The Simpsons/Treehouse of Horror XVI

Treehouse of Horror XVI
Season 17, Episode 4
Airdate	November 6, 2005
Production Number	GABF17
Written by	Marc Wilmore
Directed by	David Silverman
← 17x03 Milhouse of Sand and Fog	17x05 → Marge's Son Poisoning
The Simpsons — Season Seventeen

Treehouse of Horror XVI is the fourth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons, and the three-hundred and sixtieth episode overall. This episode is the sixteenth Treehouse of Horror Halloween special and, like the rest, is split up into three segments: B.I.: Bartificial Intelligence, Survival of the Fattest and I've Grown a Costume on Your Face.

Special Guest Voices: Terry Bradshaw (Himself), Dennis Rodman (Himself)

Guest Stars: Tress MacNeille (Various, The Witch), Pamela Hayden (Milhouse Van Houten), Terry W. Greene (Unknown)

Plot Overview

The episode opens to Kang and Kodos watching the World Series, waiting for the Simpsons Halloween special to come on. They comment how it's so horribly boring that they can't stand to watch it any longer. The two hit the game with an acceleration beam to speed it up, but they're still bored. One of the two pushes the beam to the maximum, accidentally creating a rip in time-space which sucks the entire plane of reality into it. They leave a note that says "Treehouse of Horror XVI."

B.I.: Bartificial Intelligence

The episode opens to Bart and Lisa in a hotel room. Bart challenges Lisa that he can jump into the pool from the room window. Lisa tells him that would be the stupidest thing he'd ever done, to which Bart replies "No, the stupidest thing would be doing it backwards." Bart falls out of the window and misses the pool, putting him into a deep coma.

Dr. Hibert tells the Simpsons that Bart may never awake from his coma, but if they miss him, they can replace him with a robot son. The robot has the ability to feel emotion and do what Marge and Homer ask of him, like trimming hedge sculptures and punching Flanders. However, Bart emerges from his coma and returns home, only to find his replacement. Bart is instantly jealous of this replacement and attempts to off him by pushing him into the lion cage, but David launches him into a Mutant Peacock Pen.

Marge and Homer realize that they can't take care of two boys because they're constantly fighting. So, Homer drops Bart off in the middle of the woods where he finds a bunch of abandoned robots who wish for him to teach them how to love. Unfortunately for them, Bart harvests their parts and creates a mechanical suit of armor to destroy David. He also cuts Homer in half.

Lisa wakes Homer up in reality and tells him that he's not a robot, he's possessed by the devil, which he was apparently faking to get out of work.

Survival of the Fattest

Homer is invited to a hunting party at Mr. Burns' private estate. He comes to the estate to eat with several people including Chief Wiggam, Lenny, Carl and Moe, where he is alerted that they will be participating in a hunt for the world's most dangerous game-- Man. Burns pulls out a shotgun and gives them a five minute headstart. When Comic Book Guy complains, he is shot ahead of time. Everyone who lives until noon the next day is allowed to go free. A contract is drawn up by his lawyer to give him immunity from murder charges, who Burns kills right after accepting it.

First to be shot is Apu, but he is reincarnated as a squirrel because "you can't kill a Hindu." It turns out that this stunt by Burns is part of a television series called the World Series of Manslaughter. While Terry Bradshaw comments, Krusty is shot several times. Homer attempts to climb a tree with Moe, Milhouse's Dad, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick, Dr. Hibbert, Kent Brockman, Chief Wiggum and a cop, but accidentally flings them into the sky where Burns shoots them down except Moe, who is impaled. Burns shoots down the rest in a biplane, except for Homer who attempts to fool Burns by using Barney's corpse as a distracting puppet. When Burns figures him out, he is nearly shot before Marge clubs Burns and Smithers with frying pans.

I've Grown a Costume on Your Face

The Simpsons arrive at a costume party in downtown Springfield where they have a costume contest. At the competition, the finalists come down to Dr. Hibbert as Dracula and a witch. When it's revealed that the witch isn't wearing a costume and is a real witch, her gift certificate is taken away and she curses the town. She turns the people of the town into their costumes (i.e. Barney really becomes Frankenstein, Homer really loses his head, etc).

At the Simpsons home, Lisa realizes that Maggie is a real witch now and can reverse the spell. However, many of the townspeople don't want to change back because their lives are better this way while others hate what they've become. Instead of changing them back, Maggie turns them all into pacifiers and flies off into the moonlight.

Trivia

The Show

• Crazy Credits: The opening credits sequence has been removed and replaced with Kang and Kodos destroying the fabric of existence.
• Costume Party: At the costume party the Springfield citizens dress up like the following: Marge - Skeleton; Bart - Teen Wolf; Lisa - Albert Einstein; Maggie - A Witch; Barney - A Caveman; Disco Stu - Steve Martin; Prof. Frink - Caveman; Teenager - Tin Man; Grandpa - A Gorilla; Patty and Selma - A Horse; Sideshow Mel - Spider-Man; Carl - A Mummy; Lenny - A Prisoner; Nelson - The Lone Ranger; Gil - A Ghost; Mayor Quimby - Mayor McCheese; Dr. Hibbert - Dracula; Apu - R2D2; Sea Captain - Aquaman; Old Jewish Man - Irving; Mr. Skinner - G.I. Joe; Agnes - A Southern Belle; Martin - Oberon; Willie - Bug Spray; Mr. Van Houten - A Strongman; Milhouse - A Construction Worker; Chief Wiggum - Jerry (from Subway); Moe - Hugh Hefner; Ned - A Daisy; Bumblebee Man - A Bumblebee
• Inspiration: The final segment in the episode may have been inspired by a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode entitled Halloween in which people took on the identities and physical qualities of their costumes.

Behind the Scenes

• Family Feud: In the credits following the episode, Al Jean's "spooky" name is Al "Family Guy" Jean, a light jab at Family Guy. They previously mocked Family Guy in Treehouse of Horror XIII when Peter Griffin appeared as a clone of Homer. Incidentally, later that evening, Family Guy took a jab at The Simpsons when Stewie ran over Homer during the opening to PTV.

Allusions and References

• A.I.: The first segment of the episode borrows heavily from A.I.: Artificial Intelligence a 2001 movie by Steven Spielberg about a robot who wants to become a real boy by seeking out the blue fairy. The episode differs from the movie in that the family abandons the robot, not their real son and the robot never sees the family again.

Episode Title: B.I. Bartificial Intelligence.

• The Most Dangerous Game: The Most Dangerous Game is a short story by Richard Connell written in 1924. The story centers on a big-game hunter who becomes the prey of another hunter's desires to hunt the only thing that truly tests his skills: Man. The prey eventually kills the hunter and wins his freedom.

• Lone Ranger: The Lone Ranger was a long running radio and television series about a cowboy in the wild west who fights injustice wearing a mask. He, and his native friend Tonto, do what they can do make the West a better place. He is most well known for his iconic mask and hat, as well as his battle cry of "Hi ho, Silver, away!"

Nelson: I'm not a raccoon, I'm the Lone Ranger!

• Marilyn McCoo: Marilyn McCoo was an actress and pop singer during the late 1960s and 1970s. She was most notably a part of the group Fifth Dimension which won several Grammys for the song "Up, Up and Away (In My Beautiful Balloon)."

Disco Stu: Disco Stu wishes he had gone as Marilyn McCoo.

Quotes

• Mr. Burns: I smell fear... mixed with curry.
  Apu: [in bushes] Uh-oh.
  [Mr. Burns shoots the bushes and Apu pops out.]
  Apu: You got me, but I shall be reincarnated!
  [Apu reincarnates into a rabbit.]
  Rabbit Apu: Haha, you can't kill a Hindu!
  [The rabbit runs through a bear trap and the tail gets caught.]
  Rabbit Apu: Ahh! Help me Jesus!