It’s hard to believe that we can look at The Simpsons, a currently running cartoon, go back three decades, and still be talking about the third season. As Treehouse of Horror XXXIII recently rolled out, we’re going back in time to remember one of the earliest episodes of the popular annual spooky Simpsons special, Treehouse of Horror II.
The episode kicks off with Marge warning the audience to no avail, then giving another warning to Homer and the kids that they shouldn’t scarf down their Halloween candy, as it can give them nightmares. Spoiler alert, they don’t listen. In a creative anthological way, the episode breaks down its three stories into the nightmares of Lisa, Bart, and Homer.
The first segment, “The Monkey’s Paw,” is in itself a reference to W.W. Jacobs’s short story of the same name. Much like the first Treehouse of Horror episode, this one also references The Twilight Zone quite a bit. In this segment, Lisa dreams that the Simpson family visits Morocco, and Homer purchases a cursed monkey paw that will grant them four wishes, but with each wish comes great misfortune.
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Maggie wishes for a brand-new, golden pacifier, to which there don’t seem to be consequences, but then Bart wishes for fame and fortune, making the Simpson family even more hated among the community. Lisa wishes for world peace, which works…until Kang and Kodos see that the world is weak and powerless and take over in an attempt to enslave humanity.
Homer has a chance to right the wrong but instead wishes for the perfect turkey sandwich…that turns out dry (gasp!). Homer gives the paw to Ned in hopes it will curse him, but being that Ned is such a nice guy, things seem to go a little better for the Flanders’ wishes.
The second segment, and my favorite from this episode, “The Bart Zone,” is based on “The Good Life,” an original Twilight Zone episode that was also remade in the Joe Dante-directed segment of The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). Bart’s nightmare consists of the entire town of Springfield being afraid of making a wrong comment or move around him, being that he can change reality with his mind.
When Homer won’t let him watch TV, Bart turns Homer into a Jack-in-the-box. Marge takes Homer and Bart to a doctor, who suggests some real father-and-son time is needed to rekindle their relationship. After many heartwarming activities together, Bart returns Homer to his natural state, and the two embrace warmly… then Bart wakes up screaming. Comedy gold.
In a love letter to Frankenstein, the third segment, “If I Only Had a Brain,” sees Homer finally getting fired for sleeping on the job and becoming a gravedigger. Naturally, he falls asleep in an open grave, and Mr. Burns and Smithers are out looking for a brain to create the perfect worker for the plant.
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The two steal Homer’s brain and place it in a robot, but unsurprisingly, the robot is also lazy and clumsy. Upon trying to return Homer’s brain, the robot falls on Mr. Burns’ body, rendering it useless. Smithers then stitches Mr. Burns’ head to Homer’s body, and the two must go on living the life of having two heads.
Though I wouldn’t put Treehouse of Horror II in the elite top of the specials, it’s still great and has a couple of the most memorable segments of the series.
All episodes of The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror can be watched on Disney+. What are some of your favorite episodes?
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