The Simpsons has accelerated my love for Halloween, and I'm not kidding. In the second "Treehouse of Horror" episode of 2024, we were treated to three macabre tales by the late American horror and science fiction author Ray Bradbury. The title alone, "Simpsons Wicked Way This Comes," was based on his 1962 novel Something Wicked Way This Comes, which set the entire mood for the episode.
If The Simpsons are going back to their origins of creating bone-chilling if realistic stories for their "Treehouse of Horror" franchise like it was in the 1990s to the early 2000s, then "Simpsons Wicked Way This Comes" was a strong nail on the head. It had tension. It had Homer-isms. It had Bart in a different decade to act up, and of course, it had Lisa objecting to something or another. The only thing that could've improved this installment was the appearance of a specific character with his 'devilish' alter ego. But that's just me and not the fault of the writers.
The review contains minor spoilers, so proceed with caution if you haven't watched the November 24th episode. But it's up to you to get the scope of "Simpsons Wicked Way This Comes."
"Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked Way This Comes" review (and what you missed)
We begin with the Simpson family visiting the traveling circus of sideshow performers, much to Lisa's objections. As the other members are fascinated by the circus's employees, Lisa ventures off, coming across a heavily tattooed man, whose body art can tell fascinating stories. And, while that's not unusual for those of us who have tattoos, as our ink illustrates a point of our lives, the tattoo man's, who''s voiced by Andy Serkis by the way, comes "alive," as if they're turning a page.
In the first tale, Bart is a young Boomer in the idyllic 1950s, more innocent than his Millennial counterpart. I say that he's innocent because he stumbles across a crime where the victim is buried alive, only communicating through high-pitched screams. When no one believes him, including his best friend, Milhouse, via string phone communication, Bart feels like he failed in the victim's rescue but is still hopeful for a reasonable conclusion.
When he visits Luann Van Houten and asks her if she knows anything about the victim, she has a change of tune. She tries to sedate him with milk, nearly succeeding, had it not been for the boy's determination and a Pixie. As it turns out, Luann was the perp, and that victim was no other than her husband, Kirk. Her motive was revenge, as he spilled a secret about her to a friend, which spread throughout town.
Here's the catch, women were put to death in the fifties for murder, and a lengthy prison sentence for attempted. Luann didn't get punished for her deed, but being The Simpsons, not everything has to be followed by the book.
The segment was strong, as it went back in time when only our grandparents, or my case, parents lived as youngsters, so it was great to see that viewpoint, even through an animated lens.
Our next story is set in the future but not as distant. After hearing from Carl about replacement robots, for context, Chalmers orders one to take his place when visiting Skinner. The reason? Well, the guy simply annoys him to the end, as he has for many years. Everything was working fine until Skinner orders his own robot because Chalmers is "mean" to him. Seriously, dudes, you need to work things out by your authentic selves and not depend on devices to correct everything.
Anyway, the issue kind of works itself out as the real Chalmers dies, and Robo-Skinner glitches itself to the point where it can't be fixed. This leaves the real Skinner and Robo-Chalmers. The latter is a much kinder version, which Skinner loves, so as mentioned, it worked in their favor. Though I can't get past Chalmers' death, it doesn't matter, as "Treehouse of Horror" is non-canon.
Lastly, the third tale is another Bradbury classic based on his novel Fahrenheit 451. Instead of burning banned books, it's the burning of prohibited television, which is the essence of comedies and reality shows. Ironically, Homer leads the firefighters' team on the mission. Only intelligence-dense dramas and smart TV are permitted in place of the banned shows. Shows with rich characterizations, structured plots with dark themes are the only choice.
Okay, I'm going to flat out say that I love the VHS cassettes of recorded TV. Before the era of TiVo, DVRs, DVDs, streaming, and smartphones, VHS players and their tapes ruled the world. I grew up with these 'magical' devices and couldn't wait to watch one. It's now a novelty and aesthetic, but in time, you grow an appreciation, as they're the pieces of your history.
Moving on, Homer decides that he has had enough of intelligent shows and finds the group with the stored archive of banned shows on cassettes. You got your pick of America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor franchise, sitcoms, and other reality programs. With AFHV and The Bachelor being Disney productions and The Simpsons now being one, I wonder how the execs felt about it. I guess we'll never know for sure.
At the end, Homer relives his AFHV recaps and Lisa becomes part of the Tattoo Man's ink. That's where it touches base with The Twilight Zone, where Mr. Bradbury wrote an episode.
Other "Treehouse of Horror" twists:
- Ned Flanders was the character that Imentioned with a 'devilish' alter ego. With that said, he should've made an ppearence in this formation, as it's so delightfully entertaining.
- "Simpsons Wicked Way This Comes" was Pamela Hayden's (who voices Milhouse) last episode. Last week, she retired after 35 years of being on The Simpsons.
- The episode's title has nothing to do with the Wicked movie, which soared the Blockbuster in its opening weekend.