| "Treehouse of Horror IV" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
 The Devil, in the form of Ned Flanders, appearing at Homer's work station after he says that he would sell his soul for a donut. | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 5 Episode 5 | ||
| Directed by | David Silverman | ||
| Written by | Wraparounds: Conan O'Brien "The Devil and Homer Simpson": Greg Daniels Dan McGrath "Terror at5+1⁄2 Feet": Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein "Bart Simpson's Dracula": Bill Canterbury | ||
| Production code | 1F04 | ||
| Original air date | October 28, 1993 (1993-10-28) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode features | |||
| Couch gag | The family (aszombies) enter through the living room floor before sitting on the couch. | ||
| Commentary | Matt Groening James L. Brooks David Mirkin Conan O'Brien Greg Daniels Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein David Silverman | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| The Simpsonsseason 5 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of thefifth season of the American animated television seriesThe Simpsons and the fourth episode in theTreehouse of Horror series ofHalloween specials. It originally aired on theFox network in the United States on October 28, 1993,[1] and features three short stories called "The Devil and Homer Simpson", "Terror at5+1⁄2 Feet", and "Bart Simpson's Dracula".
The episode was co-written byConan O'Brien,Bill Oakley,Josh Weinstein,Greg Daniels,Dan McGrath, andBill Canterbury, and directed byDavid Silverman.As with the rest of the Halloween specials, the episode is considerednon-canon and falls outside the show's regular continuity. The episode makes cultural references to television series such asThe Twilight Zone,Night Gallery, andPeanuts, as well as films such asThe Devil and Daniel Webster,Bram Stoker's Dracula andThe Lost Boys. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired aNielsen rating of 14.5, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
In the wraparound,Bart introduces each of the three segments by walking through a gallery of paintings and each time choosing one of them as the focus of his story.
In "The Devil and Homer Simpson",Homer sells his soul tothe devil, who takes the form ofNed Flanders, for a donut. AfterMarge andLisa plead with Ned, he agrees to put Homer on trial. At the trial, Marge saves Homer from being sent to Hell by displaying a photo from their wedding day. On the back of the photo, Homer has written that, in return for Marge giving him her hand in marriage, he pledges his soul to her forever; therefore, it was not his property to sell at the time of his deal with Ned. The case is dismissed, and Ned frees Homer, but Ned gets his revenge by turning Homer's head into a donut.
In "Terror at5+1⁄2 Feet", Bart tries to warn the passengers on the school bus that a gremlin is loosening the lug nuts on one of the wheels, but nobody can see the gremlin. In desperation, Bart climbs halfway out the window to scare off the gremlin with an emergency flare. As Bart is pulled back into the bus byPrincipal Skinner andGroundskeeper Willie, he drops the flare on the gremlin, who catches fire and falls from the bus, but is found by Ned. Even though everyone sees the damage when they make it to school, Bart is sent to a psychiatric hospital for his disruptive behavior. Bart is relieved as he is finally able to rest, but is once again petrified when the gremlin appears in the back window of the ambulance, holding Ned's severed head.
In "Bart Simpson's Dracula", theSimpson family is invited toMr. Burns' castle in Pennsylvania for a midnight feast. Bart and Lisa discover a secret staircase descending to a basement with coffins. Vampires emerge from the coffins and encircle them while Lisa reads through Burns' autobiographyYes, I Am a Vampire. Lisa escapes and tries to warn her parents that Burns has bitten Bart, but Homer and Marge pay little attention until Bart tries to bite Lisa later that night. Homer drives a stake through Burns' heart, and kills him, as Lisa believes doing so will restore Bart. The next morning, Lisa discovers that everyone else in the Simpson family is a vampire, and Marge is their leader. The familybreaks the fourth wall and wishes the audience a happy Halloween; they thenbegin humming "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
In allTreehouse of Horror shows, the names on the credits include middle name nicknames, in quotation marks, which reflect some association with Halloween or horror.
Conan O'Brien's credits all reference his new role as host ofLate Night with Conan O'Brien, including a credit that says "Watch Conan O'Brien" and another which says "12:30 NBC" as his "middle" name. O'Brien had just begun his tenure on September 13, 1993, roughly a month before the 1993Treehouse of Horror episode aired.
"Treehouse of Horror IV" was directed byDavid Silverman and co-written byConan O'Brien (his final assignment forThe Simpsons; by the time this episode aired,his brand-new late night show on NBC had been on for a little over a month),Bill Oakley,Josh Weinstein,Greg Daniels,Dan McGrath, and Bill Canterbury. O'Brien worked on the "wrap-arounds" of Bart introducing each segment to make sure that they "pulled" the episode together.[2] The wrap-arounds are based onRod Serling's television seriesNight Gallery, in which Serling appears at an art gallery and introduces each episode by unveiling paintings depicting the stories. Executive producerJames L. Brooks loved the show, so it was "great fun" for him to do the parody.[3]Show runnerDavid Mirkin thought theTreehouse of Horror episodes were the hardest episodes to do because the staff had to fit in all three stories in only 22 minutes. Mirkin said, "Things had to happen really fast. They're really just crammed with jokes and story beats and everything."[4]
"The Devil and Homer Simpson" was written by Daniels and McGrath.[5] The first time Devil Flanders appears, he resembles the devilChernabog fromFantasia (1940); Silverman particularly admired the animation in that sequence.[6] Oakley loved the idea of Flanders being the Devil because he was the character whom viewers would least expect. He also thoughtHarry Shearer did a good job of playing Flanders in a much darker way, while remaining very true to the character.[7] Many scenes had to be cut to shorten the segment, including one that showed Homer's severed head being used as a bowling ball by a demon in hell. This scene later appeared in the clip show episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular", which aired in the show'sseventh season.[4]
"Terror at5+1⁄2 Feet" was written by Oakley and Weinstein. It was inspired byThe Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", in whichWilliam Shatner's character is inside an airplane watching a gremlin tear apart the wing. Silverman watched the episode to get inspiration for Bart's facial expressions.[6] Oakley said there was a lot of work put into the design of the gremlin in "Terror at5+1⁄2 Feet" to make him scary "withinThe Simpsons universe".[7] Mirkin said he felt the gremlin was well-done because he looked scary and "yet it looks like a completely organicSimpsons character".Üter, aGerman exchange student, makes his first appearance in this segment; he was conceived as a one-time joke, but reappeared in later episodes because Mirkin felt he was "such a perfect stereotype".[4]
"Bart Simpson's Dracula" was written by Canterbury and based onFrancis Ford Coppola's filmBram Stoker's Dracula. Mirkin was a big fan of the film and pushed for a segment inspired by it. He liked the final result and felt Mr. Burns was perfect in the role of Dracula.[4] Dracula and his castle were designed by Silverman. Mirkin, a "big"Peanuts fan, came up with the idea for the ending of "Bart Simpson's Dracula".[6]
The wrap-around segments are a reference toRod Serling'sNight Gallery.[8] The paintings seen in these segments are parodies of well-known works, includingvan Gogh'sSelf-Portrait, September 1889,Munch'sThe Scream,Magritte'sThe Son of Man,David'sThe Death of Marat,Dalí'sThe Persistence of Memory,Picasso'sThree Musicians, andEscher'sAscending and Descending, all featuring members of the Simpson family. (The last painting, shown before "Bart Simpson's Dracula", isDogs Playing Poker.) Marge says that the following episode is scary, and that maybe viewers should listen to theWar of the Worlds broadcast instead.
"The Devil and Homer Simpson" is a parody ofStephen Vincent Benét's story "The Devil and Daniel Webster". The first time the Devil appears, he resembles the demonChernabog fromFantasia.[5] After Homer discovers a technicality and boasts that he's "smarter than the devil" the Devil turns into the Chernabog-esque demon and intones, "I'll see you in Hell yet, Homer Simpson!" The scene in Hell where Homer is fed all the doughnuts in the world, and asks for more, is a direct parody of the cartoonPigs is Pigs, in which the characterPiggy is taken in by a scientist and forced to eat all the food in the world.[6] The demon who feeds Homer all the donuts in the world says: "I don't understand it.James Coco went mad in fifteen minutes!"[9] Coco was an actor known for his culinary talents and best-selling cookbooks.[10] The "jury of the damned" includesJohn Wilkes Booth,Lizzie Borden,John Dillinger,Blackbeard,Benedict Arnold,Richard Nixon (who points out that he is not yet dead)[a][1] and the starting lineup of the1976Philadelphia Flyers, a reference to their days as the Broad Street Bullies, when they were notorious for their violent playing style.
"Terror at5+1⁄2 Feet" is a parody ofThe Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", later remade as the final segment ofTwilight Zone: The Movie.[1] In the school bus, Martin wears a shirt readingWang Computers. Bart tells Otto there's a gremlin on the side of the bus.Hans Moleman is beside the bus driving anAMC Gremlin. Otto, assuming this is what he's referring to, says "No problemo, Bart dude!" and runs Moleman off the road.
"Bart Simpson's Dracula" is a parody ofFrancis Ford Coppola'sBram Stoker's Dracula. At Burns' castle, Lisa notices a tome resting on a stand in the basement:Yes, I Am a Vampire, by Monty Burns. Foreword bySteve Allen.[4] Shortly after she finds the tome, she mistakes Bart's fearful attempts at getting her attention as impressions ofShemp andCurly Howard of theThree Stooges. Bart floating outside Lisa's bedroom window is a parody ofThe Lost Boys as well asStephen King's novelSalem's Lot. The family's plan to kill the head vampire is also a reference to both the film and novel. In particular, the twist revelation that Burns is not the head vampire is also a reference to the twist ending ofThe Lost Boys.[6] The segment ends with the family singing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" à laA Charlie Brown Christmas.
Alf Clausen's closing credits composition is a version of theSimpsons theme that combines the electric guitar used inThe Munsters theme with theharpsichord and clicking fromThe Addams Family theme.[4]
In its original American broadcast, "Treehouse of Horror IV" finished 17th in the ratings for the week of October 25 to October 31, 1993, with aNielsen rating of 14.5, translating to 13.6 million households. The episode was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week.[11]
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the bookI Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide,Gary Russell andGareth Roberts,[12] said the episode included many notable sequences and was "probably the best"Treehouse of Horror episode. They particularly liked the scenes in Hell where Homer is punished by the Devil, andChief Wiggum's attempts to deal with Dracula (who he thinks is amummy) by ordering theEgyptian wing of the Springfield museum to be destroyed.[8] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson thought "Terror at5+1⁄2 Feet" was the best segment of the episode. Jacobson praised "The Devil and Homer Simpson" as clever funny, and described "Bart Simpson's Dracula" as "easily the least effective", claiming it, "presents some good moments but never quite takes flight".[13] Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict gave the episode an A grade and called it "one of the very best" Halloween specials, although said "Treehouse of Horror V" was better.[14]Central Michigan Life's John Thorpe named it the tenth best episode of the series, and wrote: "The best part comes when Homer decides not to eat the last part of the doughnut, thus saving him from hell. Hilarious."[15]DVD Talk's Bill Gibron gave the episode a 4 out of 5 score.[16]
Kim Nowacki ofYakima Herald-Republic named "Treehouse of Horror IV" her "all-time favorite" episode. She praised the parodies ofThe Twilight Zone andA Charlie Brown Christmas.[17] The episode's reference toBram Stoker's Dracula was named the 32nd greatest film reference in the history of the show byTotal Film's Nathan Ditum.[18] James Whitbrook ofGizmodo called "Bart Simpson's Dracula" the "best sketch in what is the bestTreehouse of Horror."[19]
I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].
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