"The Simpsons" Treehouse of Horror VIII (1997)

Director:

Mark Kirkland

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator)
James L. Brooks (developer) ...

TV Series:

"The Simpsons" (1989)

Original Air Date:

26 October 1997 (Season 9, Episode 4)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Plot:

In "The Homega Man," Homer battles mutants after Springfield is annihilated by a neutron bomb. Then, Bart has his DNA mixed with a fly in "Fly vs. Fly." Finally, Marge is revealed to be a witch in colonial Springfield in "Easy Bake Coven." |

Plot Keywords:

Fly | Witch | Mutant | Neutron Bomb | Halloween Spoof

Cast

Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / French President / Sideshow Mel / Mayor Quimby (voice) (as Damned Cast-In-Hell-Dead-Aaah!)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice) (as Ghoulie Kavner)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Rod Flanders / Todd Flanders / Ralph Wiggum (voice) (as Nocturnal Nancy Frightwright)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice) (as Your Mom)
Hank Azaria	...	Kang / Comic Book Guy / Professor Frink / Moe / Chief Wiggum (voice) (as Hack Azaria)
Harry Shearer	...	Fox Censor / Kent Brockman / Herman / Principal Skinner / Ned Flanders / Reverend Lovejoy / Lenny / Sea Captain (voice)
Marcia Wallace	...	Edna Krabappel (voice) (as Macabre Wallace)
Tress MacNeille	...	Agnes Skinner (voice) (as Terrifying Tress MacNeille)
Maggie Roswell	...	Maude Flanders (voice) (as Maggie 'Area 51' Roswell)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In "Treehouse Of Horror VIII", when smoke leaves the machine while it is in the Simpson's kitchen (just after Bart and the fly are mismatched), Homer's hand appears to be transparent, as we can see the line of the pod door through it.

Quotes:

Lenny: Come on, Homer we just wanna eat your skin.
Homer Simpson: Go to hell, cloacky!

Movie Connections:

References "The X Files" (1993)

Treehouse of Horror goes from yearly custom to annual tradition

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

By 1997 it was difficult to imagine Halloween without a Treehouse of Horror; so the ninth season has a shot at it. Overall, I like season 9, but my feelings for Treehouse of Horror VIII are somewhat mixed- for reasons I'll discuss in this latest of a series of reviews on Halloween and horror-themed entertainment this October.

The first two segments are pretty good. The first has Springfield getting hit by a neutron bomb, which kills many but leaves buildings and cars still intact. At first, Homer is the only apparent survivor. After some appropriate mourning, he then has some fun doing things he couldn't do otherwise. However, he soon comes into conflict with skin-eating mutants, inexplicably made evil by the blast. Marge and the kids turn out to be alive, and ultimately kill the mutants even after they stopped trying to kill Homer. It's a humorous rejection of something we're supposed to cherish, peaceful co-existence.

The second segment has Bart and a fly mixing their DNA. Although science fiction has always been a part of Treehouse of Horror, this story struck me as odd because I don't usually associate flies with Halloween. Nevertheless, this segment wins me over with its humour. The fly with Bart's body is oddly accepted pretty quickly by the Simpsons; the kiss and the toothbrush jokes are gross (in a good way). Finally, the third segment is about seventeenth century witch burnings, with Marge as a witch. More so than the second segment, this subject is very appropriate for Halloween- but the segment just isn't very funny. Turning Wiggum into a gopher, for example, is just silly. On the whole, given the first eight THOHs, I'd rank this as my eighth favourite- but that's not to say it's bad, it's still well worth watching.

Happy Halloween.