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Treehouse of Horror XV
All's Fair in Oven War
Treehouse of Horror XIV
Treehouse of Horror XV
Treehouse of Horror XVI

Previous Episode References[]

  • "Barting Over": Perfect Strangers is parodied.
  • "Treehouse of Horror II":
    • A Halloween story where a character (Bart/Flanders) get amazing mental powers
    • A Halloween story where Homer and Mr. Burns are stuck together in a grotesque way (Mr. Burns' head is on Homer's shoulder/Homer is stuck inside Mr. Burns' body).
    • The monkey's paw from Lisa's dream appears on the curio shop desk.
  • "Marge vs. the Monorail": Sebastian Cobb (the scientist who tried to help Marge stop the monorail) is one of the opium addicts in "Four Beheadings and a Funeral"
  • "Treehouse of Horror VI": Homer ends up in an unusual location and finds good luck (Homer gets sucked into the real world and goes to an erotic cake shop/Homer ends up in Heaven and God Himself gives Homer his Frisbee back).
  • "Homer the Heretic": Homer is friends with God.
  • "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy": Someone gets their missing Frisbee back (the kid who threw it into Stacy LaVelle's yard/Homer gets it in Heaven).
  • "Treehouse of Horror VIII": A nuclear attack/disaster destroys Springfield
  • "Treehouse of Horror VII": Lisa shrinks.
  • "Saturdays of Thunder": A Simpson (Bart/Homer) pays attention to every word of a character's (Martin/Ned) warning except for the crucial "don't".

Censorship[]

  • Over in Australia, this episode became the first Treehouse of Horror episode (and the third episode overall) to be rated "M" (suitable for viewers 15 and over while those under 15 must watch with adult supervision) due to graphic violence (including violence towards female sex workers), disturbing imagery (the body horror in "In the Belly of the Boss"), and scenes of characters (one of which is a child) smoking opium. The only other episodes rated "M" in Australia are "Natural Born Kissers" (for strong sexual content and scenes of nudity) and "Weekend and Burnsie's" (for moderate violence and frequent scenes of marijuana smoking).

Cultural references[]

  • Perfect Strangers: In the opening segment, the closing credits appear over freeze frames from the episode, with the song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" playing behind them. This is done in the style of the 1980s sitcom "Perfect Strangers."
  • Gypsy: Homer's comment, "Everything's coming up Homer!" is a reference to the song "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from the Broadway musical Gypsy.
  • The Dead Zone: The title and general concept of "The Ned Zone" is taken from this 1979 Stephen King novel, which has been adapted into a 1983 movie starring Christopher Walken and, in 2002, a serial drama starring Anthony Michael Hall. In all three, a mild-mannered man experiences psychic visions after receiving a blow to the head and going into a coma.
    • Coincidentally, both Christopher Walken and Anthony Michael Hall have ties to Saturday Night Live (which is where a lot of Simpsons writers got their start): Walken was a frequent host of the show from 1990 to 2008 while Anthony Michael Hall was a cast member during the 1985-1986 season [which also had Jon Lovitz -- the voice of Artie Ziff, Jay Sherman, Aristotle Amadopolis, Mr. Lombardo, Llewelyn Sinclair, and Llewelyn's sister -- as a cast member], becoming the show's youngest cast member at age 17 and the only one who was simultaneously under 18 and under 21 at the time he was hired.
  • Minority Report: Both Ned and the main character of this film are exposed to a vision of the future in which they murder someone unpremeditatedly.
  • X-Men Evolution: The first segment is much similar to the X-Men Evolution (Film Roman who produced the series was the animation services for this show.) episodes as "Rogue Recruit", "Power Surge" and "Self Possessed", When Ned he touches in somebody is very like the character Rogue when she touches in someone.
  • The Twilight Zone: The Ned Zone is reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode called "The Purple Testament." The title card is also animated in TZ style.
  • The Bridge on the River Kwai: The scene where Homer falls onto the core destruct button is very similar to the scene where Colonel Nicholson falls onto the plunger.
  • Four Weddings and a Funeral: The name of "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" is taken from the name of this 1994 romantic comedy film.
  • Pygmalion: In the second segment, Marge is portrayed as a "proper-Cockney flower girl" which is a reference to Eliza Dolittle the main leading character of the English Play.
  • From Hell: Four Beheadings and a Funeral is based on this 2001 horror mystery film since the film itself is based on the Jack the Ripper murders.
  • Sherlock Holmes: Lisa's character in "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" resembles Sherlock Holmes, and Bart's character is reminiscent of Dr. Watson.
  • China: In "Four Beheadings and a Funeral," Mr. Burns has unusually long fingernails. This is a reference to ancient China, when very rich or important people grew their fingernails long as a sign that they had no need to work in the fields, like the poor did. Also, the opium he is so fond of originated there.
  • A Christmas Carol: C. Ebezener Burns's name is a reference to Mr. Burns's title of C. Montgomery Burns and Ebenezer Scrooge, the character of the story. 
  • The Adventures of Little Nemo: The ending segment of "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" with Ralph and Chief Wiggum flying on a bed from the novel and animated film The Adventures of Little Nemo.
  • Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Ralph Wiggum flies away on a bed.
  • Fantastic Voyage: "In the Belly of the Boss" is a parody of this 1966 science fiction film. Sure, Homer even utters the title when he regard to Marge's skimpy outfit.
  • In the Belly of the Beast: The name of "In the Belly of the Boss" is taken from the name of this book.
  • Jack the Ripper: In "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" the whole story about the police officer being the killer is an actual Jack the Ripper theory. The theory was that a former officer of Scotland Yard was the Ripper, but was proven false because he suffered strokes before the murders occurred.

Goofs[]

  • The 20th Century Fox Television logo's music uses the 1989 music instead of the 1997 music along with Treehouse of Horror 18 and 20.

The Ned Zone[]

  • The number of buttons on Dr. Hibbert's coat changes from four to three and back to four again in the scene where he says "Alright, but I swear by God, this is the very last time."
  • Flanders wakes up in the hospital without his glasses. After he shakes Dr. Hibbert's hand and foresees his death (when the camera zooms in towards his eye), he is wearing them. Then, when they zoom out, he is not wearing them anymore.
  • When Flanders foresees Dr. Hibbert's death, he is restrained to the bed, but when Hibbert dies he is by the window.
  • When Chief Wiggum throws Homer the gun, the window is still closed.
  • Homer's bullet wounds are seen throughout the scene staggering around the sealed chamber, but they vanish when his tongue falls onto the Core Destruct button.

Four Beheadings and a Funeral[]

  • When Selma dies her tongue moves up when the sword is pulled out but it would be impossible as the tongue would have been down instead of up.

In the Belly of the Boss[]

  • When Marge looks over to Maggie's empty stroller there are unclasped straps where there were none before.
  • When Marge points out that the white blood cells are eating her clothes, she is stripped to her undergarments. However, when she later exits the ship she is seen in the clothing she was wearing beforehand. It's possible there was another suit on the ship.
  • Mr. Burns' underwear design changes from briefs to boxers.
  • Mr. Burns points out that even Frink's pen can hurt him, but Homer's body couldn't cut up Mr. Burns' skin.


Season 15 Season 16 References/Trivia Season 17
Treehouse of Horror XVAll's Fair in Oven WarSleeping with the EnemyShe Used to Be My GirlFat Man and Little BoyMidnight RxMommie BeerestHomer and Ned's Hail Mary PassPranksta RapThere's Something About MarryingOn a Clear Day I Can't See My SisterGoo Goo Gai PanMobile HomerThe Seven-Beer SnitchFuture-DramaDon't Fear the RooferThe Heartbroke KidA Star is TornThank God It's DoomsdayHome Away from HomerThe Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star
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