Treehouse of Horror XIX
"Treehouse of Horror XIX" | |
---|---|
The Simpsons episode | |
Episode no. | Season 20 Episode 4 |
Directed by | Bob Anderson |
Written by | Matt Warburton |
Featured music | "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads |
Production code | KABF16[1] |
Original air date | November 2, 2008 |
"Treehouse of Horror XIX" is the fourth episode of the
A total of 12.48 million viewers tuned in to watch during its first airing, more than any other episode since "The Wife Aquatic". The episode received mixed reviews from critics, with "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" generally regarded as the best segment; critic Matt Zoller Seitz cited the segment as one of The Simpsons' "flashes of greatness" in the later seasons.
Plot
In the opening scene,
Untitled Robot Parody
In a parody of
How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising
Homer takes
It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse
In a parody of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Bart makes up a character called the Grand Pumpkin, which Milhouse begins to believe in. Milhouse is unable to summon the Grand Pumpkin in front of his friends, who leave for a Halloween party. He starts to cry and his tears and childlike belief bring the Grand Pumpkin to life. However, the Grand Pumpkin is appalled to find that pumpkins are carved and eaten on Halloween, and he eats Homer, Nelson Muntz and Groundskeeper Willie for this reason.
Realizing that Milhouse can bring things to life by believing in them, Lisa tells him about "Tom Turkey", a symbol of Thanksgiving. Milhouse starts to believe in Tom Turkey, who comes to life and kills the Grand Pumpkin, freeing everyone he ate. However, when Tom Turkey learns that people eat turkeys on Thanksgiving, he vows revenge and starts angrily chasing children around the school, devouring them as Marge wishes the viewers happy holidays.
Production
The opening segment of the episode, which was leaked onto the internet weeks before the episode aired,[2] features Homer voting for Barack Obama. Rather than taking sides in the election, executive producer Al Jean says it is "mostly a comment on what many people to believe to be the irregularities in our voting system."[3] "Untitled Robot Parody" is modeled on the live action Transformers film, rather than the cartoon.[4] Al Jean said it was "just really fun to do transformations [and] you can see why they enjoyed doing that film."[4] "How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising" featured a parody of the title sequence of Mad Men. Jean was a fan of the series and pitched the scene.[5]
The final segment is based on the Halloween cartoon It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It could not be titled "It's the Great Pumpkin, Milhouse" to exactly match its namesake because of a "big legal issue", according to Al Jean.[6] However, the characters were redesigned to resemble the style of Peanuts, and they also obtained rights to use Vince Guaraldi's music.[4] Jean said in 2011 that "For years we had never been able to parody Charlie Brown's Halloween special, which is one of the all-time top three animated shows ever. The Vince Guaraldi music is such a huge part of it, so we got to clear it. It was just a dream come true to satirize it. I thought it was a really funny idea that instead of not ever seeing the Grand Pumpkin, it comes to life, and he's really horrified at the way humans cook pumpkins into pies, and eat pumpkin seeds, which are basically pumpkin fetuses...."[7]
Cultural references
The first segment of the episode is a parody of Transformers.[8] The second segment features a parody of the opening of Mad Men and Homer kills several celebrities, including Kate Winslet, Prince, George Clooney, and Neil Armstrong, set to the song "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads.[9][10] Krusty getting killed in a woodchipper references the woodchipper scene from the movie, Fargo. Other celebrities shown include Golda Meir, Edward G. Robinson, John Wayne and John Lennon, who says "All we're saying is 'Let's eat some brains'", a reference to the chorus of "Give Peace a Chance" by the Plastic Ono Band.[11] The commercial "Planet of the Taste" is a parody of the 1968 film Planet of the Apes.[11]
The final segment, "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" is a parody of
Reception
In its original airing, the episode was viewed by 12.48 million viewers and achieved a 4.9
"Treehouse of Horror XIX" received mixed reviews from critics. Rick Bentley of the
"It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" was regarded by reviewers as the best segment in the episode. Canning wrote, "this segment may not be all that gory, but it's funny and, quite honestly, it will just make you feel good",[10] and Bentley described it as "a dead-on comedy assault of the Charlie Brown animated Halloween special."[15] Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette concurred, writing that it "succeeds because it offers sly cultural commentary."[14] Show Patrol wrote "The nostalgia factor makes “Grand Pumpkin” the best of these amusing bits for me, but they all lack that trademark “Simpsons” brand of satirical smartness."[9] Hal Boedecker of the Orlando Sentinel gave the episode a 4/5 and called the final segment a "witty parody of Charlie Brown's Halloween classic. [...] The best gag, though, is a subtle one. Marge plays a trombone, a loving salute to the way the Peanuts specials portrayed adult voices."[17] Film and television critic Matt Zoller Seitz has cited the segment as one of The Simpsons' "flashes of greatness" in the later seasons, writing in 2016 with Alan Sepinwall that "Whenever you're about to count The Simpsons out, it produces a magnificent segment like... 'It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse'".[18][19]
Director
Controversy
The
References
- ^ "Listings - SIMPSONS, THE on FOX". The Futon Critic. October 11, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
- New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ MacIntyre, April (September 25, 2008). "'The Simpsons' Al Jean interview, new season begins September 28". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008.
- ^ Sci Fi Wire. Archived from the originalon September 13, 2008.
- ^ Elber, Lynn (October 23, 2008). "'Mad Men' makes a splash bigger than its ratings". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008.
- ^ Fickett, Travis (2008-07-15). "Fox Animation: The Future and Beyond". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (October 28, 2011). "'Simpsons': 'Treehouse of Horror' Top 10!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ a b Stransky, Tanner (2008-11-04). "Ratings: Obama's ad, World Series clincher top the week". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2008-11-08. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ a b "Simpsons' latest 'Treehouse' is less witty, but still worth visiting". Show Patrol. October 30, 2008. Archived from the original on November 3, 2008.
- ^ a b c Canning, Robert (2008-10-31). "The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XIX" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-00-738815-8.
- ^ Vejvoda, Jim (2008-07-26). "SDCC 08: Simpsons Footage Screened". IGN. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ Ponywether, Ariel (2008-11-03). "Review -- The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XIX"". Firefox. Archived from the original on 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ a b Owen, Rob (October 31, 2008). "Another visit to the Simpsons' 'Treehouse of Horror'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
- ^ a b c Bentley, Rick (2008-10-31). "A mixed bag of parody on "Simpsons Treehouse of Terror XIX"". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "TV Ratings: NFL, 'Simpsons' Lead the Way Sunday". Zap2it. 2008-11-03. Archived from the original on 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Boedecker, Hal (2008-11-04). "'Simpsons' offers us another Halloween morsel". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ISBN 978-1455588190.
- ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (February 10, 2012). "Seitz on Why, After 500 Episodes, Slagging The Simpsons Is Unfair". Vulture. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ^ "2008 Annie Award Nominations by Category". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ Grossberg, Josh (2008-11-04). "D'oh! Simpsons Under Fire for Gay Crack". E!. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- TMZ. 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
External links
- "Treehouse of Horror XIX" at IMDb