Treehouse Of Horror Iv Article Index for
Treehouse Of
Website Links For
Horror
 

Information About

Treehouse Of Horror Iv




  Episode No 86
  Prod Code 1F04
  Airdate October 28 , 1993
  Show Runner David Mirkin
  Writer Watch Conan O'Brien <br> The Late Bill Oakley & The Estate Of Josh Weinstein <br> Greg "It's Aliiive!" Daniels and Disfigured Dan McGrath <br> Bilious Bill Canterbury
  Director David "Dry Bones" Silverman
  Couch Gag The family (as zombies) enter through the living room floor before sitting on the couch
  Season 5


"Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of '' The Simpsons ''' Fifth Season , first aired on October 28 , 1993 .


SYNOPSIS



The Devil and Homer Simpson


Homer wakes from a dream about Doughnut s to find that there are none left. When he says that he would sell his Soul for a doughnut, the Devil appears in the guise of Ned Flanders and offers Homer a contract to seal the deal. In a rare moment of clarity, Homer realizes that the devil will not be able to claim his soul if he doesn't finish the doughnut; he saves one bite and keeps it in his refrigerator marked "Do not eat!" Naturally, he is unable to resist the "forbidden doughnut" and eats it in the middle of the night. The Devil Flanders immediately reappears to take possession of Homer's soul. Marge and Lisa plead with the devil, finally getting him to agree to hold a trial the next night. Homer is to spend the day in Hell , however; after falling down a long rocky slope onto a Conveyor Belt , he is chopped into tiny pieces. His next punishment is to be strapped into a chair and continuously force-fed ''"all the doughnuts in the world!"''—but to the demons' astonishment, Homer happily eats thousands and keeps asking for more! At the stroke of midnight, the Devil Flanders brings Homer back to the Simpson household for his trial. He summons the "Jury of the Damned" made up of Blackbeard , Benedict Arnold , John Wilkes Booth , Lizzie Borden , John Dillinger , Richard Nixon and the starting line-up of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers . However Marge has unfortunately entrusted Homer's defense to Lionel Hutz . The inept Hutz quickly realizes that he has no chance, and sneaks out the bathroom window. Before the jury delivers a verdict, Marge makes a final effort to save Homer by displaying a photo from their wedding day. On the back, Homer has written that he pledges his soul to Marge; therefore, it was not his property at the time of his deal with the devil. The jury rules in favor of Homer and the judge dismisses the case. Furious at his loss, the Devil Flanders curses Homer to never forget that doughnut; Homer is shown at breakfast the next morning with a giant doughnut for a head. Lisa warns him that he had better not leave for work... the entire Springfield police force is waiting patiently outside the Simpson house, coffee cups at the ready.


Terror at 5½ Feet

Bart awakens from a nightmare in which the school bus is involved in a fiery crash. With his nerves on edge, he boards the bus that rainy morning to find Principal Skinner ; His Mother took away his car keys for talking to a woman on the phone. Groundskeeper Willie soon boards as well -- his mule got stuck in the mud and he had to shoot her. Sitting next to Milhouse , Bart glances out the window and sees a Gremlin on the side of the bus. In a panic, he tells Otto , who helpfully rams Hans Moleman 's Gremlin off the road. Bart grows increasingly panicked, and glimpses the gremlin loosening the lug nuts on one of the bus' tires. He attempts to warn everyone, but no one believes him. As he tries in desperation to convince others, Principal Skinner has him tied to a seat to prevent him from spreading chaos. Bart convinces Uter to untie him, then climbs halfway out the window to scare off the gremlin with an emergency flare. The gremlin catches fire and falls from the bus as the students pull Bart back inside. The gremlin bounces off Ned Flanders ' car; the kindly do-gooder stops and decides to adopt the creature, cooing over the cute way it tries to claw his eyes out. When the bus finally stops, everyone sees the obvious damage—a wheel falls off as they view it—but Bart is still taken away to an Insane Asylum for being disruptive. Bart is relieved that at least he can get some rest... until the gremlin appears in the back window of the Ambulance holding Ned's severed head.


Bart Simpson's Dracula

The local news reports that Mr. Burns has bought the Springfield Blood Bank. The Simpsons receive an invitation to a midnight dinner at his country house in Transylvania ... er, Pennsylvania . Lisa instantly suspects that he is a Vampire , but the rest of the family dismisses her concerns. At Mr. Burns' mansion, Bart and Lisa discover a secret staircase descending to a basement filled with coffins; as they investigate, the coffins open and vampire emerge to threaten them. Bart and Lisa flee back up the staircase, but Bart is unable to resist a lever to convert the staircase into a "super fun happy slide". Although Lisa escapes, Bart slides back down into the vampires' clutches, where Mr. Burns appears and bites him. Despite obvious bite marks on Bart's neck and his dazed demeanor, Mr. Burns assures the Simpsons that their son is fine. Bart attacks Lisa that night, but she escapes and is finally able to convince her parents of Bart's vampiric nature. The only way to restore him, Lisa says, is to kill the head vampire. The family returns to Mr. Burns' mansion and drive a stake through his heart (after missing once). The Simpsons return to their home, only to find that Grampa—in fact, everyone in the family except Lisa—is a vampire. Mr. Burns was never the head vampire, it was Marge. With this revelation, the entire family swoops in on Lisa... only to stop and wish everyone a happy Halloween. The segment immediately ends with a parody of '' A Charlie Brown Christmas '' (complete with Santa's Little Helper imitating Snoopy's dancing).


TRIVIA

  • In this episode, Richard Nixon comments he is not dead yet. Coincidentally, he died half a year after the episode aired. The scene was cut out when the episode aired on BBC Two in the UK , as they felt it might confuse viewers.

  • FOX stations in Pennsylvania would occasionally use the clip of Homer saying "Pennsylvania" from this episode.



INSPIRATIONS

  • The episode is a parody of the television series '' Night Gallery '', with Bart narrating (à la Rod Serling ) in an art gallery full of eerie paintings. Each painting Bart indicates is intended to hint at one of the segments of the show.

  • "The Devil and Homer Simpson" is a parody of Steven Vincent Benet 's famous short story '' The Devil And Daniel Webster ''.

  • The segment where Homer is strapped into a chair and continuously force-fed doughnuts is a parody of the Merrie Melodies cartoon '' Pigs Is Pigs .''

  • In that same segment, after Homer has eaten all of the doughnuts, the Devil is amazed and says "I don't get it. James Coco went mad in fifteen minutes!". James Coco was an actor known for his weight and cooking skills.

  • "Terror at 5½ Feet" is a parody of '').

  • "Bart Simpson's ''Dracula''" is, of course, generally a parody of vampire films, but borrows heavily from the 1992 movie '' Bram Stoker's Dracula '', particularly in Mr. Burns' appearance and mannerisms (and even the segment's title). Other vampire films parodied are '' Nosferatu '' and '' The Lost Boys ''.



QUOTES

  • Bart: Paintings: lifeless images rendered in colourful goop. But at night, they take on a life of their own. They become portals to hell, so scary and horrible and gruesome that—
    '''Marge:''' Bart! You should warn people that this episode is very frightening. And maybe they'd rather listen to that old '' War Of The Worlds '' broadcast on NPR , hmm?
    Bart: Yes, mother.

  • Homer: "Dear Homer, I. O. U. one emergency donut. Signed, Homer." Bastard! He's always one step ahead.

  • Homer: What -- Flanders! You're the devil?
    '''Devil Flanders:''' Ho ho! It's always the one you least suspect!

  • Burns: ''(watching Homer and Devil Flanders on a monitor)'' Hmm...who's that goat-legged fellow? I like the cut of his jib.
    '''Smithers:''' Er, Prince of Darkness, sir. He's your eleven o'clock.

  • Hutz: First, some ground rules: number one, we get bathroom breaks every half-hour.
    '''Devil Flanders:''' Agreed! Number two, the jury will be chosen by me!
    Hutz: Agreed... no, wait—
    '''Devil Flanders:''' Silence! I give you the , Blackbeard the Pirate, John Dillinger , and the Starting Line-up of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers !

  • Marge: Homer, stop picking at it!
    '''Homer:''' Oh, but I'm so sweet and tasty!

  • Wiggum (with several police officers holding cups of coffee) : Don't worry, boys. He's gotta come out sometime.

  • Principal Skinner : Now I've gotten word that a child is using his imagination... and I've come to put a stop to it!
    '''Bart:''' No, no, it's true, there's a monster on the bus!
    '''Skinner:''' The only monster on this bus is a lack of proper respect for the rules.

  • Bart: Look at the bus. I was right, I tell you, I was right!
    '''Skinner:''' Right or wrong, your behavior was still disruptive, young man! Perhaps spending the remainder of your life in a madhouse will teach you some manners.
    ''' Nelson :''' HA, ha!

  • Homer: It was so nice of Mr. Burns to invite us to a midnight dinner at his country house in... ''Pennsylvania!''
    '''Lisa:''' Aw, there's something fishy about this whole setup.
    '''Marge:''' Lisa, stop being so suspicious. Did everyone wash their necks like Mr. Burns asked?

  • Lisa: Dad, Bart's a vampire!
    '''Homer''': Oh Lisa, you and your stories! ''(imitating Lisa)'' Bart is a vampire! Beer kills brain cells! ''(normal)'' Now let's go back to that... building... thingy... where our beds and TV... is.

  • Lisa: Grandpa's a vampire?
    '''Bart:''' We're all vampires!
    Lisa: But... no! We killed Mr. Burns --
    '''Homer:''' You have to kill the ''head'' vampire.
    Lisa: ''You're'' the head vampire?
    '''Marge:''' No, ''I'm'' the head vampire. ''(laughs fiendishly)''
    Lisa: Mom?!
    '''Marge:''' I ''do'' have a life outside this house, you know.

  • Bart: We come now to the final and most terrifying painting of the evening. To even gaze upon it is to go mad.
    '''Homer:''' [looking at different picture
    Aah! They're Dogs...and They're Playing Poker ! (Homer screams, laughs hysterically and runs away)




EXTERNAL LINKS