YMMV / The Simpsons S 2 E 3 "Treehouse of Horror"

• Alternative Joke Interpretation: Did the realtor really tell Homer about the burial ground, or is he just lying out his ass and Homer's simply dumb enough to believe this?
• And You Thought It Would Fail: Matt Groening was nervous about "The Raven" because it did not have many gags, and felt it would be "the worst, most pretentious thing [they had] ever done" on the show. It ended up being widely regarded as the best of the episode's three segments, and among the best of any "Treehouse of Horror" stories.
• Crosses the Line Twice: In "Bad Dream House," Bart being strangled by a floating lamp and begging for help? Horrifying. Homer getting annoyed and wanting Bart to talk his way out of it? Hysterical!
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Bart makes a comment on the first Friday the 13th film, saying that "it's pretty tame by today's standards." In wake of much more controversial adult animated shows like Beavis And Butthead, South Park, and Family Guy, The Simpsons has often been thought of as "tame" by modern audiences.
  • During "The Raven" segment, Homer throws a paperweight at Raven!Bart who proceeds to dodge it. This causes Homer to exclaim, "D'oh, I missed!", years before The Runaway Guys made the phrase popular.
  • The premise of the aliens inviting the Simpsons to their planet as guests but in reality to be eaten was later revisited as a non-Treehouse of Horror episode.
  • One of the Indian burials is of Pocahontas (or at least a different Native American female of the same name). Her tombstone◊ has her name written on it in a style that makes it look awfully similar to the logo of the Disney movie.
• The Woobie: Serak the Preparer's sole appearance in the series ends on a sad note. While it seems that he's trying to fatten up the Simpsons for consumption, it turns out that Serak only cooks a lot for them because they're so gluttonous. He even breaks down crying because of how much time and energy he put into cooking for them, only to have them accuse him of trying to eat them.

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