History Recap / TheSimpsonsS3E7TreehouseOfHorrorII

* GoneHorriblyWrong / NotSoDire:

* BazaarOfTheBizarre: Homer buys a monkey's paw in a Moroccan bazaar, [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday that seems to vanish afterwards]], but it turns out he just looked in the wrong direction.

** Maggie's wish - At first, it seems she's requested a gigantic, fancy limo...but it turns out it's only there to deliver her real wish: a new pacifier. Nothing goes wrong with that one.

* SelfDeprecation: After wishing The Simpsons to become rich and famous a large merchandising campaign starts up, causing the general public to grow tired of them.

* TheyCalledMeMad: "Oh, that fellow at Radio Shack said I was mad. [[IResembleThatRemark Well who's mad now?]] [[EvilLaugh Ah-hahahahahaha]]!

** Bart's wish - He wants the Simpsons to be rich and famous, [[ItsPopularNowItSucks which eventually results in the world at large getting sick of them]].

** Bart's wish - He wants the Simpsons to be rich and famous, which eventually results in the world at large getting sick of them.

** Lisa's dream is a reference to [[Literature/TheMonkeysPaw The Monkey's Paw]].
*** Homer being searched by the Moroccan police at the airport is a reference to the arrest of the drug smuggler in ''Film/MidnightExpress''.
*** Lisa wishes for world peace, which shows scenes of Argentina and the United Kingdom making up over the Falklands and people dancing in a large peace symbol to the tune of the hippie anthem "Get Together" by The Youngbloods.
*** Flanders' castle is a reference to the Disneyland castle.
** Bart's dream is a plot parody of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "It's A Good Life". Even the narrator's voice spoofs Rod Serling's narration style.
** Homer's dream references ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''.
*** Bart and Lisa watch ''Series/TheTonightShow'' with Johnny Carson on TV.
*** Mr. Burns scolds the robot he created with the insult: "Clinking, clattering cacophony of collagenous cogs and camshafts", similar to [[Film/TheWizardOfOz The Wizard of Oz's]] line to the Tin Man: "You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk!" He also hums "If I Only Had a Brain" while scooping Homer's brain out of his head. Coincidentally, "If I Only Had a Brain" is also the title of this segment.
*** Homer and Mr. Burns's heads sharing the same body reference ''The Thing with Two Heads''.

* VocalDissonance: When [[CatapultNightmare Bart wakes up screaming]] at the end of his nightmare, his scream sounds more like Lisa's, though this could be attributed to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.

*** Mr. Burns scolds the robot he created with the insult: "Clinking, clattering cacophony of collagenous cogs and camshafts", similar to [[Film/TheWizardOfOz The Wizard of Oz's]] line to the Tin Man: "You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk!" He also hums "If I Only Had a Brain" while scooping Homer's brain out of his head.

* EverybodyLives: To date, this is the only Halloween special where no one dies (unless one counts Mr. Burns's head being separated and placed onto Homer's head as a death).

* OffModel: Happens fairly frequently, being an early episode from Anivision. Bart especially falls victim to this.

-->'''Mr. Burns:''' Dammit, Smithers! This isn't rocket science, it's brain surgery!

* BigBrotherIsWatching: How Homer is fired from the nuclear power plant. Interestingly, it's one of the few times in the series when Homer is [[RealityEnsues actually fired for incompetence]].

'''Homer''': ''(wakes up)'' Huh? Wha?\\

* ExactWords: Homer uses the paw to wish for a turkey sandwich, and specifies that he wants no "weird surprises". It turns out the turkey in the sandwich is a little dry, which is a perfectly mundane surprise.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Lisa's nightmare begins with a dream-like crossfade, and Bart's nightmare as he closes his eyes (seen from the viewer's POV). Homer's "nightmare" just has a straight cut to the beginning of the story, foreshadowing the twist ending.

** The gravestones at the start show the tombstones of [[Disney/{{Bambi}} "Bambi's Mom"]], [[Music/TheDoors Jim Morrison]] (which has writing all over it and is being worshipped by hippies, which how Morrison's grave looks in real life), and Creator/WaltDisney (with icicles and frost all over it, a reference to the urban legend that Disney is cryogenically frozen).

* FauxHorrific:
** Bart's dream actually turns out to be a great dream for him, up until the very end when Homer kisses him, to which Bart [[CatapultNightmare wakes up screaming]].
** Homer reacts to eating a turkey sandwich with meat that's a little dry with more fervor and anguish than Earth being enslaved by aliens.

* FauxHorrific: In "Bart's Dream," Dr. Monroe suggests that Bart is using his omnipotent powers as a way to earn Homer's affection. He encourages the Simpson men to spend quality time together. They do so, become much closer, and say that they love each other. Homer then gently kisses Bart on the head...which causes the ''real'' Bart to wake up screaming in terror.

\* OrWasItADream: The end of "Homer's Dream," where Homer finds Mr. Burns' head grafted to his shoulder.

* FauxHorrific: Bart's dream actually turns out to be a great dream for him, up until the very end when Homer kisses him, to which Bart [[CatapultNightmare wakes up screaming]].

** Flanders wishes to get rid of the aliens, and they're immediately chased off by Moe with a board and a nail. (On the other hand, Kang and Kodos state that humanity will now build bigger and bigger boards with nails, until they destroy themselves. His second wish changes his house into a castle, but the story ends before we can see if there is anything wrong with it.

** Given that the subject of the next episode had Lisa get a pony and Homer needing a 2nd job just to make ends meet, it would be very hard for both to co-exist
* OrWasItADream: The end of "Homer's Dream," where Homer finds Mr. Burns' head grafted to his shoulder.

** Though, after Flanders wishes to get rid of the aliens Kang and Kodos state that humanity will now build bigger and bigger boards with nails, until they destroy themselves. His second wish changes his house into a castle, but the story ends before we can see if there is anything wrong with it.

* PrankCall: In Bart's dream, he calls Moe and has him yell out the PunnyName of... "[[OverlyLongGag Hey Everybody I'm A Stupid Moron With An Ugly Face And A Big Butt And My Butt Smells And I Like To Kiss My Own Butt]]." The end of the scene implies Moe didn't realize it was Bart.

-->'''Mr. Burns:''' Dammit, Smithers! This isn't rocket science, it's brain surgery!
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Maggie ate just as much candy as her family at the beginning, so it is possible she had a nightmare as well, but we just don't see it.