Rate & Review: "Treehouse Of Horror XIV" (EABF21)

[Cole]

"Reaper Madness" - Death becomes H(om)er and our hero must learn to reap what he sews (and pull a fast one on the almighty).

"Frinkenstein" - Soon to be Nobel-prize winning Professor Frink reanimates Professor Frink Senior (played by Jerry Lewis) for some gruesome body parts-swapping.

"Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off" - Clockstoppers spoof, starring Bart and Milhouse.
You know the drill. Thread will open after the episode airs.

Mods: feel free to edit the poll with clever voting options.

[Blinky]

This space for rent.

I enjoyed it!

[used]

charlie brown costumes = genius

ok, the first semgent is great and all, but holy fucking family guy ripoff batman. I guess it was meant as a ripoff of that tim allen santa claus movie, but family guy did the exact same plot. I suck at voices, was that maggie roswell as mrs. hoover? Homer getting chased again was dumb, and by god no less
3.5/5
second segment penis joke was stupid. Jerry Lewis was excellent. Skinners mom getting mad at him for losing his spine was nice. Jennifer Garner was a pointless guest star, but it was short enough to forgive. Though the guy disagreeing with her was funny. reference to first segment is cool.
4/5
the third segment - evil kenivel joke was funny. This segment is the best one. The segment with homer at work was genius. Milhouse wanting to play naked basketball wasn't funny. I like thats barts hair is the same as the future ep. Making martin the scapegoat was genius. ending was kinda stupid, ruined it a bit.
4.5/5
overall very good. solid 4/5 episode, best treehouse of horror ep in a while.

edit: got in right before the rush
edit2: fixed spelling, added word batman to first segment review for humour.

[perfectlycromulent]

very meh
the only part i really dug was the clockstoppers parody

[Eggy]

It was pretty good. A lot better than last years train reck (minus Send in the Clones).

The intro was decent, and Kang and Kodos were great.

Reaper Madness was probably the best of the three. Frinkenstein didn't really do it for me, but it wasn't bad, and I rather enjoyed Stop the World.

Here's how I'd rate them:

Reaper Madness - 4/5
Frinkenstein - 2.5/5
STWIWTGO - 3.5/5

I'll give it a 4/5 overall.

AND THE SCARY NAMES ARE BACK!!! But stupid Fox had to push over the ending credits.

[IdRathaHavaBeer]

Reaper Madness: 4/5
Frinkenstein: 2/5
Stop the World, I want to Goof Off: 4.5/5 (Just because I've always dreamed off having time stopping power exactly like that)

[Necromancer]

Pretty damn meh, and I'm being generous. Oscar Delahoya and Jennifer Garner guest stars were wholely unnecessary. Jerry Lewis's performance was sub-par.

Reaper Madness was the only good segment. The other two were only half decent.

[skittlebrau]

Anybody who saves their own space at the beginning (or anywhere else) of this thread just so they can be "1 of teh furst posts in teh thred!!1", that particular post will get deleted and you will wear some fresh warning points, got it?

[Datoupee]

As much as I like Oscar why was he needed for this episode along with Jennifer Garner ?

With that said... 4/5. A new rating system from me this season. Tomacco will be pleased.

[brazilian812]

not great, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. favorite joke was when Homer took Death out to the curb WITHOUT enthusiasm. but Stop the World was best out of the three.

[magus7000]

intro:
4/5
great kang/kodos moment with november and xmas

reaper madness:
3/5
even though it was a lot like family guy, it still had its moments.

frinkinstein:
2/5
jerry lewis was funny, but the whole ep wasnt that scray/funny

clock stoppers:
5/5
very much enjoyed it. when they were messin with homer and quimby were great. the part with martin was great too.

[Zero the Hero]

Heh, batman and rhoda.

The clockstoopper thing was awesome!

I give it a 4/5 because the first was just wasnt enough. It wasnt bad I just mean it was short and stuff.

Im gonna play naked basketball!

[Eddie]

All the segments were very clever, interesting, and well-animated. But, unfortunately, they were only mildly amusing, most of the guest stars were used poorly, and the pacing was too abrupt. (Though I did love the return of the Halloween names.)

"Reaper Madness": 6/10
"Frinkenstein": 6/10
"Stop the World, I want to Goof Off": 7/10

Overall: 6/10

[Mr.Bunny]

I thought it was a pretty good episode overall. Great jokes, good lines, thoughtout segment. The costumes/Christmas scene was great.

The beginning segment(Reaper Madness) was pretty good. It had several good jokes such as:
The "wind" part, british humor gag, "I liked Doug", the 3 Stooges bit, the train/God scene.

Frinkenstein: I thought this segment of the show was better than the Reaper Madness one. The jokes that stand out:
Frinks invention, his fathers schedule, the shower bit, the Skinner scene was great, I thought ever joke past the Nobel Prize speech to the the end wrapped up very nice. It had great jokes and catchy lines to remember.

Stop the World, I want to goof off: The jokes I liked:
Milhouse gags, his family part, the Homer donut scene, Martin scene, and the last family scene.

Besides Jerry Lewis, the guest stars were not much use. But I liked this episode. 4/5


Edit: What was the deal with the naked traffic cop?

Also what is with hate for the Frinkenstein. It wasn't much like a halloween episode, but it was a good skit.

[conor.]

I loved it all.

reaper madness: 4.5/5
Frinkenstien:3/5 not the greatest, but some good history on frink which we really don't know too much about.
Stop the World, I want to goof off:5/5 AWESOME probaly one of my favorite treehouse of horror segments.

Favorite quotes:
"Milhouse do you still have your change purse?"
"This isn't marge, it's her sister selma" "That's Patty!"
"Don't take me, take Milhouse, we all know there's no happy ending there."

Also, is this the first time, the word "Penis" has been said on the simpsons? I'm Sure Jonah will know the answer or some other huge fan, it seems like its the first time they have said it, possibly the censors are letting off?

[Cole]

"Reaper Madness" 3/5
"Frinkenstein" 2/5
"StopStop the World, I Want to Goof Off" 4/5

Pretty dissapointing start to the season. There were some decent jokes and bits but so many more that made me want to cringe. I'll be generous and give this episode a 3/5.

[Andy]

Quite good for a THOH; in fact, probably better than THOH XIII. Had some clever storylines.

Reaper Madness: Clever... I know it's a FG retread but still very Simpsony-original.
Frinkenstein: I love Jerry Lewis. Great to hear him, and his performance was decent at worst.
Stop The World...: Probably the best one, as it was pretty nifty.

Opener: Go Kang and Kodos! And the scary names are BACK. Not an EXCELLENT THOH, but still not horribly unwatchable.

Next week looks awesome. Can't wait.

Also, to answer the penis question: Homer the Moe was the first episode. "After Chernobyl, my penis fall off..."

[used]

no, i remember kent brokmen said penis once, to prove that his newscast was live

edit: look three posts up. damn fast replies.

[Tomacco]

Might surprise many of you, but I thought each segment got better after the other. I wasn't as impressed with "Reaper Madness" as others seemed to have been.

[magus7000]

the ending was very similar to THoH V where it was part of the last segment, but somewhat disjointed. i loved the ending. "...Goof off" was one of the best THoH segments ive seen in a long time.

[Hapablap]

If this is an example of what is to come this season, I say bring it on. I really enjoyed the whole episode, nothing too crazy, just good stuff, overall. I'd like to think they've toned down the insane whacky shit and are getting back to the "subtlety" that I've grown to love from the show. I give er' a 4/5. Especially compared to the last few thoh's - spectacular!!

[brentholomew]

Am I the only one who thought that was the best THOH in 5 years? God, that was great! Each segment was incredibly clever and witty. 5/5!

[bmac]

Intro: 9/10. Although it kind of shocked me when they started hurting each other i loved it. Loved how Homer shot Marge and the blood splattered on the wall. Also enjoyed Kang & Kodos' annual appearance, thought it was funny that they made light of the fact that it's November.

Reaper Madness: 7/10. This segment (the beginning especially) reminded me of the Family Guy ep "Death Is A Bitch". Still pretty enjoyable up until it's revealed that Homer killed Patty instead of Marge and taped her hair on. Thought "God" chasing Homer was pretty stupid as well. Liked the enjoy though, simplistic and enjoyable.

Frinkenstein: 6/10. Pretty subpar segment, didn't find it all that funny and was kind of a little weird for my tastes. Jerry Lewis' guest starring appearance wasn't all that special either. Still had a few redeeming qualities though. Neat to see Prof. Frink have his own THOH segment

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: 8/10. Best and funniest segment of the episode. Good premise and pulled it off pretty well. I laughed the most during this segment. Thought it was kind of far fetched when it took Bart and Milhouse fifteen years to read the stop watch fixing book, but that's probably one of my only gripes from this segment.

Overall: 7/10. Maybe a 7.5 generously. Had some good moments but fairly average overall, nothing special.

[SpongeBob No Pants]

Reaper madness - very good, although it was a clear rip off of family guy 3.5/5

Frinkenstein - this one just sucked, frink is not funny and jerry lewis seemed like he didn't know he was supposed to act funny - 2/4

Stop the world... - this is a classic THOH segment, simply the best of the show, all the jokes were dead on and the plot was interesting - 5/5

overall i'd give the ep a 4/5

[Sam]

More in depth review with my old pro's/con's next week, plus a NEW RATING SYSTEM FOR ME.

But for this week, I liked it alot.

Reaper Madness: 4/5
Second One: 3.5/5
Third One: 5/5

They all had good parts. Alot of references to pop culture...typical post-Scully era. Third one was a great idea with some well executed jokes and an awesome ending.

(Beep)

[Toxic Monkey]

loved it. intro was great. nice to see the name thing being brought back.

loved the first segment, especially when homer tricks god. that was gold. "im too weak and rich for this." also the be benny hill skit, awesome. :LOL:

the second segment was sorda weak though. did not like it, too boring and produced very few laughs.

third segment was gold as well. cbg with a lightsaber, awesomeness.

overall a 4/5. :thumbsup:

[Jolly Bengali]

Just awful. Very Family Guy-esque.

[or_smth]

Very meh. Not much to say about the THOH, other then to hope that this doesn't represent the rest of the season. Great concepts spoiled by bad implementation (with noticeble exception of frinkenstein, which was a pretty bad concept).

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the clockstoppers segment and most of the intro (though I don't like the openings where they don't show a version of the main intro). Good to see that scary names are back. At least they are trying :)

[Crotis Jivefunk]

Opening-4/5
Reaper Madness-4/5
Frinkenstein-4/5
Stop the World, I Wanna Goof Off-5/5

An improvement over last year, no question. I'll call it a day and give it a 4/5.

[NoOneFamous]

Ah yes, its that time again, for me, one of NHC's more cynical reviewers to um... start reviewing... once again.. yes that'll do. On with the episode review!

Opening: The Charlie Brown costumes were funny, but then the family kills each other for no reason. Stupid and confusing? Yes. Writers not trying at all? Yes. But Kang and Kodus saying that its now November made up for it... at least for tonight. That won't make sense the next time this airs.

First segment:
The first segment, overall, was pretty good, except it started and ended so abruptly. Also, what an obvious ripoff of the Family Guy episode "Death is a Bitch." Whats also funny is that Family Guy did it 10 times better, and it was a regular episode for them. C+

Second Segment:
Just plain weird and confusing like "...huh?". It felt like Mike Scully was behind this segment. The ending was very much like the ending of Bye Bye, Nerdie and strong arms of the ma, where for some odd reason a bunch of voilence erupts out of nowhere. I call these "WTF" moments. The dialogue in this segment was pretty bad, too. Too many annoying pop culture references (which they think are witty stabs and you can just hear the writers thinking "zing!" but theyre really just bad dialogue that will show its age way too fast), and I hate when they say penis on the show. I don't know why. Finally, this was yet another segment that had absolutely no "Halloween/horror" feel to it. D+

Third segment:
Wow! Classic THOH material! This is what THOH is supposed to be! Not only was it a parody of a classic horror thing, it was imaginative and creative.. not just a bunch of wacky, gory "stuff" happening, like the previous 2 segments. I loved this segment. I've also always thought it would be awesome to be able to stop time, too, which made this even better. A+!

Conclusion: If all the segments could be like the 3rd one, I'd have loved this, but sadly the first 2 segments reflect all the reasons why the THOHs arent that funny or entertaining anymore (and havent really been for awhile) and I almost wish they would stop making them.

Overall episode grade: 3.5/5, or a C+ - very "meh" indeed, but a big improvement over last year's THOH.

~ NoOneFamous

[Handsome Pete]

Well, I have to start out by saying that this THoH is certainly better than the ones in previous years. Although I still disaprove of practically useless cameos (Oscar De La Hoya? Nah...though Garner and that one scientist together made me laugh), there were actually some good jokes for once, including some of Bart and Milhouse's pranks and Grandpa's "I'm still cold" bit at the beginning. Nothing really turned me off from this episode, and I did like some of the jokes this time around, so...3/5. Still room for improvement, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Any else feel like the slight continuity between two of the segments (Homer wishing he was still Death) was odd? I certainly wasn't expecting it.

[JonMDavis]

As someone who has been optimistic in the past, this was one of the worst stinkers I've seen. I'm quickly realizing that their tendancy to replace actual comedy with gratuitous violence is not a temporary adjustment. Homer becoming death? Wow, I've never seen that before...except for the Family Guy and most likely shows before that. Was there a reason to reuse the Benny Hill chase sequence after less than a year? The last segment made it at least watchable, but at least with the THOH episodes, violence has become their main focus. I can watch...well...Fox if I wanted that. But I want smart comedy, damnit.

[mayo]

Somewhat decent. I thought Reaper Madness was too short. Frinkenstein had some good moments. Stop the World was kind of lame.

Gotta love a show that lets Jennifer Garner co-host the Nobel Peace Prize awards.

3/5

[Wavy Gravy]

I've waited six long months for this. Six long, lonely months whiling away the time, anticipating the start of Season 15. And I must say, I was not disappointed tonight! This was one of the funniest THOHs I've seen in years. I do agree with Jonah that the segments got better as they went. The opening sequence was kinda random (reminded me of the "Family Guy" sequence where the Griffins beat each other up) but still good, especially Kang and Kodos' bit. "Reaper Madness" seemed awfully short but had some pretty good lines ("We don't want any", "I'm too old and rich for this", etc.) "Frinkenstein" was incredibly funny, and I must say Jerry Lewis was quite possibly the best choice for guest voice "The Simpsons" has made in years. But "Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off" was the cream of the crop, and I can't believe FOX didn't feature it in any promotions. This was the funniest Bart/Milhouse plot I've seen in I don't know how long ("I'm gonna play naked basketball!""No you're not"). And the best part of the episode - HALLOWEEN CREDITS ARE BACK! I was rolling when I saw "Produced by Everybody Loves Mike Scully". All in all, a very well-done (albeit belated) Halloween special - and with any luck, next year's THOHXV ought to air on October 31!

4/5

[Maddog53]

For me, this was easily the best THOH in the last four years. Opening segment was good and set the mood. Reaper Madness was an alright segment, some good jokes, and the ending was very well done (God chasing Homer). Frinkenstein I thought was the weakest segment. It just seemed to run on too long for my tastes. I liked the Jennifer Garner and the other guy bit...yes it was pointless, but it was funny. Stop... was the best segment of the bunch, almost near perfection in my eyes except for the ending which seemed to just end abruptly. That being said, I would rate this a 3.5/5 which I round down to a three to vote in the poll. An alright episode, better than the THOH in the past few years, but not great.

Maddog.

[squishee lady]

I definatly felt like all of the segments were rushed, I would rather have just seen two (preferably "Reeper Madness" and "Stop the world...") and have them expanded on. The only stuff I really laughed at was some segments during "reeper Madness" and the part in Frinkenstien that referred to "RM". Still, even though it wasn't ROTFL tye of funny, "Stop the World" was extremly clever.

Intro: Missed it :(
Reaper Madness: B
Frinkenstein: C
Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: B+
Overall: B-

[Stitchface]

Great Episode. I can't wait for this season. 4/5

[Eddie]

Originally posted by used
no, i remember kent brokmen said penis once, to prove that his newscast was live

Also, at the end of "Barting Over": "Possible side-effects: loss of scalp and penis." :(

[Moose of Doom!]

It was better than last years, but it really seemed like they didn't bother trying this year.

Opening was ok.

Reaper was somewhat good, although a Family Guy ripoff with a painfully bad cut-off ending. And was that an Akira reference?

Frinkenstein was the longest, or felt like the longest, and Jerry Lewis got annoying when his lines ended being a variation on "With the _________, and the _____, and the ____ _____ _____".

Goof Off was the funniest.

And I know this may start a controversy, but did any one else not only have problems with the lines, but with the way they were delivered?

Many of the lines could be summed up as the following:
"Pop culture reference?"
"WACKY PUNCHLINE!"

[bmac]

Also, is anyone else with many in thinking that next week's ep looks like it's going to be great? Very stoked for next sunday.

[Charmy]

D'oh! Didn't notice this thread so I posted my review somewhere else. Oh well. I copied it and put it here.

Rest assured, in minutes I was on the internet regestering my disgust with the world!

I'm just joking. I just always wanted to say that.

The opening scene was pretty much an excuse to watch the Simpsons beat each other up. Not very entertaining. Kang and Kodos had another tacked on appearance, but it was actually pretty good, quite possibly saving the opening. Still, watch for those loveable space freaks to be cut in syndication.

The critics were right, Reaper Madness was the best. It beats my predicted rating of B- and earns a B+. It had some failed jokes, but it managed to be pretty funny. The plot was nicely done most of the time, and it was much less 'wacky antics' than I expected (although there were still quite a few). It was also the creepiest of the three.

Frinkenstein failed to live up to my expectations. It didn't capture the creepy feel I was hoping for at all. The conflict was set up decently but took up too much screentime. There was never a reason given for Frink Sr.'s murderous rampage, and it was done too ridiculously. It also had more failed jokes than Reaper Madness and the final scene was completely pointless: It wasn't funny and added nothing to the story. Still, it was decent. B-, which is a lot less than my predicted A.

Stop The World I Want to Goof Off was pretty meh. It was fun watching Bart and Milhouse pull pranks, but the segment got pretty pointless after that stopped. The 'After-Prank' scenes weren't all that funny, and the final scene was even more pointless than Frinkenstein's finale. It get's a C+.

Overall it was a marked improvement over the last years THoH, and possibly the best in years, but nothing special. Gone are the days when THoH's were in the top five of the season, and managed to give off a creepy, distinctly Halloweeny feel. Still, the new ones are good for a few laughs. Looks like that's all were getting for a while.

Official THoH XIV Rating: B

One last note: Anyone get a chuckle at the 'Everybody Loves Mike Scully' Halloween credit?

[drekk]

"except you have no penis."
i don't want to start any discussions, but that's the worst line in the show. wtd?

[Rob G]

Anyone notice how Bart became 10 again with Lisa clicking the watch? Also thought it was funny how Homer referenced the first act in the second.

[Tomacco]

To tell you the truth, my biggest problem was that I didn't laugh enough, and groaned a couple times. For example, I knew a Curb Your Enthusiam line was coming a mile away.

[Firewalker]

The best THOH in years. I had a good feeling about this one and was pleased with the results. We've been waiting for a good THOH for along time, and we got one. You know it's gonna be good when the scary names return.

"Reaper Madness": Very good! Loved the Three Stooges gag. I figured it'd be a FG rip-off when I saw the promo, but I quickly forgot about it.

"Frinkenstein": Meh. It could have been done a lot better. No real laughs, and some of them made me cringe. But Lewis' performance is fine, and saves it from being a total trainwreck. Homer's comment about being in the last segment was pretty bad.

"Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off": The high point of the episode. Very funny and very clever.

4/5

[tim]

Reaper Madness: parts of it were funny; the ending was terrible (Except the motorcycle chase)

Frinkinstein: some more funny stuff (frink's dad, homer's reference to the last episode, BALSAC!). not even a bad ending

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: Very funny episode, especially Martin getting beat up.

Overall, if the rest of the season is like this episode... they're back!

[squishee lady]

Originally posted by Tomacco
To tell you the truth, my biggest problem was that I didn't laugh enough, and groaned a couple times. For example, I knew a Curb Your Enthusiam line was coming a mile away.

My feelings exactly. I did however just remember that I laughed out loud during the Homer/Nelson Moment in "Stop the world..." so I guess there WAS some LOL humor in that one.

[Bartman3010]

Nice episode. Better than last years, but not by much...

Looking foward to the next episode.

[Milhouse Van Houten]

One of my favorite THOH intros. "Puny humans do they know there having a halloween special in novemember?"
As far as the skits go Reaper Madness was pretty meh, Frinkinstein was god awfull and Stop the World, I want to Goof Off was amazing plain and simple. Although the first 2 segments (especially the second)really lacked they did have some fairly memorable quotes. All in all it was a decent episode, about the same as last years THOH (only minus a great cameo)

Intro-9/10
Reaper Madness - 6/10
Frinkinstein - 4/10
Stop the World, I want to Goof Off - 10/10

Overall - 7/10

[VeggtaGrrl]

it is ok, to much hype, not enough stuff.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by squishee lady
My feelings exactly. I did however just remember that I laughed out loud during the Homer/Nelson Moment in "Stop the world..." so I guess there WAS some LOL humor in that one.

Agreed. Best part of the episode.

[NoOneFamous]

Edit: What was the deal with the naked traffic cop?
It was in Sweden, right? Sweden is stereotypiclaly associated with nude, hot blonde girls, and in Europe, public nudity is OK.

Many of the lines could be summed up as the following:
"Pop culture reference?"
"WACKY PUNCHLINE!"
My thoughts exactly. Like I said in my review, I hate when they load episodes with this kind of dialogue. It just gives the episode a very throw-away, SNL-ish humor feel to it. Why can't they just work on memnorable lines instead of throwaway "zing!" one-liners?

[HomertheGreat]

Intro: Loved the Costumes, and I loved the Kang and Kudos bit. But I found it pretty disturbing for Homer to be beating up his kids, Halloween episode or not. B

Reaper Madness: Yeah it was an obvious rip-off of Family Guy, but the Simpsons still did it well and it made me laugh, so I was fine with it. I loved the ending also with Homer killing Patty and running from God. B

Frinkenstein: Ok I'll start with the positives. I liked the flashbacks and I liked the body part swapping, but other than that this segment wasn't very good. I wondered early on how they were going to fit all that information into an 8 minute short, and I was right to be concerned. Very clunky dialogue and unfunny jokes. C-

Stop the World...- Best segment, awesome. They took an idea that's been done millions of times and they made it funny. Bravo John. Nearly all of the pranks were hilarious and the jokes were good too (the exception would be Milhouse's naked basketball line, but that's just one joke) A

OVERALL: B-/B... One of the better THOH's of the double-digit seasons. Definately better than last years, and better than the year before that.

[The Master Con]

Hard to judge the season based on this episode. Since it is quite understandable that the short amount of time to explain the stories, amount of ideas that have already been used, and the fact that many of the writers dread the episode makes it an already bad experience. However the overall presentation of the episode and the jokes is a good sign of this season. Each segment ended "too soon" but at least there were fewer "cringe jokes" that in recent years. Only in the Frink's segment fell under the lines of a joke unsaid, is better than a bad one.

[jesle]

I've got to disagree with most of the people on here. I thought that tonight's THOH was one of the best in years. The opening sequence was hilarious and the nod to Peanuts always wins my approval (I'm a huge Peanuts fan and, in fact, am wearing a "Speak Softly and Carry a Beagle" t-shirt). Anyway, I guess my ratings would be:

Opening sequence: 5/5 Loved the line "I'm still cold" from Abe. Classic Simpsons.

Reaper Madness: 5/5 Although I expected this one to fall short of my expectations, I found it to be much funnier than the FG ep and had some classic Simpsons moments. I particularly loved the fact that "Marge" was Patty with Marge's hair attached! Great first act.

Frinkenstein: 3/5 This was the weakest act, IMHO, and Jerry Lewis did not salvage it. Some funny parts tho, like Frink's dad taking people's organs. I also enjoyed the continuity w/ Homer (a rare thing on the show nowadays). I actually didn't mind the use of Jennifer Garner. I thought they used her well and the other scientist was hilarious (I disagree.)

STWIWTGO: 5/5 A fantastic ending segment. Lots of great parts in this: Homer at the Power Plant (and Nelson naked!), the hilarious 70s comics, and I personally really liked the ending w/Lisa changing the family into different characters. Kind of a nod to older THOHs and I appreciate that.

All in all, a 4.5/5. This was a great episode with classic Simpsons appeal and if this is the way the season is progressing, I'm sure to enjoy it more than I have these past few years (tho last season wasn't that terrible).

[Tomacco]

Everyone I've spoken to about the episode, friends and people at other non-Simpsons boards, were unimpressed with this episode, unfortunately. In retrospect, it did kind of seem like that was a chore of an episode. Nothing seemed really inspired or brilliant. I'll elaborate later on.

[skittlebrau]

Reaper ended abruptly, Frink went on a little too long, Goof Off was greatness.

4/5 for Goof Off, which was the only good story. Other two, 2/5.

[America: Fuck Yea!]

it felt "forced" and "rushed"... with that said... I really enjoyed the entire segment 3 that was a parody of The Twilight Zone, "A Kind of Stop-Watch"...

[Kefka]

Wow.. that fucking sucked.

[brancely]

hmm... i thought clockstoppers was the worst of the three when i watched it, then i came on here and everyone thought it was the best one. this will require a repeated viewing. but, at face value, my scores are:

Reaper Madness: 8/10
Frinkenstein: 8/10
Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: 7/10

Overall: 8/10 ; 4/5 ; B+

[Tibor]

Best since THOH IX. Reaper Madness (A-) was awesome, the payoff at the end with Selma disguised as Marge was hilarious, but the funniest bit was Jasper and Homer/Death. I was, however, expecting Homer to paraphrase Oppenheimer when he put the robes on, and bemused that he didn't. It also had awesome direction and Clausen's music was great. Frinkenstein (C) was bland, uninspired. Jerry Lewis did a pretty good spot, though. Stop The World (B+) was great, as I predicted. Nice silly ending. The intro was... weird, and unfunny. The Kang and Kodos comments were funny though. All of the shorts seemed kind of meandering and the Frinkenstein segment was quite thin laughwise, but all in all, it was quite enjoyable.

B overall

And the promos (My Mother The Carjacker) were good for a change.

[Woogie31]

Jerry Lewis's guest spot made the first skit. And the Clockstoppers spoof was a classic, especially the part with Homer and Nelson being naked. The second one was rather dull. All in all...

4/5

[DotheBartman]

Guess its time to review again...

Opening: OUCH. At least at first. I realize this is a halloween episode but...do we really need to watch Homer beating up on the kids with a baseball bat, Bart stabbing Homer, and Marge blowing Homer's guts out? It was just disturbing, not funny, and the dialogue was horrible. Conversely, Kang and Kodos cracked me up (especcially their Christmas decorations :LOL: ). But this going back and forth between stupid and hilarious seems to be the theme for the rest of the episode. At least they finally added the spooky names in again (or were they in the last one? I don't remember now).

Reaper Madness: Geez, what a mixed segment. I liked the chase scene. I liked the revelation that he'd actually killed Patty instead. There were some other nice little touches. But there was also a lot of horrible dialogue and jokes that just didn't make sense, and the pacing still seemed too fast, even for a THOH. Plus, while I tried to go into this with an open mind, it started reminding me of the "Family Guy" episode way too quickly. Hey, didn't they accuse FG of being a rip of in the last THOH?....
C/C+

Frinkenstein: I repeat...what a mixed segment. Again, the pacing is hard to follow and overly strange even for a THOH, and some things just seem to fail. There's even an unneeded (and horribly unfunny) guest appearance. Then again, there's a lot to like. Frink's mannerisms (same with his father's for the most part, particulary his first lines when he wakes up), Lisa's explanation of the 21st century, Ned's death, Skinner's spine loss...too bad its all buried under such a mess.
Again, C/C+

Stop the World: Probaby the best one, though I'm not sure what that amounts to. It started off very well, and I loved watching Bart and Milhouse's initial hijinks. Basically everything up until Homer's head falls off was good. But it did deteriorate after that, and I don't think that's anymore evident anywhere else then it is in the ending with Lisa switching the versions of the family around. It just felt so...out of place, again even for a THOH.
B-

Overall: I'm not really sure what to say. Its just such a mixed bag, every sketch, nearly every moment. The whole thing just never seemed to stay particularly bad or particularly good for more then a minute or so. It seemed to hop back and forth between the hilarious and horribly unfunny. Its really very odd how mixed the whole thing was. I do need to give props to the animation direction, but the pacing was terrible.

C/C+ and I think I'm being kind of generious. I really hate to say this, but, maybe they should just stop doing THOH?

[newhook_1]

Opening 3/5: Kang, Kodos and Grandpa where funny but the rest seemed a bit blah.

Reaper Maddness 4/5: Thought it was very funny, but the story was terribly disjointed.

Frinkenstein 3/5: eh, it was ok I thought the whole noble prize bit at the end was overdone.

Stop The World I Want To Goof Off
5/5: One of my favorite THOH segments ever.

Overall 4/5 Great start to Season 15

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
Guess its time to review again...

Opening: OUCH. At least at first. I realize this is a halloween episode but...do we really need to watch Homer beating up on the kids with a baseball bat, Bart stabbing Homer, and Marge blowing Homer's guts out? It was just disturbing, not funny, and the dialogue was horrible. Conversely, Kang and Kodos cracked me up (especcially their Christmas decorations :LOL: ). But this going back and forth between stupid and hilarious seems to be the theme for the rest of the episode. At least they finally added the spooky names in again (or were they in the last one? I don't remember now).

Reaper Madness: Geez, what a mixed segment. I liked the chase scene. I liked the revelation that he'd actually killed Patty instead. There were some other nice little touches. But there was also a lot of horrible dialogue and jokes that just didn't make sense, and the pacing still seemed too fast, even for a THOH. Plus, while I tried to go into this with an open mind, it started reminding me of the "Family Guy" episode way too quickly. Hey, didn't they accuse FG of being a rip of in the last THOH?....
C/C+

Frinkenstein: I repeat...what a mixed segment. Again, the pacing is hard to follow and overly strange even for a THOH, and some things just seem to fail. There's even an unneeded (and horribly unfunny) guest appearance. Then again, there's a lot to like. Frink's mannerisms (same with his father's for the most part, particulary his first lines when he wakes up), Lisa's explanation of the 21st century, Ned's death, Skinner's spine loss...too bad its all buried under such a mess.
Again, C/C+

Stop the World: Probaby the best one, though I'm not sure what that amounts to. It started off very well, and I loved watching Bart and Milhouse's initial hijinks. Basically everything up until Homer's head falls off was good. But it did deteriorate after that, and I don't think that's anymore evident anywhere else then it is in the ending with Lisa switching the versions of the family around. It just felt so...out of place, again even for a THOH.
B-

Overall: I'm not really sure what to say. Its just such a mixed bag, every sketch, nearly every moment. The whole thing just never seemed to stay particularly bad or particularly good for more then a minute or so. It seemed to hop back and forth between the hilarious and horribly unfunny. Its really very odd how mixed the whole thing was. I do need to give props to the animation direction, but the pacing was terrible.

C/C+ and I think I'm being kind of generious. I really hate to say this, but, maybe they should just stop doing THOH?

You just made my life really easy by writing my review word for word.
Dammit, I hope this is one of the last times I agree with DTBM because last season, I was praising, and he was bashing.

[MacGyver 666]

The intro wasn't really that great but Kang and Kodos were hilarious.

Reaper Madness: Good first segment, (a lot of people say this is a Family Guy rip-off, but I don't think that is the case necessarily, people becoming death wasn't exactly invented by Family Guy) probably the most amusing part would have to be Jasper's interaction with Homer. If this was a Family Guy rip-off, the Simpsons pulled it off much better in my opinion; B+/B

Frinkenstein: Not much to say about this one, I was excepting a lot from it, but it left me disappointed; C

Stop The World I Want to Goof Off: I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I was laughing almost the whole way through. I think this segment was helped by it not giving away some of it's jokes in any of the commercials. Overall I would have to say this may be the best TOH segment it years; A

Overall; B+

[thecapecoddah]

"Stop the World, I want to Goof Off" was by far the funniest act, especially the very end of it. Awesome way to end an otherwise mediocre THOH. I was expecting much more out of "Frinkenstein" .... the majority of the jokes in that act fell flat for me.. which is weird since Frink's one of my favorite characters. "Reaper Madness" had some amusing moments but wasn't anything special IMO. Great opening with Kang & Kodos though.

Reaper Madness: B-
Frinkenstein: D
Stop the World: A
Overall: C+/B-

[Icedragon]

meh meh meh

Opening - The Charlie Brown Costumes were great (Bart should have gotten a rock...) the voilence seemed similar to the fight in the FG ep "Lethal Weapons", but it was different enough for me to not care that much.

Kang and Kodos - Being I love Monty Python more than I love the Simpsons, the metacomment from those two was great. I always wondered why the hell they put the THOH after the first Sunday after or on Halloween.

Rreaper Madness - total meh. I love the FG episode "Death is a Bitch", and as some people here think, FG did the plot 10 times better than this one. The motorcyle bit seemed deja vu-ish (thought I saw something like that last season or so).

Frinkenstien - I hate senseless celebrity cameos. It shows that a plot is thin, and writers are not putting enough effort into it. Jennifer Garner was not needed. The plot was thin, and the segment was long. The only redeeming quality was Homer wishing he was still Death. Worst segment.

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off - Best segment out of the bunch. Not really creepy as I would think THOH segments would be, but funny anyway. See above comment about Garner for thoughts on De La Hoya cameo.

I am anxious for next week's ep, though.

[Kefka]

Rreaper Madness - total meh. I love the FG episode "Death is a Bitch", and as some people here think, FG did the plot 10 times better than this one. The motorcyle bit seemed deja vu-ish (thought I saw something like that last season or so).

and that chasing bit... yea I haven't seen THAT before.

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Tomacco
You just made my life really easy by writing my review word for word.
Dammit, I hope this is one of the last times I agree with DTBM because last season, I was praising, and he was bashing.

Well, remember that I started to agree with you more towards the end, and was actually enjoying most episodes in the last two or three months of the season.

Still, yeah, I really hope this THOH doesn't indicate the quality of the rest of the season. They can obviously write some really good jokes, but there seems to be a pretty severe quality control issue, at least for this episode, in terms of which jokes go in and which don't. I almost wonder if they need some outside sources at this point to come in and give advice about which jokes work and which don't.

[Tibor]

How was Reaper Madness episode similar to "Death is a Bitch" in any way other than the basic concept that Death is put out of commission- trouble ensues? From the synopsis Spooner posted in the spec thread, they don't sound that similar at all.

[Jake]

Well, it's hard to be really excited when the best joke was in the credits: "Everybody Loves Mike Scully." Even so, the whole episode was a 3/5 across the board with each short having their moments. The only real complaint was the "Frinkenstein" seemed to drag on really, really, long.

[Stackhouse]

I think Robin said it best: Holy negative reviews, Batman!

Opening: Pretty meh, actually... Kang and Kodos were great, but everyone trying to kill everyone seemed.. odd. C-

Reaper Madness: Awesome. Myself never had seen the Family Guy episode, it didn't bother me at all. Great jokes. Top-notch stuff. B+

Frinkenstein: Ouch. Worst of the Bunch. It really wasn't that great, and I even kinda wanted it to end. Lewis did a great job guest-starring, and I liked a couple of jokes ("I wish I was death again.. that was cool") but alot of stuff bogged it down. And "penis" should never be used in the simpsons. D+

Stop the World, I want to goof off: Classic THOH material. Ties with Send in the Clones for the best THOH segment since the classic era. Very fun to watch, and had great jokes... A

Overall: Well, better than last years. Surely. I enjoyed it, and I thought it would be doing better on here. B-

On another note, next week is set to rock.

[vox]

Tonight’s episode was the best THOH in a while. The intro was funny, but Kang and Kodos seemed tacked on, and OFF killing each other was random. “Reaper Madness”, while not as good as I expected, was entertaining nonetheless. The Three Stooges bit was among the funnier parts. “Reaper Madness” gets an 8/10. “Frinkenstein” also failed to live up to expectations. It went on for a bit too long and it featured an absolutely pointless celebrity cameo. The penis joke was pretty tasteless as well. There were some funny parts, including Agnes’ comment to Seymour about his spine and Jerry Lewis was hilarious, but even he couldn’t save this segment from a 5.5/10. “Stop the World...” definitely takes the cake this year. It surpassed my expectations by a lot and there was barely a dull moment. Bart and Milhouse’s antics had me ROFL, and the Homer/Nelson scene was the best part of the whole episode. “Stop the World...” gets 9.5/10. THOH as a whole gets an 8/10.

[JonMDavis]

Originally posted by Tibor
How was Reaper Madness episode similar to "Death is a Bitch" in any way other than the basic concept that Death is put out of commission- trouble ensues? From the synopsis Spooner posted in the spec thread, they don't sound that similar at all.
Death visits the family, he's injured at their house, there's a period where nobody can die so there are scenes of people shooting and trying to kill each other but nothing is happening, the father takes over his job, the father abuses his power, and so on. It was a rip off, if you ask me, and a poorly done one at that.

[Icedragon]

1)Death comes after one of the members of the family

2)Death is unable to do his duties, so the father has to take on the role.

3)Both kill people instantly by merely touching them.

4)Peter can't go through with his killing the kids from Dawson's Creek. Homer cant go through with killing Marge. Both are also told to do it or they themselves will die.

[JMS]

There have been better Treehouse of Horror's episodes. This one was no "Shinning" though.

Opening was good. First part was alot like the Family Guy episode "Death is a Bitch", but it was still good. The whole Marge's hair on Patty at the end was funny. I didn't like the Frakenstein one too much, it had it moments though like with Principal Skinner. The time stopping one was ok. Kinda funny, especially when they implemented the future Bart and Millhouse and used Martin as a scapegoat.

[Spooner]

Friggin parents with their friggin HBO and their friggin Carnivale...

I missed it. Anyone knwo where I can illegally DL it?

[DotheBartman]

Tibor: well, aside from the basic concept itself, the "feeling" was very similar....way to Peter Griffin/"captain wacky". Plus, there were little things like Death tripping (thus instigating Homer/Peter to become Death) and both characters being reluctant to have to kill someone. Personally, I'm not sure it was so much of a rip-off as it was a case of "been there, done that". Which is still pretty sad given that Family Guy always was a little derivative of other programs to begin with.

[Icedragon]

Originally posted by Spooner
Friggin parents with their friggin HBO and their friggin Carnivale...

I missed it. Anyone knwo where I can illegally DL it?

Kazaa, try that in about 24 hours. Doubt any are up right now, but you never know.

[Tibor]

The thing is, somehow I doubt John Swartzwelder watches Family Guy.

[JMS]

Originally posted by Tibor
How was Reaper Madness episode similar to "Death is a Bitch" in any way other than the basic concept that Death is put out of commission- trouble ensues? From the synopsis Spooner posted in the spec thread, they don't sound that similar at all.

There were a few lines that were almost identical to the FG episode like the "You've created a world without death" quote. There was another that was strikingly similar when they mention that there cannot be death if death is not there, or something like that. The whole shooting of the mobster scene was alot like the barfight scene too.

But I'm not complaining. It was an ok episode.

[Tibor]

Those situations/gags would be bound to come up, even with the concept developed independently. They're gimmees.

[Rekart]

Ehh, 3/5. The shorts weren't all that good, the best getting a B+ and the worst a D+. Here they are:

Reaper Madness: Not the best short I've ever seen, but not especially bad. No really good jokes, although a few ok ones. I see where it can be compared to Death is a Bitch, though. Peter becomes Daeth, Homer becomes Death. Peter is supposed to kill someone, doesn't. Homer is supposed to kill someone, doesn't. But other than those similarities, two different things. Death is a Bitch was also better. B-

Frinkenstein: SUCKS. No good jokes, and it just wasn't funny. Frink didn't have any good lines, so the others didn't. D+

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: Best one, with a few good jokes. Homer & the donut thing, Nelson laughing at Homer naked, becomes naked too, it taking Milhouse and Bart 15 years to read that easy book, etc. But, these weren't hilarious. Entertaining short, but not spectacuarly so. B+

[Spooner]

Ha, it's so fun to see the excuses we've used to defend Family Guy employed by Simpsons fans.


Sound like near duplicates, but I won't judge until I illegally download and watch it for myself.

[pat]

You and me both Spooner. I had to set the timer on the VCR to tape it because of work...and the football game runs late. I'm forced to download too, and I still don't know what to expect. I've seen mixed reviews so far.

[My Little Needle]

Reaper Madness would've been good, but it's waaaaaay too Family Guy. Some good jokes but overall mediocre. The classic door segment was hilarious even though it's been done to death before and saved it. The plot wasridiculously condensed. 7.5/13 or a weak B-

As much as I love Frink, "Frinkenstein" was stupid and pointless. Devoid of humour except for a few chuckles at the Nobel Prize awards.
C-

Stop the World was great, chock full of laughs. Many actually funny popculture refs and a strong plot line and tons of WTF-LOL's. A-

Total: B-

[HundredGears]

I gave it an extra point for cleverly using two character's catchphrases;

Bart's "aye-carumba!" in the opening, and Nelsons "Haw! Haw?!" in Goof Off.

Reaper Madness Great hook. Disguising Selma (or was it Patty?) for Marge, and then God chasing Homer but relinquishing the chase at the tracks. ("I'm too old and rich for this.") Solid comedy gold. And another thing; Family Guy "borrowed" so much from the Simpsons that I think the the Simpsons "borrowing" back is more than acceptable.

Frinkenstein The only redeeming joke in this mess was Homer's allusion to the first segment. Ho-hum. Pointless gore. Blah. Although Garner was on later at 8, and the guest spot reminded me to tape Alias. Yowza.

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off Excellent story telling. Milhouse is still the dork we want him to be, and the ending was goof-tacular. Maybe not the best, but laughable.

4/5

[Spark Moon]

First Segment: Yah, it was very similiar to the 'Family Guy' episode, but I like both shows, so no big deal. Afew good laughs here and there.
B

'Frinkenstein': I got so bored with this within the first 2 minutes, I decided to watch something else, so I can't really comment. (But thank God for a TV that'll let you watch two things at once, heh)
D-

'Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off': LMFAO! This has to be one of the funniest THOH segments yet. So I pretty much echo the sentiments of everyone else. :)
A-

Over all, a 4/5 sans 'Frinkenstein', and a 3/5 with 'Frinkenstein'. :)

[Channel Surfer]

My Review (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeReviewPage/showid-146/epid-223790/blockid-79455/)

Sort of agree with the board in that "Stop the World" was the best, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to call it a classic though. Conversely, I don't think "Frinkenstein" was as trashy as others make it out to be. It really wasn't any worse than "Reaper Madness". All three segments could've worked on their endings, and the writers probably should've expanded "Reaper Madness" and condensed "Frinkenstein".

Actually, DotheBartman more or less summed up my feelings already, though I'm about a grade higher with all segments. All the complaints about pacing aside, all three segments still generally entertained, which is all I really ask. And none of these segments are worse than "The Fright" and "Island of" in last year's Halloween Special either.

Grade: B-

[Tibor]

Reaper Madness was too much of a sketch row. But a hilarious sketch row.

[C. Grant]

this was a great episode...

Reaper Madness - 4.5/5
overall it was the funniest one, if it hadnt been on Family Guy an was actually an original idea it woulda been a perfect 5...
Best part - when Homer was going thru the crowd and tried to poke the guy in the eyes and he blocks it, an then after he cant make up his mind just smacks him dead...

Frinkenstein - meh....3/5, what more can i say?... average, but it was funny when Homer said "i wish i was Death again, that was sweet" (or somethin like that)

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off - 4/5 i suppose, it was overall funny and a good idea, and pretty entertaining......it was cool as hell when they were chaning in to all that different shit at the end when Lisa was hittin the red button..

even tho the math doesnt equal out, i give it a 4.5/5 for total entertainment value, plus the intro kicked ass

[Eggy]

Ok, I've watched this episode a couple more times (4, to be exact), and here's my final word:

Intro - The fact that OFF were basically killing eachother didn't really bother me at first, and didn't bother me on repeat viewings, and Kang and Kodos were great. Much better than last year's terrible intro.

Reaper Madness - I don't care if it was a blatant rip-off of Family Guy. I enjoyed it. And unlike many here, I liked how it ended. 8/10

Frinkenstein - I got a few good laughs from it, but the whole concept could have been executed a lot better. But it's still 10x better than most of THOH XIII (Fright.., and Island.., to be specific). 5/10

Stop the World - Best of the three. Lots of laughs, and very entertaining to watch. I liked the ending, as well. 9/10

Overall - 7.5/10

[Icedragon]

Originally posted by JMS
There have been better Treehouse of Horror's episodes. This one was no "Shinning" though.


I seriously doubt anything could ever live up to that, the best THOH segment ever IMHO

[tomisapenguin]

the best part was when homer said "i wish i was death again , it was cool"

[Clarence]

Worst Hallowe'en episode ever!

[bovine_university]

Halloween specials have not been a forte of the past few years of the Simpsons, and this one was about in the same ballpark. The first story was pretty good, but that chase with Death at the beginning has been done twice already in the last year. I wasn’t expecting the plot point where Homer has to take Marge, and it was handled fairly well, but the ending seemed a little sudden. This was my favorite of the three stories, but it was too short. The second story had the best and worst points of this episode, Jerry Lewis and Jennifer Garner. Jerry Lewis was terrific, but Jennifer Garner was unnecessary. This was also probably my least favorite segment because it ran too long. There were few glaring weaknesses or strengths in the last story (except for Oscar De La Hoya’s unneeded appearance). A few strengths, a few weaknesses, and a very enjoyable appearance by Kang and Kodos gives this episode a 3/5.

[Max Power]

Excellent way to start off the season.

Intro: 9/10. The Peanuts costumes were pretty good, not to mention the way the family was beating the crap out of each other.

Reaper Madness: 7/10. I hoped this one was a little better than the promos suggested. Still, excellent Benny Hill opening.

Frinkenstein: 6/10. Three words: Needed more Garner. Although Lewis saved the episode as he was the only person who could play Frink Sr.

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: 8/10. The best segement of the night. Couldn't stop laughing...still can't.

Overall: 8/10. And that's the end of that chapter.

[Moleman...Hans]

Pretty good! 4/5 episode and a lot better than last years! WAYYYYYY better than Season 13's THOH 12. I loved Kang and Kodos BTW.

Reaper Madness 4/5

Finkenstien 2/5-What was up with the other guest star?!

Stop 4/5

[BaronKrusha]

Reaper Madness - The fact that it was a ripoff didn't bother me much. Decent segment, but the ending was hilarious.

Frinkenstein - Very boring. It had promise, but the story went nowhere.

Stop the World - Easily the best segment in this episode. Poor Homer never got to eat those donuts.

[homer5000]

Intro: Kang and Kodos will get the axe come syndication. But, it was pretty good. The Christmas stockings joke had me laughing until the second commercial. 4/5

Reaper Madness: Fast. Very fast. And very Family Guy. Fat Tony not being able to kill Frankie = Family Guy. I like how Homer tricked god into thinking Marge was Selma...I mean Patty. Okay. 3/5

Frinkenstein: Heheheh. Funny. I just can't believe I laughed at the penis joke. I should be ashamed. Homer mentioning the first segment was gold. Oh, and Flanders being decieved by heaven was THE BEST PART of the episode. Seriously. 4/5

Stop the World, I Wanna Goof Off: BEST segment of the episode. I laughed at Bart and Milhouse's prank aganist Homer at SNPP. A true laugh-out-loud moment. Greatness. 5/5

Overall, a pretty good THOH. SO much better than last year's, but it would never touch being the best. 4/5...

[Simpfan28]

Intro (Candy): 2.5/5
Intro (Kang & Kodos) 5/5
Reaper Madness: 3/5 (Something was lacking. And they hyped it too much. Otherwise it was great.)
Frinkenstein: 3/5 (It delivered what I expected. And I was looking forward to this ever since I heard about it from my sister last year after she heard it from Mike Riess.)
Stop the World, I want to Goof Off: 4.5/5 (I have one word. Excellent!)

Extra Credit: Scary Names

Final Score: 4.5/5

Final Statement:

It brought back things we haven't seen in years. And it certainly made up for last year's disgrace (Excluding "Send in the Clones." It may not be the best, but it's definately a boost in the show's quality. Ladies and Gentlemen, the effects of the Scully reign have finally worn off. :D

[Icedragon]

Originally posted by Simpfan28
Ladies and Gentlemen, the effects of the Scully reign have finally worn off. :D

Maude is still dead...

[Magnum]

I for one liked it.

Opening: Violence for the sake of violence? Probablly. Absurdity for the sake of humor? Yes. Not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination for a THOH. B

Reaper Madness: Saying this is a rip off of Family Guy is just as fucktarded as saying the Simpsons is copying Family Guy! I shouldn't have had to point out something so obvious. Was it too similar? Maybe but don't spend your time comparing the two shows. Did I like it? Yes very much so even though it was perhaps a little sick minded. :devil: A-

Frinkenstien: Well we have problems here. It drags on too long, the story was weak (I thought), not even that funny, pointless guests, female bare ass...wait scratch that complaint. C

Stop the World: Beautiful. My favourite and my most anticipated. Time travel is a hard plot to screw up I told others that this wouldn't be fucked up by any Clockstoppers spoof and it wasn't. Surreal, hillarious and I'm sure there are other words to describe it that I do not know of yet. How bout scrumtruelescent? A

Now I could tell off random friends and enemies but it wouldn't make much of a difference unless I sat at home with them and went into deep rate & review on each individual joke. And even then it probablly wouldn't make much of a difference. So all I'm left to say is get jokes.
But please stop one line reviews containing nothing but baseless statements and single syllable words

I'm done.

[DaSimpsons]

Intro: Missed it unfortunately. From all the praise, I will try downloading it soon.

Reaper Madness: Been done, but still enjoyed it. B-.

Frinkenstein: Biggest disappointment for me. Sounded like a great premise but i thought it was rather poorly done except for a couple parts. C-

...Goof off: Huge suprise! Didn't think it would be good from its synopsis, but this was pure Simpsons Gold. Great job guys. A+

Overall: B

[Tibor]

Al "The Halloween Names Are Back" Jean

hahaha.

Who the hell was "crab noodle" supposed to be in the end spooky credits?

And I figured that nerds would like Homer's Snowball I comment. I did.

[PhthaloType]

4/5
2/5
5/5

[Glumplich]

Intro: Kang+Kodos was the best part!
Reaper Madness: Homer replacing Marge with one of her sisters was the best scene here. Grade: B.
Frinkenstein: This was too gross for my liking, with an unnecessary penis joke, of course. Grade: D+.
Stop the World: This was the best of the three, especially since I also watched the movie "Clockstoppers." Grade: A-.

Overall grade: B-. A slight improvement from last year.

[Jake]

Originally posted by homer5000
Overall, a pretty good THOH. SO much better than last year's, but it would never touch being the best. 4/5...

Out of the Six shorts between last year's and this year's THoHs, I'd say 'Send in the clones' was the best of the six, however "Frinkinstein" and "Stop the..." were better than the suckier pair from last year's THoH.

[Simpfan28]

Originally posted by Icedragon
Maude is still dead...

Well I didn't say it entirely wore off. Those things can never be fixed. And just to set things clear with Reaper Madness, it wasn't a ripoff of the Family Guy episode. The Family Guy episode was a ripoff of the movie "Reaper Madness" released somewhere from Late 50's-Early 60's. I just wanted to make a point. There. That's one less thing to complain about. :p And we can't get those problems with Frinkenstein get in the way too much. There were some good points. I won't list them. Why? Because I want YOU to realize them. Now start thinking.

[Icedragon]

I quick Dallas spoof can undo Maude's death...

[King Homer]

I think it was good. Not in the worst THOH's ever, but not one of the best either. Frinkenstein had some moments, like the spine joke and when Frink's father strolled the street wearing other people's body parts ala Saturday Night Fever. Overall, I was hapy with it. Better than last year overall for sure.

[homer5000]

Uh...Maude dying was because of the Maggie Roswell going-away-but-returning-in-fourteenth-season thing. Not really Scully...

[Rowdy]

First two segments had one good joke between them if that.......opening was funny in two places.....the only real saving grace was the excellent Clockstoppers parody that I received quite a few laughs out of....2/5 and the worst THOH yet. Didn't really anger me too much though as I wasn't really expecting anything great.

[unnecessarily hot]

Reaper Madness: Good start, liked most of it up until the end where I think it ended abruptly. Granted, it's only given about a 7 minute time slot with commercials, but it still could have finished better (I missed the last 20 seconds after they're on the top of that mountain but I don't think it'd make much a difference.)

Frinkenstein: This was a waste of time. I didn't really get why this was made into a THOH segment, they already did a Frankenstein segment in season 3. Plus, that one didn't make absolutely no sense like this one. Frink just finding his dad in the ocean with a shark bite was random, and his dad just grabbing organs didn't exactly have much reason.

Clockstopping segment (I can't name episodes very well, let alone THOH segments):

Good episode, good story with a funny problem (the clock breaking and them having to fix it.) I didn't expect much from the THOH episode since I didn't really watch most of last season (Did I miss anything, guys?) and I got more than I really predicted. Not that bad, but did not some of these sketches didn't last and got a little old before the end.

[DAntae]

i try to judge the all it all together as opposed to breaking it down into its seperate segments. i loved kang and kodos as usual, also the fight early on and granpa ending up on fire amuesed me. i was just thrilled to see some new stuff so maybe i am being genrous but overall i give the entire show a 4/5. milhouse living on gummi worms equals gold.

[Matty]

I wasn't too impressed on my first watch at all, but I'll give it a rewatch tonight... Kang and Kodos got my hardest laugh, and I thought Frinkenstein was rather long and dull

One thing I would like to point out though, so it will stop once and for all:
This was NOT A FAMILY GUY RIPOFF

Maybe you should try to expand your cultural knowledge beyond the Family Guy and read the book 'On a Pale Horse' by Pierce Anthony

[mohammed jafar]

originally posted by tibor
Who the hell was "crab noodle" supposed to be in the end spooky
credits?


It was supposed to be Yeardley Smith, but I don't get it either.

hey, people complaining about the intro, stop saying things like "for no reason" and "unexplained" and "violence". It was supposed to be like that, so what you're saying hardly amounts to criticism.

anyway, I never got particularly stoked about TOHs in the old days, and still don't, but I enjoyed this overall, even though it wasn't especially good. Have to agree with the general consensus in that I felt it was definitely in the "not bad"/"mixed bag" category. There was a huge problem in the pacing in the first segment - having watched the promo scene (Homer killing the crowd) before it felt like I had seen half of it already. Extremely abrupt, clunky pacing, not helped by the fact it was basically a sketch show. And, this problem was...uh, not exacerbated, but developed upon maybe in the second segment, which seemed to drag on for quite a bit. Perhaps more time devoted to Reaper Madness and less to Frinkenstein would have been a good idea. And if they have too little time these days with all the commercials to make TOHs have coherent plots and buildups of tension/drama etc, perhaps they should consider switching to just two segments. Anyway, I digress. Didn't care for the whole Captain Wacky feel of Reaper Madness, and it wasn't exactly memorable, but it provided some great laughs occasionally (Moe, Jasper) and it was better than the vast majority of post-S10 TOH segments, but still not great. B- Frinkenstein, as I mentioned, seemed to drag quite a bit with no real big laughs (though I loved the "haven't you stopped to realise who you're hurting?" exchange). I was astounded by how unfunny Frink was - with Frink, you always expect him to start sentences normally then end them with some insane ramble and some wild facial contortions, but here it just seemed to be fairly banal "normal" dialogue. Jerry Lewis was a bit of a disappointment too, he wasn't exactly bad but he wasn't exactly energetic or funny or anything. And given that the Frinks had most of the lines in this segment, it gave the whole thing a very mundane feel. Really, by the middle of it was just hoping for it to hurry up and end so the next one could start. C Which didn't disappoint. Really funny stuff, with some wonderful Bart/Milhouse exchanges ("yeeaah....but..you say it first") and fairly creative usage of the concept. Little to complain about really. Solid (if a bit predictable) plot and well-handled - this was the only segment here that seemed paced properly (Reaper was too fast, Frinkenstein too slow, as I said). the ending was anticlimatic in an odd way, but little more so than the ending of TOH 5 when they all turn outside-in and start dancing. And it was funny anyway, so what am I talking about. B+

What was with the guest stars? Now, I'm not saying I want the guest stars to have MORE of a role, if this is Al and co's way of pleasing the real fans while still pleasing the "OMG, THAT BOXER GUY" casual viewers and the Fox promoters, then fine, definitely keep it like that please. Give them one or two lines and that's it. But nevertheless, why would Jennifer Garner and Oscar De La Hoya (who wasn't even funny - at least they got a good joke out of Garner's bit) waste time coming in just to record a single short line? Weird.

Overall, a B-, or 3/5, which compares like this to recent TOHs.

TOH 10 B+
TOH 14 B-
TOH 12 B-
TOH 13 C+
TOH 11 C
TOH 10 C

[necrulez]

I really enjoyed the first and the third segment, the second felt quite forced to me. The guest stars were imo useless, again. Anywayz, loads of fun moments made this for me one of the best THOH's of the last couple o'years. 4/5

[HoyvinGlavin64]

Intro: Hillarious! For the first time since IX, Kang and Kodos actually contributed to the episode (well, the intro, but they were still funny!). 5/5

Reaper Madness: I know it was a Family Guy rip-off. Then again, Family Guy, while the whole show was a Simpsons rip-off, it was a good show, and this is a great vice-versa (as opposed to their Family Guy rip-off attempts from the late Scully era). 4/5

Frinkenstien: I wasn't expecting much from the episode. I was pleasantly surprised. While not that great, and had some pointless guest stars, there were some funny one-liners from the supporting cast (Flanders, Agnes, etc.) and Jerry Lewis's preformance was classic! 3.5/5

Stop the World: Not the funniest segment (that was Reaper Madness), but had the best plot, and it had some funny scenes. 4/5

Overall: 4/5. Best TOH since IX.

[MaxpowerAK79]

Intro was really funny "Beat the lumps...beat the lumps..." I liked that

1. Jimmy the Squealer not dyinig "If I knew I'd tell you!" that was good...the rest was a FG ripoff with some funny parts....Somewhat Meh...
TOO MANY topical things (Belishi, Curb Your Enthusiasm)

2. Frink Ep. was not that great...somewhat stupid if you ask me..

3. This one was good. the "clockstoppers" stuff was hilarious. The fingers up noses, etc. was great. And the part w/ Homer and Nelson and the donuts was REALLY funny.
Also, the old bart and millhouse was funny too. I liked it.

Overall, a bit of a Meh, but not bad. Better than last year's.

[mohammed jafar]

Originally posted by MaxpowerAK79
And the part w/ Homer and Nelson and the donuts was REALLY funny.


yeah, i forgot to mention that, it was inspired. had me rollin'.

[I'M A BRICK]

A good episode after waiting 6 months for it, I gave it a 4/5 over all

First segment, was OK, the weakest of them all, I did not see the Family Guy this is a rip of but it just wasn't that funny. Best part is when Homer kills Patty instead of Marge, but pretty Meh.

Frinkenstein: Was very good but we could have used Jerry when he was a few years younger. He actually brought the segment down and this could have been done beter with Hank doing both voices. Its sad when the impersonator sounds more like the character then the original.
But You got to love an entire segment devoted to Frink!

Clock Stoppers was classic Simpson's and cartoons in general, quick cuts and funny situations, this had me LOL, The Mayor in the French maid outfit. Plus the end when Bart and Millhouse are grown up. I think that was thrown in there to show what it would be like if Bart did age since the start of the OFF.

[Tomacco]

Just so you all know, I don't think it was intended to be a Clockstoppers parody, but rather a satire of an old Twilight Zone episode.

I mean, who would want to parody a practically unsuccessful kids movie like Clockstoppers.

[mohammed jafar]

yeah, I expect it was just promoted as a Clockstoppers parody as that would capture more viewer attention than a parody of that old show with that creepy guy.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
yeah, I expect it was just promoted as a Clockstoppers parody as that would capture more viewer attention than a parody of that old show with that creepy guy.

It was never even promoted that way, I don't think. Seemed like the fans or those who read the script in advance just billed it that way.

[Mr. S]

Originally posted by Matty

One thing I would like to point out though, so it will stop once and for all:
This was NOT A FAMILY GUY RIPOFF

Maybe you should try to expand your cultural knowledge beyond the Family Guy and read the book 'On a Pale Horse' by Pierce Anthony

That giant print ain't going to convince me buddy. Anyway you slice it, the Family Guy already did this.

[Jessfrogger88]

I thought it was pretty good overall a solid 4.

Reaper was pretty cool but I hated two of the opening jokes and I thought it would get worse but it got better. I thought the "wind" joke was terrible and the benny hill thing was not bad I was just a little turned off that they used that again when they just used it last season. 8/10

Frinkenstien-I thought it was ok I like the "Jabba the Butt" joke I particularly don't enjoy Frink's antics but it wasn't that bad 6.5/10

Stop The World I Want To Goof Off- I thought it was pretty damn cool. "Milhouse you got your change purse" "If your a fan of space in the atic" "Batman and Rhoda" Milhouses parents back together, the simpsons hula hooping, "Ok lisa you can stop now"

I mean, who would want to parody a practically unsuccessful kids movie like Clockstoppers.

Hey,I saw that at the dollar theater.

[used]

Originally posted by Matty

This was NOT A FAMILY GUY RIPOFF


even though family guy was paradying something else, simpsons shouldn't have done the same parady in almost the exact same way. They could have thought of a better idea for the segment, anyway.

[bbf2]

even though family guy was paradying something else, simpsons shouldn't have done the same parady in almost the exact same way. They could have thought of a better idea for the segment, anyway.

Yeah, but they didn't have a chance of improving it. You can't beat Norm Macdonald as Death.

[Pete Sector 8]

GREATEST SEGMANT EVER #3 "Stop the world i want to goof off"

#2 reminds me of byebye nerdie where Lisa's bully attacks the NERDS @ the Convention

#1 was kind of funny but to short the jokes where there

[Hans Barber]

I didn't get to write my review last night, so I wont have asmuch to say as I usually would...yea...anyway...
Intro: 3\5...I liked the Charlie Brown costumes, how Homer's blood splattered on the wall reading Treehouse og Horror XIV, and Kang and Kodos' part in the intro.
REaper Madness: 2.5\5...Had a few funny parts, some what creative...but I would have to watch the Family Guy episode to determine that, but it also seemed a bit rushed at times.
FRinkenstein: 1\5...Bad episode, rushed, stupid cameo's, lame jokes, characters just thrown into the episode...it was pretty sad to watch.
Stop the Clock I want to Goof Off: WAS it necessary that I type the whole titles?....4\5...best of this THOH, original, funnier jokes, and did not seem as rushed. I liked it...good way to end the episode.

I am still optimistic for this season, and can't wait for next weeks episode.

[shyner]

Plus the end when Bart and Millhouse are grown up. I think that was thrown in there to show what it would be like if Bart did age since the start of the OFF. never even thought of that, you might be right
Getting my review in late, my internet wasn't working at all last night.

Intro: Not really any complaints here. The Charlie Brown contumes were pretty cool(have they used Charlie Brown reference at all besides this one and THOH II? cant recall..). The Kang and Kodos bit was real funny, had me lol. I didn't really like, or see the point to them killing each other. B

Reaper Madness: Wasn't the greatest, but did have its moments. The part with Jimmy the Squealer I thought was very good, and how Homer killed all the people in the stands to get better seats. About you people comaplaining about the FG parody, who cares? Simpons has parodied(?) tons of things, as have all shows. B

Frinkenstein: Eh, didn't really enjoy it at all. I thought Frink could have been funnier, and it seemed to drag on too much with no real laugh out loud moments. The guest voices were okay, you have to like anything that lets Jennifer Garner host a Noble Prize ceremony :LOL:.D+

Stop The World I Want To Goof Off: Now this one I thought was very good and well executed. None of the jokes seemed forced, all put in at the right time. lol naked basketball. The doughnut part with Homer and Nelson was really good. Also liked the ending with them framing Martin.A

Overall, not a bad THOH, although it seemed to be too fast paced at times, like the beginning of Reaper Madness. The amination I thought was very good. Overall:B-

[Tman]

I got here on the 4th page, but i give it 5/5, it's the SIMPSONS!!!!!!!

[ShadowBun]

Well guys, 'tis the Fifteenth Season, and it's back to reviewing episodes each week.

I think this THOH was rather good as a whole, much better than last year's disappointment and more on par with the solid THOH 12.

Intro: Fairly entertaining, with a good Grandpa line. I thought Homer attacking the kids was a little disturbing, but it was done somewhat tastefully since they were lumps under the rug (and it doesn't look like Homer actually hit them). Marge's line was funny, when it pans out to show her cocking a large rifle, and Kang and Kodos actually contributed some laughs to this episode! (Can't say the same thing about THOH XIII and Gump Roast)

Reaper Madness: The Benny Hill parody felt a little done before, but it was handled well, with Maggie holding a scythe, chasing after Death, and the bicycle. For some reason, I really liked the animation of Death slowly floating towards the camera (Bart's perspective). Lots of good gags in this one (Three Stooges, haha), and Selma being offered up was a nice surprise. Terrific animation here as well, but it could've been longer and done more with its plot...too short. 8.5/10

Frinkenstein: Slow. Not terrible, but rather slow. There was too much...I dunno, dialogue about the plots and not enough jokes mixed in.

"...except, you have no penis. Well, not in the traditional sense."

What is with the writers and the use of the word "penis" in the show!? This started in S13's Homer the Moe and it doesn't look like it'll stop. It's not that it's offensive "in the traditional sense"...I mean, the Simpsons has always had mild swearing and "penis" isn't even a bad word. It is, however, pandering and just in their for shock value. The above line isn't even a JOKE. It's just that they HAD to put in some reference to Frink Sr.'s privates, didn't they? Nonsense, cut that crud out.

Anyway, this segment had some good jokes, but they were too spaced out. They should've taken some time from this one and given it to the other two segments. The science convention felt very remniscent of Bye Bye, Nerdie. 6.5/10

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: Now that's what I'm talking about! Clever premise with great opportunity and funny, rapid-fire jokes. I still think there was some untapped potential here (I was waiting for them to replace Homer's donut with something else, rather than make it disappear), but overall it was great. There really should've been more time to this one as it was entertaining through and through. One more minute of pranks would've been the icing on the cake. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the credits, Al "Scary Names Are Back" Jean. 9/10

King of the Hill was good too...liked it much better than the original Dang Ol' Love. Boomhauer's character was pretty interesting in this one, and it had some funny jokes ("Does this suit smell like embalming fluid to you?"). 4/5

So we're off to a good start with a B+ 4/5 Halloween episode. My Mother the Carjacker looks very good as well. Bring on Season Fifteen!

[Icedragon]

Originally posted by bbf2
Yeah, but they didn't have a chance of improving it. You can't beat Norm Macdonald as Death.

"I'm Colista Flockhart. Who the hell do you think I am, I'm DEATH!"

Norm was great in that episode...

I find it ironic that many Simpson fans bashed FG because it was a "ripoff" of the Simpsons on the FG vs. Simpsons board. Now when the tables have turned, you sing a different tune, saying it is not a FG ripoff. Right, and Peter Griffin being in the crowd of Homer clones is a "homage" to FG...

[The General]

The Opening: Besides the Kang and Kodos part, the ending was boring and pointless

Reaper Madness: The whole "Benny Hill" running around joke has already been done on the show TWICE!!, so its tired and borring. Homer's dialogue was fake and boring as well.

Frinkenstein: I liked the whole Frink dialogue. The Jennifer Garner role was stupid and non-sensical, just a stupid ploy of putting a trendy hollywood celebrity to boost ratings. Using catchy topics such as Halle Berry's acceptance speech, the hip hop awards and Ned Flanders hate of homosexuality are cheap and will have no effect in a few months when we see the episode in re-runs. Also the use of words like ballsack and penis for shock value is extremely annoying"

Stop the world I want to goof off: I like the "Clockstoppers" esque plot. I thaught the comic books they were looking at were pretty clever. The naked Homer and Nelson bit kinda wierded me out. The Homer line about how he had army men stuck up his nose was a direct copy off of a joke from "Family Guy". And the ending was totally not funny and idiotic.

All in all I give this episode a 2/5. Worst THOH ever!

[Citizen Kang]

The intro was interesting but silly, Kang and Kodos saved it.

I barely laughed during the first act and it barely had an ending.

The second act was better than the first act but it wasn't great. Jerry Lewis didn't need to guest star for it at all, he didn't add anything and wasn't funny. Marge's Hip Hop Award joke was horrendous(enough with the pop culture referrences!).

The Third act pick up a lot of slack for the episode. Good gags and good plot but didn't have anything to do with Halloween.

Overall I'd give it a C.

[mohammed jafar]

Originally posted by Icedragon

I find it ironic that many Simpson fans bashed FG because it was a "ripoff" of the Simpsons on the FG vs. Simpsons board.

FG as a WHOLE SHOW being very much a "ripoff" of The Simpsons. This is a single episode.

Originally posted by Icedragon
Now when the tables have turned, you sing a different tune, saying it is not a FG ripoff.

It's not a "ripoff" in terms of its concept, it's just a parody of the same thing. It's a ripoff in the way that it follows much the same method in its execution of said parody. But I agree fully, for a show whose showrunner has been bashing FG recently for ripping off their jokes, it's ironic to see them do a storyline so suspiciously similar. Though I did feel Reaper Madness was much better, even though Death Is A Bitch is one of the better FG episodes (which isn't saying much, I know, but whatever).

[NoOneFamous]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Just so you all know, I don't think it was intended to be a Clockstoppers parody, but rather a satire of an old Twilight Zone episode.

I mean, who would want to parody a practically unsuccessful kids movie like Clockstoppers. Yeah, I've never even heard of Clockstoppers! Guys, this was clearly a parody of the classic Twilight Zone episode. Why do you think the watch broke? (or did that happen in "Clockstoppers" too?)

Originally posted by Tman
I got here on the 4th page, but i give it 5/5, it's the SIMPSONS!!!!!!! Yeah, because the Simpsons could do 22 minutes of Homer on the toilet and it would still be better than everything else on TV because its THE SIMPSONS!!! right? Come on, dude, I hate reviews like this. If you're going to take the time to post, at least give some reasons for your grade. This goes for everyone that just says "It was great!" or "It was Terrible! Worst episode ever!"

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
FG as a WHOLE SHOW being very much a "ripoff" of The Simpsons. This is a single episode. If Family Guy is a ripoff of the Simpsons simply becuase its an animated sitcom about a dysfunctional family with a stupid, fat father, then every single live action sitcom on TV is a ripoff of I Love Lucy. This is a stupid arguement. You might as well say that King of the Hill is a Simpsons ripoff as well, since its an animated sitcom.

[Icedragon]

Because of the cult popularity FG has gotten recently, I predict that this is not the last time a Simpsons episode will have a similar episode storyline to a FG that was earlier.

I think "Reaper Madness" was a statement that the writers tried to make that they were better than FG's writers, and they thought that this would show that the Simpsons can do a better Spoof than FG. I think they were mistaken this round.

I think Death is a Bitch is better than Reaper Madness for a couple reasons:

FG used an enitre episode, while Simpsons used 8 minutes. If the Simpsons had done this one segment as an entire episode, that would be better. I thought death just coming for Bart was not that great of an opening for "Reaper Madness". FG had a better opening, and Death coming for Peter could be explained (why did Death come for Bart? Who knows).

Repition of jokes in "Reaper Madness". The Benny Hill bit was done a couple of times last season. That is never good. That shows that the writers are not trying and becoming repetitive. It never helps with a great episode, I think it always hinders.

[mohammed jafar]

Originally posted by NoOneFamous

If Family Guy is a ripoff of the Simpsons simply becuase its an animated sitcom about a dysfunctional family with a stupid, fat father, then every single live action sitcom on TV is a ripoff of I Love Lucy. This is a stupid arguement. You might as well say that King of the Hill is a Simpsons ripoff as well, since its an animated sitcom.

first of all, quit trying to be a smartass. it's not working very well.

second of all, i wasn't claiming myself it was a ripoff, which is why i put it in speech marks. that argument, as you said, is stupid. There's a difference between "rip-off" and "influenced by".

third of all, i wouldn't say the dysfunctional family setup was what FG "ripped off" from the Simpsons, as you said it's a sitcom standard, but their approach to humor, plus much of Peter's characterisation, and much of their particular take on the dysfunctional family setup, was definitely DERIVED from stuff on The Simpsons, if not blatantly ripped off. But it's not as if the entire show is a Simpsons derivative, as many detractors make it out to be. And yes, KOTH is influenced by The Simpsons also, much of its approach to humor is derived at least in part from early and O&W Simpsons. But again, it's hardly identical to OFF - KOTH has very individual characters who are completely different from OFF, however, and the dynamic of the characters is very different too.

[Icedragon]

True. Nobody can argue that FG wasn't influenced by the Simpsons. Hell, Seth MacFarlane said it was.

[jesle]

Originally posted by shyner
never even thought of that, you might be right
Getting my review in late, my internet wasn't working at all last night.

Intro: Not really any complaints here. The Charlie Brown contumes were pretty cool(have they used Charlie Brown reference at all besides this one and THOH II? cant recall..). The Kang and Kodos bit was real funny, had me lol. I didn't really like, or see the point to them killing each other. B

Reaper Madness: Wasn't the greatest, but did have its moments. The part with Jimmy the Squealer I thought was very good, and how Homer killed all the people in the stands to get better seats. About you people comaplaining about the FG parody, who cares? Simpons has parodied(?) tons of things, as have all shows. B

Frinkenstein: Eh, didn't really enjoy it at all. I thought Frink could have been funnier, and it seemed to drag on too much with no real laugh out loud moments. The guest voices were okay, you have to like anything that lets Jennifer Garner host a Noble Prize ceremony :LOL:.D+

Stop The World I Want To Goof Off: Now this one I thought was very good and well executed. None of the jokes seemed forced, all put in at the right time. lol naked basketball. The doughnut part with Homer and Nelson was really good. Also liked the ending with them framing Martin.A

Overall, not a bad THOH, although it seemed to be too fast paced at times, like the beginning of Reaper Madness. The amination I thought was very good. Overall:B-

To answer your question about Charlie Brown references, there have been many made on the Simpsons. But if you are asking particularly about THOHs, then there are two except for this one: THOH II (where the peanuts gang are outside trick-or-treating) and the end of THOH IV is exactly like the end of a Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown (complete w/ SLH as snoopy!!)

Also, to go back to what someone else posted, the fact that it took 15 years for Bart and Milhouse to fix the watch could indeed be a reference to the fifteenth season. I never thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for pointing that out!

[doyle]

I did not read through the entire thread so I don't know if this has all been said or not.
I taped this episode and got around to watching it for the first time around 10:30 last night. I watched it once more this afternoone for good measure. I actually enjoyed it more the second time.

The Opening: Well, this needed work to say the least. One of those just a bunch of stuff that happened things, but luckily, this only lasted for acouple minutes. The Peanuts spoof was clever, and the Kang and Kodos moment was genius, but little else was offered, and it wasn't creative on the whole. C

Reaper Madness: Well, I was disappointed the first time watching this but I noticed some good things the second time. The story was developed pretty early on, and would have been even better if not for another one of those Benny Hill scenes. You could see Homer's character fit well with the character of death, and there were plenty of amusing jokes to keep the viewer entertained. My main gripe was the last few minutes. The main conflict was recognized and resolved all within about 2 minutes, with a wasted chance for emotion and a very abrupt ending. I really liked the animation in this one, especially Homer's hand changing from normal to skeleton, and Marge's name bulging on his hit list, showing some good emphasis. B/B+

Frinkenstein: I've seen worse shorts, but not many, as this was pretty terrible. It was a disturbingly unfunny Frankenstein spoof, gone terribly wrong. There were many groan-inducing jokes. The ending was one of the worst things I've ever seen, with no real feeling or emotion. Frankenstein's story is supposed to be more solemn than it was here, as we saw only needless gore from Frink Sr. Frink's feelings were never expressed well, and we never see any reaction from him after the monster runs away. Frink's decision to reanimate his father was ridiculous (his invention eliminates the annoying task of putting down a hammer and picking up a screwdriver) and written conveniently to make it seem like the plot flow was ok. The only real laugh I got from this short was the flaskback. D

Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off: What can I say? This was excellent. One of the best shorts in a while. I laughed long after watching the episode at the many humorous moments, and great minor character use. Bart and Milhouse's characterization was very good, and once again, animation was excellent. There was little horror involved, but it was so entertaining that it wasn't a problem at all. A

Overall, this was a bit of a mixed bag, with a few more ups than downs. I was pleased overall, and thought this was the best THOH in the last few years. I was most impressed with the excellent animation, which is a good sign going inot the new season. My final grade is a B-.

[Magnum]

Who here thought the music and imagery in Reaper Madness was quite stunning? By imagery I mean Homer casting a dark shadow as he becomes death and carrying Marges supposed corpse up the mountain to God.

That's also a good theory on Springfield being frozen in time for fifteen years as being a metaphor.

[Mr. Plow]

"Reaper Madness" - 3/5 An ok first act but thoughts of FG kept clogging my mind. The chase sequence between the light of God was hilarious. The Benny Hill thing has been done before so it wasn't very funny this time around.

"Frinkenstein" - 2/5 very dissapointing and all 3 guest voices were wasted.

"Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off" - 4/5 Funniest of the 3. Best scene of the episode was when Bart and Milhouse used the clock stopper on Homer when he was eating donuts. I laughed my ass off when that happend.

Overall a 3/5, so the episode was so so. Not bad considering this is the 15th season.

[Eddie]

Originally posted by Icedragon
FG used an enitre episode, while Simpsons used 8 minutes.

What the hell does that mean?! Is Space Jam better than the Merry Melodies shorts because it's longer?

Originally posted by Icedragon
If the Simpsons had done this one segment as an entire episode, that would be better.

What? How many Simpsons episodes have you seen? That would make no sense on a logical, reality-based cartoon. A full "Reaper Madness" would sink into "Saddlesore Galactica" and "Simpson Safari" territory.

[huh?]

Best THOH in several years. Breaking it down:
Intro: Too much senseless violence, but saved by Kang & Kodos.3.5/5
Reaper Madness: Best short of the episode. Chase scene was hilarious. 4.5/5
Frinkinstein: Meh. Had high hopes for this one, but while Lewis was good in it, it struggled with Lisa pushing the plotline forward too much, and with a pointless cameo with Garner. 3/5
Stop the World...: Very good, especially with the Nelson/Homer scene. De La Hoya was also pointless, but his only line was pretty funny. 4/5
Overall:4/5

[Homer908]

Opening:B
Reaper Madness:A
Frinkenstein:B
Stop The World, I want to goof Off: A-
Overall:B+

[kevin]

decent

B (8.5)

[Eart]

Opening: 5/5
Very funny opening, especially the Kang and Kodos bit. I found that part extra-funny because earlier that day, my mother put up the Christmas decorations and we were making fun of her for doing it so early.

Reaper Madness: 3.5/5
It was an ok part, but the segment where he has to kill Marge and up until the Motorcycle chase, seemed a bit odd.

Frinkistein: 2/5
I didn't really like this one. Prof. Frink isn't that good of a character to devote even 8 minutes of an episode to him.

Stop The World, I Want To Goof Off: 4.5/5
Pretty good segment, although the ending seemed a bit weird for me.

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
[b]


hey, people complaining about the intro, stop saying things like "for no reason" and "unexplained" and "violence". It was supposed to be like that, so what you're saying hardly amounts to criticism.



"Simpsons Safari" is supposed to be wacky and crazy but that doesn't neccasarily means that it worked. A lot of people don't like excessive violence on the show (including THOH for some) and personally I found a couple things in that intro to be more disturbing then funny myself. Also, as for "no reason", I think that argument mostly comes down to some of the jokes not even really making sense as fully coherent jokes. This isn't related to the intro, but why did the writers think Lisa switching the clock around (yes, for "no reason") and turning the family into different random versions of themselves would be funny at all?

As for the "Clockstoppers" thing, I don't think it was a Clockstoppers parody, but I actually have to disagree with it being a Twilight Zone parody as well. I've seen that episode, and the only thing remotely similar, other then the basic concept of stopping time with a watch (which is just a basic sci-fi concept that's been in everything, including "Ducktales" for godsakes) is the watch breaking. If it was intended as a parody, it wasn't a very good one.

Anyways, the more I look back at this one, the more I think it might be one of the most forgettable episodes ever. I told a couple friends of mine (one of which loves nearly every episode but asked me "what the hell was that?") today that it was one of the most uneven episodes I've ever seen. I told them it wasn't really good or even bad, just there. It certainly wasn't "Simpsons Safari" bad or even bad at all neccasarily. But, unlike the very good or very bad episodes that are commonly referenced for those reasons, I think this one may go the way of "Bart vs. Lisa and the Third Grade" and some of the less offensive Scully "Adventures of Homer" episodes. Doomed to obscurity.

[HomertheGreat]

THOH's in general over the past few year's have been pretty forgettable, and I was thinking this after watching it. There's never a really true standout short. Many of you will argue that "Stop the World..." would be the standout short, but IMO falls short of classic segments of recent THOH. (Send in the Clones, House of Whacks). Now yes I know in my review it says "A" next to it. I've rewatched the episode and realized that I may have been a little too excited and I really wanted the episode to be good. New rankings...

Intro- C
Reaper- B-
Frinkensteirn- C-
Stop the World...- A-/B+

OVERALL: B- (very low B-)

[mohammed jafar]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
"Simpsons Safari" is supposed to be wacky and crazy but that doesn't neccasarily means that it worked.

Not my point at all. My point was, many criticisms seemed to give me the impression that viewers thought it was intended to be a touching, realistic family moment.

And I thought it was amusing, and I didn't find it in the slighest bit disturbing because, as I said, it was intended to be crazy, over the-top, out-of-character craziness, and it worked as that. Unless you just get disturbed at the sight of ANY cartoon character being subjected to violence....

Originally posted by DotheBartman
This isn't related to the intro, but why did the writers think Lisa switching the clock around (yes, for "no reason") and turning the family into different random versions of themselves would be funny at all?

for the same reason they thought having inside-out gas seep in and turning the family inside out and having them do a dance number was funny in TOH 5, or have the story suddenly stop for a Peanuts parody in TOH 4. Because it's krayzee. The only thing wrong with it was that you didn't find it funny, there wasn't anything fundamentally wrong with the execution, it's been done so many times in TOHs (and in normal episodes) over the years.

Originally posted by DotheBartman
As for the "Clockstoppers" thing, I don't think it was a Clockstoppers parody, but I actually have to disagree with it being a Twilight Zone parody as well. I've seen that episode, and the only thing remotely similar, other then the basic concept of stopping time with a watch (which is just a basic sci-fi concept that's been in everything, including "Ducktales" for godsakes) is the watch breaking. If it was intended as a parody, it wasn't a very good one.

Nah, I don't think it was intended as a parody per se, just a utilisation of the same concept.

[brancely]

it's got to be hard to come up with three brand new halloween concepts every year, anyways, so parodies/rip-offs/utilizations are bound to pop up.

[Icedragon]

Next year better have a parody of the "Ring"

[Dennis]

Intro: 5/5. I thought it was a really good way to start the show.
Reaper Madness: 2/5. The fact that it was a blatant rip off of the Family Guy episode "Death is a Bitch" gives it a 1/5. But it was pretty funny, but really short so I'll raise it to 2/5.
Frinkenstein: 2/5. Pretty boring and not very funny. Jennifer Garne