The children of Springfield, wearing their costumes, attend a Halloween party in "Treehouse of Horror III".
"Treehouse of Horror III" is a Halloween-themed episode from the fourth season of the animated comedy series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast in the United States on the Fox Network on October 29, 1992. In common with the Simpsons Halloween specials from 1990 and 1992, it is made up of three self-contained stories that are connected by a framing device. As in the previous year's Halloween special, the opening credits sequence shows gravestones with jokey names on them and "scary" versions of the names of the cast and crew appear in the opening and closing credits. The program opens with a warning that the content may be unsuitable for some viewers, although it is delivered in a much less serious manner than in previous years. The aliens Kang and Kodos, first introduced in "Treehouse of Horror" in 1990, make a brief appearance.
The three segemnts that make up the episode are "Clown Without Pity", "King Homer" and "Dial 'Z' for Zombies". The first segment is based primarily on a 1963 Twilight Zone episode called "Living Doll" and the 1973 TV movie Trilogy of Terror. It is also reminiscent of the movie Child's Play and its sequels. The second segment is a parody of the 1933 movie King Kong. The third segment spoofs zombie movies, in particular the 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead.
Opening and framing device
In a parody of the opening of the 1960s TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Homer Simpson appears in silhouette before addressing the audience. He says that there are some people, "religious types, mostly" who do not care for Halloween and may be better off not watching the episode. He then taunts those members of the audience, calling them "chicken" and daring them to turn off their televisions. The screen then goes black, although Homer and Marge can still be heard.
The episode opens at the Simpsons' house where the children of Springfield are gathered in their costumes for a Halloween party. The children are not happy that fruit is served instead of candy and Bart Simpson finds the party dull, wishing that he were out trick-or-treating instead. His mother Marge says that a lot of excitement can be had inside the house and begins to tell the tale of a witch who died in a horrible way, passing around what she says are parts of the witch's body for the children to touch. Her story comes to an abrupt end becuase Homer eats all the witch's body parts, in reality food items.
Lisa Simpson suggests that they can each tell scary stories and proceeds to tell one herself.
"Clown Without Pity"
Lisa Simpson tells the story "Clown Without Pity".
Having forgotten to get a birthday present for his son Bart, Homer Simpson rushes out to buy one. He goes to a shop named House of Evil. An elderly Chinese shopkeeper, reminiscent of the character Mr. Wing from the movie Gremlins, offers Homer a talking Krusty the Klown doll but warns him that it carries a curse. Bart is delighted to get the doll. Grandpa Simpson cries out that the toy is evil but has said the same thing about all of Bart's presents, only doing so to get attention.
Homer later plays with the doll, which suddenly announces that it wants to kill him. Homer finds that funny at first, until the doll goes after him with a large knife. The doll makes several attempts on Homer's life. The other members of the family do not believe him when he says that his life is in danger, until Marge sees the doll attempt to choke him.
Marge calls the telephone number on the doll's box and a repairperson arrives. The repairperson immediately notices that the doll has been set to "Evil" and changes its setting to "Good".
Once the doll has been switched to "Good" mode, Homer is able to use it to do chores, such as walking the dog and giving him a sponge bath. The doll dislikes the work but is able to relax in the doll house with his girlfriend Malibu Stacy at the end of the day.
"King Homer"
"Dial 'Z' for Zombies"
External links
- The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror III" on TV.com.
- The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror III" on the Internet Movie Database.