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| Mel: "Come! Let us kill them before learning of the magical secret which they possess!" |
As the Simpsons violently hurt one another, Kang and Kodos lament human stupidity, since this Halloween episode is airing in November.
Reaper Madness
The figure known as Death arrives to kill Bart. After a Benny Hill-esque chase, Death has Bart cornered, but Homer is able to somehow kill Death by hitting him with a bowling ball. For a time, nobody in the world can die. Some time later, Homer goes to throw away Death on trash day, but decides to keep its robes. Homer puts them on, but he and the family learn in horror that by doing so, Homer becomes the new Death, being forced to do so or else face rather sharp genital pain.
Homer does fine at first, but begins to abuse his power to do whatever he feels like. Then, one morning, Homer is given his next target: Marge. Homer refuses to do it, but if he doesn't, he'll die instead. Homer relents and 'kills' Marge offscreen. Later, Homer offers Marge's body to God, demanding he no longer be Death. God obliges, but then learns that the body is actually Patty's with Marge's hair taped on. Homer is able to escape God's wrath, and everything turns out okay.
Individual Score: +1.1
Frinkenstein
Lisa ends up hearing the news that Professor Frink is being awarded the Nobel Prize. She goes to actually tell him the news, and Frink is happy, glad that his invention of a screwdriver/hammer hybrid won out in a slow science year. However, Frink laments that his father can't be around to see this achievement. Lisa inquires, and Frink explains that his father was an adventurous type of scientist, and hated how 'unmanly' the young Frink was. The two last saw each other on shaky terms, and the elder Frink died from a shark bite. Young Frink has his father's frozen corpse, though, and decides to go ahead and reanimate it thanks to the newfound convenience of his hammerdriver or whatever.
Using mechanical parts to cover the gaps, Frink is successful in reviving his father, however the elder Frink is upset over what his son did, and goes to acquire live organs, which concerns Lisa. Sure enough, "Frinkenstein" just ups and grabs organs from whomever he comes across and soon becomes a patchwork of various body parts. Lisa finds the monster and guilt-trips him with young Frink's Nobel Prize ceremony. Frinkenstein overcomes his organ lust and heads to Stockholm. The Frinks reunite just as Frink receives his prize, but Frinkenstein can't contain himself and starts harvesting the brains of the crowd. Young Frink finally realizes what needs to be done, and kills Frinkenstein by kicking him in his crotch. Frinkenstein is proud of how big of a man his son has become, but young Frink isn't done yet: he's able to salvage his father's soul in a less menacing box.
Individual Score: +1.0
Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off
Marge uncovers a box full of 70s comic books, and Bart and Milhouse take a peek. Bart is interested in the old ads found within, particularly one for a 'magic' stopwatch that can stop time itself. Milhouse pays the 49 cents, and in four weeks the two get their stopwatch. After Bart confirms it to work, he and Milhouse go around town causing prank after prank. Mayor Quimby has a meeting at town hall to do something about it, but when Bart and Milhouse strike there, Quimby traps them thanks to ultraviolet light and the town finds out it was them (or I think they do; they really don't identify the two). Bart and Milhouse run away, but are chased by an angry mob. The two use their stopwatch again, but in doing so the watch breaks and now they have no way to resume time. At first, neither one is concerned and they enjoyed themselves. Soon, though, the two miss interacting with other people besides themselves and decide to fix the watch. Fifteen years later, the 25 year olds finally do it, and after finding a scapegoat for the mess in Martin, the two finally restore time's flow. The Simpsons wonder how Bart got so big and shaggy, and to shut Lisa up, Bart gives her the watch, though she presses another button on it to create parallel universes or some such.
Individual Score: +1.0
Quick Review
This installment is a nice return to form after the previous season's Halloween effort. All three segments are great with several good moments found in each, though even as a fan of Professor Frink all the Frink-speak in the second act was a bit much. I found this first episode of the 15th season funnier than any episode from Season 14. Hopefully its the start of a trend.
Final Score: 8.4
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