"Treehouse of Horror XI" is the first episode of The Simpsons' twelfth season, as well as the eleventh Hallowe'en episode. The episode aired on November 1, 2000, one day after Halloween.

Episode details

Production Number: BABF21
Original Air Date: November 1, 2000
Writers: Rob Lazebnick (Part 1), John Frink and Don Payne (Part 2), and Carolyn Omine (Part 3)
Director: Matt "Groening" Nastuk

Opening Sequence

A spoof on The Munsters, with Homer as Herman, Marge as Lillian, Lisa as Marilyn with a book on copyright law, Bart as Eddie, and Abe as Dracula. As they are at the front of their mansion, an angry mob of townspeople confront the Munsters, killing everyone except Lisa, who walks away from the mob and the carnage. The intro was done in black-and-white in order to bear a resemblance to the series, and the Simpsons theme was done similar to the theme of The Munsters.

Synopsis

G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad

Homer has a very bad day after reading the horoscope in the newspaper, when he expects a good day. He has broccoli for supper and chokes on it, causing him to die. When Homer goes to Heaven, St. Peter warns him he will get to go to Heaven if he does a good deed sometime within the next 24 hours. However, the ghost of Homer chokes on the same piece of broccoli, and St. Peter informs Homer he will now have 23 hours left. He tries many failed attempts at good deeds, including trying to save Agnes Skinner's life, and saving a baby's life. When he goes to Heaven again, St. Peter decides that Homer will go to Hell.

Scary Tales Can Come True

Before the movie Shrek was a box-office hit, The Simpsons did a spoof on fairy tales in this segment. The Simpsons are a peasant family living in a pumpkin cottage. Homer tosses Bart and Lisa in the woods. Bart and Lisa go into the house that is in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and they go to a gingerbread house where a witch makes them eat parts of the house so she can eat them (a'la Hansel and Gretel), and she says she has a boyfriend, George Cauldron. She uses her spells to turn Homer into a scary-looking character until Homer cooks her and tells George that the witch, "Suzanne", can't make it. The witch dies, and Homer has most of his body back, but is still a half-human, half-chicken character.

Night of the Dolphin

A parody of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, except with dolphins instead of birds, this one has Lisa going to Marine World, a Sea World-like park, where she takes pity on a sad-looking dolphin, Snorky. Lisa wants Snorky to go back to the sea, where he is revealed to be the master of an army of dolphins. The army of dolphins begin their plot killing Springfield's residents, approaching on a beach and getting their first victim. Snorky can say human words, and he says dolphins lived on the land until humans drove them onto the sea, where they suffered for millions of years. They tried to return to land with little success. After a fight, the dolphins decide to drive the humans to the sea.

Quotes

• Homer: Did you see that? I did the deed! Open up!
  St. Peter: Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking.
  Homer: Hey, I thought you guys could see everything!
  St. Peter: No, you're thinking of Santa Claus.
  Homer: Well, I'll be damned.
  St. Peter: I'm afraid so, yes.
• George Cauldron: Hello, I'm George Cauldron. Is Suzanne ready yet?
  Homer: Almost. Just give her another 20 minutes.
  George: But the concert's at eight.
• Lenny: Mmmm. Alcohol and night swimming. It's a winning combination! (he's surrounded by dolphins with their fins showing swimming around him) Uh-oh! Sharks! The assassins of the sea! (the dolphins show their heads) Oooh. You're not sharks. You're dolphins. The clowns of the sea. (the dolphins use their noses to strike Lenny) Ow! Ow! Hey, what's the gag? (Lenny dies.)