having two heads.

Production
"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. Jim Reardon was the director.

Reception
The episode was watched in an estimated 11.14 million homes. It also received positive reviews (many calling it better than the first Treehouse of Horror) and 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.

Treehouse of Horror II