Treehouse of Horror X
I remember Y2k. I don't think I ever bought the fear of some kind of computer apocalypse that people kept talking about but I'm only human. I did have moments of doubt. Frankly, its weird to be writing about such an apocalypse scare during a genuinely dangerous time that some people seem downright desperate to ignore. We are on what feels like what is close to the other side but at the same time, the covid virus will still remain with us in mutated forms and with poor behaviour and habits, it is easy to backslide. Not to mention that due to some awful leadership, some countries are living through a real nightmare. Some people have said this is the year they need feel good pop culture and I understand that. But frankly, in these times, horror is still a good genre. It can be an escape or it could be a way to process the nature of human weakness that remains with us.
In this episode, three more Halloween tales. In the first story, a parody of I Know What You Did Last Summer, Marge accidentally kills Ned Flanders in a road accident and believing no one would ever believe it was an accident, decide to fake a natural death. After the funeral, the Simpsons receive messages stating that someone knows their secret who is revealed to be Flanders, who survived due to in fact recently becoming a werewolf. In the second story in a general parody of superhero fiction, Bart and Lisa get into a radioactive accident on Halloween and get super-powers. They end up battling Comic Book Guy (as the villain The Collector) but lose, only to be saved by Comic Book Guy's kidnapping victim Lucy Lawless. In the final story, a parody of Y2k hysteria, the Y2k bug causes the Earth's machines against humanity. Lisa and Marge end up escaping in a rocket, though when Bart and Homer try to do the same, they realize they are stuck with celebrity losers headed for the sun.
After witnessing firsthand the downturn, I was delighted to see this episode's stories are all pretty funny and well-conceived. The first one's choice of parody, I Know What You Did Last Summer, seems like it could like later episodes where a more recent film is parodied (like the parodies of Split, Chronicle and The Shape of Water). But those are usually pretty much Mad Magazine satires without much thought, checking off boxes on a list. I Know What You Dididily-iddily Did instead keeps it simple and aside from the broadest plot details and Flanders outfit, it doesn't really try to parody the forgettable slasher. Instead, its a generally parody of the common thriller plot of someone threatening a murderer with the truth.
The second story, Desperately Xeeking Xena, has very little to do with Halloween, which would definitely become increasingly common in the series (most confounding: a parody of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). But its still a delight and easily the highlight of a pretty decent episode. The writers get to let their geek flags fly with nerdy references but also allows Lucy Lawless a pretty good comedic turn. I've only scene scattered Xena episodes and was a little ambivalent on it, not really into its broad campy comedy but finding some of its emotional beats a little more effective than I expected. Nonetheless, I was more in Team Buffy, which sadly feels like the losing team in recent years. Anyway, this story is easily the most fun.
The final story is the weakest but still pretty fun. Life's a Glitch and Then You Die is definitely a flashback to a moment in pop culture. The fear and excitement of the new millennium felt palpable, even if it was just a bunch of numbers. Even if technically it meant nothing, such a milestone felt like something mankind would need to reflect on. King of the Hill actually had a pretty decent episode about it. Family Guy... well, that's mostly remembered for a Gary Newman slam and not much else, putting it heads above in the memorability department than other episode. There's not too much going on in the Simpsons take save for goofiness and some celebrity mocking. Thankfully, in retrospect, most of their targets still hold up, except Spike Lee, someone people seemed really down on at the time for reasons I don't know. Maybe his female characters lack proper development but since when was THAT an issue for the 90s? I will say, Tom Arnold's self-mockery is the highlight of the segment.
Other great jokes:
"I can't believe we escaped from those horrible vampires."
"But it was worth it to get back our Super Sugar Crisp cereal. ♩Can't get enough of that Sugar Crisp.♬"
"I'm having a hard time seeing. Homer, did you remember to put the foglights in?"
" ♬I guess I forgot to put the foglights in♪!"
Dan Castellaneta sells whispering to Flanders corpse about his plan.
"Bart, spooky roller disco!"
"Well well well, if it isn't the cutest little police officer in Springfield."
"You know we have feelings too, chief."
"She's been crushed... and so have the hopes of our mathletics team."
"Hold the funeral poindexter."
"*gasp* Poindexter?"
"XENA NEEDS XEX!"
"Wait a minute, Xena can't fly."
"I told you, I'm not Xena. I'm Lucy Lawless."
"Oh."
"I warned you the lord wouldn't stand for your mini-skirts and Beatle boots."
"I've resisted these for 25 years, why did I wear them today?"
"Well, look at the wonders of the computer age now."
"Wonders Lisa... or blunders?"
"I think that was implied by what I said."
"Implied, Lisa... or implode?"
"I mean, my shows weren't great but I never tied anybody up and forced them to watch. And I could have because I'm a big guy and I'm good with knots."
Other notes:
Wrong Maude Flanders voice sounds weird. Not worth killing her ugly, though.
One of the musicians in the ambiguous hair metal band is clearly modelled after Harry Shearer's Derek Smalls.
So... What we Nelson doing in the school on New Year's Eve?