TREEHOUSE OF HORROR V

Entrance to Ned Flanders' indoctrination center.

An adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder". While attempting to fix a toaster, Homer accidentally creates a time machine. Every time Homer pushes the toaster's lever, he is transported to the time of the dinosaurs until the toast pops up, at which point he returns to the present. During his first trip, he amazingly realizes (thanks to some strange advice from Grampa on his wedding night) that he could cause unpredictable changes in the future by killing anything in the ancient past, but absent-mindedly kills a mosquito. The toaster returns Homer to the present, where he learns that Ned Flanders is the totalitarian leader of the world (reminiscent of George Orwell's Big Brother). Escaping a close call with "Re-Neducation", Homer travels back to the time of the dinosaurs in an attempt to set things right. Every effort goes wrong, however: Homer sits on a fish that has just evolved to walk on land (resulting in Homer's family being giant — a scene similar to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), then later infects the dinosaurs with a deadly cold virus (similar to the ending of The War of the Worlds). One effort comes close to perfection: the family is wealthy and Patty and Selma are dead, but Marge does not know what "donut" is (ironically, immediately after Homer runs screaming to the toaster, travelling back through time again, it begins to rain donuts). Another version seems normal until Willie bursts in, claiming that he can help Homer return to his own world; however, Maggie kills Willie with an axe in his back, then takes off her pacifier and says, "This is indeed a disturbing universe" (voiced over by James Earl Jones). Returning to the prehistoric era for one last try, Homer takes out his frustration by smashing everything he can see with a baseball bat. After several changes to the present, including one where the house is transformed into the Sphinx with Bart's face and another in which the house is swapped for the Flinstones' abode, Homer eventually arrives in a present where everything seems normal: Ned Flanders is simply their neighbor, donuts are plentiful... but the family eats with long, snakelike tongues. Homer shrugs and mutters "Eh, close enough."

Nightmare Cafeteria

Principal Skinner is worried that the detention halls are becoming crowded, and Lunchlady Doris is now serving Grade F meat ("mostly circus animals, some filler"). When Jimbo Jones, after a cafeteria altercation, says "Bite me" to Principal Skinner, Skinner hits on a common solution to both problems. The next day, the cafeteria serves "Sloppy Jimboes", followed by a German-themed meal of "Üter-braten." The culinary success of these meals sends Skinner and the teachers on a cannibalistic rampage, and they continue to send students to detention, which is divided between students locked in cramped cages and a "free range" area. Eventually due to all the flesh eaten, Mrs. Krabappel put on at least 80 pounds and seemed quite eager to eat the children. In hot pursuit of Bart, Lisa, and Milhouse, the last remaining students, Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel corner them on a ledge above a giant blender. Groundskeeper Willie tries, once again, to save the Simpsons, but is once again killed by an axe to the back (this time by Principal Skinner). Milhouse falls into the blender, dampening Bart's confidence that they will be rescued. As Skinner and Krabappel advance, Bart and Lisa fall towards the blender; just as they are about to hit the blades, however, Bart wakes up and realizes it was all a dream. However, in a final bizarre touch, a mysterious fog seeps in through the window and turns the whole family inside out. The episode ends with the gory Simpsons and Willy dancing and singing a parody version of "One" from A Chorus Line. Santa's Little Helper comes and bites Bart on the leg, dragging him off stage and leaving a trail of blood, as Bart struggles to free himself.

Trivia

• In syndication this episode was rated TV-14 DV, the first time for The Simpsons. (Possibly because of the harsh usage of blood in this special.)
• Treehouse of Horror V is generally considered the greatest of the Treehouse of Horror specials, if not one of the greatest of all the episodes. Most fan polls ranking the top episode has Treehouse of Horror V at the top spot; or at the very least, in the top ten. Many people feel that The Shinning segment alone would put this episode among the best.
• The Simpsons was one of Stanley Kubrick's favorite shows.
• A scene of Homer doing a speech on recipes was deleted from "Nightmare Cafeteria". The speech featured a reference to the book seen later in the segment The Joys of Cooking Milhouse. This scene's deletion also meant that Homer wasn't seen in this segment at all.
• In The Shinning, Homer accidentally leaves Grampa at a gas station, but he later appears at the hotel after Homer goes crazy. Later in the segment, Maggie spells out the word "redrum" with her blocks, further referencing The Shining.
• Maggie's line "This is indeed a disturbing universe," said after killing Groundskeeper Willie, is Matt Groening's favorite line in the entire series (as revealed in the Season 6 DVD box-set).
• This is the first Treehouse of Horror not to have a theme or wrap-around segments. This is also the last Treehouse of Horror to have a disclaimer at the beginning of the episode.
• Groundskeeper Willie dies in every segment with an axe.
• In the segment, Time and Punishment, Homer meets Sherman and Mr. Peabody from the series Rocky & Bullwinkle.
• The sign "Where the Elite Meet to Have Their Spirits Broken" on the Re-Neducation Center is a reference to Matt Groening's comic Akbar and Jeff, whose myriad business ventures would always have the tagline "Where the Elite Meet...." such as Akbar & Jeff's Downtown Parking Lot, where their tagline was "Where the Elite Meet Defeat on Our Concrete."

Cultural References

• The Shinning is clearly a a parody of The Shining:
  • The title cards, "Monday", "Tuesday", etc.
  • Homer is a winter caretaker in a lonely lodge who goes insane, just like Jack Torrance.
  • Blood pours out of the elevator.
  • Bart can read people's thoughts, just like Danny.
  • Groundskeeper Willie portrays the character of Halloran, identifying Bart's gift, calling it "the shinning" (as opposed to "the shining") to avoid being sued and tells Bart to call if he needs him.
  • When Bart mentions 'Shining', Willie shushes him and says 'Do you wanna get sued?'.
  • Maggie spells the word "redrum" ("murder" backwards), á la Danny hearing "redrum".
  • Bart uses his "shinning" to call Willie.
  • Homer writes on his typewriter "Feelin' Fine.", a reference to the typewriter in The Shining, which reads "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". Lightning then flashes, revealing walls covered in the scrawled statement "No beer and no TV make Homer go crazy!"
  • Marge (Wendy) leaves Homer in a walk-in cooler until he is sane.
  • The story also parodies the iconic "Here's Johnny!" moment from the 1980 film, with Homer not only using the Johnny Carson catchphrase, but also ones from David Letterman and 60 Minutes (see Quotes, below).
• Time and Punishment is based on the Ray Bradbury story "A Sound of Thunder." Another obvious influence is Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four; a more subtle reference may be to H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (i.e. Homer killing the dinosaurs with a simple virus). The title is based on the book, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
• Nightmare Cafeteria bears a striking resemblance to the "What's Cookin'" episode of Tales from the Crypt (adapted from the story originally published in the comic book of the same name) in which a restaurant begins serving meals made from people; and also the sci-fi film Soylent Green. The scene where Bart, Lisa and Milhouse are up against the giant blender parody both the Pink Floyd video for "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II", and a scene from Total Recall.
• The ending of Nightmare Cafeteria may have been inspired by an Arch Oboler radio sketch called "The Dark" which also involves people being turned inside out. This was confirmed on the season 6 commentary.

Quotes

From The Shinning:

• Burns: Oh, goody, the Sea-Monkeys I ordered have arrived. Heh heh heh. Look at them cavort and caper.
  Smithers: Sir, they're the new winter caretakers for the lodge.
  Burns: Yes. They work hard and they play hard.
• Mr. Burns: This house has quite a long and colourful history. It was built on an ancient Indian burial ground and was the setting of satanic rituals, witch burnings, and five John Denver Christmas specials.
  Homer: (shudders) John Denver...
• Burns: (after blood pours out of the elevator) Hmm, that's odd. Usually the blood gets off at the second floor.
• Bart: (having cut through a hedge maze) Hey, I found a shortcut through your maze.
  Willie: Why you...! (thinking) Nooo...go easy on the wee one. His father's gonna go crazy and ground his family into haggis!
  Bart: What's haggis?
  Willie: Boy! You read my thoughts! You've got the Shinning!
  Bart: You mean "Shining".
  Willie: Shhh! You want to get sued? Now look, boy. If your dad goes "ga-ga", you just use that... "shin"... of yours to call me and I'll come a-runnin'. But don't be reading me [sic] mind between four and five! That's "Willie's time"!
• Burns: Yes. By cutting off cable TV and the beer supply, I can ensure an honest winter's work out of those low-lifes.
  Smithers: Sir, did you ever stop to think that maybe it was doing this that caused the previous caretakers to go insane and murder their families?
  Burns: Hmm, perhaps. Tell you what. We come back and everyone's slaughtered, I owe you a Coke.
• (Homer is sitting in the empty bar, and the ghost of Moe appears)
  Moe: All right, Homer, what'll it be?
  Homer: Moe, give me a beer!
  Moe: No. Not unless you kill your family.
  Homer: Why would I want to kill my family?
  Moe: Uhh... they'd be much happier as ghosts.
  Homer: You don't look so happy.
  Moe: Oh, I'm happy. I'm very happy! La, la, la, la, la, la, la! See? Now waste your family and I'll give you a beer!
• Homer: (sinister) So, what do you think Marge? I just need a title. I was thinking something along the lines of "No TV and no beer make Homer..." something something.
  Marge: "Go crazy"?
  Homer: Don't mind if I do! (He literally goes crazy and starts babbling and screaming.)
• Moe: (outside the freezer) Homer? It's Moe. Some of the ghouls and I are a little concerned that the project isn't moving forward.
  Homer: Can't murder now. Eating.
• Homer: (chops through a door) Heeere's Johnny! (room is empty) D'oh!
  Homer: (chops through another door) Daaaaavid Letterman!
  Grampa: Hi, David. I'm Grampa.
  Homer: D'oh!
  Homer: (chops through yet another door while holding a pocketwatch in his free hand) I'm Mike Wallace, I'm Morley Safer, and I'm Ed Bradley. All this and Andy Rooney tonight on 60 Minutes!
  (the family runs screaming)
• Willie: I'm coming to rescue the lot of you! (enters the hotel) Alright, loony! Show me what you've got! (gets axed by Homer) Aw, is that the best you can do? (dies)
  Marge: Oh my. I hope that rug was Scotchgarded.
• Homer: Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.
• Homer: Urge to kill... fading... fading... fading... (the family approaches him) Rising! (they gasp and step back) Fading... fading... gone. Come, family! Sit in the snow with Daddy and let us all bask in television's warm glowing warming glow.
• (after being in the snow for some time, the Simpsons freeze and are still watching the portable TV)
  Announcer: Live, from New York, it's the Tony Awards, with your hosts, Tyne Daly and Hal Linden!
  (a chorus begins singing "One" from "A Chorus Line")
  Bart: Homer, change channel!
  Homer: Can't! Frozen!
  (family screams muffled)
  Homer: Urge to kill...rising.

From Time and Punishment:

• Homer: Look at that. I'm the first non-Brazilian person to travel backwards through time.
  Mr. Peabody: Correction, Homer. You're the second.
  Sherman: That's right, Mr. Peabody.
  Mr. Peabody: Quiet, you!
• Homer: Ok, don't panic. Remember the advice your father gave you on your wedding day.
  (a thought bubble containing Abe Simpson appears)
  Abe: If you ever travel back in time, don't step on anything, because even the tiniest change can alter the future in ways you can't imagine!
• Homer: Okay, stay calm. As long as I stand perfectly still and not touch anything, I won't harm the future. (a mosquito buzzes around) Stupid bug! You go squish now! (kills it) Oh no. Wait, that was just a teeny tiny mosquito. I can't harm the future. (panicked) Can I?! (a creature resembling a megatherium walks by and make san "I don't know" sound, accompanied with a shrug of the shoulders)
• Flanders: Well, in case all that smiling didn't cheer you up, there's one thing that never fails: a glass of warm milk, a little nap, and a total frontal lobotomy!
• Homer: (after wiping out dozens of dinosaurs with one sneeze) This is gonna cost me.
• Willie: You're still not in your own world, Homer! I can get you home, but you have to do exactly as I... (gets axed by Maggie) Aaahhh!!! (dies)
  Maggie: (in James Earl Jones' voice) This is indeed a disturbing universe.
• Kang: Foolish Earthling! Totally unprepared for the effects of time travel!
  (Kang and Kodos laugh, until their heads turn into those of Mr. Peabody and Sherman)
  Sherman: What happened to us, Kodos?
  Peabody: Quiet, you.

From Nightmare Cafeteria:

• Lisa: Bart, does it strike you as odd that Uter disappeared and suddenly they're serving us this mysterious food called "Uterbraten"?
  Principal Skinner: Oh, relax, kids. I've got a "gut" feeling that Uter's around here somewhere. (starts laughing) After all, isn't there a little "Uter" in all of us ? (laughing harder) In fact, you might even say we just "ate" Uter and he's in our "stomachs" right now! (stops laughing) Wait... scratch that one.
• Lisa: Mom, mom, you've gotta help! They're cooking kids in the school cafeteria!
  Marge: Listen kids, you're eight and ten years old now. I can't be fighting all your battles for you.
  Bart: But Mom...
  Marge: No buts! You march right back to that school, look them straight in the eye, and say "Don't eat me".
  Bart and Lisa: (disappointed) OK.
• Willie: Hold on, kids! I'm coming to rescue the lot of you! I'm... (gets axed by Principal Skinner) Aaahhh!!! Oh, I'm bad at this.
• Principal Skinner: I shall enjoy devouring you, Bart Simpson. Yes, I believe I'll start off as you have so often suggested by...eating your shorts.

End song lyrics (sung to the tune of "One" from "A Chorus Line"):

• One! Chorus line of people, dancing till they make us stop
  Too! Many dancing people, covered with blood, gore, and glop.
  Just one sniff of that fog and you're inside out.
  It's worse than that flesh-eating virus you've read about!
  Vital organs, they are what we're dressed in,
  The family dog is eyeing Bart's intestine.
  Happy Halloween!

External links

• The Simpsons Gallery comparing The Shinning to The Shining.
• "Treehouse of Horror V" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive