QUICK SYNOPSIS

Homer battles mutants after Springfield is annihilated by a neutron bomb; Bart has his DNA mixed with a fly; Marge is revealed to be a witch in colonial Springfield.

POINTLESS GUEST STAR(S)

None!

WHY THIS EPISODE SUCKS

I’m not going to say that “Treehouse of Horror VIII” sucks, per se, but there’s a certain charm to the Halloween episodes that had been lacking since at least Season 7. Part of it might be that they stopped thematically linking the stories like they did in the earlier years — candy-induced nightmares in Season 3, a Halloween party in Season 4, paintings in Season 5. Now they just feel like haphazardly-arranged anthologies.

Or maybe the stories just aren’t as memorable as they used to be. I’ve watched through Season 9 about a hundred times in my youth and I couldn’t remember how any of these segments were going to progress or end as I was watching.

“The HΩmega Man” was a solid story. This episode aired at a time when I started learning about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so the idea of a bomb going off in my city unnerved me. Homer took it like a champ, though! The defining moment was when he was dancing naked in church to “War” by Edwin Starr. I could have done without the mutants, though. That felt tacked on and unnecessary. It would have been funnier if Homer succumbed to crippling loneliness after several weeks when all he had to do was go back to his own house. Now that’s funny!

“Fly vs. Fly” was also a solid story. Using the matter transporter to conveniently get beer from the fridge is classic Homer, and Bart’s fly-swapping shenanigans provided some gross results! Perhaps this segment would have ended better if Bart retained some fly-like traits after regenerating himself, but I’m not some fucking Harvard graduate so who am I to write for the Simpsons?

“Easy-Bake Coven”, while having a title pun that works on exactly half a level, was somewhat lacking as a story. There were some funny moments like Patty calling Homer “Derwood”, referencing Bewitched, but overall it just wasn’t that funny or scary! Pick one or the other; in fact, pick both! Maybe next time, Ned Goldreyer. Maybe this is why you never wrote for the Simpsons ever again after this!

IMDb TRIVIA FUNHOUSE!

The Comic Book Guy’s line “Oohh, I’ve wasted my life…” just before his doom is creator Matt Groening’s favorite line.
Matt Groening’s favorite line of all time? Jesus, this guy really doesn’t have a sense of humor, does he? He tricked us all!

Although Kang and Kodos make brief appearances in every Treehouse of Horror episode, their brief appearance in this one was nearly cut. David X. Cohen managed to persuade the producers to leave the scene in.
Welcome to Season 9 where you need to convince “the producers” to leave in two iconic Simpsons Halloween episode characters that had shown up in the previous seven Simpsons Halloween episodes. Really gives you the warm and fuzzy feeling that the series is in good hands.

The creature with two butts that comes out is reference to a Shel Silverstein poem in Where The Sidewalk Ends that explains the positives of a creature like that.
Shel Silverstein was a creep.

In The Simpsons Movie (2007), which was released nearly ten years after this special, Comic Book Guy’s opinion on his life is the opposite as he contemplates his death, that it was worthwhile reading comics, not a waste.
Oh yeah, there was a Simpsons movie! LOL!

FINAL GRADE
B