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Difference between revisions of "Treehouse of Horror XV"

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"'''Treehouse of Horror XV'''" is the fifteenth [[Halloween]] episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', airing [[November 7]], [[2004]], one week after Halloween in the US. It had the lowest amount of viewers for a Treehouse of Horror episode in a few years.
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{{Icons||FE}}
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{{Tab|nogags}}
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{{EpisodePrevNext|Fraudcast News|All's Fair in Oven War}}
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{{THOHPrevNext|Treehouse of Horror XIV|Treehouse of Horror XVI}}
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{{Noncanon Episode|THOH}}
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{{Quote|I'll bet you blew up the town just to get out of cleaning the garage! Well, the joke's on you, because the garage made it to heaven too!|[[Marge Simpson]], "The Ned Zone"}}
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{{Episode
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|image=Treehouse of Horror XV.jpg
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|number=336
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|season=16
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|snumber=1
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|prodcode=FABF23
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|airdate=November 7, [[2004]]
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|showrunner1= Al Jean
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|writer=[[Bill Odenkirk]]
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|director=[[David Silverman]]
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}}
  
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==Synopsis==
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"'''Treehouse of Horror XV'''" is the first episode of [[season 16]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the three-hundred and thirty-sixth episode overall. It is also the fifteenth installment in the [[Treehouse of Horror series|''Treehouse of Horror'' series]] and consists of three parts. It originally aired on November 7, [[2004]]. The episode was written by [[Bill Odenkirk]] and directed by [[David Silverman]].
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{{spoiler}}
 
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===Opening segment===
 
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In a parody of ''[[Perfect Strangers (TV series)|Perfect Strangers]]'', Kang and Kodos are preparing the Simpsons for dinner for their "boss." Bart and Homer are the main course, Lisa is in a soup, and Marge and Maggie are pies. The boss comments on the delicious meal but then vomits up Bart. Kang and Kodos get a hyper-galactic promotion. Bart is sad about being an orphan, but he is adopted by Kang and Kodos. The ''Perfect Strangers'' theme song then plays over the opening credits.
 
  
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===The Ned Zone===
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== Synopsis ==
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Trying to get his [[Frisbee]] from the roof, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] throws a [[bowling ball]] that hits [[Ned Flanders|Ned]] on the head. When Ned recovers in [[Dr. Julius Hibbert|Dr. Hibbert]]'s hospital, he has a vision of the good doctor falling out of a window, which happens shortly afterwards when Homer asks him to get his frisbee from the window ledge. Ned realizes that he can see the deaths of people whom he touches; he saves [[Hans Moleman]] from falling down and has a vision of him getting chewed up by alligators. In shock, he drops Hans - right into an open manhole, which he was standing next to. He also predicts the closing of the [[Rosie O' Donnell]] [[Musical theatre|musical]], but he "didn't need special powers to see that one coming!"
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{{Desc|In "The Ned Zone," [[Ned Flanders]] gains the power of foretelling people's deaths after suffering a head injury, and is shocked to discover that he will be the one to kill [[Homer]]. In "Four Beheadings and a Funeral," set in Victorian [[London]], where Master Detective Eliza Simpson and her faithful sidekick, Dr. Bartley, attempt to catch The Muttonchop Murderer, a Jack the Ripper-esque serial killer. In "In the Belly of the Boss," [[Maggie]] is shrunken inside a vitamin capsule in a freak science accident and is swallowed by [[Mr. Burns]].}}
  
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Later, one of his visions depicts him shooting Homer. When Homer finds out about Ned's vision, he taunts him and even gives him [[Clancy Wiggum|Chief Wiggum]]'s gun to shoot him with. Ned refrains from shooting Homer and has another vision of Homer blowing up [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]]. Ned tries to dissuade Homer from going to work, but Homer goes anyway. Ned rushes to the power plant to stop Homer, but his warning is scrambled by static over the intercom, leading Homer to believe he should press a "core destruct" button. In desperation, Ned grabs a nearby security guard's gun and shoots Homer; but in his death throes, Homer presses the destruct button with his [[tongue]]. Shortly after Ned says "You stupid son of a...", the power plant explodes and Springfield is destroyed. Homer, [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] all the Simpsons, and their garage go to [[Heaven]] as [[angel]]s and meet [[God]], who returns Homer's frisbee.
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== Plot ==
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=== Opening sequence ===
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On ''[[Keepin' It Kodos]]'', [[Kodos]] comes home and asks [[Kang]] if dinner is ready yet as their boss will be there any minute. Kodos then opens up the oven and sees that the [[Simpson family]] are being cooked in various ways. Whilst most of the family is fine with what is happening, [[Bart]] is in horrible pain. After the boss arrives and eats dinner, he says that he is so full he could burst. His stomach then bursts open and Bart falls out. The boss then gives Kang and Kodos a hyper-galactic promotion. When Bart is sad that he has no family anymore, Kang, Kodos, and their boss embrace Bart and tells him that he does now.
  
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Ned, obviously, did not prevent the future. If you look clearly in the vision of the shooting, he held a [[black]] gun, which looked exactly like the power plant security guard's gun, not [[Clancy Wiggum|Chief Wiggum's]] pistol. A common theme with this kind of story is the immutability of the future.
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=== The Ned Zone ===
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[[File:The Ned Zone Title card.png|thumb]]
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[[Homer]] is throwing a bowling ball on the roof of the house in an attempt to get his Frisbee down. After one more throw, the bowling ball bounces off the chimney and hits [[Ned Flanders]] on the head, knocking him out. Homer then finds his Frisbee on the ground. At the [[Springfield General Hospital]], [[Dr. Hibbert]] tells Ned that he nearly died of a brain tumor, but the bowling ball knocked it out of his head. Ned and Hibbert shake hands and Ned sees a vision of Dr. Hibbert falling to his death. Hibbert then goes to open the window and Homer asks if he can get his Frisbee from the ledge. As Hibbert leans out the window, he falls to his death. After leaving the hospital, Ned panics over the vision he had. Ned then helps [[Moleman]] down from some power lines, but upon catching him, sees a vision of Moleman being eaten by alligators. Ned then drops Moleman into the sewer where he is quickly attacked by the alligators from the vision.
  
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===Four Beheadings and a Funeral===
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Homer approaches Ned and asks what's wrong, and Ned tells Homer about the visions he has. Homer gets excited and tells Ned to try him and Ned sees a vision of himself shooting Homer. To avoid this, Ned decides to move away from town so he can't shoot Homer. However, Homer doesn't believe that Ned could kill him and gets [[Chief Wiggum]] to give over his gun to try and get Ned to shoot him. Despite Homer's attempts to get Ned to shoot him, Ned throws the gun into the woodchipper and changes the future. Ned then hugs Homer, but sees a vision of Homer blowing up the entire town at the [[Nuclear Power Plant]]. Homer decides to go to the Plant anyway as it's [[Lenny]]'s birthday and they're having ice cream cake.
  
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In [[1890]] [[London]], women are being killed with swords in a series of unsolved murders. Scotland Yard Detective [[Lisa Simpson|Eliza Simpson]] and her easily-amazed assistant [[Bart Simpson|Dr. Bartley]] trace the swords used back to industrialist [[Montgomery Burns|C. Ebenezer Burns]]. They find him in an opium den, where he claims he lost all his wealth to opium. The next suspect in mind is [[Homer Simpson|Homer]]. The police arrest Homer and are about to hang him when Eliza finds the real murderer: [[Chief Wiggum|Inspector Wiggum]], whose eel-pie covered handprints were all over a sword used to kill one particular woman. Wiggum attempts to escape in a hot-air balloon, which is destroyed by [[Kang and Kodos]]' [[Victorian era]]-style spacecraft. However, it all turns out to be a dream that [[Ralph Wiggum]] is having while smoking opium in an opium den, which is part of an even crazier dream.
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At the Power Plant, Ned arrives and tells Homer to not press the core destruct button. Homer mishears him through the intercom and decides to press the button since Ned told him to. As he goes to do so, Ned grabs a gun from a security guard and shoots Homer through the glass. Homer stumbles backwards and forwards before landing on the console, near the button. This leaves Ned feeling relieved, until Homer rolls over, again missing the button. As Homer appears to go still, Ned is relieved again until Homer's tongue comes out, hitting the button and blowing up the Power Plant. As Homer and Ned arrive in [[Heaven]], [[Marge]] confronts Homer and tells him the garage also made it to Heaven so he can clean it. [[God]] then gives Homer his Frisbee and takes Homer to the buffet.
  
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=== Four Beheadings and a Funeral ===
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[[File:Four Beheadings And A Funeral Title Card.png|thumb|left]]
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In [[London]] in 1890, a mysterious figure approaches a harlot and eventually stabs her to death. At [[Scotland Yard]], [[Inspector Wiggum]], [[Lou]] and [[Eddie]] examine the body and deduce that she was a victim of the Mutton Chop Murderer. {{ap|Eliza Simpson|Treehouse of Horror XV}} and [[Dr. Bartley]] then arrive to try and solve the case themselves. After Inspector Wiggum arrests [[Apu]], despite the lack of evidence, Simpson and Bartley go off to solve the crime themselves. They go to the [[Emporium of Exotica]] where [[Comic Book Guy]] identifies the murder weapon as part of the Swords of Osiris, which he had sold. As he went to the back room to fetch his ledger, he is stabbed by the Mutton Chop Murderer and dies. Simpson and Bartley take the ledger and find that the swords were bought by [[C. Montgomery Scrooge]].
  
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===In the Belly of the Boss===
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Simpson and Bartley go to [[Mao's]] in the [[Opium District]] to find Burns. Burns says that he did buy the Swords, but sold them so he could buy opium. He then identifies Homer as the person he sold them to, who happened to be at Mao's at the time. Simpson and Bartley chase Homer through the opium den until he is captured by Inspector Wiggum. After leaving the den, Simpson and Bartley find another victim of the Mutton Chop Murderer and realize that Homer wasn't the culprit.
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At the "Invention Expo", [[Professor Frink]] creates a machine that shrinks objects. [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] crawls inside a giant pill, which is miniaturized and swallowed by Mr. Burns. The rest of the family agrees to be shrunk within a craft and injected into Mr. Burns' body. When Homer refuses to follow Frink's instructions, the ship gets stuck in Burns' [[heart]]. The crew manage to get the ship free and are able to reach the stomach by catching a ride on a [[nerve impulse]]. They manage to save Maggie, but are forced to leave Homer behind when their craft doesn't have enough power to save them all. The submarine successfully escapes, and Homer returns to his original size inside Mr. Burns' skin. Even though Homer complains that he needs several holes, Burns is confident that things will work out. The episode ends with Burns and Homer leading a dance to the tune of ''I've Got You Under My Skin''.
 
  
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==Trivia==
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At the public execution of Homer, Simpson and Bartley take the stage to reveal that the handle of the sword used to kill the latest victim smelled like eel pie, the favorite food of Inspector Wiggum. Wiggum tries to defend himself but Lou reveals that he also has mutton chops under his hat. Wiggum says that he wanted to do a crime that even Eliza Simpson couldn't solve before he runs away and is chased by Simpson and Bartley. Wiggum gets into a hot air balloon and flies off until he is hit by a Victorian [[UFO]] piloted by Kang and Kodos. Back in Mao's, [[Ralph]] says that he had the craziest dream, but Wiggum tells him that he's still in the dream. Ralph and Inspector Wiggum then fly off in a fantasy world on a flying bed.
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*This is the third Halloween episode where the Simpsons break the [[fourth wall]]. After finding out that the entire family cannot be saved, Lisa says "This is the worst Halloween horror we've ever faced!" The last time the Simpsons broke the fourth wall was in ''[[Treehouse of Horror XIV]]'', in which Homer wishes he "was Death again." The first time was back in ''[[Treehouse of Horror V]]'', in which Willie comments (briefly) on himself getting axed in the back in all three segments, "Ach, I'm bad at this."
 
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*This is the second Simpsons episode to parody ''Perfect Strangers''. The first was in "[[Barting Over]]."
 
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*Homer and Burns become attached to one another again, the first time being "If I Only Had a Brain," the final vignette of ''[[Treehouse of Horror II]]''.
 
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*This is the first Treehouse of Horror episode and the third [[The Simpsons|Simpsons]] episode to be given an 'M' rating in [[Australia]], instead of the usual PG and as such its screening on [[Channel 10]] was pushed back to 8.30pm from 7.30pm. The first Simpsons episode to have a 'M' rating in [[Australia]] was "[[Natural Born Kissers]]" for undisclosed reasons and then "[[Weekend at Burnsie's]]" for the use of drugs.
 
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*The addicts seen in Mao's include [[Captain McCallister|McCallister]], [[Snake (The Simpsons)|Snake]], [[Herman (The Simpsons)|Herman]], [[Groundskeeper Willie|Willie]], [[Otto Mann|Otto]], [[Lenny Leonard|Lenny]], [[Carl Carlson|Carl]], [[Dr. Nick Riviera]], [[List of recurring characters from The Simpsons#Gil|Gil]], [[Cletus]] and a gray-haired [[List of recurring characters from The Simpsons#Blue Haired Lawyer|Blue Haired Lawyer]].
 
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*"The Ned Zone" is the first segment of this episode. In Treehouse Of Horror II, There was a story with a similar name, "The Bart Zone", which was also a second segment.
 
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*While in the Curio shop own by the comic book guy you can see he has on his desk the monkey paw from one of the previous halloween specials
 
  
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==Cultural References==
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=== In the Belly of the Boss ===
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{{sample box start variation 2|Audio sample of opening/closing credits:}}
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[[File:In The Belly of the Boss Title Card.png|thumb]]
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{{multi-listen start|Audio samples:}}
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At the New Invention Expo, [[Professor Frink]] shows off his combination of a large capsule full of medication for a lifetime and shrink ray, to shrink it down. [[Maggie]] sees the capsule full of what she thinks are toy balls and climbs into it before Frink uses the shrink ray on it. [[Mr. Burns]] swallows the pill with Maggie inside, which Marge realizes when she hears Maggie inside Burns. Professor Frink then has the Simpsons take his Bionaut ship and shrink down so they can enter Burns and rescue Maggie.
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{{multi-listen item|filename=perfect strangers theme.ogg|title="Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now"|description=Theme Song for Perfect Strangers |format=[[Ogg]]}}
 
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{{multi-listen end}}
 
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{{sample box end}}
 
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*'''''[[Perfect Strangers (sitcom)|Perfect Strangers]]''''': In the opening segment, the closing credits appear over freeze frames from the episode, with the song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" playing behind them. This is done in the style of the 1980s [[sitcom]] "Perfect Strangers."
 
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*'''''[[The Dead Zone]]''''': The title and general concept of "The Ned Zone" is taken from this 1979 [[Stephen King]] novel, which has been adapted into a [[The Dead Zone (movie)|1983 movie]] starring [[Christopher Walken]] and, in 2002, a [[The Dead Zone (TV series)|serial drama]] starring [[Anthony Michael Hall]]. In all three, a mild-mannered man experiences psychic visions after receiving a blow to the head and going into a [[coma]].
 
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*'''''[[That's So Raven]]''''': Ned can see the future, but never gets it right. The tight closeups on Ned's eye and the sound effect when he has a vision are also similar to the ones used for Raven's visions. 
 
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*'''''[[Minority Report]]''''': Both Ned and the main character of this film are exposed to a vision of the future in which they murder someone unpremeditatedly.
 
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*'''''[[The Twilight Zone]]''''': The Ned Zone is reminiscent of a ''Twilight Zone'' episode called "[[The Purple Testament]]." The title card is also animated in TZ style.
 
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*'''''[[Four Weddings and a Funeral]]''''': The name of "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" is taken from the name of this movie.
 
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*'''[[Sherlock Holmes]]''': Lisa's character in "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" resembles Sherlock Holmes, and Bart's character is reminiscent of [[Dr. Watson]].
 
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*'''[[Jack the Ripper]]''': Jack the Ripper is referenced in "Four Beheadings and a Funeral."
 
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*'''[[China]]''': In "Four Beheadings and a Funeral," Mr. Burns has unusually long fingernails. This is a reference to ancient China, when very rich or important people grew their fingernails long as a sign that they had no need to work in the fields, like the poor did. Also, the opium he is so fond of originated there.
 
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*'''''[[Fantastic Voyage]]''''': "In the Belly of the Boss" is a parody of this 1966 classic science-fiction movie. Homer even utters the title in regard to Marge's skimpy outfit.
 
  
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==Goofs==
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After the Simpsons are injected into Mr. Burns, they travel through Burns' bloodstream until Homer puts his foot down on the accelerator and they crash into Burns' heart. The family leaves the ship to dislodge the ship and then continue to try and find Maggie, with Homer deciding to press every button at the same time to get there "super fast". This causes an explosion within Mr. Burns. Eventually, the family gets to Maggie and saves her, but the addition of Maggie puts the ship overweight. Homer is chosen to stay behind so that the rest of the family can escape with Maggie. As Frink starts to discuss a plan to rescue Homer before he grows again, Homer grows inside Burns, leaving him pushing through Burns' skin.
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===The Ned Zone===
 
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*The number of buttons on Dr. Hibbert's coat changes from four to three and back to four again. To be more precise, in the scene where he says "Alright, but I swear by God, this is the very last time."  
 
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*Flanders wakes up in the hospital without his glasses. After he shakes Dr. Hibbert's hand and forsees his death (when the camera zooms in towards his eye), he is wearing them. Then, when they zoom out, he is not wearing them anymore.
 
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*When Flanders foresees Dr. Hibbert's death, he is restrained to the bed, but when Hibbert dies he is by the window.
 
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*In Ned's vision, Hibbert is screaming just before he hits the ground. However, when Hibbert actually does die, he's laughing just before he hits the ground (because of the [[morphine]]).
 
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*Homer's bullet wounds are seen throughout the scene staggering around the sealed chamber, but they vanish when his tongue falls onto the Core Destruct button.
 
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===Four Beheadings and a Funeral===
 
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*Several people have [[United States|American]] accents even though they are in [[England]].
 
  
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===In the Belly of the Boss===
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The Simpsons and Burns go to [[The Gilded Truffle]] for a meal. Burns says that he's full, but Homer makes him continue to eat. Homer and Burns then get up and start to sing "[[I've Got You Under My Skin]]", with characters from each segment joining them to dance.
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*Before Maggie enters Frink's capsule, there are no straps on her stroller. In the next scene, there are unclasped straps that "should" have held Maggie back.
 
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*When Marge points out that the white blood cells are eating her clothes, she is stripped to her undergarments; when she later exits the ship, however, she is clearly shown in the clothing she was wearing beforehand.
 
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*Marge's breast size constantly changes. When she is asking Homer why her swimsuit is so revealing, her chest actually inflates to a size bigger than when she temporarily had breast implants in [[Large Marge]].
 
  
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==Quotes==
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== Production ==
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===Opening Segment===
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The scenes in "The Ned Zone" where Ned sees visions of the deaths of characters are the same animations as the deaths that follow, just with filters. This is seen when the vision of Dr. Hibbert's death has him smiling, which happens in his actual death because he gives himself a shot. The explosion effect was animated by [[Erick Tran]] during a time where the show didn't have any dedicated effects animators.<ref name="Silverman">{{Com|Silverman, David|Treehouse of Horror XV|Sixteenth|(2013).|link=David Silverman}}</ref>
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*'''Bart:''' Am I the only one in incredible pain?... <br/> '''Homer:''' You're the only one who won't shut up about it! [http://download.lardlad.com/sounds/season16/thoho1.mp3 audio clip]
 
  
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*'''Bart:''' Wait a minute, I don't have a family anymore.<br/>'''Kang:''' You do now, son. You do now.
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During the production for "Four Beheadings and a Funeral", the producers had debates over which characters should have English accents and which shouldn't.<ref name="Long">{{Com|Long, Tim|Treehouse of Horror XV|Sixteenth|(2013).|link=Tim Long}}</ref>
  
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===The Ned Zone===
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<gallery>
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*'''Ned:''' ''(after waking up from his coma)'' [[Concussion]]-diddly, [[Hemorrhage]]-doodily, Injury, bodily.
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File:FABF23 Script.jpg
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</gallery>
  
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*'''Ned:''' ''(after seeing the [[Rosie O'Donnell]] musical closing after three performances)'' Well, I didn't need any special power to know ''that'' was coming.
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== Reception ==
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As of September [[2023]], the episode has a 7.4 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701286/ IMDb - "Treehouse of Horror XV"]</ref>
  
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*'''Homer:''' I wonder if I can blow up [[Heaven]].
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Composer [[Alf Clausen]] was nominated for a {{W|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series}} in the {{W|57th Primetime Emmy Awards}} for "Treehouse of Horror XV". However, it lost to "{{W2|Pilot|Lost}}" from ''[[Lost]]''.<ref>[https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2005/outstanding-music-composition-for-a-series-original-dramatic-score Television Academy - "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – 2005"]</ref>
  
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===Four Beheading and a Funeral===
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== References ==
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*'''[[Scotland Yard]] motto:''' What's all this, then?
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{{Reflist}}
  
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*'''Dr. Bartley:''' What's this? A doorknob? Good show!
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{{Images|ep=yes}}
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{{Treehouse of Horror}}
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{{season 16}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Treehouse of Horror 15}}
  
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*'''Wiggum:''' Let's see the suspect in that [[child abduction]] case.<br/>'''[[Peter Pan]]:''' I shall never grow up.<br/>'''Wiggum:''' Uh, in jail you will.
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[[sv:Treehouse of Horror XV]]
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[[Category:2004]]
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*'''Comic Book Guy:''' This potion will give me new life.<br/>''(CBG reaches for a potion, but his strength fails and the potion spills on a stool. It shakes it off like a dog)''<br/>'''Simon:''' I'm alive. I'm going to go to [[United States|America]]. I'll be in pictures, you'll see. The whole world's going to know the name "Simon Stooliwitz".
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[[Category:Season premieres]]
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[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award nominated episodes]]
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*'''Burns:''' The sword of [[Osiris]]. I once possessed the entire collection, but I sold them all for [[opium]]. Oh, how I wish I had them back...to sell for more opium.
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[[Category:Episodes written by Bill Odenkirk]]
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*'''Wiggum:''' Why can't you be more like Eddie. He doesn't say a word against me.<br/>'''Lou:''' That's cause you cut out his [[tongue]].<br/>'''Eddie:''' ''(without tongue)'' Eth ight, theef. [http://download.lardlad.com/sounds/season16/thoho11.mp3 audio clip]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by David Silverman]]
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*'''Wiggum (escaping in a hot-air balloon):''' You'll never catch me! I'm travelling at the speed of wind! ''(Kang and Kodos' Victorian-era spaceship flies through and pops Wiggum's balloon)'' Remember me for my police work and not the murder! <br/>'''Kang (while having tea with Kodos):''' Well done! Their fleet is destroyed!
 
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===In the Belly of the Boss===
 
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*'''Prof. Frink:''' This comically large capsule has lifetime supplies of [[niacin]], [[thiamine]], and [[riboflavin|riboFLAVIN]]-glayvin!
 
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*'''Homer:''' Captain!<br/>'''Lisa:''' Science officer!<br/>'''Bart:''' Security!<br/>'''Marge:''' Marge!
 
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*'''Mr. Burns:''' Now, I suggest you take your shoes off when you get inside. Oh, and while you're there, grab as much [[cancer]] as you can. [http://download.lardlad.com/sounds/season16/thoho14.mp3 audio clip]
 
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*'''Homer:''' Peh. Science. Has science ever kissed a woman or won the [[Super Bowl]] or put a man on the moon?<br/>'''Homer:''' ''(shortly afterwards)'' Help me, science! [http://download.lardlad.com/sounds/season16/thoho15.mp3 audio clip]
 
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*'''Prof. Frink:''' Let the commencement [[Made-up words in The Simpsons|begin-ulate]].
 
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*'''Lisa:''' To get Maggie in time, we'll have to catch a ride on a nerve impulse, the body's information superhighway!<br/>'''Bart:''' Learning is cool!<br/>(Lisa and Bart [[high-five]])<br/>'''Homer:''' And to make sure we get there superfast, I'm going press all the buttons with my palm.<br/>''(Homer does so. It launches several missiles, machine guns, and [[depth charge]]s, causing several explosions. One of these occurs in Burns' stomach, stretching the skin and slowly returning to normal size.)''<br/>'''Burns:''' ''(calmly)'' Well, that hurt like hell.
 
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*'''Prof. Frink:''' Your ship is wedged in Mr. Burns' heart. You can only dislodge it from the outside. But watch out for [[retrovirus]]es. Boy, are they retro! Like this one created by [[Robert Crumb|R. Crumb]], who was friends with [[Harvey Pekar]]! Seriously, touch one and you're dead.
 
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*'''Marge:''' Why is my swimsuit so revealing?<br/>'''Homer:''' Marge, that's what turns a ''mediocre'' voyage into a ''fantastic'' voyage!
 
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*'''Lisa:''' ''(after learning that they can't all be saved)'' Oh my god! This is the worst Halloween horror we've ever faced!<br/>''(camera switches to show that Marge's clothes are being eaten by [[white blood cell]]s)''<br/>'''Marge: '''And white blood cells are attacking my clothes! ''(The cells begin to fall off before they eat too much that would show Marge's [[breast]]s)'' Although I must admit, they know where to stop.
 
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*'''Lisa:''' Dad, you want some of my [[Snickers]] cake?<br/>'''Burns:''' No thank you. I'm full enough as it is.<br/>'''Homer:''' ''I'' say when we're full! You don't want to piss off a guy who can [[groin attack|kick you in the crotch]] from the inside!
 

Latest revision as of 12:23, April 14, 2024

Season 16 Episode
← 335 "Fraudcast News"
336
"Treehouse of Horror XV"
"All's Fair in Oven War" 337 →
← XIV "Treehouse of Horror XIV"
XV
"Treehouse of Horror XV"
"Treehouse of Horror XVI" XVI →
Treehouse of Horror Episode


Donut Homer.png This THOH 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: The episode is part of the Treehouse of Horror series.

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

"I'll bet you blew up the town just to get out of cleaning the garage! Well, the joke's on you, because the garage made it to heaven too!"
―Marge Simpson, "The Ned Zone"
"Treehouse of Horror XV"
Treehouse of Horror XV.jpg
Episode Information
Episode number: 336
Season number: S16 E1
Production code: FABF23
Original airdate: November 7, 2004
Showrunner: Al Jean
Written by: Bill Odenkirk
Directed by: David Silverman


"Treehouse of Horror XV" is the first episode of season 16 of The Simpsons and the three-hundred and thirty-sixth episode overall. It is also the fifteenth installment in the Treehouse of Horror series and consists of three parts. It originally aired on November 7, 2004. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by David Silverman.

Synopsis[edit]

"In "The Ned Zone," Ned Flanders gains the power of foretelling people's deaths after suffering a head injury, and is shocked to discover that he will be the one to kill Homer. In "Four Beheadings and a Funeral," set in Victorian London, where Master Detective Eliza Simpson and her faithful sidekick, Dr. Bartley, attempt to catch The Muttonchop Murderer, a Jack the Ripper-esque serial killer. In "In the Belly of the Boss," Maggie is shrunken inside a vitamin capsule in a freak science accident and is swallowed by Mr. Burns."


Plot[edit]

Opening sequence[edit]

On Keepin' It Kodos, Kodos comes home and asks Kang if dinner is ready yet as their boss will be there any minute. Kodos then opens up the oven and sees that the Simpson family are being cooked in various ways. Whilst most of the family is fine with what is happening, Bart is in horrible pain. After the boss arrives and eats dinner, he says that he is so full he could burst. His stomach then bursts open and Bart falls out. The boss then gives Kang and Kodos a hyper-galactic promotion. When Bart is sad that he has no family anymore, Kang, Kodos, and their boss embrace Bart and tells him that he does now.

The Ned Zone[edit]

The Ned Zone Title card.png

Homer is throwing a bowling ball on the roof of the house in an attempt to get his Frisbee down. After one more throw, the bowling ball bounces off the chimney and hits Ned Flanders on the head, knocking him out. Homer then finds his Frisbee on the ground. At the Springfield General Hospital, Dr. Hibbert tells Ned that he nearly died of a brain tumor, but the bowling ball knocked it out of his head. Ned and Hibbert shake hands and Ned sees a vision of Dr. Hibbert falling to his death. Hibbert then goes to open the window and Homer asks if he can get his Frisbee from the ledge. As Hibbert leans out the window, he falls to his death. After leaving the hospital, Ned panics over the vision he had. Ned then helps Moleman down from some power lines, but upon catching him, sees a vision of Moleman being eaten by alligators. Ned then drops Moleman into the sewer where he is quickly attacked by the alligators from the vision.

Homer approaches Ned and asks what's wrong, and Ned tells Homer about the visions he has. Homer gets excited and tells Ned to try him and Ned sees a vision of himself shooting Homer. To avoid this, Ned decides to move away from town so he can't shoot Homer. However, Homer doesn't believe that Ned could kill him and gets Chief Wiggum to give over his gun to try and get Ned to shoot him. Despite Homer's attempts to get Ned to shoot him, Ned throws the gun into the woodchipper and changes the future. Ned then hugs Homer, but sees a vision of Homer blowing up the entire town at the Nuclear Power Plant. Homer decides to go to the Plant anyway as it's Lenny's birthday and they're having ice cream cake.

At the Power Plant, Ned arrives and tells Homer to not press the core destruct button. Homer mishears him through the intercom and decides to press the button since Ned told him to. As he goes to do so, Ned grabs a gun from a security guard and shoots Homer through the glass. Homer stumbles backwards and forwards before landing on the console, near the button. This leaves Ned feeling relieved, until Homer rolls over, again missing the button. As Homer appears to go still, Ned is relieved again until Homer's tongue comes out, hitting the button and blowing up the Power Plant. As Homer and Ned arrive in Heaven, Marge confronts Homer and tells him the garage also made it to Heaven so he can clean it. God then gives Homer his Frisbee and takes Homer to the buffet.

Four Beheadings and a Funeral[edit]

Four Beheadings And A Funeral Title Card.png

In London in 1890, a mysterious figure approaches a harlot and eventually stabs her to death. At Scotland Yard, Inspector Wiggum, Lou and Eddie examine the body and deduce that she was a victim of the Mutton Chop Murderer. Eliza Simpson and Dr. Bartley then arrive to try and solve the case themselves. After Inspector Wiggum arrests Apu, despite the lack of evidence, Simpson and Bartley go off to solve the crime themselves. They go to the Emporium of Exotica where Comic Book Guy identifies the murder weapon as part of the Swords of Osiris, which he had sold. As he went to the back room to fetch his ledger, he is stabbed by the Mutton Chop Murderer and dies. Simpson and Bartley take the ledger and find that the swords were bought by C. Montgomery Scrooge.

Simpson and Bartley go to Mao's in the Opium District to find Burns. Burns says that he did buy the Swords, but sold them so he could buy opium. He then identifies Homer as the person he sold them to, who happened to be at Mao's at the time. Simpson and Bartley chase Homer through the opium den until he is captured by Inspector Wiggum. After leaving the den, Simpson and Bartley find another victim of the Mutton Chop Murderer and realize that Homer wasn't the culprit.

At the public execution of Homer, Simpson and Bartley take the stage to reveal that the handle of the sword used to kill the latest victim smelled like eel pie, the favorite food of Inspector Wiggum. Wiggum tries to defend himself but Lou reveals that he also has mutton chops under his hat. Wiggum says that he wanted to do a crime that even Eliza Simpson couldn't solve before he runs away and is chased by Simpson and Bartley. Wiggum gets into a hot air balloon and flies off until he is hit by a Victorian UFO piloted by Kang and Kodos. Back in Mao's, Ralph says that he had the craziest dream, but Wiggum tells him that he's still in the dream. Ralph and Inspector Wiggum then fly off in a fantasy world on a flying bed.

In the Belly of the Boss[edit]

In The Belly of the Boss Title Card.png

At the New Invention Expo, Professor Frink shows off his combination of a large capsule full of medication for a lifetime and shrink ray, to shrink it down. Maggie sees the capsule full of what she thinks are toy balls and climbs into it before Frink uses the shrink ray on it. Mr. Burns swallows the pill with Maggie inside, which Marge realizes when she hears Maggie inside Burns. Professor Frink then has the Simpsons take his Bionaut ship and shrink down so they can enter Burns and rescue Maggie.

After the Simpsons are injected into Mr. Burns, they travel through Burns' bloodstream until Homer puts his foot down on the accelerator and they crash into Burns' heart. The family leaves the ship to dislodge the ship and then continue to try and find Maggie, with Homer deciding to press every button at the same time to get there "super fast". This causes an explosion within Mr. Burns. Eventually, the family gets to Maggie and saves her, but the addition of Maggie puts the ship overweight. Homer is chosen to stay behind so that the rest of the family can escape with Maggie. As Frink starts to discuss a plan to rescue Homer before he grows again, Homer grows inside Burns, leaving him pushing through Burns' skin.

The Simpsons and Burns go to The Gilded Truffle for a meal. Burns says that he's full, but Homer makes him continue to eat. Homer and Burns then get up and start to sing "I've Got You Under My Skin", with characters from each segment joining them to dance.

Production[edit]

The scenes in "The Ned Zone" where Ned sees visions of the deaths of characters are the same animations as the deaths that follow, just with filters. This is seen when the vision of Dr. Hibbert's death has him smiling, which happens in his actual death because he gives himself a shot. The explosion effect was animated by Erick Tran during a time where the show didn't have any dedicated effects animators.[1]

During the production for "Four Beheadings and a Funeral", the producers had debates over which characters should have English accents and which shouldn't.[2]

  • FABF23 Script.jpg

Reception[edit]

As of September 2023, the episode has a 7.4 rating on IMDb.[3]

Composer Alf Clausen was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards for "Treehouse of Horror XV". However, it lost to "Pilot" from Lost.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Silverman, David (2013). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror XV", in The Simpsons: The Complete Sixteenth Season.
  2. ↑ Long, Tim (2013). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror XV", in The Simpsons: The Complete Sixteenth Season.
  3. ↑ IMDb - "Treehouse of Horror XV"
  4. ↑ Television Academy - "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – 2005"


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Treehouse of Horror XV".
Season 16 Episodes
Treehouse of Horror XV • All's Fair in Oven War • Sleeping with the Enemy • She Used to Be My Girl • Fat Man and Little Boy • Midnight Rx • Mommie Beerest • Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass • Pranksta Rap • There's Something About Marrying • On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister • Goo Goo Gai Pan • Mobile Homer • The Seven-Beer Snitch • Future-Drama • Don't Fear the Roofer • The Heartbroke Kid • A Star Is Torn • Thank God It's Doomsday • Home Away from Homer • The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star
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