Treehouse of Horror IV/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Rosebud

Treehouse of Horror IV

Marge on the Lam ►

Trivia

• The Jury of the Damned includes Lizzie Borden, Benedict Arnold, Blackbeard, Jonathan Dillinger, John Wilkes Booth, The Starting Line of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers, and Richard Nixon (who, at the time, wasn't dead, and was implied to be in the Jury of the Damned because he sold his soul to the Devil to either be U.S. President or get out of being impeached for the Watergate scandal. Six months after this episode aired, the real Richard Nixon did die).
• Also, the 1976 Flyers in this episode sport blue and white jerseys. In real life, the team's colors are orange and black.
• In the beginning of "Bart Simpson's Dracula", the boat picture in the living room is replaced by the Dogs Playing Poker picture.
• Homer's appearance with his donut head, after the devil curses him is an alternate costume in level 7 of The Simpsons: Hit and Run.
• This is the third Treehouse of Horror to have the cast's names changed because of Halloween e.g. Bat Groening. The first two being Treehouse of Horror II and Treehouse of Horror III.
• "Terror at 5½ Feet" is mistitled Nightmare at 5½ Feet in The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family.
• This is one of the two Halloween specials where Lisa is about to be bitten by a vampire only to be interrupted, the other special was Treehouse of Horror XXI.
• Beginning with this episode, every Treehouse of Horror, has the Gracie Films logo screams except for Treehouse of Horror II and Treehouse of Horror III.
• In The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular, there is a deleted scene which shows Lionel Hutz returning with an empty pizza box. In the final version, Hutz appears to have escaped for some unknown reason.
• This is the last Halloween Special to use bridging sequences between segments.

Goofs

The Devil and Homer Simpson

• When Homer says to the Devil that if he eats the left part of the donut he is going to be in Hell, the left part has some pink cream and sugar. When Homer eats it, however, the pink cream and the sugar disappear.
• Homer is in his pajamas when the Devil sends him to Hell, but when he lands in Hell, he is in his regular clothes.
• Homer is being cut by a Hell creature. But when he is in the Hell labs, he is in one piece.
• Homer gets fat when he eats all the donuts but when he is at the trial, he loses all of the weight he gained.

Terror at 5½ Feet

• When the camera zooms at Bart and Lisa talking, the bowl Marge is holding and the bowls on the table are empty. But when Marge puts the bowl on the table, the bowls are full of cereal and oatmeal.
  • Also, The bowl Marge was holding doesn't have a spoon on it. But when she puts it on the table, a spoon appears on it.
• When the camera zooms on Bart starts eating, there is a bowl of cereal with a spoon beside Bart's bowl. But when the camera zooms on the family, the bowl and the spoon disappear.
• In the scene of the family and Homer holding the things he found on the pier, Bart has his hands on the table. But in his close-up, he has one hand with a spoon of cereal.
• Bart and Lisa do not have backpacks when they enter the bus.
• Uter is on the left side of the seat. But when Milhouse sit on the seat, Uter is on the right side of the seat.

Bart Simpson's Dracula

• In the news, Mr. Burns has some blood in the left side of his face. But when he licks the blood, the blood is on the right side of his face.
• When Lisa opens the curtain, Janey, Ralph, Milhouse and Martin are not there. But in the next scene, they appear.
• When the family is ready to bite Lisa, Maggie have her mouth open with her fangs. But in a split second, a pacifier appears on her mouth.

Citations

Opening sequence

• In the opening sequence the following tombstones can be read, "Elvis Accept It, A Balanced Budget, Subtle Political Satire, and TV Violence," with several gun shots being fired at it.
• The tombstone about Elvis is a reference to the conspiracy theory that Elvis is still alive.
• At the beginning, a painting that Bart passed by is Lisa in a version of The Scream. Marge shadow on wall (in the style of de Chirico) Homer (Van Gogh's self portrait) Maggie with melted pacifiers (Dali's "Persistence of Memory")Lisa playing sax (Picasso's "Three Musicians") Homer chasing Bart (Escher's "Ascending and Descending") Lisa (Picasso's "Three Musicians").  The final story that Bart passes is the paintings of Bart behind an apple (Magritte's self-portrait, "The Son of Man") and that stupid "Dogs Playing Poker" picture.
• This is a parody of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery".

The Devil and Homer Simpson

• The episode is a parody of the 1941 film, The Devil and Daniel Webster.
• The demon who is feeding Homer donuts says: "I don't understand it. James Coco went mad in fifteen minutes!" James Coco was a character known in the 1970s...He parodied the Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, penned by Agatha Christie. In the movie, James Coco’s character throws a volley of subtle food jokes. In his last years, Coco received attention for his culinary talents and best-selling cookbooks. The James Coco Diet, an educational book which included chapters on menu planning and behavior modification as well as choice recipes), was just one that he promoted on the talk show circuit. It is probably not a coincidence that he often played characters with extreme food issues.
• When the Devil Flanders gets angry at Homer at the nuclear power plant, the form he assumes is exactly like the demon Chernabog in "A Night on Bald Mountain segment" from Fantasia.
• Homer's ironic punishment of being force-fed donuts is a parody of the Merrie Melodies cartoon Pigs is Pigs.
• Lionel Hutz combs his hair the way ariel combs her hair from The Little Mermaid.
• Lionel Hutz references Webster's Dictionary.
• Domino's Pizza 30 minutes or it's free" from Lionel Hutz.

Terror at 5½ Feet

• The episode is a parody of the Twilight Zone episode, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.

Bart Simpson's Dracula

• The episode is a parody of the 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula.
• the winding road up to the castle the front door opening by itself Burns materializing on the stairs Burns' clothing Burns' shadow having a life of its own.  Plus it had those horrifying pointy fingers. The spookiness of the vampire's shadow was one of the best elements of the film "Nosferatu".
• The painting for the segment is the famous painting Dogs Playing Poker.
• Eddie throws the Mona Lisa painting on the fire.
• The book "Yes, I am A Vampire" is Written by Monty Burns and Foreword by Steve Allen.
• Bart Simpson does impressions of Shemp and Curly from "The Three Stooges".
• Bart floating outside the window as a vampire from "Salem's Lot"/"The Lost Boys".
• At the end of Bart Simpsons Dracula the segment transitions into a parody of the Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Closing sequence

• In the closing credits of the episode the end music is spoofing the famous Addams Family theme song with the Simpsons theme song in it.

Notes

◄ Season 4	Season 5 References/Trivia	Season 6 ►
Homer's Barbershop Quartet • Cape Feare • Homer Goes to College • Rosebud • Treehouse of Horror IV • Marge on the Lam • Bart's Inner Child • Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood • The Last Temptation of Homer • $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) • Homer the Vigilante • Bart Gets Famous • Homer and Apu • Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy • Deep Space Homer • Homer Loves Flanders • Bart Gets an Elephant • Burns' Heir • Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song • The Boy Who Knew Too Much • Lady Bouvier's Lover • Secrets of a Successful Marriage