Treehouse of Horror II
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"Treehouse of Horror II"
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Episode Information
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Treehouse of Horror II is the seventh episode of the third season. It aired on October 31, 1991. It is the second annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments, told as dreams of Lisa, Bart and Homer. In the first segment, which was inspired W.W. Jacobs's short story The Monkey's Paw and The New Twilight Zone episode "A Small Talent for War", Homer buys a Monkey's Paw that has the power to grant wishes, although all of the wishes backfire. In the second part, which parodies of The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life", Bart has omnipotent powers, and turns Homer into a jack-in-the-box, resulting in the two spending more time together. In the final segment, Mr. Burns attempts to use Homer's brain to power a giant robotic laborer.
The episode was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jeff Martin, George Meyer, Sam Simon and John Swartzwelder while Jim Reardon was the director. The episode is presented in a similar format to the previous season's "Treehouse of Horror" and contains several similarities to the previous episode, such as Marge's opening warning, the tombstones in the opening credits and the appearance of the alien characters Kang and Kodos. "Treehouse of Horror II" was the first episode that employed the "scary names" idea, in which many of the credits have unusual names. The episode contains numerous parodies and references to horror and science fiction works, including The Twilight Zone, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Thing with Two Heads and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Contents
Plot
Marge's Warning
"Hello everyone. Before lasts years Halloween show, I warned you not to let your children watch. But you did anyway. Hmm. well, this year's episode is even worse; it's scarier and more violent and I think they snuck in some bad language, too. So, please, tuck in your children and... well, if you didn't listen to me the last time, you're not going to now. Enjoy the show."
Opening
When Homer, Lisa, Bart come back from Trick-or-Treating, they get a load of candy. Marge tells them not to eat too much or they'll get nightmares. They all scoff at her, but they do have nightmares.
Lisa's Nightmare
The Simpsons visit Morocco, where Homer buys a mysterious monkey's paw that grants wishes but with great misfortune. Once back home, the family begins to wish upon the paw. Maggie wishes for a golden pacifier, and Bart wishes for the family to be rich and famous. The pacifier seems to have no negative connotations, but the money and fame cause a public backlash to grow around the Simpsons, as they appear on everything from T-shirts to billboards for mammogram tests. Lisa wishes for world peace, but when Kang and Kodos see that the Earth is vulnerable, they conquer it, enslaving humanity. Homer then wishes for a turkey sandwich, which he claims is a wish that can't backfire. The sandwich appears to be perfect... except the turkey is a little dry. This 'abnormality' causes Homer to fly into a rage, before throwing the monkey's paw away. When Ned Flanders sees Homer throwing it out, Homer offers the paw to him, assuming that wishes with misfortunes will soon plague his neighbor. However, Ned's first wish (to get rid of the aliens) frees the human race and he's considered a hero. Shortly afterward, Flanders wishes for his home to become a castle, as Homer watches, seething.
Bart's Nightmare
Bart is a boy who's able to bend reality with his mind, and he will turn anyone who thinks badly about him into a creature. The whole town lives in fear of him because of this, constantly forced to be happy and fulfill his every demand. Marge tells Homer that Bart is out of control, and Homer goes to talk to him. Bart then turns him into a Jack-in-the-box. They start to spend quality time together, Bart becomes less mean, and eventually he turns Homer back to normal. Homer then gives Bart a fatherly kiss and Bart wakes up, horrified.This is a parody of It's a Good Life Episode.
Homer's Nightmare
Homer is fired from his job and he becomes a grave digger. He falls asleep in an open grave. Mr. Burns and Smithers are out looking for a brain, for their experiment to create the ultimate worker. They find Homer, and thinking he's dead, take him to their lab, remove his brain and place it into a robot. The robot then acts like Homer (clumsy and lazy), to Mr. Burns disappointment. Smithers convinces him to put Homer's brain back where it came from, but after this is done the robot falls on top of Mr. Burns, crushing his body. To save his life, Mr. Burns' head is sewn onto Homer's body. Homer wakes up from his nightmare, and realizes that Mr. Burns' head really is sewn onto his body.
es:Treehouse of Horror II
