Treehouse of Horror II
"Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons.
In the second part, which parodies the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life", Bart is omnipotent, and turns Homer into a jack-in-the-box, resulting in the two spending more time together.
The episode was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jeff Martin, George Meyer, Sam Simon and John Swartzwelder while Jim Reardon was the director.
The episode received positive reviews, and in 2006, IGN listed the third story as the eighth best Treehouse of Horror segment.
Upon returning home, he argues with Bart and Lisa over who gets to use the paw, while Marge pleads with them to heed the vendor's warning and not use it at all.
After Dr. Marvin Monroe says Bart is desperate for attention from his father, Homer spends quality time with his son.
[9] That episode had also inspired the third segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie, which starred Nancy Cartwright in her debut feature film role.
[10] The segment parodies the narration of The Twilight Zone, and the producers were pleased with Harry Shearer's portrayal of Rod Serling.
(Shearer had previously impersonated Serling while he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live) [6] In addition, though it took a long time, the design of the monster version of Snowball II by Dale Hendrickson was greatly enjoyed by the producers, who thought it looked "just hideous, just right".
[4] Bart's prank call to Moe was thought of by John Swartzwelder, one of the writers; however, Hank Azaria detested the line.
[5] According to George Meyer, the animation for when Bart sits up screaming was extremely tough, especially to make the mouthlines natural.
[2] In the opening sequence of the episode, the Peanuts gang scurry by as trick-or-treaters, à la It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
[11] The plot of Lisa's nightmare is a parody of W. W. Jacobs's short story "The Monkey's Paw", and The New Twilight Zone episode "A Small Talent for War".
[11][12] Near the beginning of the segment, Moroccan soldiers stop and search the Simpsons, finding souvenirs taped to Homer's body which he was attempting to smuggle out of the country.
[7] The scene in which Homer goes out with Bart to spend time with the boy, as well as the accompanying music, parody an old anti-smoking public service announcement, while the church layout was taken from a Norman Rockwell painting.
[2] In its original airing on Fox, the episode had a 12.1 Nielsen rating and was viewed in approximately 11.14 million homes.
[13] The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood praised the episode as "A marked improvement on the first, uneven Hallowe'en special.
[11] Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict lauded the episode for having "wonderfully wild moments", especially "the parody of The Twilight Zone's 'It's a Good Life,' with Bart in the place of Billy Mumy's omnipresent monster".
[14] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson critiqued the episode as "not so hot their first couple of years", though he admitted that "the 1991 incarnation does top the original from 1990".
Featuring a story reminiscent to Frankenstein, this episode made us laugh from beginning to end with Homer's crazy antics.
[...] The humor that is derived from the multiple movie and literary parodies was enough to leave a last impression on us as an audience — and who doesn't like a robot whose primary function is to find donuts?
