Treehouse of Horror XVII
Encyclopedia
"Treehouse of Horror XVII" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons
' eighteenth season
, and the seventeenth Treehouse of Horror episode. In "Married to the Blob", Homer eats green extraterrestrial goo and morphs into a rampaging blob with an insatiable appetite; in "You Gotta Know When to Golem", Bart uses a golem
; and in "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid," the residents of early-1930s Springfield refuse to believe news of an actual alien invasion after being duped by Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast.
It was written by Peter Gaffney
and double-directed by David Silverman
and Matthew C. Faughnan
. Dr. Phil McGraw
and Sir Mix-a-Lot
guest star as themselves, Richard Lewis
and Fran Drescher
guest voice as the male and female Golems, respectively, and Maurice LaMarche
provides the voice of Orson Welles
. In its original run, the episode received 10.43 million viewers.
, with Mr. Burns as the Crypt Keeper. The scene begins in a dungeon room, where a crypt opens, and after several waves of rats, snakes, spiders, and rabbits crawl out of a coffin, the Cryptkeeper sits up in it. He proclaims himself to be the master of "scare-amonies" to the delight of zombie Smithers
. A bound Moe
interrupts in protest and is killed in an iron maiden
, his blood spilling onto the floor and spelling out "Treehouse of Horror XVII". Moe himself takes delight in this and proclaims "A Ho Ho! Look at that my blood is a genius! Fancy Roman numerals and everything!"
and Marge
make out in the backyard, a meteorite
falls nearby, burning off the top of Marge's hair in the process. Cracking open, it reveals a green goo resembling a melted marshmallow. Despite his family's objections (and the goo's attempts to get away), Homer puts it on a stick and eats it. That night, his stomach rumbling from hunger, Homer eats all the food in the house. He also eats Snowball V and attempts to eat Bart but is stopped by Marge. Homer then becomes morbidly obese, and eats a teenager in an attempt to "savor" him from the flames of a barbecue fire. Homer soon becomes a giant yellow blob, rampaging through the streets of Springfield
, eating all the people he can find. As Homer samples bus passengers as if they were chocolates, Dr. Phil McGraw
shows up with the Simpson family. He tells Homer to stop for their sakes. Homer ends his rampaging for fear of losing Marge and vows to use his insatiable appetite for more constructive purposes (he eats Dr. Phil anyway; his last words are "Food does not equal love!"). Later, Mayor Quimby dedicates a new homeless shelter. The homeless people enter the shelter, only to find themselves in Homer's gut
.
-spraying Krusty brand alarm clock
. There he finds the Golem of Prague, a creature from Jewish mythology, whose design is from the 1915 German expressionistic film, The Golem
. Krusty tells Bart that in the 17th century, the Golem was sculpted out of clay by a powerful rabbi
and would obey any command written on a scroll and placed in his mouth. Although the golem was created ostensibly to protect Jewish villages, he would obey any scroll placed in his mouth, evil or good. He had been passed down through many generations and now works for Krusty. Bart steals the Golem by writing a command for him to come to his home at midnight. At midnight, the Golem shows up at the Simpsons' house. From then on, Bart uses him to carry out his commands: swinging Principal Skinner up and down like a yo-yo
until he splits in half, and kicking Homer's walls (the result of a misunderstanding). Lisa
thinks the Golem does not like doing the biddings of others and feeds him a scroll reading "Speak". The Golem (Richard Lewis
) attempts to roar, then coughs, and reveals that he is a decent being who feels guilty about being used to commit heinous acts, and then he throws up excessive scrolls (one of which reads "Kill the Czar"). To make him feel better, the Simpsons create a female Golem (Fran Drescher
) out of Play-Doh
. The two are married by Rabbi
Hyman Krustofski and the female Golem convinces Chief Wiggum not to press charges with the promise of pan-fried latkes, a Jewish delicacy
(though she only gets to the words "pan fried" before Wiggum agrees).
' infamous The War of the Worlds radio broadcast and believe the world has been invaded. A mass panic breaks out, and the citizens begin rioting. Marge voices her belief that the Martians will only destroy humans, so Sideshow Mel suggests they foil the aliens by cavorting naked in the mud like animals. They do this until the following day, when Lisa notifies the citizens that it was all a hoax, and, angry at being fooled, the citizens of Springfield vow to never fall for such a trick again. Meanwhile, the aliens Kang and Kodos, observing the entire event from their orbiting spaceship, decide this is the perfect time for a real invasion, and begin destroying what is left of the town. True to their word, the town does not believe that it is a real invasion and ignores it. Orson Welles
(Maurice LaMarche
) comes to Springfield, admits it is not a staged act, and begs them to do something. Unfortunately, they do not as the police do not take him seriously. The segment ends by jumping forward to three years later, with Kang and Kodos looking over the ruins of occupied Springfield and mulling on what went wrong and why they were not greeted as liberators, as they planned the invasion to rid Earth of "weapons of mass disintegration" which they refer to as "Operation Enduring Occupation" (in a clear reference to the war in Iraq). The segment ends with the camera pulling away from the smoking ruins of what was once Springfield, as the song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by the Ink Spots plays.
Once again Maurice LaMarche
voiced Orson Welles, doing his impression of Welles used earlier for The Brain on Animaniacs
and Pinky And The Brain
.
".
The title of "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" is reference to the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still
as well as the Futurama
episode "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid
".
Billie Holiday
's version of "Gloomy Sunday
" plays during the intro of "The Day The Earth Looked Stupid" segment.
The title of "You got to know when to golem" may be a reference to the lyric from Kenny Rogers
' song, "The Gambler"
.
The song "Baby Likes Fat" in "Married to the Blob" spoofs the real-life song, "Baby Got Back
" by Sir Mix-A-Lot
.
The scene of the smoking ruins of Springfield and the song "I don't want to set the world on fire" may be a reference to the Fallout video game series, which is based on the destruction of the earth.
The date shown at the end could be a reference to the release date of "The Simpsons Movie
".
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 18)
The Simpsons 18th season aired from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 production line. Al Jean served as the Showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season....
, and the seventeenth Treehouse of Horror episode. In "Married to the Blob", Homer eats green extraterrestrial goo and morphs into a rampaging blob with an insatiable appetite; in "You Gotta Know When to Golem", Bart uses a golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
; and in "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid," the residents of early-1930s Springfield refuse to believe news of an actual alien invasion after being duped by Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast.
It was written by Peter Gaffney
Peter Gaffney
Peter Gaffney is an American writer and editor. He is best known for his writing work on The Simpsons and Rugrats. He spent five years as a writer and creative consultant for MTV...
and double-directed by David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
and Matthew C. Faughnan
Matthew Faughnan
Matthew Faughnan is an animation director with The Simpsons and has directed five episodes. Prior to that, he was an assistant director with the show and won an Emmy award in 2003 for "Three Gays of the Condo".-Season 18:Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot!...
. Dr. Phil McGraw
Phil McGraw
Phillip Calvin McGraw best known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, former psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002...
and Sir Mix-a-Lot
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Anthony Ray , better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass...
guest star as themselves, Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis (comedian)
-Early life:Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City and was raised in Englewood, New Jersey. His father worked as a caterer and his mother was an actress. Lewis is Jewish. He later attended Ohio State University and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity....
and Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...
guest voice as the male and female Golems, respectively, and Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
provides the voice of Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. In its original run, the episode received 10.43 million viewers.
Plot
The episode begins with a parody of Tales from the CryptTales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
, with Mr. Burns as the Crypt Keeper. The scene begins in a dungeon room, where a crypt opens, and after several waves of rats, snakes, spiders, and rabbits crawl out of a coffin, the Cryptkeeper sits up in it. He proclaims himself to be the master of "scare-amonies" to the delight of zombie Smithers
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open...
. A bound Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
interrupts in protest and is killed in an iron maiden
Iron maiden (torture device)
An iron maiden is a torture device, consisting of an iron cabinet, with a hinged front, sufficiently tall to enclose a human being. It usually has a small closeable opening so that the torturer can interrogate the victim and torture or kill a person by piercing the body with sharp objects , while...
, his blood spilling onto the floor and spelling out "Treehouse of Horror XVII". Moe himself takes delight in this and proclaims "A Ho Ho! Look at that my blood is a genius! Fancy Roman numerals and everything!"
Married to the Blob
As HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
make out in the backyard, a meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
falls nearby, burning off the top of Marge's hair in the process. Cracking open, it reveals a green goo resembling a melted marshmallow. Despite his family's objections (and the goo's attempts to get away), Homer puts it on a stick and eats it. That night, his stomach rumbling from hunger, Homer eats all the food in the house. He also eats Snowball V and attempts to eat Bart but is stopped by Marge. Homer then becomes morbidly obese, and eats a teenager in an attempt to "savor" him from the flames of a barbecue fire. Homer soon becomes a giant yellow blob, rampaging through the streets of Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
, eating all the people he can find. As Homer samples bus passengers as if they were chocolates, Dr. Phil McGraw
Phil McGraw
Phillip Calvin McGraw best known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, former psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002...
shows up with the Simpson family. He tells Homer to stop for their sakes. Homer ends his rampaging for fear of losing Marge and vows to use his insatiable appetite for more constructive purposes (he eats Dr. Phil anyway; his last words are "Food does not equal love!"). Later, Mayor Quimby dedicates a new homeless shelter. The homeless people enter the shelter, only to find themselves in Homer's gut
Gut (zoology)
In zoology, the gut, also known as the alimentary canal or alimentary tract, is a tube by which bilaterian animals transfer food to the digestion organs. In large bilaterians the gut generally also has an exit, the anus, by which the animal disposes of solid wastes...
.
You Gotta Know When to Golem
At the end of an episode of Krusty's show, Bart goes backstage to complain about an acidAcid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
-spraying Krusty brand alarm clock
Alarm clock
An alarm clock is a clock that is designed to make a loud sound at a specific time. The primary use of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they are sometimes used for other reminders as well. To stop the sound, a button or handle on the clock is pressed; but...
. There he finds the Golem of Prague, a creature from Jewish mythology, whose design is from the 1915 German expressionistic film, The Golem
The Golem (1915 film)
Der Golem is a 1915 silent horror film written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen. The film is an original work inspired by ancient Jewish legend. It is a long lost film...
. Krusty tells Bart that in the 17th century, the Golem was sculpted out of clay by a powerful rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and would obey any command written on a scroll and placed in his mouth. Although the golem was created ostensibly to protect Jewish villages, he would obey any scroll placed in his mouth, evil or good. He had been passed down through many generations and now works for Krusty. Bart steals the Golem by writing a command for him to come to his home at midnight. At midnight, the Golem shows up at the Simpsons' house. From then on, Bart uses him to carry out his commands: swinging Principal Skinner up and down like a yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
until he splits in half, and kicking Homer's walls (the result of a misunderstanding). Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
thinks the Golem does not like doing the biddings of others and feeds him a scroll reading "Speak". The Golem (Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis (comedian)
-Early life:Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City and was raised in Englewood, New Jersey. His father worked as a caterer and his mother was an actress. Lewis is Jewish. He later attended Ohio State University and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity....
) attempts to roar, then coughs, and reveals that he is a decent being who feels guilty about being used to commit heinous acts, and then he throws up excessive scrolls (one of which reads "Kill the Czar"). To make him feel better, the Simpsons create a female Golem (Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...
) out of Play-Doh
Play-Doh
Play-Doh is a modeling compound used by young children for art and craft projects at home and in school. Composed of flour, water, salt, boric acid, and mineral oil, the product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s...
. The two are married by Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Hyman Krustofski and the female Golem convinces Chief Wiggum not to press charges with the promise of pan-fried latkes, a Jewish delicacy
Jewish cuisine
Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
(though she only gets to the words "pan fried" before Wiggum agrees).
The Day the Earth Looked Stupid
The population of Springfield, October 30, 1938 (during the Great Depression), are fooled by Orson WellesOrson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' infamous The War of the Worlds radio broadcast and believe the world has been invaded. A mass panic breaks out, and the citizens begin rioting. Marge voices her belief that the Martians will only destroy humans, so Sideshow Mel suggests they foil the aliens by cavorting naked in the mud like animals. They do this until the following day, when Lisa notifies the citizens that it was all a hoax, and, angry at being fooled, the citizens of Springfield vow to never fall for such a trick again. Meanwhile, the aliens Kang and Kodos, observing the entire event from their orbiting spaceship, decide this is the perfect time for a real invasion, and begin destroying what is left of the town. True to their word, the town does not believe that it is a real invasion and ignores it. Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
(Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
) comes to Springfield, admits it is not a staged act, and begs them to do something. Unfortunately, they do not as the police do not take him seriously. The segment ends by jumping forward to three years later, with Kang and Kodos looking over the ruins of occupied Springfield and mulling on what went wrong and why they were not greeted as liberators, as they planned the invasion to rid Earth of "weapons of mass disintegration" which they refer to as "Operation Enduring Occupation" (in a clear reference to the war in Iraq). The segment ends with the camera pulling away from the smoking ruins of what was once Springfield, as the song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by the Ink Spots plays.
Production
The Day The Earth Looked Stupid was originally supposed to end with Kang and Kodos making a direct reference to the War in Iraq as they observe the ruined remains of 1938 Springfield. While the FOX censors had no objections over the line, the producers and writers felt the reference was too obvious and had it cut to make the joke more subtle (though the leaked Internet version has the line that ended up being cut).Once again Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
voiced Orson Welles, doing his impression of Welles used earlier for The Brain on Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
and Pinky And The Brain
Pinky and the Brain
Pinky and the Brain is an American animated television series.The characters Pinky and the Brain first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the show Animaniacs...
.
Cultural references
The segment "Married to the Blob" partially parodizes the 1985 horror movie "The StuffThe Stuff
The Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
".
The title of "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" is reference to the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and written by Edmund H. North based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe...
as well as the Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid
The Day the Earth Stood Stupid
"The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" is the seventh episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 18, 2001...
".
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
's version of "Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy Sunday
"Gloomy Sunday" is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933, as "Vége a világnak" . Lyrics were written by László Jávor, and in his version the song was retitled "Szomorú vasárnap"...
" plays during the intro of "The Day The Earth Looked Stupid" segment.
The title of "You got to know when to golem" may be a reference to the lyric from Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
' song, "The Gambler"
The Gambler (song)
"The Gambler" is the title of a song written by Don Schlitz and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in November 1978 as the title track from his album The Gambler which won him the Grammy award for best male country vocal performance in 1980. Bobby Bare had...
.
The song "Baby Likes Fat" in "Married to the Blob" spoofs the real-life song, "Baby Got Back
Baby Got Back
"Baby Got Back" is a 1992 Number One single by hip hop artist Sir Mix-a-Lot, from his album Mack Daddy. The song samples the 1986 electro single "Technicolor" by Channel One. The song's title originates from an urban slang term used to express a favorable opinion about a woman's buttocks...
" by Sir Mix-A-Lot
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Anthony Ray , better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass...
.
The scene of the smoking ruins of Springfield and the song "I don't want to set the world on fire" may be a reference to the Fallout video game series, which is based on the destruction of the earth.
The date shown at the end could be a reference to the release date of "The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
".
External links
- http://www.thesimpsons.com/treehouse/
- http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/treehouse_of_horror.htm