Treehouse of Horror XXVI
"Treehouse of Horror XXVI" | |||
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The Simpsons episode | |||
Promotional poster depicting the three segments of the episode. Top left: "Wanted: Dead, Then Alive"; Top right and center: "Telepaths of Glory"; Bottom: "Homerzilla" | |||
Episode no. | 579 | ||
Directed by | Steven Dean Moore | ||
Written by | Joel H. Cohen | ||
Showrunner(s) | Al Jean | ||
Production code | TABF18 | ||
Original air date | October 25, 2015 | ||
Couch gag | A John Kricfalusi-animated couch gag where the Simpson children are trick-or-treating before being set upon by soul-hungry spirits with a monstrous Frank Grimes among them. The spirits chase after the Simpson children to their house with the Frank Grimes monster taking Homer's soul from his body and eating it. | ||
Guest actors | Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob Chris Wedge as Scrat | ||
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"Treehouse of Horror XXVI" is the fifth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the animated television series The Simpsons, the 26th episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials, and the 579th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 25, 2015.[1]
The episode, like the other Treehouse of Horror episodes, comprises three self-contained segments. In "Wanted: Dead, Then Alive", Sideshow Bob finally murders Bart; in "Homerzilla", Homer plays the role of Godzilla and his American remake; and in "Telepaths of Glory", Lisa, Milhouse and Maggie receive telepathic powers. Showrunner Al Jean gave an interview about the episode in the month before it aired. Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as the guest voice of Sideshow Bob, and the opening musical sequence was animated by John Kricfalusi.
"Treehouse of Horror XXVI" was watched by an audience of 6.75 million, the highest on Fox that night. Reception was mixed, with its perceived excess violence and lack of originality being criticized.
Plot
The episode opens with a John Kricfalusi-animated couch gag where the Simpson children are trick-or-treating before being set upon by soul-hungry spirits with a monstrous Frank Grimes among them. The spirits chase after the Simpson children to their home, and the Frank Grimes monster skins Bart and takes Homer's soul.
Wanted: Dead, Then Alive
Bart is making a competition on school when he gets a text message from Milhouse, saying that Mr. Largo's stuck in a harp. When Bart enters the music room, he realizes Sideshow Bob playing a classic violin song. He tells Bart that he stole Milhouse's phone to attract him to the music room, only to accomplish his lifelong dream: kill Bart. Bob pulls a spear gun and shoots Bart, killing him almost instantly. He then decides to take Bart's body to his house to celebrate his accomplishment. As his main objective in life is done, he decides to complete other dreams, such as becoming a literature teacher at Springfield University, but is dissatisfied as his students do not appreciate him. He discovers that the only thing that has made him happy was hunting down Bart for 24 years. So he builds a machine to bring Bart back to life so he can kill him over and over. But Bob's machine is discovered by Lisa and Santa's Little Helper. The Simpsons family break into Bob's basement and reanimate Bart, but Bob appears holding a shotgun, calling Chief Wiggum on Milhouse's cellphone and telling him that there are "intruders in [his] basement", and Wiggum gives him the right to kill the entire Simpson family. Homer attacks Bob with a lamp, ripping his head off, and Marge decides that Bart can keep Bob's remains. Bart puts Bob's head into the Reanimator with a horn, frog legs, a chicken body, a tail and a booger, making a bizarre-looking creature.
Homerzilla
In a parody of Godzilla a crazy old man (Grampa Simp-san) in Springfield, Japan, is constantly mocked because every day he drops a perfect donut into the ocean with his grandchildren (Bart and Lisa). When asked why he does such things, he says that is because if he doesn't, a huge sea monster will rise and destroy the city, but instead of explaining things, this only causes more mockery. One day, as he is preparing a donut for his "ritual", he chokes on the toppings and dies. With nobody to drop the donuts, a sea monster called Homerzilla (Homer) wakes up and destroys the city. The scene cuts to the present time, where executives are watching the Homerzilla movie, stating that it's so bad that it deserves a remake. Two years later, they release "Zilla", but the movie is a total failure (the only attendee is Comic Book Guy who admits to only be waiting for the new Star Wars movie). They decide to throw all his merchandising into the ocean, but the containers wake up Homer and a message appears reporting that Homerzilla will return as soon people have forgotten about the final one.
Telepaths of Glory
In a parody of Chronicle, Bart, Lisa and Milhouse are walking through a forest to spot butterflies, but Bart and Milhouse haven't spotted any, which makes Lisa angry. Bart scares Lisa with dead owls, and she hits Milhouse's nose with the camera, making him lose his balance and fall into a giant hole. Bart and Lisa decide to jump into the hole to rescue him, making all the three stuck inside of it with nuclear waste from the nuclear power plant. The radioactive goo explodes, sending all three kids back outside the hole. When they wake up, Milhouse and Lisa discovered they've gained telepathic powers (Bart doesn't, as his brain is not powerful enough), so they decide to use the powers on their favor. Lisa only makes a few changes, but Milhouse goes mad with powers only to be struck by lightning. Lisa says she didn't do it, making the family curious to discover who did this. They then realize that Maggie also has telepathic powers (as she was using a radioactive rod as a pacifier). Maggie then uses her powers to benefit the world (like turning Homerzilla into a larger Barney) before taking a nap.
The episode ends with Kang and Kodos complaining that once again, they only have made a cameo appearance.
Production
In a September 2015, interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Al Jean spoke about the episode, saying: "We're trying to break barriers and it's like nothing we've ever done. It's a bit of a very scary tribute to Hanna-Barbera cartoons, but updated. Then we have Sideshow Bob killing Bart. And if you wanted Bob to kill Bart, you're going to get your wish. I was always the kind of kid that wanted [Wile E.] Coyote to eat the Roadrunner, so this made me very happy". He added that Bob's voice actor, Kelsey Grammer, was excited by the prospect, exclaiming "Oh, finally!"[2]
The episode opens with a sequence animated by Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, featuring a "Grinch-esque song" which "sneaks in Kricfalusi’s signature scatology while being quite catchy".[3] Bob chastises his students for using Wikipedia for their research on T. S. Eliot, lamenting that "the author of Cats could be insulted further".[3] Elvis Costello's 1979 single "Accidents Will Happen" plays as Bob repeatedly murders Bart.[3]
Reception
The episode received a 2.8 rating and was watched by a total of 6.75 million people, making it the most watched show on Fox that night.[4]
The episode received mixed reviews. Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B-, calling it "middling". He wrote that the first segment "just goes for the gore" and that there was "not much glee in the dark humor"; though he did praise Bart's death montage and compared it to those of Emperor Joker and its Batman: The Brave and the Bold adaptation, he concluded that the segment "is as repetitive as murdering your arch-enemy again and again and again."[3] He was more favoring towards the satire in "Homerzilla", but concluded that it had "not too much meat on [its] bones", and decried the lack of originality in the final segment, although he approved of Principal Skinner correcting graffiti to call himself a "wiener". Perkins compared the episode negatively against its predecessor, "Halloween of Horror".[3]
Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the episode 6.9 out of 10, saying that it "offers a decent lineup of darker Springfield adventures. The standout is the return of Sideshow Bob, a story entertaining enough it really deserved its own, full-length episode. "Homerzilla" also has its moments. And while the lack of originality in "Telepaths of Glory" is disappointing, as a whole this episode is entertaining enough to fall comfortably in the middle of the pack as far as "Treehouse of Horror" episodes go."[5]
References
- ↑ "Listings - SIMPSONS, THE on FOX". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
- ↑ Lesley Goldberg (2015-09-27). "'Simpsons' Divorce Homer Marge Lena Dunham". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Perkins, Dennis (October 25, 2015). "Sideshow Bob finally triumphs in a gory, middling "Treehouse Of Horror"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ↑ Porter, Rick (October 27, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: 'The Simpsons,' 'The Good Wife' and 'Last Man on Earth' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (October 24, 2015). "The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" Review". IGN. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
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