[WEEK 1] treehouse of horror watchthrough!!

hihi! welcome to the first week of our watchthrough!! some quick housekeeping before we dig in:
1. these are my personal opinions, and it's okay to disagree! media is subjective
2. i'm gonna be talking about these episodes as though you, the reader, have seen them - so if you have not, feel free to go watch them on disney+ ! (or other platforms wink wink nudge nudge) otherwise feel free to just go into this blog post blind, might be funny

this week's episodes were...

day 1 - treehouse of horror I + treehouse of horror II

bad dream house: very silly, i love the music in this segment in particular so much it's so cool, lots of silly jokes, not just in this segment but throughout the episode, that really tickled me, but i cannot be only a praise machine, because i should add i've always found the burial ground joke weird. frankly. i get the vibe that part of the joke was making fun of the trope, but like, idk, with the way it was executed (with the names on the headstones and such) it felt weird still knowing it was coming from (as far as i know) a mostly white writers room and from writers on a show that already has a bit of a track record with leaning on shitty tropes for their native characters, idk i am also not native so, take my word with a grain of salt, overall i still enjoyed but i thought i should mention it

(also an absurd aside, but it always stood out to me how ominously marge says "i'm in the kitchen, homer..." only for her to be the one uninfluenced person in the situation, and while i'm sure that was just like, a choice the directors made, it kind of tickles me to think that she said it like that just because)
hungry are the damned: KANG AND KODOS MENTION!! i love those guys, did you know makeup revolution had a treehouse of horror collection and i saw some of it at a winners a couple years ago and didn't buy Any of it, sigh... what is Woke doing to our children... anyways, this ones good i liek it :3 also james earl jones is a FANTASTIC guest voice, i love his work in this segment in particular, it is very satisfying to my ears
the raven: i love the raven, both this rendition and the original poem - the latter of which i wanna memorize to whip out at random intervals, anyways i liek it :) it is fun, they removed a couple stanzas from the original for time and i think that was a good choice, also james earl jones is a WONDERFUL guest voice once again, i love his narration here

the monkey's paw: unfortunate set up.. simpsons be normal about morocco challenge failed but.. sure.. i do like the bit where homer thinks the vendor mysteriously disappeared for a second only to realize he was just pointing at the wrong spot and the vendor is still there, that's silly.. anyways, classic monkey's paw thing, it's fun, that's about what i got to say sorray.... hashtag turkey sandwich
the bart zone: i trust bart give that boy his psychic powers he earned it, but seriously, this ones also fun! i'm a little biased because bart is probably my favourite simpson family member... (i love my son) but idk, its a neat and absurd concept to explore, also it's the obvious joke to make but i am still tickled by it only turning into a nightmare for bart when him and homer start bonding, that's silly
if only i had a brain: i'm surprised how frequently i forget this one (oops) because i like it, i think there's some good japes in here, also i like burns and smithers' dynamic it's simultaneously endearing and troubling (HOLY SHIT I SPELT SIMULTANEOUSLY CORRECTLY ON MY FIRST TRY), anyways happy pride i support gays rights and wrongs

notes: boy i sure love the word silly, anyways two classics.. i love that early simpsons animation, it's delightful:) while more lighthearted than a lot of later instalments, i still think a good tone was set here, also lisa i know you mean well but you can't be dressing like that white baby

day 2 - treehouse of horror III + treehouse of horror IV

clown without pity: unfortunate set up number two, in regards to the vendor who sold homer the doll, simpsons be normal about east asian people challenge failed.. anyways.... is fun segment otherwise! random tidbit i love is homer's "and the toaster's been laughing at me" line, just very random in a way that amuses me, also the evil on/off switch reminds me of the closet from barbie: life in the dreamhouse having an evil on/off switch, i wonder if that was inspired by this episode or if that trope appeared elsewhere too?
king homer: i should watch the original king kong, and godzilla, and other such kaiju films.. anywho i like this one! not as like, traditionally spooky as other segments, but that's not atypical for thoh episodes to have one of those so whateva :p there's some great jokes in this one that always tickle me, like "i think women and seamen don't mix" "we know what you think." and burns doing his weird freak ass little dance after he accidentally gas bombs himself.. i should probably say something about marge and monkey homer getting married but, to be honest i, don't actually take much issue with it, idk it's pretty chaste compared to some of the other jokes of that sort that appear later down that line (We'll get to those Ones...) it's more silly than straight up weird (to me), so i've never really been bothered by it, sorray
dial 'z' for zombies: guys its zombies!! i like zombies, this ones also fun! i only know like two words to describe things apparently mb guys.. anyways i'm also always tickled by the resurrection spell being comprised of words like walmart, and nancy cartwright's delivery really adds to it in my Opinione, also snail lisa reminds me of the snail from banban for some reason sorry guys

the devil and homer simpson: i liek this one smiles :) i think it's very funny except for the mexico joke dear the simpsons i cant freakig do this anymore, anyways, shoutout to the bit where devil flanders greets bart all casual like, that's very silly, one more point to the bart and devil thing, also when i first heard about this segment (in a.. watchmojo video.. when i was like 11) i remember being deeply troubled by homer's donut head.. cause i was unnerved by the concept of like, having a doughy head that you can just chew on and eat, and you can like slowly consume yourself in a very physical sense, like you're just actively eating yourself and may be blind to the concequences of that.. like it was unholy to me.. i kind of get it tbh? but these days i find it more funny than haunting, hashtag may that ill gotten donut be forever on your head !
terror at 5½ feet: this one is a reference to, something, i think a twilight zone episode i'm actually not sure i'm only three years old (that;s a lie) but one of my friends knows what it is so ask him, or just google it.. anyways i enjoy this one, bart i'm sorry they don't have faith in you i'd believe you little buddy don't worry, also him putting that flare back in martin's pants was funny
bart simpson's dracula: I LOVE VAMPIRES, so this is great for me, also i love the framing being entirely unrelated to the actual content of the segment (as bart said, "we just threw something together with vampires. enjoy!") i also never noticed until this rewatch that the dog painting is actually in the living room in this segment :0 i think this ones really fun oh my god homer you can't say that anyways this ones really fun, love the vampiric vibes and there's a lot of funny bits to me, like burns' shadow playing with a yoyo for a second before leaving, or the way burns' just turns into a puddle of mush when he dies, also i think the rest of the family turning out to be vampires, with marge as the head vampire, is really neat conceptually and it's a concept i honestly might explore in an au or something because i'm CRINGE!! but yah, also the random charlie brown gag is quite funny

notes: i like the different framing devices in these two episodes, they're fun! and there's jokes outside of the actual segments that really amused me as well, like "grandpa, you've led an interesting life ..." "that's a lie and you know it!" it's good stuff..

day 3 - treehouse of horror V + treehouse of horror VI

the shinning: you mean shining.. shhh! you wanna get sued?? i love this one lots, there's some great bits in here and the whole vibe is very neat to me, i haven't actually seen the original admittedly... actually theres.. a lot of thoh stuff where i haven't seen/read the original work... oops.. but i could still gather what was going on which is good! (though cultural osmosis probably helped) it's a classic, not really sure what else to add.. i like it :)
time and punishment: i used to feel kinda neutral about this one, but it's grown on me quite a bit, again not the most traditionally spooky, but that's fine, as i said that's pretty standard for thoh episodes these days. i like the randomness of the set up, like, the writers just couldn't come up with anything else that wouldn't take up too much time, so they were just like, screw it, hand is jammed in the toaster.. also i really like how the family gets up from their seats to look at the screen in the ned flanders' world, it's just very silly looking how blank faced they all are. also shoutout to the squirrel house... removed.. but not forgotten... hashtag squirrel house
nightmare cafeteria: this is the funniest shit to me, it's so grim but done it a way that's like, funny.. yep.. you understood... it's just funny man, this is good dark humour to me. they're eating those kids dawg.. marge's nonchalance-ness in particular always gets me, real mom behaviour tbh.. also interesting to watch with the perspective of Hindsight, knowing that, as dark as this is, they do only imply the deaths of the children, rather than showing them on screen.. and this is... not something they always do these days... which i'm pretty neutral on to be honest, it's just interesting.. also the bird's-eye shot where wendell walks out of the room to detention is really cool

attack of the 50-foot eyesores: ahh!! a kind of wacky concept that i enjoy, also they got fr paul anka to sing which is cool, and also the bit with bart and the devil figure.. yet another point to the bart and devil thing.. also very amused by the send off for the commercial break, i'm sure that got some kids back in the day.. doesn't quite have the same effect on disney+ alas but hey, i'll take no ads where i can get em
nightmare on evergreen terrace: oh willie... he's always goin through some shit.. this one is v fun! silly take on a classic horror movie (which my dad and i still haven't seen oops) i also love the bit where martin dozes off in class, his flamboyance is a delight to me and latin is interesting i guess! and i love when he wakes up and starts screaming, russi taylor did a fantastic job and i love that you can hear an echo, like she stood further back in the room to do it, idk just neat little details like that that i think are interesting :)
homer3: my friends are unnerved by 3D homer but i like him, he's not cute at all he looks bad they're right, but i like him. the cheap mid 90s television cgi is endearing to me.. i think it's also such a wacky and fun concept, and him landing in the real world is really neat to me, also i'm sure there are some neat references tucked away in the random 3D objects strewn about, i got some of them, but i'm curious if there's more that i don't know of.. feel free to shoutout some if you do!

notes: i got to watch these ones with friends !! treehouse of horror V especially is known to be my favourite, and i think it's a favourite of some of my friends as well (nightmare cafeteria is particularly a hit amongst them) i love the credits too it's so absurd, for a while i wanted to memorize the song and dance, maybe i still should... and yah... it was fun to watch w pals:)

day 4 - treehouse of horror VII + treehouse of horror VIII

the thing and i: ah!! the thing!! and i! this one is neat, i remember being really excited when i first watched this because i had heard of it in.. again.. a watchmojo video.. and it just really stuck in my memory for some reason? but yah i enjoy! things for sure to be said about how commonly conjoined twins show in horror and.. very little else.. but yeah :/ there are some great bits in this one it's so messed up they just leave bart in the attic to eat fish heads that's so funny, also the silly bit where it seems like the kids are in the vases but they're actually in the closet, delightful
the genesis tub: a fun concept in my opinion! i like the random waffle iron bit?? i have no idea what it's there for but the randomness of it amuses me.. and i like lisa's resignation just being like.. damn i guess live here now.. sure.. whatever man.. i'll be a god to these people i guess... yuh, not sure what else to add really, it's alright
citizen kang: political one! interesting to watch as somebody who was not alive during the 1996 united states presidential election and also is not a united states citizen. even though i'm limited in my knowledge, i still found this one funny! i love exchanging long protein strings <3

the hΩmega man: there's some funny shit in here, i like "i stand by my ethnic slur" as a line, i like the specificity of the bomb shelter's capabilities, i like the mutated springfielders preferring the term "freaks", i like marge and family just shooting the freaks after seemingly coming to a resolution, also edwin starr's war mention
fly vs. fly: nooo please don't turn me into a marketable plushie (fly) very silly concept, i love frink's absurdly low prices for his crazy inventions, i like bart calling frink "einsteen"?? that kid just says anything, i also like the tarantula shaking his fists like a human person in frustration, reminded me of spiders on drugs?? you know that video?? if you're not irked by seeing spiders, look it up, it's so stupid i love it, also lisa why would you let even normal bart borrow your toothbrush is that the level of trust you guys are at i don't think i would let most people use my toothbrush honestly i think you'd have to fight me for it sorry
easy-bake coven: witches!! i like the spoof on the salem witch trials, very grim historical event, but i think they did a good job poking fun at it and keeping things relatively light (for a treehouse of horror) i think witch marge, patty, and selma are neat, that's fun, also very funny to me the reveal of them having already eaten some kids before getting to the flanders' house, also lisa you can't wear that white baby

notes: i think it's interesting the variety of tones that treehouse of horror episodes can have, and even within these first few ones, you can kinda see a slight shift over the course of the seasons.. i also think the animation evolution, again even just within these first few, is neat to observe too! i also was kinda surprised how quickly i moved through the seasons, but i guess it makes sense, it's mostly one episode per season so, again it moves quickly, and it's two episodes a day for the first week so that adds to how many i get through per week.. i know these are pretty intuitive things, i guess it's just also interesting to experience it, but yah!

that's all for this week! sorry if this is, a bit dense, we'll see how much i write in the future, it may continue to be kinda dense like this, or maybe it'll be more brief, depending on how busy i am and how i'm just generally feeling about writing, but yeah:) hope you guys enjoyed this one a little bit atleast hopefully? also an additional note, but i've been trying to mostly watch these with my dad this year so that's been fun! anyways, now onto the next batch...

see you guys next week! ~☆

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