# Most unique Simpons Halloween episode **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140 "2019-10-22T16:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/1 "2019-10-22T16:07:14Z")
OK, they went triple-X a couple of nights ago for the Simpsons Halloween Special, and yeah, color me hard to believe its been 30 years, but … meh… probably, amirite? There was a thread a while back trying to list which were Twilight zone references: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=864647&highlight=simpsons](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=864647&highlight=simpsons) That thread didn’t attract too much interest, after all, as I pointed out then, too many references are older than even the Twilight Zone. So how about this question: Which one \*\*\*isn’t \*\*\*a reference to something else, and made up entirely by the writers. Or at the very least, is so heavily changed, it really only uses the most basic tropes. This might be harder than I think. I was going to suggest the one where the Simpsons kill Flanders, but he comes back as a werewolf. Then I remembered that was essentially the plot to _I know what you did last summe_r, and is even referenced in the title and episode content. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/2 "2019-10-22T16:11:32Z")
Off the cuff, I’d think the one where the giant logo men came to life was unique and not a parody/homage. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/3 "2019-10-22T17:39:24Z")
[Here’s a list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Simpsons_Treehouse_of_Horror_episodes), ones marked N/A don’t have an apparent homage. The _title_ of Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores is based on Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, though. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/4 "2019-10-22T17:59:57Z")
My two favorite Halloween episodes are the one when Lisa creates a universe in a petri dish and becomes the goddess of this world and the one in which Homer accidentally invents a time-traveling toaster and isn’t able to return to the present time without altering the timeline. I can’t think of works these two episodes are parodies of. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/5 "2019-10-22T18:02:50Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > My two favorite Halloween episodes are the one when Lisa creates a universe in a petri dish and becomes the goddess of this world and the one in which Homer accidentally invents a time-traveling toaster and isn’t able to return to the present time without altering the timeline. I can’t think of works these two episodes are parodies of. The first is at least an homage to several sci fi stories of a similar nature, such as Dragon’s Egg. The time traveling toaster is basically Heinlein’s A Sound of Thunder, which is the basis for every “butterfly effect” story. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/6 "2019-10-22T18:09:42Z")
So many good ones. The stories “Time and Punishment” (A Sound of Thunder) and "Homer’ (Little Girl Lost) are my favorites, but so many more are so good. Hard to say which entire episode was the best. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/7 "2019-10-22T18:19:09Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The first is at least an homage to several sci fi stories of a similar nature, such as Dragon’s Egg. > > The time traveling toaster is basically Heinlein’s A Sound of Thunder, which is the basis for every “butterfly effect” story. Ray Bradbury’s _Sound of Thunder_, not Heinlein’s. L. Sprague de Camp was so annoyed by it that he wrote his own Time-Travelers-Hunt-for-Dinosaur story in response, _A Gun for Dinosaur_, which has become a classic in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/8 "2019-10-22T18:23:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > L. Sprague de Camp was so annoyed by it that he wrote his own Time-Travelers-Hunt-for-Dinosaur story in response, _A Gun for Dinosaur_, which has become a classic in its own right. Public domain yet? Do you have a link? I love L. Sprague de Camp. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/9 "2019-10-22T18:27:55Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Public domain yet? Do you have a link? I love L. Sprague de Camp. Here’s a scan of its original magazine publication in _Galaxy_: > **[Galaxy Magazine (March 1956) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming :...](https://archive.org/details/galaxymagazine-1956-03?view=theater)** Decades later, deCamp wrote a series of sequels, which were collected with the original story in the anthology _Rivers of Time_. > **[Rivers of Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_Time)** > > Rivers of Time is a 1993 collection of science fiction short stories by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in paperback by Baen Books. All but one of the pieces were originally published between 1956 and 1993 in the magazines Galaxy, Expanse, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog, and Asimov's Science Fiction, and the Robert Silverberg-edited anthology The Ultimate Dinosaur. The remaining story was first published in the present work. > The book collects the author's... There have been lots of other Dinosaur Big Game Hunter stories (and attempted movies) since, but I think this is enough of a hijack. We now return you to our regularly scheduled Simpsons thread. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/10 "2019-10-22T19:58:01Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The first is at least an homage to several sci fi stories of a similar nature, such as Dragon’s Egg. > > The time traveling toaster is basically Heinlein’s A Sound of Thunder, which is the basis for every “butterfly effect” story. The first one may be also based on Sturgeon’s “Microcosmic God” (which also influenced Futurama’s Godfellas) ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/11 "2019-10-22T20:16:14Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > [Here’s a list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Simpsons_Treehouse_of_Horror_episodes), ones marked N/A don’t have an apparent homage. > > The _title_ of Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores is based on Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, though. That’s probably the best we can hope for, in that, although the name matches, content isn’t really a perfect match. Also, thanks for the Wikipedia list, because it certainly helps – it only helps 'tho, there’s lots of stuff missing on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/12 "2019-10-22T20:26:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Ray Bradbury’s _Sound of Thunder_, not Heinlein’s. To quote a relevant person: D’OH! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/13 "2019-10-22T21:13:18Z")
That’s odd, usually the blood gets off at the second floor. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/14 "2019-10-22T23:15:40Z")
Well…there went the last remnants of my heterosexuality. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/15 "2019-10-22T23:26:50Z")
Hey, Flanders gave us toothpaste! _Mini_-toothpaste! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/16 "2019-10-23T12:55:49Z")
“It’s too bad we filled up on children before we got to the Flanders’ house. BRAAAAAPP!” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/17 "2019-10-23T13:15:05Z")
The Raven from the first Treehouse of Horror has never been beaten. A classic tale done Simpsons-style. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/18 "2019-10-25T17:29:01Z")
^ Oh, I hate Hallowe’en. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/19 "2019-10-25T17:35:36Z")
Did anyone see that movie “Tron”? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unique-simpons-halloween-episode/842140/20 "2019-10-25T17:54:32Z")
Yes. I mean, no.