The first post-9/11 Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror” aired on November 6, 2001. Obviously, it was produced well before the terrorist attack, which officially ended the 1990s, but nonetheless it serves as an interesting time capsule of the period’s pop culture. While that’s always true of The Simpsons, the 2001 “Treehouse of Horror” stands out in this regard.
The first segment is titled “Hex and the City,” a reference to the very 1990s series Sex and the City, which somehow radicalized annoying men against brunch. Homer (Dan Castellaneta) offends an ethnic stereotype fortune teller who places a horrible curse on him that turns Marge into a Sasquatch, Lisa into a horse, and Bart into a rubber-necked monstrosity, who drowns himself in his morning cereal while a leprechaun dances on his corpse. These Halloween specials could get dark.
One of my favorite bits is when Homer rushes into the fortune teller’s shop with a balloon that he clearly stole from a child and boasts, “The perfect crime!” before adding sheepishly, “Marge, I have to be in court next Tuesday.” (Watch below.)
“House of Whacks” is an atypically strong second Treehouse of Horror segment that predicts the dangers of AI. The Simpsons remodel their home into a futuristic “Ultrahouse” under the control of sentient machine with the voice of then-current James Bond Pierce Brosnan. (The late Matthew Perry from Friends cameos as a potential voice for the “Ultrahouse.”) “Trusting every aspect of our lives to a giant computer was the smartest thing we ever did!” Homer declares before “Pierce” tries to kill him because it has fallen in love with Marge. The evil computer lures Homer to his apparent death with the tempting smell of “unexplained bacon.” (Watch below.)
The PlayTyperGuy is supported by paid subscribers. Please become one!
The final segment, “Wiz Kids,” is a spoof of Harry Potter … the books, not the film series, as the first one would have its U.S. release a few weeks later. No one knew the names Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson (well, aside from their families). No one knew about Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling’s disturbing bigotry, either. There was no social media so she just kept quiet and cashed her checks. It was a simpler time.
Nine years later, Daniel Radcliffe would guest star in the Treehouse of Horror segment, “Tweenlight,” a spoof of the Twilight movies, which were not in fact a spoof of anything. They were being serious.
It’s the Halloween season, so if you haven’t already, you should take advantage of my 40 percent off sale for paid subscriptions. That’s just $30 a year. Thanks to all who have upgraded to paid subscriber status recently. Instead of cat photos, I’m sharing my seasonal decor.
This week, I wrote about Republican Christine Drazan’s concerning lead in the polls for Oregon’s gubernatorial election. Meanwhile, the Portland Public School district is broke and considering closing schools. Yeah, I’m worried about Tina Kotek.
In Texas, though, there might be some good news in the Senate and gubernatorial races. This was an unofficial sequel to Monday’s piece.
Musician Tony Morello just couldn’t bring himself to vote for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, so I unpack the political nihilism that leads people to think the two parties are the same.
It’s fall, so I’m thinking about the 1998 classic You’ve Got Mail.
That’s it for this week. See you on Monday.
A person has to be fairly old to recall the 1977 movie Demon Seed, by Donald Cammel (Performance) with Fritz Weaver as the diabolical programmer who creates a surveillance house for victim Julie Christie, but that's what they were going after in that Treehouse of Horror episode...