Treehouse of Horror III

"Dad, you killed the zombie Flanders!"

- Bart

"He was a zombie?"

- Homer

"Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of season 4.

Opening segment
Homer's silhouette appears next to Alfred Hitchcock's iconic silhouette. He emerges out and warns to viewers the following episode may scare certain viewers especially Christian ones, an announcement mirroring what Marge did in the beginning of Treehouse of Horror and Treehouse of Horror III, warning viewers. He requests for the television to be turned off before daring viewers, imitating a chicken. The TV screen eventually switches off, however, Homer and Marge can still be heard if not seen. The episode pans to a cemetery and eventually to the Simpsons' house, with the family in their couch gag as skeletons.

Wrapround
The Simpsons are having a Halloween party, and they tell scary stories. The Halloween costumes include Homer as Julius Caesar, Marge as an ancient Egyptian, most likely Cleopatra, Bart as Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange, Lisa as the Statue of Liberty, Milhouse as Radioactive Man, Martin as Calliope, Nelson as a pirate, Janie as a princess, Wendell as an astronaut, and Lewis as Frankenstein's Monster.

Clown Without Pity
After forgetting to buy him a gift for his birthday, Homer buys Bart a talking Krusty doll at `House of Evil' (your one-stop Evil shop). Upon receiving the Krusty doll, Bart excitedly says "Great Caesar's ghost!", a catchphrase said by Perry White of the Superman comic book series. Although the doll is nice to Bart, it repeatedly tries to kill Homer (which no one believes).

Homer captures the evil Krusty doll in a bag of dirty socks he locks in a suitcase. He disposes of the suitcase in a "Bottomless Pit" and returns home, not realizing the doll managed to follow him. As the doll attempts to strangle Homer, Marge calls KrustyCo for help; a repairman arrives and discovers the doll is accidentally switched from "Good" to "Evil". He flips the switch back to "Good", and Homer uses the doll as a servant. The doll laments to his "girlfriend" Malibu Stacy, with whom he shares Lisa's doll house, "Today, Homer made me give him a sponge bath!" Krusty gives Stacy a smooch on the cheek but her head falls off. "Clown Without Pity" is based on the Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll" and the films, Trilogy of Terror and Child's Play.

King Homer
In a black and white segment, Marge joins Mr. Burns and Smithers on an expedition to "Ape Island" to find the legendary "King Homer". Mr. Burns captures the giant ape and displays him to the press on Broadway. The photographers' flashes enrage King Homer, who breaks free from his restraints. He abducts Marge and wreaks havoc, eating many people in the process. He attempts to climb a tall building, but is unable to get even one story above the ground. King Homer collapses in exhaustion, and Marge helpfully suggests he eat more vegetables and less people. In the end, King Homer and Marge marry on the same day Dick Cavett is born (November 19, 1936). The story ends with the wedding, and King Homer eating Marge's father, Clancy Bouvier, although Marge is surprisingly not upset. This segment is an obvious parody of the iconic 1933 film King Kong.

Dial "Z" for Zombies
While in the school's library searching for material for a book report, Bart finds a book of magic in the occult section. In order to make Lisa happy, he tries to resurrect Snowball I for her, but accidentally reanimates hundreds of human corpses instead. The zombies terrorize Springfield until Homer wields a shotgun to help Bart and Lisa find the book to reverse the spell in the Springfield Elementary library. Bart successfully finds the book and casts the spell accidentally turning Lisa into a snail, shocking him. Lisa doesn't notice her transformation and asks Bart what. He replies,"I just haven't noticed what a beautiful, young woman you're becoming," flattering her. Bart finds the correct spell and casts it upon the world, returning the dead zombies before the spell to their graves, those who became zombies by infection drop dead in the streets and turning Lisa, unaware of her change, back to normal. In the end, the family ends up back at home on the couch watching TV, just before the credits roll in. The title is a reference to the movie Dial "M" For Murder.

Production
The episode was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen, Wallace Wolodarsky, Sam Simon, and Jon Vitti, and directed by Carlos Baeza.

Reception
The episode has received overwhelming positive reviews since airing.

Gallery
Treehouse of Horror III