“The Simpsons” continues to be a factor in 2024, despite the fact that no one you realize is watching it. Whereas the final consensus is that the present hasn’t been good for some time, it nonetheless manages to churn out the odd spotlight, together with a pretend sequence finale impressed by a standard fan query. What’s extra, you’ll be able to nonetheless depend on the “Treehouse of Horror” episodes to ship top-quality “Simpsons.”
Impressed by a ’50s comedian, the “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween episodes began within the present’s second season, and have grow to be a “Simpsons” custom ever since (although that custom virtually ended earlier than it started). The anthology episodes are answerable for a number of the most memorable moments within the sequence’ lengthy historical past, and have developed their very own mini traditions in and of themselves — one being renaming all of the forged and crew within the episode credit to provide them spooky-sounding names.
Over the course of 35 Halloween episodes, sequence creator Matt Groening has grow to be “Matt “funk lord of usa” Groening,” government producer James L. Brooks has been renamed to “James Hell Brooks,” and voice actor Hank Azaria has, lamentably, been dubbed “Yank My Space.” However one in every of these seemingly innocent gags really had some real-life penalties.
The Treehouse of Horror credit that triggered real-world scares
“The Simpsons” has been working for therefore lengthy that “Treehouse of Horror” episodes have even begun referencing “Simpsons” episodes of outdated. The spooky installments are nonetheless cranking out novelty credit, too, with the thirty fifth version altering the names of government producers Matt Selman and Al Jean to “Keep Puft Mattselman Man” and “A.I. Jean.”
Whereas all these gags are simply innocent enjoyable, again within the day, one occasion of spookifying the forged and crew names triggered some actual world scares. For season 7’s “Treehouse of Horror VI,” writers Josh Weinstein and Invoice Oakley had their names modified to “The Property of Josh Weinstein” and “The late Invoice Oakley.” The credit in query appeared on the finish of the section, “Homer^3,” which was the primary time “The Simpsons” used 3D animation and real-world footage, and stays one in every of one of the best “Treehouse of Horror” segments ever made.
Based on Weinstein (through Twitter), his and Oakley’s title modifications had been taken barely too actually by their former highschool’s alumni workplace, which known as the present to verify the pair had been nonetheless alive.
When this Halloween credit score first appeared, somebody from our highschool’s alumni workplace known as to verify we had been okay. https://t.co/7qnYrwjjJS
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) November 1, 2024
In a reply to a remark, Weinstein confirmed that, “Sure, this really occurred,” and likewise responded to a query as as to whether the pair had been really OK with, “We had been just about alive.” Spooky, certainly!