Treehouse of Horror XXIII

Directed by:	Steven Dean Moore
Written by:	David Mandel Brian Kelley
Release date:	October 7, 2012
Running time:	23 minutes

"Treehouse of Horror XXIII" is the 23rd Halloween episode of The Simpsons, originally aired on Fox on October 7, 2012 and March 24, 2013 in the UK on Sky 1.

Synopsis

Opening sequence

In the height of the Maya civilization called Chitzen Itza, a sacrifice is about to take place to prevent the end of the world from happening at the end of the 13th Baktun. A Mayan Homer, who has been fattened up to be sacrificed, hears about it for the first time (as he did not pay attention during orientation) and attempts to back out to no avail. However, his wife, a Mayan Marge, tricks a guard, a Mayan Moe, into getting himself sacrificed instead by promising him sex. After the sacrifice, a Mayan Professor Frink confirms that the world will end after the 13th Baktun, which, accounting for the Gregorian calendar and the birth of Jesus, puts the end of days in the year 2012 (with the Mayan Mayor Quimby placing the blame on Obama).

In the present, Homer encounters three Mayan stone gods, mistaking them for the trick-or-treaters. One of them steps on Homer with blood spewing, then the second one jumps on Flanders' house. The stone trio wreak havoc on Springfield where one stone god throws fireballs at the city hall and throws Lard Lad's donuts trying to hit a UFO and then the world, destroying the popular landmarks like the Eiffel Tower crashing to Big Ben, wrapping up the Great Wall of China, and letting the George Washington head kiss Abraham Lincoln's head in Mt. Rushmore causing rivers of lava to appear, and splitting the earth into large fissures. Once their destruction is done, they high five then they fly off, leaving the Earth to explode. In its place, the bloodied title, "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" appears.

The Greatest Story Ever Holed

The citizens of Springfield gather to witness the activation of the Springfield Particle Accelerator, although they originally wanted to use the money to build a new baseball stadium, but Lisa convinced them otherwise. Professor Frink activates the machine and it works, but nothing exciting happens, and everyone blames Lisa for her suggestion (with Lenny adding that the money they wasted on the particle accelerator could have been used for a war). When everyone is gone, two particles collide with each other and create a small black hole which floats off. Lisa finds it, and after it sucks up Ralph and Nelson, she takes it so that it will not cause any more trouble. The Simpsons put it in the basement and Lisa warns them not to throw anything in it or otherwise it will grow bigger, but of course Homer, Bart and Marge decide to use it as a trash disposal, and Homer even opens a business allowing people to throw their junk into it. But the black hole becomes huge and consumes everything in sight. The only person who is not sucked in is Maggie, whose pacifier flies into the black hole, inexplicably stopping it. Meanwhile, all of Springfield has been warped to an alternate planet, where aliens worship their trash.

Un-Normal Activity

When strange events occur at the Simpson house, Homer sets up cameras to photograph what is haunting them over a period of fifteen days. The culprit, while attempting to abduct Maggie, is revealed to be a Moe-like demon with whom Marge made a deal to save her sisters who summoned the demon as part of a Satanic ritual. However, as part of the deal to leave Patty and Selma alone, the demon would return 30 years later to take Marge's favorite child as payment (which turns out to be Maggie, much to Lisa's shock). Homer manages to convince the demon to relinquish the bargain in return for Homer to reluctantly engage in three-way sex with him and another demon.

Bart and Homer's Excellent Adventure

Bart travels back to 1974 in Professor Frink's time machine to buy a comic book at 25 cents instead of the current $200 price at the Android Dungeon. He then finds Homer in high school, just moments before he meets Marge for the first time (as seen in the season two episode "The Way We Was," when the two met each other in detention). Before Bart returns to 2012, he tells Marge (who is already angry at teenage Homer for strangling Bart and constant demanding over her to be his prom date) to never get married to Homer. When Bart returns to 2012, he finds that Artie Ziff is now his father and the family is rich and successful, to the point where Nelson Muntz is now hired as Bart's butler and personal punching bag. 1974 Homer, who stowed away into the trunk of the time machine, finds out about Marge and meets 2012 Homer, who wants Marge. The two devise a plan, summoning every time incarnation of Homer to beat up Artie. Though the Homers lose badly despite greatly outnumbering Artie, they wind up winning over Marge, who takes pity on the beaten Homers.

In an alternate ending, Homer and Marge kiss passionately and Bart and the house are normal again while Ziff becomes a ghost and disappears. Then a mini head appears of Homer shoulder and asks Marge if she has a little sister.

Reception

Ratings

The episode received a 3.1 in the 18-49 demographic, coming second in the Animation Domination lineup behind Family Guy, which had a 3.4. It earned a total viewership of 6.57 million, also coming in second behind Family Guy, which had 6.70 million viewers, but beating American Dad, Bob's Burgers, and The Cleveland Show. Its UK premiere on March 24, 2013 on Sky 1 was watched by a total of 1.31 million viewers.

Critical reception

The episode received generally positive reviews. Robert David Sullivan of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B and gave a fairly positive review, commenting, "In the early years of The Simpsons, the annual 'Treehouse Of Horror' outing was a fun contrast to most of the show’s episodes. There was no warmth, no subtlety, no lessons learned, and no attempt at a coherent story—just a lot of gross-out humor and a chance to see Springfield stretched even further past reality. Now that entire show has adopted these qualities, the Halloween tradition doesn't seem as special. But, like the couch gag at the start of each episode, 'Treehouse Of Horror' tempts us with the chance to see something that doesn't feel borrowed (and a bit dumbed down) from the show’s glory years."

Gallery

External links

• The Simpsons Wiki: Treehouse of Horror XXIII
• "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" recap at TV Tropes