Difference between revisions of "The Twilight Zone"

Latest revision as of 13:32, April 27, 2024

This article or section is incomplete.

Please improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page.

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series that was created by Rod Serling. The original series aired from 1959 to 1964. A film adaptation appeared in 1983, consisting of remakes of three of the original series episodes and one new story. A revival TV series aired for three television seasons, from 1985 to 1989. Later, a second revival series was made, but was not as successful and lasted only one season (2002-2003).

The Twilight Zone has been referenced many times on The Simpsons.

References to The Twilight Zone in The Simpsons[edit]

Episodes[edit]

Season	Episode number	Episode name	Reference
2	016	"Treehouse of Horror"	When Lisa snoops on the Rigellians' ship, she finds a cookbook whose title is eventually revealed to be How to Cook for Forty Humans, but first appears to be How to Cook Humans. The book is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" where aliens greet people with a book titled To Serve Man, as revealed when it's translated. The curious people accept the aliens' invitations to see their homeworld, and they travel with the aliens on their spaceships. One woman accepts such an invitation, but is stopped by her brother, who has properly translated the book and is shouting "It's a cookbook! It's a cookbook!".
3	042	"Treehouse of Horror II"	The voice-over introduction to Bart's nightmare is based on Rod Serling making the introduction to the Twilight Zone episodes. The plot of the episode is based on The Twilight Zone (1959) episode 73, "It's a Good Life." Also, Bart's nightmare is largely based on the "It's a Good Life" segment of The Twlight Zone Movie, which is a remake of the episode.
4	064	"Treehouse of Horror III"	The first segment, "Clown Without Pity", is an overall spoof of the Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll", though it also has elements of the TV special Trilogy of Terror and the Child's Play film franchise.
5	086	"Treehouse of Horror IV"	The "Terror at 5 1/2 Feet" segment is a parody of the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", set on a bus rather than an airplane.
087	"Marge on the Lam"	Lionel Hutz's line, "This isn't the YMCA", appears to be a reference to the The Twilight Zone episode "Person or Persons Unknown", in which the protagonist snidely remarks at one point, "What? This isn't the YMCA?".
6	117	"Bart's Comet"	The scene where an angry mob wants access to Flanders' shelter references The Twilight Zone episode "The Shelter".
118	"Homie the Clown"	Krusty has a facelift and wants to see himself in a mirror, only to be shocked at the procedure and how it turned out. This is a nod to The Twilight Zone episode "The Eye of the Beholder", where a woman's face is also botched beyond repair, only to reveal that she actually looks normal, but this takes place in another universe where ugly faces are the norm and a beautiful face is seen as hideous.
7	134	"Treehouse of Horror VI"	The portal is similar to The Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost". Even Homer says: "It's like something from that Twilighty show about that Zone".
8	154	"Treehouse of Horror VII"	"The Genesis Tub" is inspired by the 1962 Twilight Zone episode called "The Little People", where astronauts stumble upon a tiny civilization on an asteroid.
162	"El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer"	E.A.R.L. being a robot rather than a human being is a reference to The Twilight Zone episode "The Old Man in the Cave".
10	207	"Treehouse of Horror IX"	The plot of The Terror of the Tiny Toon references Twilight Zone: The Movie, where a real-life person also ends up in an animated cartoon and get killed. Incidentally that person in Twilight Zone: the Movie was performed by Nancy Cartwright.
214	"Wild Barts Can't Be Broken"	The last scene with the elderly playing in the street is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode Kick the Can.
12	262	"New Kids on the Blecch"	When Homer announces that he's going to run in the Springfield Marathon, Marge chides him: "Oh, please. You get exhausted watching The Twilight Zone marathon!"
14	300	"The Strong Arms of the Ma"	When Marge runs over the mailman and tells him that it will take a while for help to arrive, he says it's no problem as he's got plenty to read and picks up a Twilight Zone magazine. Then, to his horror, he discovers that his glasses are broken, referencing the 1959 episode "Time Enough at Last". The music from the show plays after this.
17	360	"Treehouse of Horror XVI"	The segment "I've Grown a Costume on Your Face" references Twilight Zone episode "The Masks", in which four greedy heirs are told to wear hideous masks by their rich, dying relative, which turn them into monsters.
23	503	"Them, Robot"	The robot who saves Homer's life by pushing him out of the path of an oncoming truck (and being himself hit as a result) is like the self-sacrificing robot in The Twilight Zone episode, "I Sing the Body Electric".
25	532	"Treehouse of Horror XXIV"	In the opening sequence, Rod Serling, creator and host of the original TV series, is seen smoking a cigarette.

Comics[edit]

Picture	Comic issue	Story name	Reference
	Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #3	The Immigration of the Body Snatchers	Dr. Marvin Monroe unmasks himself as an invading three-eyed Venusian who is ready to take on the Pod People who are also invading, although a group of Martians are in turn prepared to deal with the Venusians. This is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" In the same scene an ape screams "To Serve Man - it's a cookbook!", referencing the "To Serve Man" episode.

Video games[edit]

Picture	Game	Reference
	The Simpsons: Tapped Out	Kang is seen reading a book titled How to Cook Humans. The book is a reference to the Twilight Zone television episode "To Serve Man", as detailed in the entry above for the "Treehouse of Horror" television episode.

Books[edit]

Picture	Book	Reference
	Bartman: The Hero's Handbook	The background of Grodd Serling is a reference to The Twilight Zone, which Rod Serling presented.

Twitter[edit]

Account	Date	Tweet
ComicBookGuy	October 20, 2011	I can't wait for the World Series to end. To me, baseball is only good when they show "Twilight Zone" reruns during rain delays.

Cast and crew[edit]

Picture	Name	Role in The Twilight Zone	Role on The Simpsons
	Victor Garber	Played Dr. Kevin Carlson in "A Day in Beaumont".	Voiced Michael in "Portrait of a Lackey on Fire".
	Pat O'Brien	Voiced Mr. Motivation in the episode of the same name.	Voiced himself in "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder".

External links[edit]

The Twilight Zone at Wikipedia

Cultural references

view • talk • edit • past Television
The A-Team • All in the Family • Alvin and the Chipmunks • America's Funniest Home Videos • Animaniacs • Barney & Friends • Battlestar Galactica • Baywatch • Beauty and the Beast • Bewitched • The Big Bang Theory • Black Mirror • Bob's Burgers • The Brady Bunch • Breaking Bad • Charlie's Angels • Cheers • The Critic • CSI • Dallas • Davey and Goliath • DC Comics • Dennis the Menace • Dilbert • Disenchantment • Doctor Who • The Dukes of Hazzard • Family Guy • The Flintstones • Frasier • Futurama • Game of Thrones • Garfield • Gilligan's Island • Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. • Happy Days • The Honeymooners • Gunsmoke • I Dream of Jeannie • I Love Lucy • The Jetsons • King of the Hill • Late Show with David Letterman • Law & Order • The Lone Ranger • Looney Tunes • Lost • Lost in Space • Married... with Children • Marvel • MAS*H • Matlock • Monty Python's Flying Circus • Mork & Mindy • The Munsters • The Muppets • My Little Pony • MythBusters • The Odd Couple • Orange Is the New Black • Peanuts • Pokémon • Popeye • The Powerpuff Girls • The Ren & Stimpy Show • Rick and Morty • The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show • Sailor Moon • Scooby-Doo • Sesame Street • Seinfeld • The Smurfs • The Sopranos • South Park • SpongeBob SquarePants • Stargate • Starsky & Hutch • Star Trek • Stranger Things • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Teletubbies • That '70s Show • Thriller • The Tracey Ullman Show • Transformers • The Twilight Zone • The Walking Dead • When Animals Attack! • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? • The Wonder Years • The X-Files

view • talk • edit • past Films
2001: A Space Odyssey • Alice in Wonderland • Alien • Alvin and the Chipmunks • Apocalypse Now • Avatar • Back to the Future • Beauty and the Beast • Ben-Hur • Das Boot • C.H.U.D. • Charlie's Angels • Casablanca • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory • A Christmas Carol • Citizen Kane • A Clockwork Orange • Close Encounters of the Third Kind • DC Comics • Dial M for Murder • Die Hard • Dracula • The Dukes of Hazzard • The Exorcist • Fantasia • The Fly • Frozen • Garfield • Ghostbusters • The Godfather • Godzilla • Gone with the Wind • Harry Potter • Home Alone • The Hunger Games • Indiana Jones • It's a Wonderful Life • James Bond • Jaws • Jurassic Park • King Kong • Laurel & Hardy • The Lion King • The Little Mermaid • The Little Rascals • The Lone Ranger • Looney Tunes • The Lord of the Rings • MAS*H • Mad Max • Marvel • The Marx Brothers • The Matrix • The Odd Couple • Pirates of the Caribbean • Planet of the Apes • Pokémon • Popeye • Psycho • Pulp Fiction • RoboCop • Saw • Scooby-Doo • The Shawshank Redemption • The Shining • The Silence of the Lambs • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • The Sound of Music • Soylent Green • SpongeBob SquarePants • Star Trek • Star Wars • A Streetcar Named Desire • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Terminator • Thelma & Louise • They Saved Hitler's Brain • The Three Stooges • Thriller • Titanic • Toy Story • Transformers • When Harry Met Sally... • The Wizard of Oz

view • talk • edit • past Video games
Angry Birds • Candy Crush Saga • Donkey Kong • Grand Theft Auto • The Legend of Zelda • Mario • Minecraft • Pokémon

view • talk • edit • past Magazines
Cracked • MAD • The New Yorker • Playboy • Rolling Stone

view • talk • edit • past Books
Alice in Wonderland • Beauty and the Beast • Ben-Hur • The Catcher in the Rye • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory • A Christmas Carol • A Clockwork Orange • Dial M for Murder • Dracula • The Exorcist • Fahrenheit 451 • The Fly • Game of Thrones • The Godfather • Gone with the Wind • Goosebumps • Harry Potter • The Hunger Games • James Bond • Jaws • Jurassic Park • The Little Mermaid • The Lord of the Rings • Moby-Dick • The Old Man and the Sea • Planet of the Apes • Psycho • The Silence of the Lambs • The Shining • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • A Streetcar Named Desire • The Wizard of Oz

view • talk • edit • past Comics
DC Comics • Dennis the Menace • Dilbert • Garfield • Life in Hell • Marvel • Mary Worth • My Little Pony • Peanuts • Popeye • Sailor Moon • The Smurfs • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Tintin • The Walking Dead

view • talk • edit • past Other
Art references • Gilbert and Sullivan • Hindenburg disaster • References in other media