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| If E.T. had done this, would the movie still be as popular? ...maybe? |
Marge tries to open up the episode, but keeps getting interrupted by those mini fly-by ads for FOX programming. Marge has enough and cooks all the people in the promos into her loaf.
E.T. Go Home
Bart goes to the shed in the backyard to find, in shock, that an alien is residing back there. The alien, which turns out to be Kodos, claims that he and some others were there on a mission of "peace", but he was accidentally left behind. Bart (and eventually Lisa) decide to help Kodos out by helping him build a device he claims will let him contact his people. However, soon enough word of his existence gets out, and the U.S. Military tries to capture Kodos to dissect him for study. Bart tries to make a getaway on his bike with Kodos, but as they approach a line of military personnel (similar to that found in E.T.), instead of trying to find a way over the line, Kodos simply eradicates a few of the forces so that they can pass. Bart learns the truth about Kodos and his mission, as Kodos reveals his machine is actually a portal meant to bring others to Earth as part of an invasion. Soon enough, various other aliens come in through the portal, but the military arrives and absolutely destroys them. Bart is offered a chance to shoot Kodos, but hesitates when Kodos appeals to him, so Homer shoots him instead. At a military base, as the family is stunned to learn Kodos really was bad, Kodos points out that because he's still alive, he's undergoing a vivisection, not a dissection, but Homer "corrects" that error.
Individual Score: +1.2
Mr. & Mrs. Simpson
Homer and Marge discuss how their marriage has come along. Homer reveals in his story that he's a professional assassin hired by Mr. Burns. Burns tasks Homer with killing Kent Brockman, so Homer tells Marge a flimsy excuse to not come home until late (and Marge does the same, oddly enough). Homer finds Brockman in a rooftop party, but before he can snipe Brockman, a woman appears, gets close to Brockman, and stabs him before running off. Upset he won't be paid now, Homer tries shooting at the woman, eventually removing her wig to reveal the female assassin as Marge. Homer rushes home to find Marge, still in her assassin's gown, but tries to keep up his charade (poorly). After some tension, the two finally reveal their secrets, engaging in an action-packed gun fight. Eventually, Chief Wiggum arrives after 'someone' calls in a noise complaint, but Marge kills Wiggum with a crossbow. Homer finds this hot, and the two end up having sex over Wiggum's corpse. In the present time, the two admit that their relationship as married assassins has never been better, though its revealed they were talking to Principal Skinner regarding Bart. Homer and Marge realize their mistake, and take out Skinner.
Individual Score: +0.8
Heck House
Bart, Milhouse, Nelson and Lisa are trick-or-treating together for Halloween. However, Agnes Skinner refuses to give them candy, being the angry elder she is. Bart rationalizes that its "Trick OR Treat", so if she didn't give them a treat, she should be tricked instead. The boys go ahead and pummel Agnes with water balloons. The boys realize just how fun that was, and spend the rest of their night pulling pranks on people instead, with Lisa's protests falling flat. With the town in an uproar over what's happened, Ned Flanders steps up and proclaims he'll solve the problem. He sets up a "heck house" at the church, which entices the four to investigate. However, Ned's lame attempts at getting the kids to stop sinning doesn't work. Ned asks God for help and, strangely, God obliges by turning Ned into a devilish character who takes the kids to a full recreation of "heck". Here, devil Ned shows the kids what happens to them should they commit any one of the seven sins, and the despairs of "heck" itself. The kids all get scared straight, and Ned, job done, sends them back, and thanks the audience for watching though he notes that by watching FOX, they're all done for anyway.
Individual Score: +0.6
Quick Review
As you can tell from the scores, this Treehouse of Horror starts off strong but fades near the end. The Kodos segment had lots of good moments going for it, and the middle portion, an obvious parody of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, had its moments as well (including Homer's brain being unable to stop Homer's gluttony which was the best part of that story). The heck house bit had a few quality moments as well, but when it become centered around Flanders, the comedy took a dive and prevented this installment from being as good as many of the others.
Final Score: 7.6
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