Treehouse of Horror VIII (26 Oct. 1997)

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."

Director:

Mark Kirkland

Writers:

Matt Groening (created by), James L. Brooks (developed by),

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
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 / Todd Flanders / Ralph Wiggum (voice) (as Nocturnal Nancy Frightwright)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice) (as Your Mom)
Hank Azaria	...	Comic Book Guy / Professor Frink / Moe / Chief Wiggum / The Sea Captain (voice) (as Hack Azaria)
Harry Shearer	...	Fox Censor / Kent Brockman / Herman / Principal Skinner / Ned Flanders / Reverend Lovejoy / Lenny / Kang (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)

Storyline

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."

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Plot Keywords:

fly | neutron bomb | mutant | witch | axe | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1997 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Gracie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Comic Book Guy's line "Oohh, I've wasted my life..." just before his doom is creator Matt Groening's favorite line.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Homer Simpson: Well, we were lucky this time. But it's all too clear that some things in this universe... aren't meant to be trifled with.
[Homer pulls up an axe]
Marge Simpson: Homer, what are you doing?
Homer Simpson: Something I should have done a long time ago.
[now turns on Bart with his axe]
Homer Simpson: I'll teach you to mess with my machine!
[Bart begins screaming and running while Homer chase him]
Homer Simpson: I'm gonna chop you good! That cost me 35 cents! You're just making it worse! I promise I won't hurt you!

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Connections

References Psycho (1960)

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Soundtracks

"War"
(uncredited)
Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Performed by Edwin Starr
Sung by Dan Castellaneta

User Reviews

Treehouse of Horror goes from yearly custom to annual tradition

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.