Treehouse of Horror III/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 4 Episode References
← 063 "Lisa the Beauty Queen"	064 "Treehouse of Horror III"	"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" 065 →

Cultural references

• The first two segments end with heart-shaped wipes and musical stings, similar to the 1970s anthology show Love, American Style.

Opening sequence

• Homer walking into Alfred Hitchcock's silhouette is a parody of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
• In the Halloween party, Bart is costumed as Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange.

Clown Without Pity

• The title is a wordplay on the 1961 drama film Town Without Pity.
• The segment is a spoof of the Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll".
• Homer sings the Oscar Mayer jingle "My Bologna Has a First Name", spelling his name ("H-O-M-E-R") in place of O-S-C-A-R and M-A-Y-E-R.
• The shopkeeper's warnings to Homer alternated with benefits, such as complimentary serving of frogurt was inspired by the childrens' book "What Good Luck! What Bad Luck!" where each part has the character in situations that are either disadvantageous or advantangeous to his last scenario.
• When Marge calls the doll manufacturer for help, the on-hold music is "Everybody Loves a Clown".
• While seeing Homer run naked while being pursued by the Krusty Doll, Patty states "there goes the last lingering thread of my heterosexuality," a hint that she is a lesbian

King Homer

• King Kong: Spoofed and parodied throughout the segment.
• The advert above the one that Marge answers consists of lyrics from "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)".
• When the gas grenade explodes in front of Mr. Burns, he sings "I was strolling through the gas one day", parodying the song "The Fountain in the Park". (The song's first line is "While strolling in the park one day".)
• Shirley Temple is seen dancing and singing her signature song "On the Good Ship Lollipop" before King Homer eats her.

Dial "Z" for Zombies

• The segment's title is a reference to the Alfred Hitchcock film Dial M for Murder.
• When Bart raises the dead, he's wearing a Michael Jackson record on his head (aptly, it's Thriller).
• Bart's dead-raising incantation consists of the names of game show hosts and department stores:
  • "Cullen" - Bill Cullen
  • "Rayburn" - Gene Rayburn
  • "Narz" - Jack Narz
  • "Trebek" - Alex Trebek
  • "Zabar" - Zabar's
  • "Kresge" - The S.S. Kresge Corporation, which became Kmart
  • "Caldor" and "Walmart"
• Homer kills the following famous zombies: George Washington, Albert Einstein, and William Shakespeare.
• Three of the tombstones in the Pet Cemetery read "Fish Police", "Capitol Critters", and "Family Dog", the titles of three short-lived animated television programs that aired in the early 1990s.
• When Bart attempts to return the zombies to their graves and accidentally turns Lisa into a snail, the incantation consists of the names of 1970s TV detective shows and their characters: Kolchak, Mannix, Banacek, and Danno (Hawaii Five-O).
• The incantation that successfully returns the zombies to their graves consists of condom brand names: Trojan, Ramses, Magnum, and Sheik.

Trivia

• In the couch gag, skeleton Marge's hair looks the same as it does in the opening scene of "Treehouse of Horror II".
• It is the first episode in the Treehouse of Horror series to have a zombie-related segment. The second is "Treehouse of Horror XIII", with the segment "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms".
• It is also the first Halloween episode to have a couch gag.
• This is one of several Simpsons episodes which are considered anthology episodes that feature mini-stories.
• Costumes at the Halloween party:

1. Homer - Julius Caesar
2. Bart - Alex DeLarge
3. Lisa - Statue of Liberty
4. Marge - Cleopatra
5. Milhouse - Radioactive Man
6. Nelson - Pirate
7. Martin - Calliope
8. Janey - Princess
9. Lewis - Frankenstein's Monster
10. Richard - Scratchy

Goofs

• In the opening sequence, Janey is shown with yellow skin.
• Homer's toga was ripped off when he came down the stairs ("Behold, mighty Caesar! In all his glory!"), but when he ruins the evil witch game by eating the food used as the witch's body parts, Homer is in his normal clothes (white shirt and blue pants). Then when Homer tells his crummy ghost story when the show comes back from commercial break, he's back in his toga.
• In "Clown Without Pity", when the Krusty doll accidentally knocks the head off of Lisa's Malibu Stacy doll, Krusty puts it back on but no crack is shown where the head came off.
• In "Dial Z for Zombies", Homer is shooting zombies with the shotgun at the school. When he shoots the first two he just shoots them twice, taking the shots in quick succession, one immediately after the other. After that, every time he shoots a zombie he has to slide the gun.
• When Homer is escorting the family out of the house to escape the zombies, he leaves the door wide open, but in the very next shot it is shut.
• When Lisa is turned into a snail in Bart's zombie story, she says "awww", but her mouth doesn't open.
• Not necessarily a goof: In the scene where Bart attempts to resurrect Snowball I, human zombies are seen rising from the graves in the Springfield Pet Cemetery. (The grounds could have been used for human burials before being designated as a pet cemetery, or there might have been people identifying their deceased loved ones as pets in order to avoid burial costs.)
• In "Clown Without Pity" when Homer is buying the Krusty doll, it doesn't have a box; however, when Bart opens the present, it's in the box.
• In the ending of "Dial Z For Zombies", the security guard to the right of Mayor Quimby has dark skin. In the next shot, his skin is yellow.
• In "Clown Without Pity" when Homer yells, "The doll is trying to kill me, and the toaster's been laughing at me!", his mouth doesn't move. Also, the kitchen table is gone.

← Season 3 Season 4 References Season 5 →

Kamp Krusty • A Streetcar Named Marge • Homer the Heretic • Lisa the Beauty Queen • Treehouse of Horror III • Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie • Marge Gets a Job • New Kid on the Block • Mr. Plow • Lisa's First Word • Homer's Triple Bypass • Marge vs. the Monorail • Selma's Choice • Brother from the Same Planet • I Love Lisa • Duffless • Last Exit to Springfield • So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show • The Front • Whacking Day • Marge in Chains • Krusty Gets Kancelled