Once again Simpsons fans were forced to watch the annual Halloween episode while scraping the bottoms of their trick-or-treat bags and munching on stale Butterfingers.  "Treehouse of Horror XVIII" aired November 4^th, the weekend after Halloween.  There were a couple of changes this year though.  For one, this was the first Treehouse episode not directed by David Silverman since season 15.  There was a chance for something new and interesting with Chuck Sheetz at the helm.  Second, this episode was rated TV14-DLSV, a first for The Simpsons.  With the anticipation of some extra violence and even some sort of sexual reference, I think viewers had high expectations for this year's special.

Marge began the show by discussing the fact that Halloween had already passed, and by mutilating the various icons that generally pop up in the right hand corner of the screen.  Jack Bauer, Dr. House and several others ended up in a loaf of bread where they spelled out the credits with their disfigured bodies. It was a promising beginning to a less than stellar show.  The Treehouse of Horrors episodes have seemed to go downhill in the past few years.What started as a fun and gory way to celebrate Halloween has become somewhat mundane.

The ever present Kodos and Kang star in the first segment, "E.T., Go Home."  Kodos is stranded on earth and is found in the Simpsons' garden shed.  Although he comes with a message of bringing "peace to earth," he is there to open a portal for the other aliens.  The fact that the aliens show up wearing costumes as though they are trick-or-treating does little to add to this storyline.  The moral of the story, according to Marge, is that we really should judge a book by its cover.

The second segment was completely out of place in a Halloween episode.  Homer and Marge find themselves in a parody of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."  Both Marge and Homer are forced to invent wild excuses as to why they will be late that night, and find themselves as competing assassins.  Once their secret lives are revealed, the big shoot out ensues, culminating with the death of Chief Wiggum.  While the storyline was clever, and the jokes were great, it just didn’t fit in with the usual Treehouse fare.

I’m sure viewers were able to guess who would be starring in the third segment when the name was revealed as “Heck House”.  Bart, Lisa, Millhouse and Nelson go on a pranking spree, once they realize that the tricking part of trick-or-treat is way more fun that collecting candy.  After doing everything from lighting poo-filled bags to overfeeding pet fish, the town of Springfield gathers to put a stop to their pranks.  Ned Flanders steps up to put an end to the mischief by converting the church into Heck House.  His plan to scare the kids straight by showing them about eternal "darnation" fails and he asks God for help.  With God's help Ned sends the kids to hell so they can see how they will spend eternity if they don't straighten up.  This last installment promised to be the most fun, but seemed to have no ending.  It felt like it was leading somewhere, and then just left.

Overall it's unfortunate that the one storyline that delivered was the one that felt so out of place.  The "Mr. & Mrs. Simpson" short was well thought out with plenty of laughs, but had zero to do with Halloween.  With so many horror movies to draw from, writer Marc Wilmore could have found something more appropriate for a Halloween episode.  Maybe next year we’ll see some Saw parodies featuring Krusty or even something involving a tape that shouldn’t be watched a-la "The Ring."  Oh well.  Iit’s always fun to watch the end credits and see what the staff has done to change their names.

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