Treehouse of Horror XV
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Treehouse of Horror XV" | |
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| Episode no. | 336 |
| Prod. code | FABF23 |
| Orig. Airdate | November 7, 2004 |
| Writer(s) | Bill Odenkirk |
| Director(s) | The Tell-Tale Silverman |
| SNPP capsule | |
| Season 16 November 7, 2004 – May 15, 2005 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Treehouse of Horror XV" is the fifteenth Halloween episode of The Simpsons, airing November 7, 2004, one week after Halloween in the US, the latest any Halloween episode has ever aired
Contents |
[edit] Opening segment
In a parody of 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. Bart is frying on a skillet, while Homer keeps eating himself. The boss comments on the delicious meal, whereupon his stomach bursts open, liberating Bart, who, in turn, delightfully exclaims "Cool, I'm vomit!" 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.
[edit] The Ned Zone
As the title suggests, this is a parody of The Dead Zone. Trying to get his Frisbee from the roof, Homer throws a bowling ball that hits Ned on the head. (It turns out that the frisbee is next to Homer on the floor, right after Ned was hit with the bowling ball). When Ned recovers in 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, but he "didn't need special powers to know that was coming!"
Later, one of his visions depicts him shooting Homer. When Homer finds out about Ned's vision, he taunts him and even gives him Chief Wiggum's gun to shoot him with. Ned refrains from shooting Homer and has another vision of Homer blowing up 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. Ned, Homer, Marge, all the Simpsons, and their garage go to Heaven as angels and meet God, who, although it appears he is about to send him to hell, returns Homer's frisbee.
[edit] Four Beheadings and a Funeral
In 1890 London, women are being killed with swords in a series of unsolved murders. Scotland Yard Detective Eliza Simpson and her easily-amazed assistant Dr. Bartley (parodying Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson) trace the swords used back to industrialist C. Ebenezer Burns. They find him in Mao's Den Of Inequidy, where he claims he lost all his wealth to opium. The next suspect in mind is Homer. The police arrest Homer and are about to hang him when Eliza finds the real murderer: 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 a large Victorian era-style flying saucer flown by Kang and Kodos, who comment on destroying the Earth's air force. 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.
[edit] In the Belly of the Boss
At the "Invention Expo", Professor Frink creates a machine that shrinks objects. 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 (parodying Fantastic Voyage). Homer is the captain, Lisa is in charge of science and research, Bart is in charge of security, and Marge is just herself. 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 due to the addition of Maggie's weight. The submarine successfully escapes, and Prof. Frink tells them there is time to save Homer, but he is wrong, as Homer instantly returns to his original size inside Mr. Burns' skin. Even though Homer complains that Mr. Burns needs several extra 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.
[edit] Breaking the Fourth Wall
- 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."
[edit] Cultural references
- Professor Frink shows a drawing of a "retro-virus". It's style greatly resembles the works of Robert Crumb, who is said to have drawn it. He also says Crumb is a friend to Harvey Pekar, which is true.
| The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror |
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| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII |
