Opening:
This year’s opening casts the Simpsons as the Munsters…and they’re all slaughtered by an angry mob. The Munsters means nothing to me, so I can’t get a lot from this. Sorry, fans!
G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad:
After Homer chokes to death on a piece of broccoli, his spirit is denied access to Heaven unless he can complete one good deed within 24 hours. As usual, his attempts at being helpful only lead to injury and humiliation.
Pick any random Simpsons discussion online and you’ll probably find someone complaining about what a “jerkass” Homer becomes during the double-digit seasons. There is truth to be found in that argument, but I find Jerkass Homer actually works pretty well in the silly Treehouse world. This is one of those instances–Homer is a totally unsympathetic protagonist in this story, causing all of his problems himself with his awful attitude and stupid choices, so the audience can enjoy laughing at his misery without feeling bad about it. It’s interesting that they went with a more traditional devil in the depiction of Hell here, rather than bring back Devil Flanders. Missed opportunity?
Memorable Gag:
“You may get a compliment from an attractive coworker! Oh–Lenny?”
Scary Tales Can Come True:
In a fairy tale setting, Bart & Lisa play Hansel & Gretel while also bumbling their way through the stories of Goldilocks and Rapunzel.
This segment really falls flat. The jokes are nothing special, and the tone is all off–it would have fit much better as part of “Simpsons Fairy Tales” episode, rather than in the middle of a Treehouse of Horror. 90% of the story is Hansel & Gretel, with the elements from other fairy tales feeling like out-of-place asides. Scary Tales comes across as another example of having one setpiece idea–“Bart and Lisa are Hansel & Gretel”–and padding out the rest of the runtime with whatever ideas are laying around.
Memorable Gag: I guess these bears look funny:
Night of the Dolphin:
Lisa frees Snorky the dolphin from Marine World in the style of Free Willy. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished for the Simpsons–Snorky leads a rebellion as the dolphins take to land, waging violent war against the human race.
The pure absurdity of cute dolphins mobilizing, walking on land, and killing the citizens of Springfield goes a long way here. And while the Treehouse episodes have been growing progressively less spooky, Night of the Dolphin could be one of the most violent segments yet–a number of familiar characters suffer bloody, awful deaths. The unique concept has always helped this segment stand out in my mind. It’s fun to see Homer get comeuppance for his bad behavior, but there’s also a lot of humor to be found in Lisa’s righteous actions having disastrous consequences.
Memorable Gag: “Bottlenose bruises, blowhole burns, flipper prints…this looks like the work of rowdy teens. Lou, cancel the prom!”
Ending Tag:
Kang and Kodos complain about being left out of the Halloween show.
Overall Thoughts:
Despite the weak middle segment, Treehouse of Horror XI remains worth a watch. With three “just alright” episodes in a row, I’d say we’re firmly into the “Satisfactory” Treehouse era. I worry about what eras may remain ahead of us.
Treehouse of Horror Reviewed 