Difference between revisions of "Treehouse of Horror VIII"

Latest revision as of 13:25, March 28, 2024

This THOH is considered non-canon and the events featured do not relate to the series and therefore may not have actually happened/existed. The reason behind this decision is: The episode is part of the Treehouse of Horror series. If you dispute this, please bring it up on the episode's talk page.

"Treehouse of Horror VIII"

Episode Information Episode number: 182 Season number: S9 E4 Production code: 5F02 Original airdate: October 26, 1997 Couch gag: The Simpsons sit on the couch. Metal shackles restrain their wrists and ankles and a metal cap comes down on all of their heads. The family writhes in pain as they get shocked by the electricity. Showrunner: Mike Scully Written by: Mike Scully David S. Cohen Ned Goldreyer Directed by: Mark Kirkland DVD features

"Treehouse of Horror VIII" is the fourth episode of season 9 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and eighty-second episode overall. It is also the eighth installment in the Treehouse of Horror series and consists of three parts. It originally aired on October 26, 1997. The episode was written by Mike Scully, David S. Cohen and Ned Goldreyer and directed by Mark Kirkland.

Synopsis[edit]

"In the eighth annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Homer discovers he is the last man left alive after a neutron bomb destroys Springfield in the segment "The HΩmega Man" (a spoof of The Omega Man). In "Fly vs. Fly" (a spoof of The Fly), Homer buys a transporter that Bart uses to switch bodies with a housefly, and "Easy-Bake Coven'" features Marge being accused of witchcraft in a Puritan rendition of 1649 Springfield."

Plot[edit]

A Fox censor named Fox Censor, sitting at his desk reading through the script and deleting things, proudly announces that thanks to his editing tonight's Simpsons episode is rated TV-G. But as he says this, a hand with a sword appears out of the on-screen rating icon and stabs him in the back repeatedly. Every time he gets stabbed, the rating gets higher. In the end, the rating is "TV-666" and Censor collapses dead onto the desk. Blood pours down the front to reveal the title, "The Simpsons Halloween Special VIII."

Act I: "The HΩmega Man"[edit]

Mayor Quimby generates a great deal of controversy over a "frog's legs" joke he makes about France and he refuses to apologize. Lisa becomes worried that France will launch an attack against them. Homer tries to reassure her by saying that they have a bomb shelter, but it turns out to be a cardboard box in the backyard. So, Homer goes to Herman's Military Antiques to look for a real bomb shelter. He is looking at the Withstand-inator when the French president launches a neutron bomb directly into Springfield. Homer, completely unharmed, emerges from the shelter and complains to Herman's corpse about the food. On the way home, Homer doesn't take notice to the lifeless town. At a green traffic light, he becomes annoyed because the person in front of him won't go. He gets out of his car and decides to handle things with a "little friendly punching". He punches the driver in the head, mistaking their head turning into dust for a sign that he 'still has it'. He then notices a newspaper headline that tells about the bomb that blew up Springfield, and he seems to be the only person to have survived.

Homer looking at the dead people.

He misses his family, but he quickly gets over his loss and realizes he can do anything he wants. Homer takes this opportunity to dance naked in the church, when he is confronted by a band of Springfield citizens who have become mutants, but they prefer to be called 'freaks' or 'monsters'.

The Mutants

They claim that they want to create a perfect world in which the mistakes of the past will be eliminated. This, of course, includes killing Homer. Homer flees in his car back home with the freaks chasing him in a type of zombie car. Upon arriving home, Homer is greeted by his family, who survived the blast because their house was protected by so many layers of lead paint. Seeing Homer reunited with his family, the freaks see the error of their ways. Ned Flanders hopes they can build a Utopiaan society where freaks and norms can live together in peace. Marge seems to agree at first, but she and the children open fire with shotguns that they were hiding behind their backs, killing all of the freaks. Homer and his family decide to take advantage of the nuclear holocaust and go and steal some Ferrari's.

Act II: "Fly Vs. Fly"[edit]

Homer buys a teleporter from Professor Frink at his yard sale. Bart asks if he can use it but, Homer refuses. That night, Bart tries to sneak Snowball II into the teleporter and at the same time, Santa's Little Helper jumps in. As the pets come out, Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II have been merged into two creatures. A fly lands on Bart's arm and thinking that he will become a superhero, Bart grabs the fly and steps into the teleporter.

He comes out his normal head, but with the body of the fly and meanwhile the fly has his body. The rest of the family wakes up and sees Bart's body with a fly's head and decide that it must be Bart and accept him as their family. That night, Bart talks to Lisa and tells her what happened. When Lisa is in the kitchen fly-boy eats Bart and Lisa knocks him into the teleporter. Bart then appears in the living room normal. An enraged Homer grabs an axe and starts chasing Bart around for using the teleporter.

Act III: "Easy-Bake Coven"[edit]

In 1649 the town of Sprynge-Fielde is witness to many witch burnings. Later in the church, the townspeople try to figure out whom to condemn next. People start accusing others and soon they erupt into chaos, until Marge intervenes. She tries to talk sense into the townspeople, but Moe accuses her of being a witch. Mayor Quimby assures her that she is entitled to due process which means she will be thrown off a cliff with a broomstick. If she is a witch she will be able to fly to safety, in which case the authorities expect her to report back for punishment. If she is not a witch, then she will fall to an honorable Christian death.

Marge, Patty and Selma as witches

Lisa tries to speak on her mother's behalf, but to no avail and Marge gets shoved off the cliff by Wiggum's henchmen. As Reverend Lovejoy speaks to the mob about having done the Lord's work, they hear a cackle and all look up, stunned to see that a green-skinned Marge is flying on the broomstick, as she really is an evil witch. Marge then vows revenge on the town. She returns to her elder sisters Patty and Selma in their mountain lair close to Sprynge-Fielde. The sisters watch Ned Flanders and Maude Flanders talking about how the witches may eat children, thus tempting them to hunt. The three set off for Sprynge-Fielde on their broomsticks. They knock on the Flanders' door and demand the kids. They put the kids in sacks and are about to leave, when Maude offers the witches gingerbread men instead. The witches like these better than the kids and let Rod & Todd go. Marge remarks that she wishes they hadn't eaten all those children before they got to the Flanders' house. They go to each house, getting goodies in exchange for not eating the kids. But As they fly off, Horatio McCallister says that is how the tradition of Halloween and trick or treating started, with Maude Flanders' quick thinking leading to the Halloween we all know today.

The next year, the whole town is celebrating Halloween. Homer eggs the door of a house from which no candy was received. Lisa points out that it is their house. And When everyone starts laughing at him, he then accuses Lisa of being a witch, prompting the townspeople to start chasing her down the street in the moonlight.

Production[edit]

Reception[edit]

Composer Alf Clausen was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in the 50th Primetime Emmy Awards for "Treehouse of Horror VIII". However, it lost to "Becoming, Part 1" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.^[1]

References[edit]

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