Anthology episodes

Over the long run of the Simpsons there have been many episodes which feature 3 mini-stories that are held togeather by a backbone story plot. The reason for 3 mini-stories is due to the commercial break structure of the show.

Halloween Specials

The Halloween episodes are the most well known but there have been many others. After season five the backbone story was removed from the halloween episodes but the 3 mini-stories still remain.

Non-Traditional episodes

Several episodes do not fall into the normal pattern of 3 mini-stories.

Vignettes

In 22 Short Films About Springfield Bart and Milhouse wonder about the various stories happening around Springfield. The episode inspired Simpsons creator Matt Groening to come up with a concept of a possible spin-off series called Tales from Springfield, about the recurring characters of Springfield, but the series was never picked up.

In Springfield Up flash backs of several charactors are used featuring them at different points of their lives.

The episodes Another Simpsons Clip Show and All Singing, All Dancing are more properly categorized as clip shows but also fit the pattern of a vignette anthology type story. The seperate items are taken from previous episodes but there is a base or backbone story invloved with these episodes

Over-lapping POV

Using a story telling techneque which has been used by several other FOX shows including Malcolm in the Middle and Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, in this format the same story line is told from several differnt prespectives.

In Trilogy of Error the story is told from Homer's POV then Lisa's, then finally Bart's.

The Seemingly Never-Ending Story is another POV story, with several different threads telling the same story over and over again from different prespectives.

List of Episodes

What follows is a list of these episodes.

Season 2

• Treehouse of Horror

Season 3

• Treehouse of Horror II

Season 4

• Treehouse of Horror III

Season 5

• Treehouse of Horror IV

Season 6

• Treehouse of Horror V
• Another Simpsons Clip Show

Season 7

• Treehouse of Horror VI
• 22 Short Films About Springfield

Season 8

• Treehouse of Horror VII
• The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase

Season 9

• Treehouse of Horror VIII

Season 10

• Treehouse of Horror IX
• Simpsons Bible Stories

Season 11

• Treehouse of Horror X

Season 12

• Treehouse of Horror XI
• Trilogy of Error
• Simpsons Tall Tales

Season 13

• Treehouse of Horror XII
• Tales from the Public Domain

Season 14

• Treehouse of Horror XIII

Season 15

• Treehouse of Horror XIV
• Margical History Tour

Season 16

• Treehouse of Horror XV

Season 17

• Treehouse of Horror XVI
• Simpson Christmas Stories
• The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
• The Wettest Stories Ever Told

Season 18

• Treehouse of Horror XVII
• Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times
• Springfield Up

Season 19

• Treehouse of Horror XVIII
• Love, Springfieldian Style

Season 20

• Treehouse of Horror XIX