Treehouse of Horror XIV
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Treehouse of Horror XIV" | |
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| Episode no. | 314 |
| Prod. code | EABF21 |
| Orig. Airdate | November 2, 2003 |
| Writer(s) | Triple Admiral John Swartzwelder |
| Director | Steve Dean Morbid |
| Chalkboard | None |
| Couch gag | None |
| Guest star(s) | Jerry Lewis as Professor John Frink Sr., Dudley Herschbach as himself, Jennifer Garner as herself, and Oscar de la Hoya as himself |
| SNPP capsule | |
| Season 15 November 2, 2003 – May 23, 2004 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Treehouse of Horror XIV" is the first episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season, as well as the fourteenth Halloween episode. The episode aired on November 2, 2003, two days after Halloween, a fact which was mocked in the episode itself. 16 million people watched the episode. In August 2004, it was screened at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival.
Contents |
[edit] Opening Sequence
Bart, dressed up as Charlie Brown, and Lisa, dressed up as Lucy van Pelt, discuss their Halloween treats, and Lisa says she got better ones than Bart. They get into a fight, until Homer and a gun-wielding Marge intervene, and the fight breaks out. From their spaceship, Kang and Kodos are watching, criticizing the Simpson family for airing a Halloween special in November. They even say they have their Christmas decorations up.
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Reaper Madness
The Grim Reaper enters the Simpson house attempting to take Bart, but the family goes on a Benny Hill-style chase to elude the Grim Reaper. Bart gets his T-shirt stuck to the wall by the Grim Reaper. But as the Grim Reaper sentences Bart to an eternity of pain, Homer kills him, but when he does, he learns that no one can die since the Grim Reaper is dead. The scene then cuts to two examples of a world where no-one can die. The first one has Frankie the Squealer being shot by the Springfield Mafia. He doesn't die. One of the members asks "Frankie the Squealer, why won't you die?" Frankie says "If I knew, I'd tell you. I swear!" He grabs his phone and says "Better call my wife. Tell her I'll be late." The second one has Moe being hung up on the ceiling. He doesn't die. A delivery boy comes to his bar with Moe's pizza. Moe says "Money's on the counter. No tip." The delivery boy says "Oh, you miserable bastard!" "That's why I'm up here." says Moe. On Trash Day, Marge tells Homer to take the dead Grim Reaper to the curb. Homer does, and puts on his robe and becomes the new Grim Reaper. He kills many people on God's list (and some who are not) until he is asked to kill Marge. Homer doesn't want to kill his wife, but He does. He tries to plead to God that he wants to get out of the job, but then he "pulls a fast one" on Him by substituting Patty's body for Marge. The annoyed deity tries to punish Homer with a (presumably lethal) sunbeam but Homer narrowly escapes on his motorcycle, prompting God to sigh "I'm too old and too rich for this." Later, at the Simpson house, Marge, with shorter hair, says "Thanks for not killing me, Homey. Here's an extra pork chop." Homer says "Well... I'm gonna not kill you every week." Everyone laughs. (Note:In the actual episode, Homer's left hand holds the Scythe while his right arm has a skeletal frame.)
[edit] Frinkenstein
Homer gets a call telling him that he is the winner of the Nobel Prize, until Lisa clears up and learns it's for Professor Frink, who reanimates his father's corpse in order to have him appear at the ceremony. Unfortunately, the corpse of Frink Sr. goes on a rampage and looks for body parts. At the awards ceremony in Stockholm Frink Sr. tries to make amends with his son for his recent organ harvest, but when he sees all the brains filled with knowledge, he makes another rampage—this time through the audience! Only Frink Jr. manages stop his father, but he is still able to hold on to his soul (which talks to him from a box).
[edit] Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off
Bart and Milhouse (in a parody of the Twilight Zone episode "A Kind of a Stopwatch") get a stopwatch through an ad in an old comic book magazine that actually allows them to stop time. They have a great "time", pulling pranks on Springfieldans (such as depantsing Principal Seymour Skinner), and almost get away with it, until they are outsmarted by Mayor Quimby. An angry mob goes after Bart and Milhouse, but when they are on their run, Chief Wiggum shots at them, they stop the time and the watch breaks, causing Bart and Milhouse to be the only two people moving in a world where time has stopped. Although the watch repair manual is easy to follow, it takes the pair 15 years to get the watch repaired and for things to go back to normal.
[edit] Cultural references
- The title "Reaper Madness" is a nod to Reefer Madness.
- The title "Frinkenstein" is a nod to Frankenstein.
- When Marge asks Homer to take the Reaper's belongings the curb for rubbish collection, Homer replies "I'll curb him. Without enthusiasm", a reference to Curb Your Enthusiasm.
- The scene where Death comes to call for Bart is evocative of a scene in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
- The scene where Death chases the simpsons around the house is a nod at late British comedian Benny Hill.
[edit] Trivia
- This episode broke the fourth wall when Homer wished he was Death again. The same thing happened in Treehouse of Horror V when Groundskeeper Willie was axed 3 times by Homer, Maggie, and Principal Skinner, commenting how he was "bad at this".
- "Reaper Madness" is a play on the fantasy / sci-fi book "On a Pale Horse" by Piers Anthony (the first book of the series the Incarnations of Immortality). It also resembles the plot of The Santa Clause, where Tim Allen becomes St Nick after donning the deceased gift-giver's suit. The title is a reference to the 1936 propaganda film "Reefer Madness."
- "Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off" is a parody of the Twilight Zone episode, "A Kind of a Stopwatch" and the 2002 movie Clockstoppers.
- Towards the end of "Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off", Homer, Marge, Bart and Maggie are transformed into the Fantastic Four.
- "This is the second Frankenstein parody in a Treehouse of Horror episode, the first occurring in Treehouse of Horror II.
- The voice of Professor Frink was created based on a bad impression of Jerry Lewis' Nutty Professor character. In this episode, Jerry Lewis guest-stars as Frink's father.
| The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror |
|---|
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII |
