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Difference between revisions of "Treehouse of Horror VII"

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{{Episode
''For the continuing series of Halloween specials, see [[Treehouse of Horror Series]].''
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|image=Treehouse of Horror VII - Title Card.png
{{episode
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|number=154
|image=Halloween7a.jpg
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|season=8
|Episode Number=154
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|snumber=1
|productionCode=4F02
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|prodcode=4F02
|originalAirdate=October 27, 1996
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|airdate=October 27, [[1996]]
|blackboardText=
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|couchgag=The Grim Reaper sits on the couch and kills everyone in the Simpson family as they run in.
|couchGag=The Grim Reaper sits on the couch and kills everyone in the Simpson family as they run in.
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|guests=[[Phil Hartman]] as [[Bill Clinton]]
|specialGuestVoices=[[Phil Hartman]] as [[Bill Clinton]]
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|writer=[[Ken Keeler]]<br>[[Dan Greaney]]<br>[[David S. Cohen]]
|Written By=[[Ken Keeler]]<br/> [[Dan Greaney]] <br/>[[David S. Cohen]]
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|showrunner=[[Bill Oakley]]<br>[[Josh Weinstein]]
|Episode Number=154
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|director=[[Mike B. Anderson]]
|Show Runner=[[Bill Oakley]] <br/> [[Josh Weinstein]]
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|DVD features=yes
|Directed By=[[Mike B. Anderson]]
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{Quote|I made a pigeon-rat.|[[Hugo Simpson]]}}
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"'''Treehouse of Horror VII'''" is the first episode of [[season 8]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the one-hundred and fifty-fourth episode overall. It is also the seventh installment in the [[Treehouse of Horror series|''Treehouse of Horror'' series]] and consists of three parts. It originally aired on October 27, [[1996]]. The episode was written by [[Ken Keeler]], [[Dan Greaney]] and [[David S. Cohen]] and directed by [[Mike B. Anderson]]. It guest stars [[Phil Hartman]] as [[Bill Clinton]].
  
"'''Treehouse of Horror VII'''" is the first episode of [[Season 8|eighth season]] and originally aired October 27, 1996. It was written by [[Ken Keeler]], [[Dan Greaney]] and [[David S. Cohen]] and directed by [[Mike B. Anderson]]. Special guest [[Phil Hartman]] provided the voice of Clinton.
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== Synopsis ==
==Synopsis==
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{{desc|In the seventh annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, [[Bart]] discovers his long-lost twin, [[Lisa]] grows a colony of small beings, and [[Kang]] & [[Kodos]] impersonate [[Bill Clinton]] and [[Bob Dole]] in order to win the 1996 Presidential election.}}
  
In the seventh annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, [[Bart]] discovers his long-lost twin, [[Lisa]] grows a colony of small beings and [[Kang & Kodos]] impersonate [[Bill Clinton]] and Bob Dole in order to win the 1996 Presidential election.
 
 
== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
 +
=== The Thing and I ===
 +
[[File:The Thing and I - Title Card.png|thumb|left|Title card for "The Thing and I" segment.]]
 +
[[Bart]] and [[Lisa]] hear strange noises coming from the attic one night and get curious about them. The next morning, they ask [[Homer]] and [[Marge]] about the noises. Homer and Marge tell them to never go up into the attic. Homer then goes up to the attic with a bucket of fish heads. The next time Homer and Marge are out of the house, Bart, Lisa, and [[Maggie]] go into the attic to see what's up there. They see what they think is a monster and get scared and flee. During this, the monster got out of its chains and seemingly escaped from the house.
 +
 +
When Homer and Marge return, Bart and Lisa tell them that something escaped from the attic. Homer and Marge then explain that Bart was a conjoined twin, and the other twin, [[Hugo Simpson|Hugo]], was found to be evil. They kept him locked in the attic whilst Bart got to live his life. Homer and Marge then call [[Dr. Hibbert]] and they all go to find Hugo, leaving Bart alone. Hugo then shows himself to Bart, having not actually left the house. Hugo takes Bart up to the attic so that he can sew him and Bart back together again, believing that they were better that way. Dr. Hibbert then enters the attic and knocks Hugo out. Dr. Hibbert then realizes that the scar on Hugo doesn't match him being the left twin, so that makes Bart the evil twin. Bart is then confined to the attic whilst Hugo lives with the rest of the family.
 +
 +
=== The Genesis Tub ===
 +
[[File:The Genesis Tub - Title Card.png|thumb|Title card for "The Genesis Tub" segment.]]
 +
For Lisa's science fair project, she places a tooth in a tub with [[Buzz Cola]] to see the effect of cola on teeth. Bart then enters Lisa's room to show her his "science project", which is him using a balloon to give Lisa a static shock. Lisa then touches her tooth in the tub and transfers the static electricity into the tooth and cola. The next morning, Lisa wakes up to find that mold has grown around the tooth. She then uses her microscope to find that there is a tiny stone age civilization living in the mold.
 +
 +
The new microscopic beings start advancing at a very fast rate, eventually outmatching Earth's technology. As Lisa is studying her new life, Bart comes along and sticks his finger into the tub. This causes massive damage to the city and angers the people. They create spaceships and fly out to attack Bart in his sleep. Bart gets outraged at this and tries to destroy [[The Little Universe]], but Lisa stops him. Bart tells Lisa that she won't be able to protect it forever and leaves. A shrink ray is then used from The Little Universe and hits Lisa, shrinking her down.
 +
 +
The people of the city introduce themselves to Lisa and worship her as their god. They are then shocked to find out that Bart, who they refer to as the devil, is Lisa's brother. When Lisa asks to be grown again, the people tell her that they can't do that. Bart then comes back and takes The Little Universe and submits it as his own science project, winning the science fair. Lisa gets annoyed as she should have won the gift certificate then demands that her people bring her some nice shoes.
 +
 +
=== Citizen Kang ===
 +
[[File:Citizen Kang - Title Card.png|thumb|left|Title card for the "Citizen Kang" segment.]]
 +
When Homer is out fishing one day, he is abducted by [[Kang]] and [[Kodos]], who demand Homer takes them to his leader. Homer tells Kang and Kodos about the presidential election, which means there might be a new leader very soon. The Rigellians then set out to kidnap both [[Bob Dole]] and [[Bill Clinton]], who are running in the election. After trapping the candidates in tubes, Kang and Kodos take on their identities and take over their lives. They then spray Homer with rum, so nobody will believe him, and dump him out of the spaceship. Homer returns home and tells his family what happened, but nobody believes him.
 +
 +
Kang and Kodos continue the election campaign together, giving promises and doing things that confused people. On the day of the election, Homer found the UFO and woke up Clinton and Dole. When trying to free them, he accidentally took the UFO into space and ejected them, killing the candidates. Homer then returns the UFO to Earth, crashing it into the [[United States Capitol]]. Homer then unmasks Kang and Kodos, revealing that he was right all along. The Rigellians are unaffected, telling the people that America has a two-party system and they have to vote for one of them. Eventually, Kang wins the election and becomes president and the Rigellians enslave humanity.
 +
 +
== Production ==
 +
This "Treehouse of Horror" episode didn't have a wraparound between the segments as they didn't want to bother trying to cut it down for time.<ref name="Weinstein">{{Com|Weinstein, Josh|Treehouse of Horror VII|Eighth|(2006).|link=Josh Weinstein}}</ref> "The Thing and I" was very loosely based on the 1982 horror film ''{{W2|Basket Case|film}}'', but the similarities didn't stretch beyond having a deformed twin.<ref name="Keeler">{{Com|Keeler, Ken|Treehouse of Horror VII|Eighth|(2006).|link=Ken Keeler}}</ref> "Genesis Tub" was pitched by [[David X. Cohen]].<ref name="Greaney">{{Com|Greaney, Dan|Treehouse of Horror VII|Eighth|(2006).|link=Dan Greaney}}</ref> A large discussion about the Clark Building in The Little Universe was cut out.<ref name="Weinstein"/>
  
===The Thing and I===
+
The scene of the spaceships attacking Bart was the first usage of computers in animating ''The Simpsons''. The animators modeled the spaceships and used a program to track the movement before they retraced the shots into 2D.<ref name="Anderson">{{Com|Anderson, Mike B.|Treehouse of Horror VII|Eighth|(2006).|link=Mike B. Anderson}}</ref> The "Citizen Kang" segment violates the rules of ''The Simpsons'' as it locks the show in one time period and uses politicians from that time period.<ref name="Cohen">{{Com|Cohen, David X.|Treehouse of Horror VII|Eighth|(2006).|link=David X. Cohen}}</ref>
Bart, Lisa, and Maggie hear strange noises coming from the attic one night. The next morning, after they mention this to their parents, Marge reminds Homer to feed the "thing". The kids spy on Homer climbing to the attic feeding fish heads to something. The kids are still curious as to what this is. And Homer accidentally calls them four children, until Marge covers it up. That night, while Homer and Marge are out, the kids sneak into the attic, where Bart discovers the unsold copies of Homer's auto-biography. They find a shadow, and run out scared. Homer and Marge come home disappointed to find that they entered the attic. When they climb up into the attic, the weird shadow escapes through the door. Marge calls Dr. Hibbert to inform him that Hugo is loose. She then tells Bart that he has a twin brother named Hugo. Dr. Hibbert suddenly appears, scaring Marge, and explains the story of Hugo. When Bart was born, he was a Siamese twin. The only problem was that the left twin, Hugo, was evil. So after they were separated, Homer and Marge decided to chain Hugo up in the attic and feed him fish heads. Bart believes this story when he discovers his scar. Everyone except him exits the house to find Hugo, leaving Bart behind, who knows that Hugo is in the house. He soon realizes that he is right, as Hugo confronts him. Hugo ties him up on a table in the attic planning to sew them back together in hopes of becoming sane again. Before the operation begins, Dr. Hibbert appears and shows Hugo a mirror to see his own face in, but Hugo becomes confused as it has no glass, and Dr. Hibbert punchs Hugo in the face, knocking him out. He then notices that Hugo's scar is on the left side. Remembering that the twin on the right was evil, he reveals that Bart was the evil one. So their solution is having Hugo join the family, while Bart lives up in the attic like an outcast.
 
  
===The Genesis Tub===
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== Reception ==
Lisa places a tooth in cola for a school science project. After being shocked by static electricity from Bart, Lisa touches the tooth, and the spark causes life to evolve in the petri dish where the cola and tooth are. In less than a few days, the tiny people have evolved to a futuristic cityscape. However, Bart playfully destroys some of their tiny buildings, causing them to launch a counterattack, sending a small fleet of aerial vehicles to attack him. Bart wants to destroy them for attacking him, but Lisa intervenes. He leaves, threatening that he will get revenge on them. Shortly after this, a strange beam from the petri dish hits Lisa, shrinking her down and into the tooth city, where she finds she is hailed as a god and Bart as the devil. The citizenry ask her for many answers, to which she promises she can help if she were big again. However, the people have not figured the technology to enlarge things. Matters turn worse when Bart claims the petri dish and the civilization as his own, winning the school science fair. Realizing she's trapped with the tooth city's inhabitants, Lisa angrily settles in to become their ruler, beginning by ordering them to bring her some nice shoes.
+
Les Chappell of {{W|The A.V. Club}} calls "Citizen Kang" an "all-time classic for its scathing take on the electoral process". Chappell goes on to praise the "genuinely creepy imagery" from "The Thing and I", but says that the pacing felt rushed.<ref>[https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-treehouse-of-horror-vii-1798181639 The A.V. Club - "The Simpsons (Classic): “Treehouse Of Horror VII”"]</ref>
  
===Citizen Kang===
+
As of September [[2021]], "Treehouse of Horror VII" has an 8.5 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0779678/ IMDb - "Treehouse of Horror VII"]</ref>
[[Kang and Kodos]] capture Homer and ask who his leader is. Homer says there's going to be an election, so Kang becomes [[Bob Dole]] and Kodos becomes [[Bill Clinton]]. Before dumping Homer off their ship, Kang sprays him with rum so that no one believes him. On the day of the election, Homer stumbles upon Kang and Kodos' ship and goes inside to free the real Clinton and Dole. He accidentally pilots the ship into space. Clinton and Dole agree on leading the country together and ask Homer to let them out. Homer accidentally ejects them from the ship and they die from the lack of oxygen and float on into the dark void of space. Homer then crashes the ship into the White House and climbs down and exposes Kang and Kodos to be aliens. Despite not being the real competitors, the people have to vote for one of them anyway. One of the citizens suggest a third-party vote, and Kang replies,"Oh, sure. Go ahead, throw away your vote." In the end, Kang wins the election. As the president he and the Rigellians enslave the human race to build a giant laser cannon to fire at a planet the humans have never heard of. Marge comments that Homer was right but that it's his fault that they're enslaved. Homer replies,"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos." and is whipped by a Rigellian.
 
  
== Title cards ==
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== Gallery ==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:Halloween7b.jpg
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File:Treehouse of Horror VII promo.jpg|Promotional image
File:Halloween7c.jpg
 
File:Halloween7d.jpg
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 +
== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
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{{Images|ep=yes}}
 
{{Treehouse of Horror}}
 
{{Treehouse of Horror}}
{{Season 8}}
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{{season 8}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Treehouse of Horror 07}}
  
[[Category:Episodes]]
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[[sv:Treehouse of Horror VII]]
[[Category:Season 8]]
 
[[Category:Treehouse of Horror]]
 
[[Category:Anthology]]
 
 
[[Category:1996]]
 
[[Category:1996]]
 
[[Category:Season premieres]]
 
[[Category:Season premieres]]
 
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[[Category:Treehouse of Horror]]
[[sv:Treehouse of Horror VII]]
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[[Category:Anthology episodes]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Ken Keeler]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Dan Greaney]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by David X. Cohen]]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by Mike B. Anderson]]

Revision as of 07:40, October 1, 2021

Season 8 Episode
153 "Summer of 4 Ft. 2"
154
"Treehouse of Horror VII"
"You Only Move Twice" 155
VI "Treehouse of Horror VI"
VII
"Treehouse of Horror VII"
"Treehouse of Horror VIII" VIII
Treehouse of Horror Episode


Donut Homer.png This episode 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: .

If you dispute this, please bring it up on the episode's talk page.

"Treehouse of Horror VII"
Treehouse of Horror VII - Title Card.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 154
Season number: S8 E1
Production code: 4F02
Original airdate: October 27, 1996
Couch gag: The Grim Reaper sits on the couch and kills everyone in the Simpson family as they run in.
Guest star(s): Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton
Showrunner(s): Bill Oakley
Josh Weinstein
Written by: Ken Keeler
Dan Greaney
David S. Cohen
Directed by: Mike B. Anderson
DVD features


"Treehouse of Horror VII" is the first episode of season 8 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and fifty-fourth episode overall. It is also the seventh installment in the Treehouse of Horror series and consists of three parts. It originally aired on October 27, 1996. The episode was written by Ken Keeler, Dan Greaney and David S. Cohen and directed by Mike B. Anderson. It guest stars Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton.

Synopsis

"In the seventh annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Bart discovers his long-lost twin, Lisa grows a colony of small beings, and Kang & Kodos impersonate Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in order to win the 1996 Presidential election."


Plot

The Thing and I

Title card for "The Thing and I" segment.

Bart and Lisa hear strange noises coming from the attic one night and get curious about them. The next morning, they ask Homer and Marge about the noises. Homer and Marge tell them to never go up into the attic. Homer then goes up to the attic with a bucket of fish heads. The next time Homer and Marge are out of the house, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie go into the attic to see what's up there. They see what they think is a monster and get scared and flee. During this, the monster got out of its chains and seemingly escaped from the house.

When Homer and Marge return, Bart and Lisa tell them that something escaped from the attic. Homer and Marge then explain that Bart was a conjoined twin, and the other twin, Hugo, was found to be evil. They kept him locked in the attic whilst Bart got to live his life. Homer and Marge then call Dr. Hibbert and they all go to find Hugo, leaving Bart alone. Hugo then shows himself to Bart, having not actually left the house. Hugo takes Bart up to the attic so that he can sew him and Bart back together again, believing that they were better that way. Dr. Hibbert then enters the attic and knocks Hugo out. Dr. Hibbert then realizes that the scar on Hugo doesn't match him being the left twin, so that makes Bart the evil twin. Bart is then confined to the attic whilst Hugo lives with the rest of the family.

The Genesis Tub

Title card for "The Genesis Tub" segment.

For Lisa's science fair project, she places a tooth in a tub with Buzz Cola to see the effect of cola on teeth. Bart then enters Lisa's room to show her his "science project", which is him using a balloon to give Lisa a static shock. Lisa then touches her tooth in the tub and transfers the static electricity into the tooth and cola. The next morning, Lisa wakes up to find that mold has grown around the tooth. She then uses her microscope to find that there is a tiny stone age civilization living in the mold.

The new microscopic beings start advancing at a very fast rate, eventually outmatching Earth's technology. As Lisa is studying her new life, Bart comes along and sticks his finger into the tub. This causes massive damage to the city and angers the people. They create spaceships and fly out to attack Bart in his sleep. Bart gets outraged at this and tries to destroy The Little Universe, but Lisa stops him. Bart tells Lisa that she won't be able to protect it forever and leaves. A shrink ray is then used from The Little Universe and hits Lisa, shrinking her down.

The people of the city introduce themselves to Lisa and worship her as their god. They are then shocked to find out that Bart, who they refer to as the devil, is Lisa's brother. When Lisa asks to be grown again, the people tell her that they can't do that. Bart then comes back and takes The Little Universe and submits it as his own science project, winning the science fair. Lisa gets annoyed as she should have won the gift certificate then demands that her people bring her some nice shoes.

Citizen Kang

Title card for the "Citizen Kang" segment.

When Homer is out fishing one day, he is abducted by Kang and Kodos, who demand Homer takes them to his leader. Homer tells Kang and Kodos about the presidential election, which means there might be a new leader very soon. The Rigellians then set out to kidnap both Bob Dole and Bill Clinton, who are running in the election. After trapping the candidates in tubes, Kang and Kodos take on their identities and take over their lives. They then spray Homer with rum, so nobody will believe him, and dump him out of the spaceship. Homer returns home and tells his family what happened, but nobody believes him.

Kang and Kodos continue the election campaign together, giving promises and doing things that confused people. On the day of the election, Homer found the UFO and woke up Clinton and Dole. When trying to free them, he accidentally took the UFO into space and ejected them, killing the candidates. Homer then returns the UFO to Earth, crashing it into the United States Capitol. Homer then unmasks Kang and Kodos, revealing that he was right all along. The Rigellians are unaffected, telling the people that America has a two-party system and they have to vote for one of them. Eventually, Kang wins the election and becomes president and the Rigellians enslave humanity.

Production

This "Treehouse of Horror" episode didn't have a wraparound between the segments as they didn't want to bother trying to cut it down for time.[1] "The Thing and I" was very loosely based on the 1982 horror film Basket Case, but the similarities didn't stretch beyond having a deformed twin.[2] "Genesis Tub" was pitched by David X. Cohen.[3] A large discussion about the Clark Building in The Little Universe was cut out.[1]

The scene of the spaceships attacking Bart was the first usage of computers in animating The Simpsons. The animators modeled the spaceships and used a program to track the movement before they retraced the shots into 2D.[4] The "Citizen Kang" segment violates the rules of The Simpsons as it locks the show in one time period and uses politicians from that time period.[5]

Reception

Les Chappell of The A.V. Club calls "Citizen Kang" an "all-time classic for its scathing take on the electoral process". Chappell goes on to praise the "genuinely creepy imagery" from "The Thing and I", but says that the pacing felt rushed.[6]

As of September 2021, "Treehouse of Horror VII" has an 8.5 rating on IMDb.[7]

Gallery

References


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Treehouse of Horror VII".
Season 8 Episodes
Treehouse of Horror VII You Only Move Twice The Homer They Fall Burns, Baby Burns Bart After Dark A Milhouse Divided Lisa's Date with Density Hurricane Neddy El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer The Springfield Files The Twisted World of Marge Simpson Mountain of Madness Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show Homer's Phobia Brother from Another Series My Sister, My Sitter Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment Grade School Confidential The Canine Mutiny The Old Man and the Lisa In Marge We Trust Homer's Enemy The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase The Secret War of Lisa Simpson