Treehouse of Horror III

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The Simpsons episode
"Treehouse of Horror III"
Episode no.	64
Prod. code	9F04
Orig. Airdate	October 29th, 1992
Writer(s)	Atrocious Al Jean and Morbid Mike Reiss, Johnny Katastrophe Kogen and Warped Wallace Wolodarsky, and Scarifying Sam Simon and Vicious Jack Vitti
Director	Bloodcurdling Carlos Baeza
Couch gag	The family's skeletons run in and sit on the couch
SNPP capsule
Season 4 September 24, 1992 – May 13, 1993
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
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, and the third Simpsons Halloween episode. It is the first episode in the series of Treehouse of Horror episodes to have a zombie-related segment. The second is "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms" in "Treehouse of Horror XIII". The episode is also infamous for having a huge amount of ADRed or looped lines.^{[citation needed]} This was also the first to have a Halloween-themed couch gag.

1 Synopsis
2 Pop Culture References
3 External links

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Opening segment

("Funeral March of a Marionette" plays as Homer walks on screen into Alfred Hitchcock's famous silhouette -- but Homer's stomach is bigger than that of the outline.)
Homer: Good evening. I've been asked to tell you that the following show is very scary, with stuff that might give your kids nightmares. You see, there are some crybabies out there—religious types mostly—who might be offended. If you are one of them, I advise you to turn off your set now. Come on, I dare you. (makes chicken noises) Chicken!
(Screen goes black, footsteps approach))
Marge: Homer, did you just call everyone chicken?
Homer: No. I swear on this bible.
Marge: That's not a bible, that's a book of carpet samples.
Homer: Mmm, fuzzy.

[edit] Set-up

The Simpsons are having a Halloween party, and they tell scary stories. The Halloween costumes include Homer as Julius Caesar, Marge as an ancient Egyptian, most likely Cleopatra, Bart as Alex from A Clockwork Orange, Lisa as the Statue of Liberty, Milhouse as Radioactive Man, Martin as Calliope, Nelson as a pirate, Janice as a princess, Wendell as an astronaut and Lewis as Frankenstein's Monster.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Clown Without Pity

Homer buys Bart a talking Krusty doll for his birthday. Upon receiving the Krusty doll, Bart excitedly says "Great Caesar's ghost!", a catchphrase said by Perry White of the Superman comic book series. Although the doll is nice to Bart, it repeatedly tries to kill Homer (which no one believes). Homer captures the evil Krusty in a bag of dirty socks, which he then locks in a suitcase. He disposes of the suitcase and returns home, not realizing that the doll has managed to follow him. As the doll attempts to strangle Homer, Marge calls KrustyCo for help; a repairman arrives and discovers that the doll has been accidentally switched from "Good" to "Evil." He flips the switch back to "Good" and Homer uses the doll as a servant. The Krusty doll laments to his "girlfriend" Malibu Stacy, with whom he shares Lisa's doll house, "Today Homer made me give him a sponge bath!" However, the scene ends happily as Krusty gives Stacy a smooch on the cheek -- until her head falls off. "Clown Without Pity" is based on the Twilight Zone episode Living Doll and the film, Trilogy of Terror. The title itself is a play on the song Town Without Pity by Gene Pitney as well as the 1961 movie of the same name starring Kirk Douglas.

[edit] King Homer

In a black and white segment, Marge joins Mr. Burns and Smithers on an expedition to "Ape Island" to find the legendary "King Homer". Mr. Burns captures the giant ape and displays him to the press on Broadway. The photographers' flashes enrage King Homer, who breaks free from his restraints. He abducts Marge and wreaks havoc, eating many people in the process. He attempts to climb a tall building, but is unable to get even one story above the ground. King Homer collapses in exhaustion, and Marge helpfully suggests that he eat more vegetables and fewer people. In the end, King Homer and Marge marry on the same day Dick Cavett is born (November 19th, 1936). This segment is an obvious parody of King Kong.

[edit] Dial "Z" For Zombies

While in the library searching for material for a book report, Bart finds a book of magic. He tries to resurrect Snowball I but accidentally reanimates hundreds of human corpses. The zombies terrorize Springfield until Homer wields a shotgun to help Bart find the book again and cast the appropriate counterspell. "Dial Z for Zombies" is mainly parody of Night of the Living Dead, but the hordes of zombies who moan "Brains! Braaaaains!" came from the comedic zombie film Return of the Living Dead, in which the zombies only hunger for human brains. The title itself is a play on the 1954 Hitchcock film Dial M for Murder. Bart wears the album Thriller on his head like a hat, which is inspired by a photo of Aleister Crowley wearing a funny hat. The incantations Bart reads to wake the zombies are: "Cullen, Rayburn, Narz, Trebek" (last names of game show hosts) and "Zabar, Kresge, Caldor, Wal-Mart" (names of retail stores). The incantation Bart reads that turns Lisa into a snail is "Kolchak, Mannix, Banacek, Danno" (last names of detectives from American television crime dramas of the 1970s). The incantation to return the zombies to their graves is "Trojan, Ramses, Magnum, Sheik" (brand names of condoms). A few of the zombies seen are undead versions of William Shakespeare, George Washington, Albert Einstein, (these two being shot by Homer during the run of the segment), and two John Smiths (one from colonial times and a cowboy). The supernatural beam of light that bursts from the school roof when Bart recites the spell to send the zombies back is a parody of a similar scene in Ghostbusters. There are a number of references to the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day in "Dial Z for Zombies" with Homer using a sawn-off Winchester Model 1887 lever-action shotgun against the zombies. In one scene, Homer flip-cocks the shotgun in the same manner as Arnold Schwarzenegger's character from Terminator 2 as well as a few scenes of Homer gunning down zombies in Springfield Elementary being inspired from the T-800's first battle with the T-1000.

[edit] Pop Culture References

"King Homer" appears again in the couch gag of "Jazzy and the Pussycats".
Jay Kogen, a writer/producer for the show, appears as a zombie.
The bumpers that conclude both "Clown Without Pity" and "King Homer" are from Love, American Style.