NUMBER FOUR - Treehouse of Horror V (Season 6)

The Halloween episodes are a usual highlight of each season, and you can really sense that the writers take full use of the opportunity to play around with the Simpsons’ universe. The ‘Treehouses’ all have their own charm, but Treehouse V really stands out for me for a number of reasons.



First of all, it was fun to see the stories linked by a recurring joke where Groundskeeper Willie is axed in the back while trying to save the children, until he finally acknowledges that “I’m really bad at this”. The episode also has probably the best voice-over cameo of the series, with James Earle Jones voicing the “disturbing”, alternate-universe version of Maggie. Finally, the finale with the inside-out gas and the “One” musical number ends the episode on a surreal note, offsetting the rather upsetting aftertaste of the cafeteria story. The episode easily fulfills the reality-breaking purpose it is supposed to achieve, and delivers countless laughs as a result.