# Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXI! (11/7/10) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936 "2010-11-08T18:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/21 "2010-11-08T23:02:10Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > By the time they started whoring out Marge’s body in a bikini, I was just cringing. Has she always been built like a 20 year old Hollywood starlet?? I don’t recall her being quite so va va voom before. Nah, Marge has always had a smokin’ bod, when it’s not covered up anyway. > [@pravnik](#): > > I’m pretty sure that the Vampira/Elvira vampire was the Simpson’s own lookalike, Booberella. You know, Bill from accounting’s daughter. Yes, Booberella was in the sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/22 "2010-11-08T23:24:48Z")
I didn’t see it (I’ve been outta touch with the show for, wow, a decade now. One day perhaps I’ll try to catch up). But I did enjoy [this NPR segment](http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/10/29/130919258/matt-groening-talks-about-what-s-in-this-year-s-treehouse-of-horror) with Matt Groening which covered, among other things, the Treehouse of Horror tradition. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/23 "2010-11-08T23:27:58Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I thought the whole thing was quite entertaining, particularly the opening bit with Frink and the tivo remote. I liked the Alien in his stomach when he passed the x-ray machine. Overall, I though the first one was a lazy retread of the Mascots Come Alive ToH ep from years ago, and the _Dead Calm_ parody went nowhere and wasted Hugh Laurie. The Twilight stuff was best, but since it’s the most contemporary of the 3, it was also the most ripe for vicious parody, while the whole thing came off a bit too weak-tea; that was one that could’ve benefitted from maybe having 2 of the 3 installments to get off the ground. All in all a bit disappointing, though I still look forward to next year’s. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/24 "2010-11-08T23:30:43Z")
The board games one was hilarious and original and I loved it. The second one was funny only in the end where Homer was killing everyone…even the pelican. The Maggie as Alex thing was kinda dumb IMO The Twilight bit was funny for the row of famous Vampires, the overall story was kinda whatever, the ending sucked. Overall I give it a solid B+…maybe even an A- ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/25 "2010-11-08T23:51:36Z")
I’m going to go against the trend and say that the _Dead Calm_ story was BRILLIANT. Maybe that’s because i’d never heard of _Dead Calm_ until I saw this, but I liked how it was mostly played straight, and a callback to Maggie’s murderous side is always hilarious. (She DID shoot Mr. Burns, after all.) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/26 "2010-11-09T00:27:51Z")
opening was good. liked the first story in the cultural reference to board games. second story i didn’t know the cultural reference but the Maggie twist was a good THH element. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/27 "2010-11-09T01:28:00Z")
I dunno, I enjoyed it. I watched the double-bill, and I enjoyed last year’s as well. I was sort of surprised, as the last few years have been hit-or-miss – mostly miss. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/28 "2010-11-09T05:13:27Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > They really need to fix the ‘airing have Halloween’ element. As soon as Fox loses the World Series or baseball stops stretching into November. I thought this was a solid Treehouse. I don’t think any of the segments were quite as good as _The Grand Pumpkin_ last year, but there were some solid laughs throughout - the Office parody, and in the games segment I liked “Oriental Avenue prostitutes,” Milhouse complaining about being the thimble, and a bunch of other lines. In the boat segment, you had Homer’s ringtone (at least the first time) and Maggie as Alex (even though it had nothing to do with the story). And I liked pretty much everything about the Twilight parody. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/29 "2010-11-09T05:14:47Z")
I corrected the thread title. This year’s edition was Treehouse of Horror XXI. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/30 "2010-11-09T06:44:10Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > As soon as Fox loses the World Series or baseball stops stretching into November. There are several other solutions, which may or may not make sense from a business standpoint. Regardless, what they’re doing now is stupid from a viewer’s perspective. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/31 "2010-11-09T07:50:33Z")
> [@Saganist](#): > > Can anyone tell me what the beginning part of that bit was referencing? The first-person perspective of chasing the deer and then getting a grilled cheese sandwich with dramatic music. That struck me as pure Twilight. The chasing deer part was “non human eater” Cullens, but the eating humans part (or being at a dock)was “Twilight Villains”. ---
**Author:** ![firstname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ab992/32.png) [@firstname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firstname)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/32 "2010-11-09T10:18:41Z")
Eh not great but there are worse ways to spend 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/33 "2010-11-09T14:30:12Z")
The first bit was entertaining though it was basically just a reworking of the old ToT episode where the advertising came to life. Here’s a tip for you, when you employ a staff of writers and they can’t come up with original ideas, maybe you shoud hire NEW writers who can. You’re not doing yourself any favours by sticking with old hacks. What the other two bits were parodying I don’t know, but they were pretty boring. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/34 "2010-11-09T15:50:37Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Here’s a tip for you, when you employ a staff of writers and they can’t come up with original ideas, maybe you shoud hire NEW writers who can. You’re not doing yourself any favours by sticking with old hacks. You know, you’ve said this in many Simpsons threads. I don’t know if that counts as _ironic_ exactly, but it’s something like it. 😉 The segment was a parody of Jumanji, and it had a lot more in common with that story than with Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores. Attack was better than the new one, though. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/35 "2010-11-09T17:00:04Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Maggie Simpson as Alex! I LOVED that! That was creepy as hell. Not that that was bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/36 "2010-11-09T18:21:22Z")
I liked it. Halloween seems like a month ago though. Stupid sports. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/37 "2010-11-09T19:21:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m going to go against the trend and say that the _Dead Calm_ story was BRILLIANT. Maybe that’s because i’d never heard of _Dead Calm_ until I saw this, but I liked how it was mostly played straight, and a callback to Maggie’s murderous side is always hilarious. (She DID shoot Mr. Burns, after all.) I have seen **Dead Calm** so I did recognize what they were sending up. My only complaint, however, is that it’s not really a horror movie and it (and the **Mr. and Mrs. Smith** parody they did a few years back) demonstrate that the Simpsons has now been on so long that they’re running out of horror films/stories to parody for their annual THoT episode. In any case, the **Dead Calm** parody follows a trend over the last few years that’s seen the Simpsons getting more arcane in their movie references (e.g., the episodes that mirrored **Two for the Road** and **Letter to Three Wives** ). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/38 "2010-11-09T19:45:23Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > In any case, the **Dead Calm** parody follows a trend over the last few years that’s seen the Simpsons getting more arcane in their movie references (e.g., the episodes that mirrored **Two for the Road** and **Letter to Three Wives** ). True. I used to get annoyed at that trend until I realized that when I was younger and watching the ealier seasons, I assumed that those kinds of references and assumed they were original ideas. If I hadn’t watched the DVD commentary on Radio Bart I wouldn’t have known it was based on a Billy Wilder movie called Ace in the Hole, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/39 "2010-11-11T00:13:34Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > The board games one was hilarious and original and I loved it. My brain is hard-wired to always love everything the Simpsons’ writers produce so I won’t disagree with it being hilarious, but it reminded me far too much of Jumanji for it to be called original. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936/40 "2010-11-11T00:31:23Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The segment was a parody of Jumanji, and it had a lot more in common with that story than with Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores. Attack was better than the new one, though. “Eh, they’re not so tough.” “Uh…Chief - that wasn’t a monster. That was the captain of the high school basketball team.” “Yeah, well, he was turning into a monster.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-treehouse-of-horror-xxi-11-7-10/559936.md?page=1)