Difference between revisions of "Treehouse of Horror V/References"

Revision as of 12:15, February 10, 2014

Cultural references

Opening sequence

• During Marge's introduction, a black-and-white movie clip appears which is ostensibly from a Glenn Ford movie called 200 Miles to Oregon. There is no such actual movie with that title, but it may be a pun on or reference to the original 3:10 to Yuma, in which Glenn Ford starred as Ben Wade.
• Bart's introduction (where his voice appears as waves on an oscilloscope) is a parody of the Control Voice's introduction in the 1960s TV series The Outer Limits.

The Shinning

• The Shining - Punned in the title and referenced throughout the segment.
  • Groundskeeper Willie and Moe are parallels of the characters Dick Halloran and Lloyd the bartender, respectively.
  • Maggie spells "REDRUM" with her blocks when Homer tries to watch the TV.
  • Analogous to Jack Torrance endlessly typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", Homer writes "No TV and no beer make Homer go crazy" all over the walls. The only thing Homer types is "Feelin' fine," which briefly reassures Marge, until a lightning flash reveals the writing on the walls.
  • After Marge discovers that Homer has written "No TV and no beer make Homer go crazy" all over the walls, Homer bursts through a door, scaring her, and asks what she thinks of his book. In The Shining, Jack sneaks up on Wendy and asks her what she thinks of his play.
  • Homer does a "Heeeere's Johnny!" scene similar to Jack Torrance, but Homer breaks into two wrong rooms before finding the family.
  • Marge defends herself from Homer with a bat and later locks Homer in a dry food cellar, similar to what Wendy does to Jack.
• Among Moe's gang of "ghouls" are the following:
  • Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
  • Pinhead from the Hellraiser movies.
  • Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies.
  • Dracula from the movie of the same name.
  • The Wolfman from the movie of the same name.
  • The Mummy from the movie of the same name.
• Scotchgard - When Homer hits Willie in the back with an axe, Marge says that she hopes the rug was Scotchgarded.
• A Chorus Line - A parody of the song "One" plays on the portable TV when the Simpsons are frozen in the snow. It is also played during the closing sequence.

Time and Punishment

• Crime and Punishment - The classic novel by Dostoyevsky is punned in the title.
• The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show - Mister Peabody and Sherman appear during Homer's first trip back in time.
• Jurassic Park - When Homer first arrives in the past, he says, "I've gone back to the time when dinosaurs weren't just confined to zoos!"
• 1984 references:
  • Ned Flanders being the absolute lord and master of the world, similar to Big Brother.
  • Video screens record everything, while everyone is required to watch any official announcements made via the screens, reminiscent of the telescreens.
  • Portraits of Flanders where the eyes follow the viewer, similar to portraits of Big Brother.
• Terminator: When Ned speaks to everyone via video, the screen rises up from the kitchen floor, similar to the T-1000 in the mental hospital scene of Terminator 2.
• According to the DVD commentary for the last Season 8 episode of Stargate SG-1 "Moebius", Part 2, the last line pronounced by Jack O'Neill ("Close enough") is a reference to "Treehouse of Horror V".

Nightmare Cafeteria

• Soylent Green - Principal Skinner hits on the idea of serving students as food to solve the problem of overcrowding, similar to the movie's plot.

Closing Sequence

• The song the inside-out Simpsons and Groundskeeper Willie sing and dance to is a parody of "One" from A Chorus Line. It is also played at the end of "The Shinning".

Goofs

When Lisa told Homer that his hand was jammed in the toaster, when the whole family screamed, Lisa's lips didn't move. When the teachers come after Bart, Lisa and Milhouse, Edna isn't fat.

Trivia

• In all three stories, Groundskeeper Willie is hit in the back with an axe when he tries to help someone:

1. By Homer in "The Shinning", after Homer goes mad and Willie attempts to come to the rescue of the rest of the family.

2. By Maggie in "Time and Punishment", when he says he can help Homer get back to his own time. Maggie then says to Homer, "This is indeed a disturbing universe", in James Earl Jones's voice.

3. By Principal Skinner in "Nightmare Cafeteria", when he tries to save Bart, Lisa and Milhouse from being eaten by the teachers. This time after Willie is hit, he says, "Ach, I'm bad at this."

The Shinning

• Before Mr. Burns and Smithers leave for the winter, Smithers suggests to Burns that cutting off the cable television and beer supply may have been the reason for the previous caretakers' going insane and murdering their families. Burns then says that if they come back and everyone is slaughtered, he owes Smithers a Coke. Mr. Burns also says he owes Smithers a Coke in "Treehouse of Horror II" when he and Smithers are returning Homer's brain to his body, realizing that he was alive all along.
• A deleted scene shows Bart encountering Sherri and Terri as the ghosts of the previous caretaker's daughters, similar to Danny Torrance in The Shining. Bart is skateboarding in the halls, turns a corner, and sees Sherri and Terri, who sing, "Your father's gonna kill you!" Bart then skates down another hall and sees Patty and Selma, who tell him, "They're right, y'know."

Nightmare Cafeteria

• The segment comes full circle from the episode "Bart the Murderer", where Principal Skinner disappears and one of the rumors going around Springfield Elementary School is that Skinner was ground into hamburger and served for lunch in the cafeteria.
• When Skinner tells Bart he's going to enjoy devouring him, he adds, "I believe I'll start as you've so often suggested, by eating your shorts", referencing Bart's trademark catchphrase, "Eat My Shorts!"
• According to the DVD commentary, a scene that was written, but not used, had Sherri and Terri being served for lunch as "Terri-yaki with Sherri Sauce".
• The overcrowded classroom in this episode was later reused for "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh".

Airings

Along with every other Treehouse of Horror episode up to XVI, this episode aired as part of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Mania.