So I covered a lot of this in my Top 10: Simpsons Episodes list but The Simpsons is a long running American animated sitcom featuring the titular family ‘The Simpsons’ in the wacky, surreal, dysfunction and heartwarming adventures in Springfield. The Treehouse of Horror, is an annual self contained series of Halloween themed episodes, the first of which aired on the 25th October 1990. They usual parody movies and popular culture, and are typically darker and more violent than regular episodes, and are also considered non-canonical to the main show. Today I’ll be sharing my top 10 list of Treehouse of Horror episodes from its 30 year history.
1. Treehouse of Horror X
(I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did, Desperately Xeeking Xena and Life’s a Glitch, Then You Die)
By far my favourite of the three stories in this Treehouse of Horror is ‘I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did’ partly just because it’s such a great episode but also because of the ‘Guess I forgot to put the foglights in’ which I quote to my partner regularly. I also really enjoy the Lucy Lawless segment as well.
2. Treehouse of Horror V
(The Shinning, Time and Punishment and Nightmare Cafeteria)
I loved hearing James Earl Jones saying ‘This is indeed a disturbing universe’ and the shinning is just hilarious, and Homer makes a believable Jack Torrance stand in. Also even though he’s eating children it’s nice to see a more assertive Skinner in ‘Nightmare Cafeteria’.
3. Treehouse of Horror IV
(The Devil and Homer Simpson, Terror at 5 1/2 Feet and Bart Simpson’s Dracula)
Subverts everything we think we know about Flanders by making him the actual devil, he gives Homer a donut in exchange for his soul and in a rare moment of forethought he realises that if he doesn’t finish the donut he keeps his soul, a moment that lasts until he eats the donut…of course. The Simpson’s Dracula is another strong segment in this episode, where Bart is turned into a Vampire and of course hilarity ensues.
4. Treehouse of Horror XIII
(Send in the Clones, The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms and The Island of Dr. Hibbert)
I think I’ve probably seen this episode the most out of all the other entries on the list and it’s still enjoyable, the Clones segment in particular has the funny bit with the hammock salesman. And the Island of Dr. Hibbert segment is enjoyable no matter how many times I watch it
5. Treehouse of Horror XIV
(Reaper Madness, Frinkenstein and Stop the World, I want to Goof Off)
Homer kills Death…the actual Grim Reaper and with a bowling ball no less. Funny and absurd all at the same time. The Frinkenstein episode is equally good and gives Frink back his dad, first as roaming flesh hungry maniac and then as a glowing box.
6. Treehouse of horror XVIII
(E.T. Go Home, Mr. & Mrs. Simpson and Heck House)
In the vein of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie, Mr. And Mrs. Simpson is a superbly well executed and funny parody.
7. Treehouse of Horror XIX
(Untitled Robot Parody, How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising and It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse)
The dead-vertising segment is great, and shows the runaway nature of advertising and how people can and will do anything for a quick buck, especially if your name is Homer Simpson. The Grand Pumpkin segments is equally brilliant, I liked how Milhouse’s childlike naivety and wonder was able to bring things to like, especially since he’s usually the butt of every joke.
8. Treehouse of Horror IX
(Hell Toupee, The Terror of Tiny Toon and Starship Poopers)
Hell Toupee is not only an excellent pun but also a strong episode where Snake aka jailbird is executed and his hair is given as a transplant for everyone’s favourite bald man. It however takes over Homer’s mind and causes him to enact revenge on Snakes enemies.
9. Treehouse of Horror XII
(Hex and the City, House of Whacks and Wiz Kids)
The Hex and the City has Homer cursed because he annoys a Romani woman, Bart dies and Marge gets Hairy. The Wiz kid segment parodies Harry Potter and is one of the best individual segments of Treehouse of Horror history.
10. Treehouse of Horror I
(Bad Dream House, Hungry are the Damned and The Raven)
Is the first and even though many have come in the years since it’s still a strong episode, especially the Raven if you are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe.
Honourable mentions go to Treehouse of Horror III (Clown without Pity, King Homer and Dial “Z” for Zombies), Treehouse of Horror VI (Attack of the 50 Foot Eyesores, Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace and Homer Cubed), Treehouse of Horror VII (The Thing and I, The Genesis Tub and Citizen Kang) and Treehouse of Horror XV (The Ned Zone, Four Beheadings and a Funeral and In the Belly of the Boss) which I also really enjoyed but didn’t quite make the top 10 list.
First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/
Off the Record is and always will be a free platform, but if you like what we do here and want to contribute to the production of future content then you can do so by donating to our PayPal or Ko-Fi.
Off the Record 