ShareThisBy DAVE MASON
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Doughnuts are no longer enough for Homer Simpson.
Instead this man is broadening his horizons _ literally _ by devouring the good and not-so-good people of Springfield in the "Treehouse of Horror XVII." The annual scary "Simpsons" episode will chill the air at 8 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 5) on Fox. (Once again, the Halloween spoof was delayed a week because of Fox's World Series broadcasts.)
It's not the funniest "Treehouse," but it's certainly one of the most twisted, and that's why it's fun to watch. The opening credits alone should be saved in a vault for future generations.
As usual, the "Treehouse of Horror" consists of three short stories that spoof the horror and sci-fi genres. This year's episode begins with "Married to the Blob," in which Homer eats a green goo that came with a meteor that struck his backyard. He turns into a giant blob and starts eating everything _ and everyone _ in sight. Finally, Homer finds his destiny as a cannibal who's bigger than Springfield's buildings.
The second act, "You Gotta Know When To Golem," features guest voice Richard Lewis as a monster from Jewish folklore. He does everything he's told to do when people feed written instructions into his mouth. Fran Drescher is the voice of the female monster who falls for him.
The third story, "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid," takes place during the heyday of radio. Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds" broadcast scares Springfield into insane fighting, killing and destruction. Then things get worse.
The "Treehouse of Horror" trilogies succeed because they exaggerate these already exaggerated characters. One thing's for sure: Homer has never been bigger.
