Talk:Treehouse of Horror

Introduction
Too much of introduction is devoted to Willie. Maybe make a Willie section?--Lord of the Ping 19:29, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Origins: a study in self-contradictory articles
"Originally, the name of the Halloween episodes was The Simpsons Halloween Special, (and followed by the roman numerals for the sequels) but was later changed to Treehouse of Horror after the twelfth Halloween episode." ... "The yearly Halloween special was named "Treehouse of Horror" because the original special depicted the Simpson children in their treehouse telling scary stories to one another."

So which is it?

Not a contradiction, depending on what "after" means
I see no contradiction in that quote, depending on what the word "after" means. It could mean "subsequent to" or "in allusion to". I assume the intended meaning is that the name was originally "The Simpsons Halloween Special" but after twelve years it was renamed after the first episode, "Treehouse of Horror".

In any case, the current article no longer mentions the renaming except to note that it's "Also known as The Simpsons Halloween Specials". There's no longer any reference to the timing of the name, and the only mention of its origin is the word "eponymous" when the first episode is named. --Wrong Oms (talk) 22:47, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

✅ Scorpion0422 19:06, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Requested move
The Simpsons Halloween episodes → Treehouse of Horror episodes — I think the page should be moved to "Treehouse of Horror episodes" or "The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes" because the episodes are all titled "Treehouse of Horror" and that seems like the term that the most users would search for. I don't know if the move would be controversial, but I'm not sure which title to move to, hence the discussion. —Scorpion0422 19:34, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Survey

 * Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with  or  , then sign your comment with  . Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's naming conventions.


 * Support - It is the name that they are always known by in every single special. Reginmund 01:50, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Support - I like THOH episodes, as apposed to the simpsons THOH episodes  C t j f 8 3  02:34, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Support - Only makes sense, really.  xihix  (talk) 04:51, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Support - I agree, it makes sense. Silver Sonic Shadow 04:53, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Support - Seems fine to me. Zagalejo^^^ 06:21, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Support - Common name. Gran2 09:57, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Support move to "Treehouse of Horror (series)", per an interpeetation of WP:NCF. Will (talk) 11:58, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Support- Just remember to put down that it is also known as the simpsons halloween episodes. Rhino131 03:12, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

Discussion

 * Any additional comments:

GA review
After thorough checking, the article seems to not have any minor problems, bar the image of Kang and Kodos. Honestly, it looks like they're doing ballet. Alientraveller 19:45, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, I wanted an image of them laughing and for some reason, that's the only frame my video player would stop at. I'll try and get a better image later tonight. And, I just did a huge copyedit of the article, so I think it's a bit better than it was a few minutes ago. -- Scorpion0422 19:56, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I took a look and believe it or not, there really aren't many good screenshots of the two of them from the early episodes. The reason I chose THOH III is because that appearance is used as an example in the text, so I figured it made sense to use that image. I did upload a different version of that image though. Is it better? -- Scorpion0422 00:13, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Pass. Alientraveller (talk) 19:44, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Erm... Something is Screwy
"Several Treehouse of Horror-inspired books have been published, including Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Spine-Tingling Spooktacular[42] and Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Spine-Tingling Spooktacular.[43]"

I think thats supposed to read as two individual names, but its not. Just lettin ya'lls know!  Qb | your 2 cents  18:59, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Front page of Wikipedia
Why is a completely unrelated picture of a pumpkin on the front page beside this article?
 * Because it looks cool and it's better than no image at all. -- Scorpion 0422  01:16, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Becuase fair use image are not allowed on the mainpage, and screenshots from the episodes are fair use images. 129.108.97.63 (talk) 02:41, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I'd say no image is better than an image of a carved pumpkin, quite frankly. The359 (talk) 06:06, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I had originally suggested a treehouse picture, but I do think this one is good....it is Halloween after all, and that's what the THOH episodes are about!  C T J F 8 3 Talk 06:12, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * There's plenty of Halloween images to choose from at Category:Halloween images. -- Suntag  ☼  17:29, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Treehouse of Horror - the graphic novels/comics
Confidentially, I'd like to see an article about the Treehouse of Horror comic adaptations, because if you thought the series itself parodied classic movies and genre, the comic spoofs current horror comic genres as well.

For example, in the recent ToH collection: Dead Man's Jest, they reprint the classic Treehouse of Horror issue which parodied the EC Comics anthology comics, as well as poking fun at Marvel's Horror of Dracula series.

In a more recent ToH issue, the Simpsons lampoon 'Death Note,' where the artist who did the Manga version, of the Simpsons Round the World issue illustrates it. Bart finds the infamous notebook, and hilarity ensues when it's discovered even when the pages are removed, any name written on it will cause that person's demise.

Anyway, just a suggestion, since the comic adaptations deserve some merit as well as the animated series which inspired the genre.Fangarius (talk) 05:26, 31 October 2008 (UTC)


 * List of The Simpsons comics. -- The Le ft orium  10:07, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Response to Origins
Confidentially, you're correct. But there was another reason behind the "Treehouse of Horror," nom de plume. Many of the writers were fans of the EC Comics' anthology comics, one in particular, which was called "Vault of Horror." However, since Springfield didn't exactly have a vault (unless you count Montgomery Burns' vault, and if I recall, he doesn't like anyone using it, even if it's for causing unrelenting horror and indescribable torture to others), they decided on calling the Halloween Specials as "Treehouse of Horror."

Now why exactly did they wait until the thirteenth episode to officially call it that? Rumor has it, HBO still had obtained the rights from EC Comics' "Vault of Horror," and had planned on making a spin-off series from "Tales of the Crypt." However, the cable network nixed the idea, feeling the concept was rather redundant. Thus, when the rights expired, the Gaines' estate consented with Matt Groening and the writers in allowing them the use of "Treehouse of Horror."

However, this is only speculation, since this is the only logical explanation on why it took them so long in using the name. Considering "Treehouse of Horror" was originally the code name for the Halloween Specials.Fangarius (talk) 05:43, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * That is very interesting, is it possible that there is any kind of reliable sourcve for this, even the part of naming it after "Vault of Horror"? -- Scorpion 0422  16:55, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Two comments:
I know this is an FA, but there are two things I don't like

First, this sentence is incomplete, For "Treehouse of Horror", there were even three different directors for the episode. Which episode of "Treehouse of Horror?" Second, the cultural references is more of a list than true prose. I'd personal prefer to see something along the lines of: Now, I won't make the changes, but wanted to throw it out to the people who worked on the article.--- Balloonman  PoppaBalloon 13:25, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * In response to your first comment, there is an easy way to differentiate between when the article talks about the episode and the general series. Treehouse of Horror (series) is written in italics, the first episode "Treehouse of Horror" has quotes. -- Scorpion 0422  16:58, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * You may know that, having worked on the article, but as a person coming here for the first time because it's on the main page, I had absolutely no clue. In fact, I had to read the article twice before I realized that there was an episode "treehouse of horror."  The differentiation between terms is not obvious.--- Balloonman  PoppaBalloon 17:59, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, is this any help? -- Zombie Scorpion 0422 18:03, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Part of the policy is to put single episodes in quotes. Magazines, tv shows, movies, etc are always italicized. That's just the way it is. Zell65 (talk) 22:31, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Merge
Hey (Zombie) Scorpion0422, why not merge List of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes? The page is basically a single section and the lead is redundant of this article. – thedemonhog   talk •  edits  22:37, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Because articles with long lists generally won't pass as FA, the practice is to create a separate list.--- Balloonman  PoppaBalloon 23:16, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Partially what he said, although that wasn't my motivation for creating the list. Basically, I felt it would make the page a lot less cluttered and easier to read without a big long list right in the middle of it. -- Zombie Scorpion 0422 23:25, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * In response to Balloonman, see Smallville (season 1) and Lost: Missing Pieces. – thedemonhog   talk  •  edits  23:35, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I think in this case it's different because those tables all contain a lot of text. In this case, it would just be a straight up list of episodes (unless summaries are added, which I am against) and would really disrupt the flow of the article. -- Zombie Scorpion 0422 23:44, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

The ratings are in!
And the page received 103,900 views, a lot more than I was expecting. In comparison, Mary Shelley, the TFA the day before, had 56,600 and Tang Dynasty (the day before that) had 32,100. However, this is well under the views received by Troy McClure when it was TFA on May 28 (133,200) and The Simpsons on December 17 (130,600). -- Scorpion 0422  20:34, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

Non-Canonical?
The understanding of what it means to be "canon" seems confused upon Wikipedia. Though often assumed to mean something to the effect of "not a true progression/representation of actual story", this is not true. Firstly, the article's assertion that Treehouse of Horror episodes are non-canon doesn't even make sense, as it needs to be justified against something (e.g Treehouse of Horror episodes are not considered part of the post 2000's comedic-animation canon, or simply just not part of Simpson's canon).

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, even if the statement was made to make sense, it still wouldn't be true. Though Treehouse of Horror episodes can justifiably be discounted as regular story-progressing "Simpsons" episodes, they are still part of officially-sanctioned Simpsons canon (afterall, they weren't written and developed by some rogue-animator), and I am therefore reworking the sentence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.149.5.151 (talk) 15:42, 3 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I removed any mention of the word canon because we should not call them canonical. Even if wikipedia's understanding of what canon means is wrong, the fact still remains that most Simpsons fans call them non-canon, so calling them canonical in the lead would cause a LOT of confusion. Hopefully the removal of the word is a suitable compromise. -- Scorpion 0422  15:51, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

This sounds fair, as it would likely cause an undesirable agree of confusion, for the inclusion of (since the re-wording) largely irrelevant information. For future reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanon_(fiction)#Nature_of_fictional_canons —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.149.5.151 (talk) 15:58, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Halloween
I added the WP:BOO banner to this article. This project didn't contribute to the article's FA status but will certainly use it as a model to improve other Halloween articles.--otherlleft (talk) 13:12, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Anthology of Interest ?
shouldn't we mention the similarity of Anthology of Interest episodes from futurama?, because thats like futuramas treehouse of horror.IAmTheCoinMan (talk) 10:54, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

THOH IV most definitely did have a warning
In THOH IV, where Bart is presenting, Marge comes in and tells Bart to inform the audience this episode is scary. She then gives him Maggie. Yet the article states there was no warning? Ribbet32 (talk) 18:58, 28 October 2009 (UTC)
 * The producers themselves don't consider it a warning. It is said in one of the commentaries that THOH 4 had no warning, though I forget who says it, or in which one (okay, maybe that person forgot, but for us to add it would based on our opinion). If you want to get technical, it's not actually a warning, it's Marge suggesting that there be a warning. -- Scorpion 0422  00:48, 29 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Well I'd say we can still mention that, in those terms- "though Marge encourages Bart to give such a warning..." The source can be the episode itself, that's acceptable if it's not an analysis or original research. Ribbet32 (talk) 05:40, 29 October 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't think it's necessary, and we should stick to straight up warnings. Besides, if you want to get technical, there was also a warning for Treehouse of Horror VIII (the censor thing). --  No TV and no beer make Scorpion  0422  something something  16:34, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

Scary Names
Wouldn't it be worth mentioning in this section that the only cast member who has never had a scary named during the THOH closing credits is Harry Shearer. I don't know why this is, maybe something in his contract but check it out and you'll see what I'm talking about and IMHO this fact should be included with the subject. 71.101.84.3 (talk) 09:47, 28 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, the reason its not mentioned could be that its not true. In recent episodes, he hasn't but in the classic era, he usually (though not always) had a scary name credit. --  No TV and no beer make Scorpion  0422  something something  17:21, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Time Slot
I think there should be a mention about the time slot move, seeing as how these episodes no longer air before Halloween, due to Fox's contract with the MLB to air The World Series. 75.166.6.49 (talk) 03:54, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
 * It is mentioned, second last paragraph of "production". -- Scorpion 0422  00:07, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

Creation of ToH infobox?
Should there be an infobox for Previous and Next episodes in the Treehouse of Horror series?, ala: ← Previous    Next → XIX        XXI

The above example (or something similar) would show at the bottom of the navbox for episode XX. I'd like some feedback and a consensus before I go any further with it. Fixblor (talk) 00:37, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Are you proposing creating a brand new infobox template? If so, I would oppose it, because its best to keep all of the episodes using the infobox. If you can somehow figure out how to add such a thing to the current infobox but make it apply only to THOH episodes, I'm still not sure I'd support it. Its best to keep the template uniform in all pages and having a section for a succession box would ruin that. If we add progressions for Treehouse episodes, other users will start trying to add them for other themes, like trilogies, clip shows or Sideshow Bob episodes. Besides, there is already a template and a seperate list article, isn't that enough linking? -- Scorpion0422 II (Talk) 01:09, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure that concern over the potential of miscalculated use is a valid argument, particularly for a constantly evolving, community driven amalgam of knowledge. However, I see your point you're implying about running from inter-season oriented episode sequence to an annual installment based link sequence.  Perhaps dropping it into its own box separated to some degree from the season links currently in place?  It is not uncommon for sites to use multiple boxes at the top to define articles that fit multiple categories.  And templates aren't always the most efficient means of navigation.  Fixblor (talk) 02:11, 9 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Consider it like the Stanley Cup or Super Bowl of the Simpsons season. Fixblor (talk) 00:35, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Homer3 "groudbreaking"
Under 'segements', in reference to Homer3, the articles states "At the time (1995), it was groundbreaking, as it was unheard of for a television show to use such animation." If this simply refers to the use of computer graphics in a television show, the statements is incorrect. The Canadian show Reboot, which was entirely CGI,began airing in 1994. The 3D rendering of Homer may have been unique, but the sentence makes it sound like it was the first computer generated animation on television.

Requested move 22 August 2016

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Moved. (non-admin closure)  Omni Flames ( talk ) 10:58, 30 August 2016 (UTC)

– The article on the THOH series of episodes gets more views than the first THOH episode does, and as it's effectively a WP:CONCEPTDAB it is a much more plausible primary topic, since it covers the episode that currently occupies the title in addition to the others. Nohomersryan (talk) 22:30, 22 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Treehouse of Horror (series) → Treehouse of Horror
 * Treehouse of Horror → Treehouse of Horror (The Simpsons episode)
 * Support: I agree with the WP:PRIMARY argument. "Treehouse of Horror" refers to the collection of Simpsons episodes, not just the original one, in the common parlance as well. Wolfdog (talk) 00:20, 23 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Support, the bare term "Treehouse of Horror" is almost certainly more often used to refer to the series as a whole than to the 1st episode that just so-happens to share the same title. Also, seeing as the episode was initially called "The Simpsons Halloween Special", the title holds even less weight as referring to that specific episode. —  Crumpled Fire   • contribs • 02:11, 23 August 2016 (UTC)


 * Support per nom.  Lugnuts  Dick Laurent is dead 18:09, 23 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Comment all links need to be fixed 2601:541:4305:C70:A92F:5EA7:3622:4550 (talk) 18:49, 24 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Support per nominator. Graham (talk) 19:05, 25 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Support, but I think the episode should go to the more concise title Treehouse of Horror (episode).--Cúchullain t/ c 14:38, 29 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Comments. (The Simpsons) is the usual disambiguation for episodes, but in this case we need disambiguation between (The Simpsons episode) and (The Simpsons series). Although, as the only use of "Treehouse of Horror" is topics related to The Simpsons, that portion of the parenthetical disambiguation is not necessary. A way to avoid this issue is to use natural disambiguation: The redirect Treehouse of Horror I has existed since July 2006, and Wes Archer and Wallace Wolodarsky actually link to that, and the image caption on the right margin of the lead section of Treehouse of Horror (series) also calls the first episode "Treehouse of Horror I". Super Bowl I was also retroactively named. Just as nobody would simply call the first championship game "Super Bowl" in any context without needing to clarify which game they mean, it seems we can't just call the first episode "Treehouse of Horror" without needing to clarify which episode... – wbm1058 (talk) 01:07, 30 August 2016 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

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URFA comments
This article was promoted to featured article status in 2008, fifteen years ago, and since then the number of "Treehouse of Horror" episodes has almost doubled. I've done a copyedit through the article, as part of the 2020 URFA drive, but major work is required for this to meet modern-day FA criteria:
 * Some content is not referenced inline or not fully verified by the inline citation following.
 * There is little analysis of Treehouse of Horror episodes from the 2010s onwards except for where obvious patterns (like the 3-segment episode) are broken. Undue weight is given to some early segments e.g. 100 words on a single line that was cut from XVII, to illustrate all political themes across the series.
 * Much of the content is written as if it applies uniformly to 33 seasons of The Simpsons when it is sourced to a golden era DVD commentary. This could be solved through attribution in prose ("Al Jean said in 2003 that ...") or through more recent sourcing.
 * Significant patterns and exceptions (e.g. whether it is typical for each segment to be credited to a different writer) need to be referenced to secondary sources, not primary sources, or there are countless statistics and patterns that a fan might spot.
 * Holistic sentences need appropriate sources: for instance, Recent parodies have included films and television specials in more varied genres is not verified just by a list of spoofed material. It needs a source that says that this is a phenomenon that began around year X (when is "recent"?) and ideally how and why it occurred.
 * Overall, more references and a greater diversity of references is needed. For instance, there are no academic or book references, or references analysing the series as a whole. Most are either DVD commentary or articles reviewing/announcing a single installment.

The overall structure of the article is strong. Much of the base of an FA is there. Every single section, however, needs work. — Bilorv ( talk ) 17:11, 28 August 2023 (UTC)