Sunday, October 30, 2011

The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror": Immediate Reactions




"Treehouse of Horror XXII" just finished airing.  Here are some quick thoughts on tonight's episode:


(First of all, it's an added treat when "Treehouse" actually gets to air before Halloween [kudos to Major League Baseball for concluding its season on time and not pre-empting The Simpsons].)

Best quick riff on an iconic scene: an alien Maggie chest-bursting from Bart's astronaut costume.

Best extended riff on an iconic scene:  Homer in the car contemplating stealing off with a stash of candy (cf. Marion Crane driving off with her boss's money in Psycho).

Punniest segment title: "The Diving Bell and the Butterball"

Funniest line of dialogue (tie):

--Homer on Halloween decorating: "The one time of year when the squalor of our home works to our advantage."

--Holy-roller Ned Flanders' suggestion to the streetwalker who approaches him: "Spend less time on your back and more time on your knees."

Best moment of the entire episode: the last one, when Abe walks on stage in a dark tutu and asks, "When are we doing the 'Black Swan'?"

This year's episode really seemed to de-emphasize horror, choosing
to spoof movies like 127 Hours and Avatar.  Halloween was further displaced by the focus on Christmas in the closing scene.  After 22 years, could the "Treehouse of Horror" finally be running out of genre material to skewer?  I hope not.

One last thought: as huge as zombies are in pop culture currently, I was surprised the episode didn't make an ironic comment on the craze at some point. 

2 comments:

Adam said...

I found this years installment to be greatly lacking on both horror and humor. I did enjoy the short bit of Homer playing a paralyzed Spiderman. The rest of the episode was pretty forgettable. I would think they could parody something a little more relevant then Avatar. I used to make it a point to watch the Tree House of Horror every year. They just aren’t as funny or as topical as they once were. I missed this episode as I miss a lot of my favorite shows when they air because I am usually hard at work for DISH Network. I go to DISHOnline.com the next day to get caught up. It’s free with my subscription. I understand that after 20 something seasons every episode won’t be a winner but I always held the Tree House of Horror episodes to a higher level. I hope to see a more creative episode next year.

Joe Nazare said...

They should have just called it "The Treehouse of" this year, because the episode was definitely lacking in horror.