With Halloween right around the corner, it’s about time for a tradition: rewatching all of “The Simpsons” Treehouse of Horror episodes. But, some have stood the test of time better than others.
10. Treehouse of Horror IX: “Hell Toupée,” “The Terror Of Tiny Toon,” “Starship Poopers”
In the first segment, Homer receives a hair transplant from an executed criminal. But, it begins to control him, and he starts hunting down witnesses, including Bart. In the second segment, Bart and Lisa enter the TV and the world of Itchy and Scratchy, accidentally angering them in the process. In the final segment, it is revealed that Maggie has been a half-alien the whole time and that Homer is not the father. Rather, Kang is her real father, which causes Homer and Kang to fight on “The Jerry Springer Show.”
It takes the No. 10 spot because of the sheer absurdity of it all, which is something that earlier seasons of “The Simpsons" did exceedingly well.
9. Treehouse of Horror VII: “The Thing and I,” “The Genesis Tub,” “Citizen Kang”
The first part of the episode shows Bart discovering that he has an evil twin who he was separated from at birth, and who was kept in the attic and fed a bucket of fish heads once per week. The second part shows Lisa’s science experiment gone awry, where she has accidentally created a tiny civilization that views her as a god. The final part shows Kang and Kodos trying to take over the world via politics.
The episode works well, but the shining star is the satirical nature of “Citizen Kang.” While it is not a direct satire of politics, it makes quite a few jokes about the 1996 election, which all land very well.
8. Treehouse of Horror XI: “G-G-Ghost D-D-D-Dad,” “Scary Tales Can Come True,” “Night of The Dolphins”
“G-G-Ghost D-D-D-Dad” sees Homer narrowly escape death several times, only to choke to death on a piece of broccoli. However, he has only 24 hours to do a good deed to get into heaven. “Scary Tales Can Come True” takes a stab at fairy-tale spoofs like “Hansel and Gretel,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and other Brothers Grimm stories. “Night of The Dolphins” sees Lisa free a dolphin, only for it to come back with hundreds of other dolphins for an all-out showdown with Springfield.
The reason this episode works so well is because each segment does comedy in a different way. The first segment’s jokes focus on how everything goes wrong for Homer in the funniest way possible. The second segment balances the absurdity of the stories with some more understated jokes. The final segment, though, is just ridiculous in the best way possible.
7. Treehouse of Horror II: “The Monkey’s Paw,” “The Bart Zone,” “If I Only Had a Brain”
In “The Monkey’s Paw,” Homer buys a monkey’s paw from a mysterious vendor with the promise of granted wishes. Obviously, hilarity ensues. “The Bart Zone” parodies an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” where Bart has the ability to control and transform things with his mind and uses the power for nefarious purposes. “If I Only Had a Brain” is a ”Frankenstein” spoof, where Mr. Burns takes Homer’s brain and puts it into a robot, only to find that the robot is just as lazy.
For being just the second installment in the Treehouse of Horror episodes, the three segments work exceedingly well, all with thought-out jokes and jokes the viewer does not need to think about whatsoever.
6. Treehouse of Horror VIII: “The Homega Man,” “Fly vs Fly,” “Easy-Bake Coven”
The first segment shows a bomb going off and destroying Springfield, leaving Homer the sole unaffected survivor. Naturally, he celebrates and begins to do everything he couldn’t do while Springfield was still populated. The second segment shows Bart splicing his DNA with a fly using a teleporter that Homer bought from a garage sale in a parody of “The Fly.” The third calls back to the Salem witch trials, where Marge is put on trial for witchcraft, and when her witchy lifestyle is revealed, she and her sisters begin to wreak havoc on the town.
This is another episode that uses absurdity to its advantage, with easy-to-process jokes making it a great episode to turn your brain off and just laugh at.
5. Treehouse of Horror III: “Clown Without Pity,” “King Homer,” “Dial ‘Z’ for Zombies”
“Clown Without Pity” sees Homer buy a cursed doll for Bart after forgetting his birthday, which leads to the doll causing chaos for the Simpsons. “King Homer” acts as a spoof of “King Kong,” with Homer standing in for the ape and Marge standing in for Ann Darrow. “Dial ‘Z’ for Zombies” sees Bart and Lisa attempt to revive their dead cat, Snowball I. However, in the process, they accidentally start a zombie invasion.
This is one of the episodes where the parts in between the segments are as funny as the segments themselves, taking place at a Halloween party with everyone sharing their spooky tales.
4. Treehouse of Horror I: “Bad Dream House,” “Hungry Are the Damned,” “The Raven”
The first segment is a classic haunted house story but with the classic Simpsons comedic twists. The second tells the story of the Simpsons being abducted by aliens, who Lisa suspects might be trying to eat them. The third is a spoof of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” with Homer acting as the narrator’s character and Bart acting as the titular bird.
The first Treehouse of Horror episode was already set to be an instant classic, but it lives up to it as well. It takes classic horror tropes, like a haunted house and an alien abduction, as well as a classic poem, and makes it something way funnier for the modern era.
3. Treehouse of Horror IV: “The Devil and Homer Simpson,” “Terror at 5 ½ Feet,” “Bart Simpson’s Dracula”
The episode starts with Homer selling his soul to the devil (or a demonic version of Ned Flanders) for a donut. It then segues into another parody of an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” where Bart is terrorized by a monster that begins to destroy the bus he is on. Finally, it ends with the Simpsons being invited to a feast at Mr. Burns’ castle, where Lisa and Bart begin to suspect that he is a vampire.
The fourth installment of the Treehouse of Horror specials proves to be a good one, effectively spoofing “The Twilight Zone” and taking otherwise terrifying tales and making them much funnier.
2. Treehouse of Horror VI: “Attack of the 50 Foot Eyesores,” “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace,” “Homer3”
After being disappointed that he couldn’t get the giant donut the Lard Lad mascot is holding, Homer steals it in the midst of an ionic disturbance, which causes the advertising mascots to come to life. This then segues into a parody of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” which sees the fan-favorite Groundskeeper Willie serving as Freddy Krueger. Finally, it ends with a tale of Homer hiding in another dimension from Marge’s sisters, only to find that the third dimension is more dangerous than he thought.
This episode’s jokes land on all fronts. The first segment pokes fun at advertising and its effects on the population. The second is one of the funniest parodies the show has ever done. The third used the CGI animation that was taking the world by storm at the time.
1. Treehouse of Horror V: “The Shinning,” “Time and Punishment,” “Nightmare Cafeteria”
“The Shinning” is an on-the-nose parody of “The Shining,” where Bart discovers he has psychic powers and Homer begins to go crazy after being cut off from TV and beer. “Time and Punishment” sees Homer accidentally turn his toaster into a time machine, and begin to accidentally mess with the future. “Nightmare Cafeteria” sees Bart and Lisa have to go to battle with their elementary school staff, which has started eating students.
The fifth installment of the Treehouse of Horror specials is hands-down the funniest to date. It effectively uses parody, perfectly uses absurdity in the second segment, and plays the jokes in such a way that they land perfectly.
