Rate & Review: "Treehouse of Horror XXIX" (XABF16)

How would you rate this episode?

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I skipped the review of Treehouse of Horror XXIX for a while until I ran out of anger for the simplicity, stupidity and emptiness that is, although it may not seem, a Halloween special. And this is a sample of the basics that can be from the creative team in certain occasions. And it is that 'bad' is not even an adjective to describe it. It's simple, it's tasteless, it's obsolete. It is done without desire. And that's what bothered me so much.

The episode had an acceptable opening in which Homer makes a battle with Cthulhu to see who can eat more, in which the highlight was the brilliant animation. Because, on the other hand, they make the obvious jokes that they did not want to be made, about gluttony and Homer's gluttony. In addition, it is assumed that the intros should not be so extensive. If this continues, soon we will have four segments per special.

For me, the first segment, Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers, was the least bad of the three. But it also left a lot to be desired. It is very predictable, has extensive and overwhelming social critiques, performs an unnecessary return of the character and the company with clever names (Steve Mobs and Mapple) and has a hasty end. The part of 'terror' is the shortest in the segment. I liked Lisa's transition scene and I liked seeing Luci, from Disenchantment, in the series. The idea of ​​Bart and Lisa working as a team could offer something, but it did not prosper.

The second segment, MultipLisa-ty, is really disappointing. There was material to explode, there was the opportunity for Yeardley Smith to shine, we could see how Lisa's brain works internally. But no. We only see her torturing, threatening Milhouse, Nelson and Bart, and trying to murder them, all for an incredibly stupid reason and with a regular, badly casting, part of Smith. The order of events does not help. That it reveals in the middle of the segment why Lisa is furious is totally discouraging. And that Marge is not horrified by her daughter's madness is a total lack of tact.

The last segment, Geriatric Park, was the only one that met my expectations. Because he is the only one with whom I had realistic expectations. I expected a good animation and great designs of the characters as dinosaurs. And I got that with the addition of the best jokes of the episode (the helicopter flying over the entrance and Hans Moleman). Of course there are many negative things. The plot is stupid and the outcome is completely irritating. And the criticism of Jurassic Park is inadequate and stupid.

At the moment, the worst episode of the 30th season. And, in addition, joins the contenders for the second worst Treehouse of Horror in history. Perhaps, it is a step up from XVIII and XXVII, and of course the worst is still XXII. I should go back to the three to make a decision, but I'm not in the mood to torture myself.

Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers: 2/5
MultipLisa-ty: 2/5
Geriatric Park: 2/5

You will be able to guess the final note, right?
2/5
 
Max Power's Review


Quotes
- "This is an example of what should not be done in these episodes."

- "At last they used Lovecraft concepts, it was not bad, but there are better parodies in South Park or Billy & Mandy".

- "We must mention the return of funny graves".

- "Luci's cameo is only for the publicity of the Groening program, the scene of" You Don't Win Friends with Salad "only serves to remind us that the show had better times".

- "It amused me to see Homer acting like a zombie when he was not yet converted, and the fact that they winked at previous adaptations."

- "Apart from that, this story is hurried and does not have much to offer".

- "The second segment is an excuse to give Smith the opportunity to make other inflections and voices with Lisa".

- "It was a wasted opportunity, maybe because of the lack of time".

- "Geriatric Park is a very basic parody".

- "I like the alternative designs of the characters".

- "Why do we have happy endings?" This is not a Christmas special, would not one expect something macabre in a Halloween special? "

- "Each of the segments failed, they did not capture the substance of each parodied film, they did not give it the 'Simpson touch' and they are not funny."

Note: 3/10
 
The first two stories were an absolute mess - barely any plot, and they both ended before they even had a chance to get going. The third segment suffered from similar problems, but at least had some semblance of a coherent plot, and I actually thought Frink's death was quite funny. Really not a good showing overall, though. C-
 
CousinMerl said:
'Multiplisa-ty'
The explanation being her failing a test due to Bart's prank and Hoover's half-assedness was way too weak of a reason for her to turn into a deranged killer & the finale with Bart making her revert back to normal by simply giving a speech to her was really unconvincing and I didn't buy it alone making her well again (and Marge materializing out of nowhere and it turning out that she has locked Homer up in the car trunk due to also being crazy was too much; also, Lisa has no remorse for what she did to Milhouse or Nelson which was odd)
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I kinda agree. Lisa's failed tests before, and I just wanted a shock ending. I thought the callback to THOH5 was poorly done.

'Geriatric Park'
Another lame climax with a speech (now by Lisa) solving the crisis; I half expected her little moment to be subverted by getting eaten by Grampa Rex but nope, she was fine and the end was so bland, safe and boring even though it ended on an amusing note with the Agnesdactyl taking the family home. I think a darker ending would've been in order.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Lisa being the voice of reason bored me. The ending should be remade completely.

And now, My full review. (sorry if it's insulting)

Well, I think it was, without a doubt, The Worst Treehouse Of Horror episode ever made (yes, even worser than THOH XXII). It just seemed like a mess to me, and (to be honest) All 3 stories were based around Lisa of some sort. In the 1st one, we mainly see from her point of view. She is then the main baddie in the 2nd one, and the 3rd one made her the hero in the end, saving the Simpsons.

The opening story was the strongest bit in the episode, mainly because it was the only good bit in the episode.. I enjoyed Homer's eat off with Cthulhu, and the design was good.

The 1st story featured a Invasion Of The Body Snatchers parody, which has been done already. This was the one that I was mostly looking forward to, but in the end, I felt it was rushed, with lots of potential gone. I did enjoy the attack on the people using Ipods, but I felt that them attacking all of Springfield was one thing too far. Not everyone there uses Ipods, so not everyone would be attacked, but they went on and attacked the non-Ipod users. 2/5

The 2nd story, Mupltplisa-ty (why do they have to use titles that are hard to spell) started very abruptly, making me think that the start was part of the 1st story. Very unorganized there, but the strongest of the 3. This features the only on screen death of the Halloween special, which I enjoyed. But other than that, killing schoolmates even though they didn't even do anything, Why? (Oh wait, it's a Treehouse of Horror, so they can turn people against each other). Anyway my grade for this is 2/5

We now come to the last story, Geriatric Park. The weirdest, and the worst of the 3. The main reason why I didn't like this is because of the ending. Again, it felt rushed, and a classic 'Lisa Shows How Good She Is' part in which the writers are repeating every year. I'm no Lisa Hater, but this simply sums up what an Average, Modern Treehouse Of Horror ending is. And, I had it coming. If there was a better ending, then Lisa would be swallowed whole (and after earlier events, she deserves it), and the dinosaurs would wreak havoc, killing Burns and somehow change the setting on the thermostat, changing the dinosaurs back into humans. Also, a key difference is that in Jurassic Park, there are some on screen deaths. (in fact, if I recall correctly, every one has one) But not this. Yes, it has dinosaurs going berserk, but they cause no harm, thanks to the rubbish ending. 1/5.

In the end, another disappointing outing for the special which hasn't had a good outing since Season 26, and let's hope that next year's an improvement (which it is). My final score: 1/5.

Look, If anyone asks, This review was done in June, but I didn't post it until today as I felt it might insult people. ;)
 
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I was thinking back to which ones I find the worst 'Treehouse' episodes due to the recent thread and it caused me to go back and re-rated this one a 2/5 from my previous generous 3/5 (take note of that for the general collected consensus if you'd like [MENTION=24053]Brad Lascelle[/MENTION]). Definitely one of the worst 'Treehouses' of the entire selection.
 
I have a new rule - when the word "Mapple" is spoken immediately turn the episode off. It's a foolproof indication that the writers haven't bothered to write any jokes for an episode.

This is one of the weakest Treehouse episodes yet. Only XXVI and XXII are worse.
 
You know, before Treehouse of Horror XXIX aired on FOX, I was a bit disappointed that its production code would be XABF16 when there was a XABF16 table read on Al Jean's Twitter back on September 14th of 2017, a year before Treehouse of Horror XXIX aired on FOX back in October 21st of 2018 😐
 
  1. Opening (setting) - In retrospect, it's a really forgettable something-Cthulhu related. It was full of horror atmosphere before the classic "jerkass Homer" :oops:
  2. Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers - Actual sorta satire on modern society, depends on gadgets. It definitely needed more time for better development. Plus, it needed at least some good jokes. 67/100
  3. Mupltplisa-ty - Great Yeardly's voice effort (actual in dubbing was the same). Lisa's "split" personality really impressed, and Bart's apologies was really nice note. However, humor wasn't strong here. 70/100
  4. Geriatric Park - In ahead say, the humor is weak. 🙃 Not the best parody, though very detailed. The invasion of dino-seniors scene worked well, really liked it. 70/100

TOTAL (in average) 69/100 (strong 3/5, with rounding, or C+). DECENT!
Really forgettable episodes, but not bad, actually.

And with this post I end my little THOH estimation tour.:)
 
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