Editing Treehouse of Horror IX

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Good article}}
{{Infobox Simpsons episode
| image      = Treehouse of Horror IX.jpg
| image_size =
| caption    =
| season     = 10
| episode    = 4
| director   = [[Steven Dean Moore]]
| writer     = "'''Hell Toupée'''":<br>[[Donick Cary]]<br>"'''The Terror of Tiny Toon'''":<br>[[Larry Doyle (writer)|Larry Doyle]]<br>"'''Starship Poopers'''":<br>[[David X. Cohen]]
| production = AABF01
| airdate    = {{Start date|1998|10|25}}
| guests     = * [[Robert Englund]] as [[Freddy Krueger]]
* [[Ed McMahon]] as himself
* [[Jerry Springer]] as himself
* [[Regis Philbin]] as himself (live-action sequence)
* [[Kathie Lee Gifford]] as herself (live-action sequence)
| blackboard = [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] paints "The Simpsons Halloween Special IX" on the board with a blood-soaked brush.
| couch_gag  = The family never makes it to the living room; Bart slips while skateboarding and hits his head, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] gets catapulted into the roof of the garage after tripping over Bart while cycling, and [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] gets run down by [[Marge Simpson|Marge]]'s car. In the living room, [[Freddy Krueger]] and [[Jason Voorhees]] are on the couch wondering where the Simpsons are.<ref name="BBC"/>
| commentary = [[Matt Groening]]<br>[[Mike Scully]]<br>[[George Meyer]]<br>[[Ron Hauge]]<br>[[David X. Cohen]]<br>[[Donick Cary]]<br>[[Steven Dean Moore]]
| prev       = [[Bart the Mother]]
| next       = [[When You Dish Upon a Star]]
}}
"'''Treehouse of Horror IX'''", titled onscreen as "'''The Simpsons Halloween Special IX'''", is the fourth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 10|tenth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It first aired on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in the United States on October 25, 1998. It is the ninth ''[[Treehouse of Horror]]'' episode, and, like the other "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, contains three self-contained segments: In "'''Hell Toupée'''", [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] gets a [[hair transplant]] and is [[Spirit possession|possessed]] by [[Snake Jailbird|the spirit of an executed criminal]]; in "'''The Terror of Tiny Toon'''", [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] and [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] are trapped in a special, extremely violent episode of ''[[The Itchy & Scratchy Show]]''; and in "'''Starship Poopers'''", [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] reveals that [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] is the product of a one-night stand with the alien [[Kang and Kodos|Kang]].

"Treehouse of Horror IX" was written by [[Donick Cary]], [[Larry Doyle (writer)|Larry Doyle]] and [[David X. Cohen]], and directed by [[Steven Dean Moore]]. "Terror of Tiny Toon" includes a live-action segment starring [[Regis Philbin]] and [[Kathie Lee Gifford]]. [[Jerry Springer]] and [[Ed McMahon]] also appear in the episode, voicing themselves, with [[Robert Englund]] vocally reprising the role of [[Freddy Krueger]] from the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' series. The episode also features [[Jason Voorhees]] from the ''[[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]]'' series,<ref name="book"/> while various characters visit the talk shows ''[[Live with Regis and Kathie Lee]]'' and ''[[The Jerry Springer Show]]''.

In its original airing on Fox, the episode had an 8.6 [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]]. In [[51st Primetime Emmy Awards|1999]], composer [[Alf Clausen]] was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series|Outstanding Music Composition for a Series]] for his work on the episode.

==Plot==
===Opening sequence===
The opening sequence is exactly the same as normal, but with a dark twist, as [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] does the chalkboard lines in red paint, and then the entire family is killed one by one as they arrive home (Bart falls off his skateboard when he lands on the car, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] is catapulted into the garage wall when she strikes Bart in the driveway, and [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] is crushed by [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] and [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]], who presumably also die in the crash). On the couch, [[Freddy Krueger]] and [[Jason Voorhees]] are waiting for them and wonder where they are.

==="Hell Toupée"===
In a parody of the ''[[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|Amazing Stories]]'' episode "Hell Toupee",<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dessem|first=Matthew|date=2020-03-14|title=The Episodes of Amazing Stories That Are Actually Worth Watching|url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/03/amazing-stories-apple-tv-best-episodes-original-spielberg-series.html|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}}</ref> [[Snake Jailbird|Snake]] is arrested for smoking inside the [[Kwik-E-Mart]]. [[Chief Wiggum]] explains that this is Snake's third strike, so he will be [[execution (legal)|executed]] in accordance with the [[three strikes law]]. Before hauling Snake away, Chief Wiggum points out that [[Apu Nahasapeemapetilon|Apu]], [[Moe Szyslak|Moe]], and Bart are all witnesses; Snake vows to kill them all.

After the execution, which happens on live TV, Homer visits [[Dr. Nick (The Simpsons)|Dr. Nick]], who transplants Snake's hair onto Homer's head. When Homer goes to sleep the following night, it plants its roots in Homer's brain. With the hair [[Brainwashing|controlling his mind]], Homer murders both Apu and Moe. Bart realizes that the other two witnesses have been killed, and Homer vows to protect him. Homer locks himself and Bart in a room, but Snake's hair takes control of him. Homer tries to kill Bart with a [[sledgehammer]]. Bart begs Homer to fight the hair. After a struggle, Homer rips the hair off his head. However, the scalp comes to life, attempting to suffocate Bart whilst Homer ineffectually punches it, if anything hurting Bart. Wiggum bursts in and shoots the hair dead, then wryly comments on how it has been "a bad hair day", causing everyone to laugh. Marge tries to remind everyone about the two murders, but then suddenly gets the joke and joins in.

==="The Terror of Tiny Toon"===
In a parody of ''[[Stay Tuned (film)|Stay Tuned]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-10-30|title=13 Great Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween Stories|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/13-great-simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-halloween-stories/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Den of Geek|language=en-US}}</ref> Marge forbids Bart and Lisa from watching the ''[[The Itchy & Scratchy Show|Itchy & Scratchy]]'' Halloween special while she goes trick-or-treating with Maggie, removing the batteries from the remote control. When Marge leaves, Bart finds [[plutonium]] in Homer's toolbox and hammers it into the remote's battery slot. When they use the remote, the kids enter the world of ''Itchy and Scratchy'', and begin to laugh at their antics, angering the cat-and-mouse duo, who proceed to hunt them to teach them a lesson.

Back in the Simpson house, Homer enters the living room and watches the show. Oblivious to what he sees, Homer decides to change the channel and Bart, Lisa, Itchy, and Scratchy wind up on ''[[Live with Kelly and Ryan|Live with Regis and Kathie Lee]]''. They disrupt the cooking segment of the show with [[Regis Philbin]] and [[Kathie Lee Gifford]], causing Gifford to call it a day while stating that [[Dom DeLuise]] can interview himself. Bart, Lisa, Itchy, and Scratchy then end up back at Itchy's house. They urge Homer from inside the TV to use the remote to get them out, and he eventually succeeds just as Marge and Maggie arrive home.

Unfortunately, Itchy and Scratchy also escape. At first, the family is screaming in horror, but soon realize how small the pair actually are, and decide to keep them as pets. After seeing Scratchy fall in love with [[Snowball II]], Marge decides to have him neutered, much to his horror.

==="Starship Poopers"===
Marge discovers Maggie's first baby tooth, which appears to be a sharp fang. Maggie later loses her legs and sprouts green [[tentacle]]s. Maggie's pacifier sucks contact the alien duo [[Kang and Kodos]]. They arrive at the Simpson house, coming to retrieve Maggie. Marge reveals that Kang is Maggie's real father and explains how it happened.

Kang and Kodos demand that the Simpsons give Maggie to them, but Homer refuses which starts a big fight between Kang and Homer until Bart suggests that they appear on ''[[The Jerry Springer Show]]'' to resolve their issues. When an audience member criticizes Kang, he vaporizes her, as well as the rest of the audience and the film crew. Everyone looks guiltily as host [[Jerry Springer]] does a monologue encouraging them to put their differences aside and do what is best for Maggie. However, Maggie attacks Springer, killing him, causing Kang and Homer to fight again, much to Marge's embarrassment.

After leaving the studio, Kang and Kodos threaten to destroy every politician in [[Washington D.C.|Washington]] unless given Maggie. Marge slyly implies that the aliens could not possibly destroy ''every'' politician, and they fly off to do so. As the Simpsons prepare to head home, Maggie says in Kang's voice that she will drive, and laughs diabolically before stating that she needs blood as the credits begin.

==Production==
[[File:Regis Philbin at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.jpg|right|upright|thumb|[[Regis Philbin]] guest starred as himself in a live-action sequence in "Terror of Tiny Toon".]]
Much like the other ''Treehouse of Horror'' episodes up to that point, the segments of "Treehouse of Horror IX" were credited to different writers. "Hell Toupée" was written by [[Donick Cary]].<ref name="Cary">Cary, Donick (2007). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror IX", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> "Terror of Tiny Toon" was written by [[Larry Doyle (writer)|Larry Doyle]].<ref name="Hauge">Hauge, Ron (2007). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror IX", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> "Starship Poopers" was written by [[David X. Cohen]] and, until [[The Simpsons season 32|season 32]]'s "[[Podcast News]]", was the last writing credit he ever received for the show.<ref name="Cohen">Cohen, David X. (2007). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror IX", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> The episode continues the ''Treehouse of Horror'' tradition of having the credits re-written as "scary names". Cohen's executive producer credit is "David 'Watch Futurama' Cohen" in a reference to the show ''[[Futurama]]'', created by Cohen and [[Matt Groening]], which premiered 5 months later.<ref name="Cohen"/>

Much of the animation in the first segment, "Hell Toupée", was worked on by assistant director [[Chris Clements (animation director)|Chris Clements]].<ref name="Moore"/> Moe's death scene was originally more violent, but it was toned down at the request of [[Mike Scully]].<ref name="Moore"/>

The title of the second segment, "The Terror of Tiny Toon", is a reference of the [[Cartoon series|Animated television series]] ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', as well as the movie ''[[The Terror of Tiny Town]]''. The animators looked forward to working on this segment because they were fans of Itchy & Scratchy.<ref name="Moore"/> Poochie from the ''Simpsons'' episode "[[The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show]]" makes a cameo during this segment.<ref name="Cohen"/>

The title of the third segment, "Starship Poopers", is a reference to the film ''[[Starship Troopers]]''.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season10/page3.shtml |title=Cult - The Simpsons: Season Ten Episode Guide - Treehouse of Horror IX |publisher=BBC |access-date=2010-08-28}}</ref> During this segment, there is a shot of sound waves emanating from Springfield. At one point, there is a shot of North America and it appears that [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]] is located in [[Louisiana]].<ref name="Scully">Scully, Mike (2007). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror IX", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> The mystery of the location of Springfield is a running joke in ''The Simpsons'', and a number of fans assumed that Louisiana was where the family lived.<ref name="Scully"/> However, the animators had drawn the waves so that they were coming from the center of the screen, and they never intended to have them emanate from a specific location.<ref name="Moore"/> In one scene, Marge is abducted by Kang and Kodos, who [[lasso]] her then pull her into the ship. According to Cohen, it is a running gag that Kang and Kodos' abduction methods are never the same.<ref name="Cohen"/> Maggie has a line at the end of the episode, where she sounds like Kang; she was voiced by Kang's usual voice actor [[Harry Shearer]].<ref name="Cary"/>

The couch gag features [[Freddy Krueger]] from the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' series and [[Jason Voorhees]] from the ''[[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]]'' series.<ref name="book"/> Freddy is voiced by [[Robert Englund]], who portrayed the character in eight films. Three talk show hosts appear in the episode: in "The Terror of Tiny Toon", Bart, Lisa, Itchy, and Scratchy accidentally visit ''[[Live with Regis and Kathie Lee]]'' in a live-action segment featuring [[Regis Philbin]] and [[Kathie Lee Gifford]] and directed by [[Donick Cary]];<ref name="Cary"/> while in "Starship Poopers", the Simpson family and Kang appear on ''[[The Jerry Springer Show]]'', with host [[Jerry Springer]] voicing himself; his lines were recorded by [[Julie Thacker]].<ref name="Scully"/><ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Gimple |first=Scott M. |author2=Matt Groening |author2-link=Matt Groening |title=[[The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |date=December 1, 1999 |isbn=978-0-06-098763-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/simpsonsforeverc00groe/page/50 50&ndash;51] }}</ref> The theme music used for ''[[The Jerry Springer Show]]'' is the Mr Sparkle theme from "[[In Marge We Trust]]". For the ''Regis and Kathie Lee'' sequence, the soup splash was created by dropping an item into the pot, then adding the animated characters over it.<ref name="Moore">Moore, Steven Dean (2007). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror IX", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> The taping of this scene took longer than expected, so a broadcast of [[WABC-TV]]'s ''Eyewitness News'' that was to take place (the show was, and continues to be, taped at the facilities of WABC in New York, where it originated in 1983) had to be moved to another studio.<ref name="Moore"/>

==Reception==
In its original airing on Fox, the episode had an 8.6 [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] and was viewed in approximately 8.5 million homes. It finished the week ranked 35th. It was the fifth highest rated show on Fox that week, after two games of the [[1998 World Series]], a World Series pre-game show, and ''[[Ally McBeal]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ho-hum series still puts Fox on top |date=1998-10-29 |publisher=The Associated Press |work=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]]}}</ref>

The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, "Another collection of horrors, of varying degrees of wit. The Itchy and Scratchy one is by far the best, and Starship Poopers is only really amusing once the Jerry Springer segment begins."<ref name="BBC"/> Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a positive review saying "The series usually rises to the occasion of its Halloween episodes, and 'IX' doesn’t disappoint. Each of the three stories satisfies, as they offer a lot of clever, amusing moments. 'Toupée' is probably the best, though, as it's the most creative of the bunch. While funny, the other two can be a bit predictable."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonten.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season (1998) |publisher=Dvdmg.com |access-date=2010-08-28}}</ref> Kay McFadden of ''[[The Seattle Times]]'' wrote that the episode is "certainly not on a par with that all-time doppelganger classic, '[[Treehouse of Horror VII]]', [...] still, No. 9's dialogue is sharp and there's reassuring continuity to such beloved institutions as Itchy and Scratchy."<ref>{{Cite news |author=McFadden, Kay |date=1998-10-29 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |title=The Simpsons still deliver house of everyday horrors}}</ref>

In 2008, "Starship Poopers" was named the tenth best ''Treehouse of Horror'' segment by ''[[IGN]]''. They wrote that "While [it is] not the best Kang & Kodos segment, 'Starship Poopers' delivers consistent laughs and a great ending, as Kang & Kodos vow to destroy all the politicians in Washington (to the Simpsons' delight) and Maggie creepily laughs and says, 'I need blood.{{' "}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/11/05/the-simpsons-best-treehouse-of-horror-segments |title=Top 10 Segments from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror |author=Iverson, Dan, Goldman, Eric, Zoromski, Brian |date=November 5, 2010 |website=[[IGN]] |access-date=2022-01-23 }}</ref> In [[51st Primetime Emmy Awards|1999]], composer [[Alf Clausen]] was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series|Outstanding Music Composition for a Series]] for his work on the episode.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/award_history_search?page=3&person=&program=The%20Simpsons&start_year=0&end_year=2010&network=149&web_category=All&winner=All |title=Primetime Emmy Award Database |work=[[Emmy]].com |access-date=2010-08-28 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_10#Treehouse_of_Horror_IX|"Treehouse of Horror IX"}}
{{Portal|The Simpsons}}
*{{snpp capsule|AABF01}}
*{{IMDb episode |id=0701280}}
{{Treehouse of Horror}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|10}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treehouse Of Horror 09}}
[[Category:The Simpsons season 10 episodes]]
[[Category:1998 American television episodes]]
[[Category:Treehouse of Horror]]
[[Category:Television episodes about alien abduction]]
[[Category:Television episodes about mind control]]
[[Category:Television episodes with live action and animation]]
[[Category:Television episodes written by David X. Cohen]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Jerry Springer]]
[[Category:Halloween television episodes]]
[[Category:Television episodes about curses]]
[[Category:Television episodes about murder]]
[[Category:Animated television episodes about revenge]]
[[Category:Television episodes directed by Steven Dean Moore]]

[[it:La paura fa novanta I-X#La paura fa novanta IX]]