Treehouse of Horror XXV (Season 26) 4 Only a week old, this is standard late-model Simpsons Treehouse: a parody of arguable timeliness, with two (fairly) original segments. However, they did make with the laugh laugh, so it's hard to
- School is Hell - 4.5 Bart flourishing in a school for demons? An unpromising premise far exceeded by the constant flow of jokes, from low to high brow -- and Homer's donut-eating torture gets a quick cameo!
- A Clockwork Yellow - 4.5 A timely*** romp through most of Kubrick's oeuvre through the lens of "A Clockwork Orange" -- there's even a callback to "Barry Lyndon".
- The Others - 3 The original Simpsons have returned several times, so this one was a bit weak -- until the ending. Seeing South Park, Miyazaki, Archer and Despicable Me versions redeemed the bit.
"You went to Hell and came back a winner -- just like Jesus!"
"You should not be out lugging, shin-slicing or eye-groining"
"The power of Chrysler compels you!"
Treehouse of Horror XXIV (Season 25) 4 2013's offering was very up and down -- one spectacular intro, two decent segments and an all-time dog. Here's the intro:
- Guillermo del Toro's Opening credits - 5 Three minutes of insanity referencing classic horror movies, novels, authors, the previous 23 episodes and del Toro's own movies
- Oh, The Places You'll D'oh! - 4 The Seussian rhymes often do impress, even when the violence goes to excess!
- Dead and Shoulders - 0.5 Oof. This was a dog. This is exactly the kind of hack-y crap The Simpsons should parody, not produce.
- Freaks No Geeks - 3 Nothing outstanding... until the twist at the end, including the fake newspaper.
"A wedding is no time to worry about threats from the bride's former lover"
- Bad Dream House - 2 Some good bits, but no stand out lines. Like the rest of the episode, this was a bit too indebted to "The Twilight Zone"
- Hungry Are The Damned - 4.5 The only segment that would be right at home in a later season, it's both a parody of classic sci-fi and funny in its own right.
- The Raven - 4 It's not hilarious, but is there a better version of the Raven than narrated by James Earl Jones with Homer as the protagonist and Bart as the Raven? I'm going with no.
- Best Non-Poe Line: "Everyone that comes from a race that has mastered intergalactic travel, raise your hand" and "Well, it was written in 1845 -- maybe people were easier to scare back then"
* This is exactly the sort of development that would have been fatal to my college career, had they had the internet on computers** back in the early 90s.
** If you didn't recognize this quote, you desperately need to watch more of The Simpsons.
** 43 years isn't timely?
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