Treehouse of Horror XIII

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = Treehouse of Horror XIII


image_caption= Promotional artwork for the episode showing the family as animals in the third segment.
episode_no = 292
prod_code = DABF19
airdate = November 3, 2002
show runner = Al Jean
writer = Marc Wilmore (Part 1)
Brian Kelley (Part 2)
Kevin Curran (Part 3)
director = David Silverman
guest_star = Maggie Roswell returns to voice Maude Flanders.
season = 14

"Treehouse of Horror XIII" is the first episode of "The Simpsons"' fourteenth season, as well as the thirteenth Halloween episode. The episode aired on November 3, 2002, three days after Halloween. 17 million people watched. It is the second Treehouse of Horror to have a zombie-related segment, the first being Dial 'Z' For Zombies in "Treehouse of Horror III".

Plot

The Simpson family and Ned Flanders hold a séance in the hope of communicating with the spirit of Maude Flanders. Bart enters the room dressed as Maudes ghost, which makes the family jump. He takes off his wig and tells them that it's him, but the family reveals that the real ghost of Maude is behind Bart. She turns into a zombified ghoul with flaming hair and asks, "are you ready for tales that will shatter your spines, and boil your blood?", to which Lisa remarks, "well, duh!". Maude's ghoulish ghost then opens a book with the title 'The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror 13'.

end in the Clones

Homer walks into the backyard to lie in his hammock, which soon collapses. He purchases a new one from a passing vendor, who warns him that it carries a curse. Disregarding this, Homer lies down and discovers that the new hammock can produce clones of anyone who rests on it. He inspects the first clone and notices that it doesn't have a belly button. He begins making and using clones to do all of his chores, which include helping Marge choose an outfit, visiting Grampa to listen to one of his war-related stories, and play a baseball game with Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The clones are soon revealed to be much more stupid than the true Homer. When Ned Flanders asks if he can have his chainsaw back, one of the clones picks up the chainsaw and looks at Homer, who nods. The clone then brings Homer the severed head of Ned Flanders. Homer immediately decides to get rid of the clones and the hammock. He bundles them in a truck and takes them to an isolated cornfield. When they arrive, Homer asks if anyone knows the way home; three clones put up their hands. Homer shoots the three with his shotgun and then abandons the rest of them, along with the hammock, presuming that none of the clones are smart enough to get anywhere without him. The clones soon use the abandoned hammock to make an army of Homer clones. Among the hundreds of clones, a few 'mutations' (including Homer as he was drawn on The Tracy Ullman Show version of The Simpsons, Homer after gaining 300lbs to get on disability at work, and Family Guy's own Peter Griffin) are seen. The clones attack Springfield and destroy all of its buildings, except for Moe’s Tavern, which reports record business. US army officials gather in the Mayor's War Room, where Lisa thinks of a solution to solve the problem, after getting the idea from Homer, who became upset when he found an empty donut box. She suggests that several helicopters hook gigantic donuts on cables and have the clones chase them into Springfield gorge. The plan is put into action in a parody of the 'Ride of the Valkyries' helicopter scene in "Apocalypse Now". The helicopters fly over the gorge, luring the Homer clones to their doom. Later that night, Marge enters the bedroom and soon discovers that the Homer next to her is a clone (he has no belly button). The clone tells her that the true Homer was the first to fall into the gorge. Marge is initially upset, but relaxes when the clone offers her a back rub as Stephen Stills' "Love The One You're With" plays in the background.

The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms

Bart and Lisa are at the Springfield Cemetery, mourning the loss of their pet goldfish, Goldie, who had always been there for them between August and October. Lisa inadvertently discovers the grave of William Bonney, a man who was killed at a young age by gun violence. According to his epitaph, he dreamed of a world without guns. In his memory, Lisa starts a gun control crusade, which makes Springfield 100% gun free - even the police no longer possess guns. The town is now defenseless, causing the corpses of William "Billy the Kid" Bonney and his cohorts, 'The Hole in the Ground' gang (Frank James, Jesse James, the Sundance Kid- without Butch Cassidy, as they're 'not joined at the hip'- and Kaiser Wilhelm II) to rise from the dead. The gang starts wreaking havoc on the town, until Professor Frink invents a time machine, which Homer uses to go back in time to stop the gun ban and destroy the zombies. Homer tells the citizens of Springfield to shoot at the zombies' graves, causing them to rise up and flee. Lisa feels guilty about banning guns, because sometimes they are the answer. Suddenly, a more futuristic Homer comes in to warn them about guns that have destroyed Earth in the future. He is then shot by Moe, who has had enough of all this nonsense and plans to use Frink's time machine to find some "caveman hookers".

The Island of Dr. Hibbert

In an elaborate parody of "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H. G. Wells, the Simpsons are going on a trip to "The Island of Lost Souls", where they find Dr. Hibbert running the island's resort. While the family are there, Marge thinks that something creepy is going on. She investigates and, consequently, she is captured by Dr. Hibbert, who transforms her into a mountain lion. After having violent sex with the new Marge, Homer realizes she has been transformed.

He goes to find a cure for Marge's condition, but encounters Ned Flanders, who has become a cow-centaur who needs to be milked. After Homer milks him, Flanders takes Homer to meet other Springfield inhabitants who have also been turned into 'manimals', including Bart (now a spider), Lisa (now an owl) and Maggie (now an anteater). Homer, initially appalled at what everyone has become (and that they actually prefer it to being human), eventually embraces the concept of being an animal who does nothing but eat, sleep, mate and roll around in its own filth. He enjoys spending the rest of his life as a walrus and living with his transformed family on the island.

Kang and Kodos appear briefly at the end, commenting on how the skull-shaped island looks like their number 4.

Cultural references

* At the end of the first segment, there is a parody of the War Room and General Turgidson from Stanley Kubrick's film "Dr. Strangelove".
* When the Homer clones first notice the giant donuts, their mannerisms mimic those of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit.
* The segment entitled "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" is an obvious parody of H. G. Wells' novel "The Island of Dr. Moreau".
* The title of "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms" is a play on the United States Constitution amendment which states that U.S. Citizens have "the right to keep and bear arms".
* "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms" is somewhat based on the Philip K. Dick short story "The Skull".
* "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" features Marge as a cat and Homer as a walrus. The final scene sees them getting a little frisky. This is reminiscent of Peter Jackson's film, "Meet the Feebles", which has a much more amorous interlude between walrus and cat as one of its first scenes.
* Billy the Kid's Hole in the ground gang is parody of the Hole in the Wall Gang, which was formed by Butch Cassidy.
* The title "Send in the Clones" is a pun on the famous song "Send in the Clowns".
* The Homers falling off the cliff is a nod to Lemmings.
* Billy the Kid's line "looks like the only guns left are in my cold dead hands" is a reference to a slogan and bumper sticker statement popular amongst gun rights advocates: "You can have my guns when you take them from my cold dead hands."
* "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" remains faithful to the original book in many ways. For instance, the leader of the Beast-People is still a Satyr. Bart even refers to the island as the Island of Lost Souls, which is the name of the 1933 film version of the novel. However, in the novel the Beast-People are animals augmented with human characteristics; this episode shows the reverse.