Episode 4 - Treehouse of Horror XX
26 October 2009
Review
Synopsis: The first parody is an Alfred Hitchcock pastiche where Lisa and Bart agree to take revenge on each others teachers to avoid suspicion. The second is a zombie movie parody where the Simpsons discover only Bart is immune to a new virus which has turned the population of Springfield into “munchers.” Finally we have a Sweeny Todd parody set as an actual musical at Moe’s tavern. Moe uses Homer’s blood to spice up some beer and convince Marge to fall in love with him.
The Good: Unlike many a Simpsons parody there is a good faith effort to write solid jokes throughout. The opening scene where Dracula, Frankenstein, a Mummy and a Werewolf go party was fun and unexpected. Then we got into Hitchcock story which had a few nice references for fans of his movies. But it also contained the odd character joke which was good to see. So Bart made sure he had an alibi for Lisa’s crime when he flashed his butt to a tennis match crowd. Then Skinner comments on Lisa being sent to detention with typically small ambition “Lisa Simpson in detention! My horoscope told me I’d see something interesting today but I thought that meant the horoscope itself.”
The zombie genre offered up plenty of opportunities for jokes and probably could have made for a good whole episode. Homer of course refuses to let Grandpa Simpson join him in safety and then abandons Apu when he is trying to help him. He also taunts a seemingly dead Mr Burns “Who’s an unproductive worker now?” I also enjoyed Dr Hibbert chuckling away while fighting off a ward of zombies. The end to the episode was actually a nice idea where everyone has to eat food which has been washed in Bart’s bathwater. Most zombie films don’t go into specifics on a cure and so this seemed a suitably ridiculous conclusion.
Finally Moe proves typically good value as he schemes to steal Marge from Homer (see Best Joke). The musical numbers didn’t overstay their welcome and Homer’s gay song was pretty funny in its outrageous implausibility.
The Bad: Though I’m not sure whether such a homosexual song was appropriate for a family show like The Simpsons. The song walked a line of offending pretty much everyone though it didn’t last too long. The Hitchcock plot didn’t come to a satisfying conclusion and if you don’t know the movies then the montage chase scene was pretty pointless. I’m not sure quite why the Sweeny Todd parody was also a play going on, aside from getting Kang and Kodos on screen, it didn’t make the story much funnier.
Best Joke: One thing The Simpsons has always done well is jokes where someone is outrageously oblivious or deceitful. By virtue of the sheer obviousness it is usually pretty funny. So having accidentally killed Homer, Moe now tries to seize his chance to be with Marge:
Moe: “Marge, I’ve got some bad news to give you. It’s a letter from Homer, on my stationery, in my hand writing, using my idioms and speech patterns and it begins: Dear Midge…” it continues in typically implausible fashion.
The Bottom Line: A much better effort than previous Halloween episodes. There is a definite focus on jokes which suit the characters rather than slavishly copying the plot of a movie. It shows that a parody of a genre suits this show better than just aping one particular movie.
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