The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXI

Title card.

"Treehouse of Horror XXI" is a Halloween-themed episode from the twenty-second season of the animated comedy series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast in the United States on the Fox Network on November 7, 2010.

In common with all previous "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, the program is made up of three self-contained stories; "War and Pieces", "Master and Cadaver" and "Tweenlight". The first story is a parody of the 1995 comedy adventure movie Jumanji. The second story spoofs the 1989 Australian thriller Dead Calm. The final story spoofs vampire fiction, in particular the Twilight series of books and movies. A character who resembles Count von Count is briefly seen in the final story, sucking the blood from another character who resembles Big Bird from Sesame Street.

Opening

Father and son Bart Simpson are carving pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns. After Bart cuts a jack-o-lantern face into the seat of his father's pants, a violent fight breaks out between the two of them.

The scientist Professor Frink appears and warns viewers that the program may be unsuitable for some of them. He suggests that viewers use TiVo to fast forward through the scary parts, which he demonstrates. Unfortunately, Frink fast forwards too far and reveals spoilers. Full of remorse, Frink uses the TiVo to fast forward himself, he ages, dies and turns to dust. The dust forms the words "Treehouse of Horror XXI".

The Frankenstein's monster-like version of Professor Frink's father, who had previously been seen in "Treehouse of Horror XIV", appears. Parodying the American TV version of The Office, the monster says that he used to work at a company called "Monster Miffin" with a mummy, a werewolf, a zombie and a witch.

"War and Pieces"

Not wanting them to play violent video games, Marge Simpson suggests that her son Bart and his friend Milhouse play one of the old board games in the attic. The boys reject most of the games as "lame" but decide to play one called "Satan's Path". When they start to play, the other board games come to life and transform the town into a giant game board.

Bart's sister Lisa reads the rules of "Satan's Path", which are in Latin. She tells the boys that they have to win all of the other games in order to finish "Satan's Path" and return everything to normal. Milhouse dies during a game of Battleship but Bart wins, returning everything to normal, including bringing Milhouse back to life.

The two boys decide that they would just like to play Hangman. However, "Satan's Path" causes the hangman to come to life. The two boys are hanged when they lose the game.

"Master and Cadaver"

Marge and Homer Simpson are taking a vacation on board a yacht. They rescue a man named Roger who tells them that he was the chef on a yacht called the Albatross and was knocked out after he tried to prevent the people on board from being poisoned. Roger offers to make a pie for the Simpsons but Homer is suspicious. He throws the pie out of a porthole. A dead shark is later seen with the pie dish in its mouth. Convinced that Roger is a poisoner, the Simpsons appear to kill him with a metal pole before pushing his body into the ocean.

The Simpsons later discover that Roger's story was true. They come across the Albatross and see that some of the passengers are still alive and being given an antidote for the poison. Roger reappears and tells the Simpsons that the shark was killed by fuel leaking from their boat.

To cover up the attempted murder of Roger, the Simpsons kill him, all of the surviving passengers on the Albatross and a pelican. However, Marge Simpson feels guilty and eats some of the poisoned pie.

The story ends with the revelation that it was just a daydream of the Simpsons' baby daughter Maggie, who then fantasizes about being the juvenile deliquent Alex fom the 1971 movie version of A Clockwork Orange.

"Tweenlight"

Lisa Simpson is interested in the mysterious new boy Edmund. After he uses his superhuman speed to save her from several traffic accidents, Edmund reveals to Lisa that he is a vampire. Lisa is unafraid and a romance begins to develop between the two of them, much to the dismay of the boy Milhouse, who has been in love with Lisa for a long time and who is revealed to be a were-poodle.

Lisa's mother Marge invites Edmund and his father Count Dracula to dinner. Edmund is embarrassed by his father's behavior and Lisa is embarrassed by that of her father Homer. The two children agree to run away together to "Dracula-La Land".

Lisa tells Edmund that she wants to become a vampire but changes her mind when she finds out that she would remain eight years old forever. Edmund tells Lisa that the "blood lust" is upon him and he has to bit something. Having tracked down their runaway children, Dracula and Homer arrive. Homer saves Lisa by offering himself to the bloodthirsty Edmund instead. Edmund and Dracula drink Homer's blood but his cholestorol kills them both. Having become a vampire, Homer transforms into a bat to fly home. Being vastly overweight, Homer falls to his death and is picked up by the were-poodle Milhouse.

External links

• The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XXI" on TV.com.
• The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XXI" on the Internet Movie Database.
• The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XXI" on the Big Cartoon Database.

See the article on Treehouse of Horror XXI on Fandom's Simpsons wiki.