02.06
This year, in the theme of the great tradition of this eerie day, we figured it would be fun to give a list of what we consider to be some of the best parts of the season. That being, The Simpsons’ great specials based on this unique day. I decided to limit my list to one segment per special, and decided to spread it out over the many years of this tradition. Take a look at my list, then go watch them for yourself. These really deserve to be a yearly tradition for anyone who loves Halloween. Now without further ado, I’m Desensitized and this is-
Desen’s Treehouse of Horror Top 10!
Trying to limit myself to one segment per episode was hard, (and I had to cheat once) but I wanted to make this more interesting for myself by seeing which of The Simpsons’ classic Halloween Specials stood up the best outside of their packaging and as geniune episodes of horror and entertainment. This is what I came up with:
1. THOH IV (THOH IV)
I didn’t want to take up all three slots from what is obviously the best THOH episode of all, but every segment here is brilliant and easily the best segments to come out of the whole special’s 20+ years history, that I simply can’t choose one over the other. Bart introduces each segment through eerie paintings and a setting that manages to set the mood for each segment just right. Need I list the classic moments? God owing Homer a brain? Moleman’s car exploding for no reason? Mr. Burns firing Homer despite being a pile of ashes? There is not a weak moment here in what is probably the best Halloween special ever. Choosing one segment over the other, just isn’t going to happen.
2. Clown Without Pity (THOH III)
This terrified me as a kid. It still kind of creeps me out. A murderous doll that one stop at anything to kill Homer just because his switch was set to evil. Despite being scary as hell, has some of the absolute funniest jokes in the whole series. It has horror- That’s good! This joke is usually cut in syndication- That’s bad. It’s really funny- That’s good! Unfortunately it gets overlooked on many best of lists simply because it’s a Halloween episode, isn’t that ridiculous?-… Can I move on now?
3. The Thing & I (THOH VII)
Creepy. Utterly creepy. This one gives the old “Evil Twin” plot-line a shot in the arm with some truly bizarre twists, and a mirror joke that needs to be seen to be appreciated. Even the strange pigeon rat joke, as stomach churning as it is, works despite the fact it probably wouldn’t in any other episode. This is easily one of the best (and as horror goes, most satisfying) episodes on the show. Just don’t watch it alone at night in your room, that Hugo voice still gives me chills.
4. Bad Dream House (THOH I)
The very first segment on the very first THOH special is still one of the best. It nails the mood and the more subtle and dry humor of the early seasons, yet manages to use the more lax pacing to establish a great setting. The walls bleeding blood and the house choosing to kill itself instead of live with the family are obvious highlights. The ending where everyone pointlessly blames Lisa is a great cap off, too.
5. Hell Toupée (THOH IX)
In my opinion, this is the only “slasher” segment that works great (Nightmare on Elm Street parody not withstanding) on the THOH. It manages to be really creepy, but the deaths are so hilariously over the top and strange, that you can’t help but laugh. The final stand at the end is painfully long and gut splitting, but the pay off is worth it. Also, how often do you get to see Homer punch Bart in the face?
6. Nightmare On Evergreen Terrace (THOH VI)
I don’t like the idea of Milhouse having two spaghetti meals in one day.
This segment is sort of overlooked because it comes between the pop culture behemoth of “Attack Of The 50 Foot Eyesores” and the groundbreaking “Homer³”, but I really do think this one trumps them both. Both in how crazy everything gets, and in how mundane (yet hilarious) the dialogue can get as the example above shows. (Especially considering the important moment he’s talking over) Also, special attention has to be made of Russi Taylor’s incredible death scream as Martin in this episode. It is quite possibly the funniest one in the entire series.
7. House Of Whacks (THOH XII)
After a surprisingly weak THOH the year before, the Simpsons thirteenth season brought it back a bit stronger, but not perfect. Easily the best segment, House Of Whacks goes back to the heart of what makes these segments so fun by being incredibly over the top, yet remaining funny throughout and managing to keep a tense atmosphere. Something that has been lost in recent years. Though seeing the back of Homer’s head is still cringe inducing… but in a good way.
8. The Ned Zone (THOH XV)
Eerie and gruesome as it is funny. This segment is pretty much the what the THOH was made for, a “What if” story where nobody is actually out of character but given a unique spin on what would happen if the universe worked slightly different. The gags are strong in this one (how Ned causes death no matter what he does, especially how he tries to prevent Homer from destroying the town but still causes it anyway), everything just works surprisingly well.
9. Desperately Xeeking Xena (THOH X)
Not so much creepy as it is just really funny, this episode skewers nerd culture brilliantly, and has the weirdest celeb cameo the show had offered to that point. It showed that these segments didn’t need to be based around horror concepts to work, just so long as they treated them with as much respect as they did to the horror genre. Also: Best. Death. Scene. EVER.
10. It’s The Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse (THOH XIX)
A more recent special, but still a surprisingly strong segment in it, this one nails every important aspect of being in the THOH. The humor is of course closer to the more modern humor, but as a whole this one can easily hang with the best of them. The best part being that no matter what the townsfolk do, they are cursed with being assaulted by a creature of some sort. The gay joke was surprisingly funny, too.
Yes, I know I have nothing from the legendary THOH V. Unfortunately, I couldn’t choose another full episode, and I couldn’t pick one segment from it, so you’ll just have to deal. This is indeed a strange universe, this Treehouse Of Horror, so just sit back and enjoy the mayhem.
Heh.
Originally posted on Sunday, October 31, 2010.