A ranking of all 90 “Treehouse of Horror” segments from TheSimpsons
The Simpsons. Photo: FOX This article was originally published on October 31, 2011. It has been updated.
Reason for Ranking: It’s everything that doesn’t work about later-era Simpsons. From stale parodies to uncalled-for fart jokes , “Diving Bell” is the worst Treehouse yet. 89. “UNnormal Activity,” Treehouse of Horror XXIII Plot: Following strange goings-on in his house, Homer sets up a camera to find the culprit and discovers that it’s none other than a Moe-like demon.
Memorable Quote: “The deed is done. Twenty-four years of trying to kill a 10-year-old child have finally paid off.” “Geriatric Park.” Photo: FOX 85. “Geriatric Park,” Treehouse of Horror XXIX Plot: Jurassic Park is turned into Geriatric Park, with senior citizens instead of dinosaurs. Reason for Ranking: Rather than go with a straightforward Godzilla parody, à la “King Homer,” “Homerzilla” starts as an homage before transforming into a satire about the proliferation of cinematic reboots. It’s an unexpected storytelling decision, but the lampooning isn’t given enough time to land. The less said about the Japanese accents, the better.
Reason for Ranking: Too many twists and turns, not enough laughs, and a shoddy final scene that casts Maggie in A Clockwork Orange, for some reason. Reason for Ranking: In the past, The Simpsons would have actually parodied Avatar, pointing out its many unobtanium-based faults. Instead, they ended up with a vaguely entertaining segment that went for the easy jokes, rather than attempting to send up the source material.
Memorable Quote: “My phone says that there’s spores from outer space landing all around us.” “Well, my phone says there are divorced moms in my area that want to meet me.” Reason for Ranking: The Simpsons has come a long way since the Tracey Ullman days — the animation is better, the jokes are stronger, and the characters are more well-defined. Unfortunately, they’re also, on occasion, more cruel. “The Others” is, conceptually, a blast, but the story, where now-Homer falls for then-Marge causing now-Marge to kill herself to become a ghost , is needlessly coldhearted.
Memorable Quote: “Dad, are you becoming a muncher?” “I think the better brains is, which brains is a brains?” Memorable Quote: “We interrupt this dance music from Lamourian Roman Capital City’s Fabulous Hotel Hitler to bring you a special bulletin.” 71. “B.I.: Bartificial Intelligence,” Treehouse of Horror XVI Plot: Bart is replaced by a robot boy while he’s in a coma.
Reason for Ranking: It’s tough to tell a convincing detective story in seven minutes; it’s even tougher to tell a convincing detective story that also makes you laugh in the same amount of time. “Four Beheadings” tried to do both, and wasn’t successful in either. The opium gags were particularly forced.
Reason for Ranking: It’s a half-baked spoof of Dexter , with far too few jokes. The final season of Dexter is funnier than “Dial D.” Memorable Quote: “Of course! I get Marge to marry Moe, then I kill Moe, then she gets the ring, then I marry her and the ring is mine. And the brilliance of my plan is its simplicity.”
Reason for Ranking: Timey-wimey nonsense is usually fun, but it’s a shame that The Simpsons brought back Artie Ziff for a throw-off segment about Marge and Homer’s relationship. “The Way We Was” is sacred territory! 61. “Moefinger,” Treehouse of Horror XXVII Plot: Bart becomes a secret agent, taking his father’s place, who investigates why the entire world’s supply of beer was purchased by a single company.
“A Clockwork Yellow.” Photo: FOX 59. “A Clockwork Yellow,” Treehouse of Horror XXV Plot: Moe reconnects with his fellow “droogs” Homer, Lenny, and Carl years after the gang went their separate ways. Reason for Ranking: Man, this show sure loves surgical attachments, huh? “Dead and Shoulders” is the conceptually exhausted trilogy capper, but unlike the first two segments, this one at least delves into what it’s like to be stuck with someone you don’t get along with. 55. “Survival of the Fattest,” Treehouse of Horror XVI Plot: Mr. Burns goes hunting for the most dangerous game of all: man.
Reason for Ranking: There’s nothing objectively bad about “Greatest Story” . But the central premise is a mishmash of concepts from two superior segments — the vortex from “Bad Dream House” and the alternate dimension from “Homer3” . Memorable Quote: “If I say we’re still hungry, we’re still hungry! You don’t wanna piss off somebody who can kick you in the crotch from the inside!”
51. “The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms,” Treehouse of Horror XIII Plot: Springfield becomes a gun-free town, which is fine and swell until the Hole in the Ground Gang, led by Billy the Kid, begins attacking. 49. “Untitled Robot Parody,” Treehouse of Horror XIX Plot: Transforming robots battle to the death in Springfield.
Reason for Ranking: Blasphemy, I know, but compared to other early Simpsons episodes, “Homer’s Nightmare” doesn’t hold up. It’s neither scary nor funny, and it would have been wise to continue the “Homer as gravedigger” plot rather than cast Mr. Burns as Dr. Frankenstein. “War and Pieces.” Photo: FOX 47. “War and Pieces,” Treehouse of Horror XXI Plot: After rejecting the board game mainstays, Bart and Milhouse start playing one called Satan’s Path.
Memorable Quote: “You’re a vampire! I should be afraid, but I’m not.” “Come, Lisa. Let us go over the trees the way a bat does, by jumping.”Reason for Ranking: “Mmm … Homer” begins with the kind of introduction that Marge gave in the early Treehouse episodes: “What you’re about to see is so disgusting you’ll watch Game of Thrones to calm down. You have been warned.
Reason for Ranking: There’s a dumb ending, involving the Bewitched theme and Dennis Rodman discussing the perils of adult illiteracy , but everything before that is pretty fun, including the Bumblebee Man turning into a bumblebee and Lisa into Albert Einstein. Reason for Ranking: This section of the list is around where segments aren’t bad, but they’re not great, either. “Wiz Kids” is the definition of mediocrity, at least in Treehouse terms. 39. “Hell Toupée,” Treehouse of Horror IX Plot: Homer acquires Snake’s luxurious hair after the jailbird is sent to the electric chair. Once the hair’s fused to his scalp, Homer starts thinking like Snake, and goes after those who sent him to the Big House in the first place, including Bart.
37. “There’s No Business Like Moe Business,” Treehouse of Horror XX Plot: In a hundreds-of-miles-from-Broadway musical, Homer’s blood is used to sweeten Moe’s beer. Meanwhile, Moe is acting sweet toward his forbidden love, Marge, who thinks her husband left her because he’s gay. In other words, it’s Sweeney Todd … kind of.
35. “Desperately Xeeking Xena,” Treehouse of Horror X Plot: Due to a freak accident, Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl have superhuman abilities. They have to hunt down the Collector, who has taken Lucy Lawless for his collection. Reason for Ranking: Not only does the episode feature Marge, Patty, and Selma as witches, an always-winning combination, “Coven” cleverly explains how the idea of trick-or-treating came to be, thanks to the narration of the Sea Captain. It also involves child cannibalism. That’s not a Treehouse first , but it’s still worth nothing.
Reason for Ranking: It’s well-structured, and the specificity of Homer’s death, rather than haphazardly casual violence, is something Treehouse episodes would lose in later years. Memorable Quote: “Man alive, what a stink-o thousand years! Blimp wrecks, teenagers… then again, we had two TV shows with Andy Griffith.” “And eleven with Robert Urich.”
29. “Bart’s Nightmare,” Treehouse of Horror II Plot: Springfield is terrified of Bart for being able to read minds; he also possesses other omnipotent abilities, like the power to turn Homer into a jack-in-the-box. Reason for Ranking: Some day, when the dolphins rise from the seas and are about to kill us all , this segment will seem a lot less funny and a lot more prophetic. Until then, however, please enjoy the adorable underwater dolphin speak.
Memorable Quote: “We offered you paradise. You would have experienced emotions a hundred times greater than what you call love. And a thousand times greater than what you call fun. You would have been treated like gods and lived forever in beauty. But now, because of your distrustful nature, that can never be.” “For a superior race, they really rub it in.”
25. “I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did,” Treehouse of Horror X Plot: Marge accidentally kills Flanders during one of his fog walks. Homer decides that the only reasonable course of action is to stage Ned’s death. After convincing Maude that her husband has passed, the Simpsons find the phrase, “I KNOW WHAT YOU DID” all over their house.
Reason for Ranking: Hans Moleman gets eaten by a group of alligators. It ranks among the best Moleman deaths, and the rest of “The Ned Zone” is solid, too, including the apocalyptic ending. 23. “Fly vs. Fly,” Treehouse of Horror VIII Plot: Homer buys a transporter from a garage sale, using it to fetch beer and go to the bathroom with more efficiency.
Reason for Ranking: It’s always fun when The Simpsons acknowledge that it’s, in fact, a cartoon. The more eye-popping, the better, and it’s amazing that it took the show until the ninth Treehouse to have the characters interact with Itchy and Scratchy. 21. “Reaper Madness,” Treehouse of Horror XIV Plot: Homer becomes the Grim Reaper after killing the Angel of Death.
Reason for Ranking: As far as zombie comedies go, “Dial Z for Zombies,” with its message about pop-culture addicts acting as zombie-like as actual zombies, is more Shaun of the Dead than Dead Snow. 19. “Send In the Clones,” Treehouse of Horror XIII Plot: Homer’s new hammock is magical, and it clones copies of anything or anyone that spins around on it. So, of course, Homer creates multiple copies of himself to shirk his responsibilities.
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