Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native USA and internationally, James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi. [13] Marge's warnings quickly became a burden to write, particularly because - as she herself noted - they were mostly ignored, so after "Treehouse of Horror V", they were dropped. a little too light-hearted with it's Loony Toons style than I would've wanted, but it still gives the piece great character. Critics singled out The Raven for praise, although Simpsons creator Matt Groening was concerned that it would be seen as pretentious. [4] The house was also designed to look like the Addams family house. Listen online to Simpsons (James Earl Jones) - The Raven and find out more about its history, critical reception, and meaning. In its original broadcast, "Treehouse of Horror" finished 25th in ratings for the week of October 22–28, 1990, with a Nielsen rating of 15.7, equivalent to approximately 14.6 million viewing households. The first, entitled "Treehouse of Horror", aired on October 25, 1990, as part of the second season and was inspired by EC Comics horror tales. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 1990. [5] In the first segment, several haunted house films are parodied,[2] including House of Usher, The Haunting, The Amityville Horror and The Shining. [52] Citytv in Canada however aired the episode as originally scheduled. [2] It is the first in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween themed Simpsons episodes. Originally it was supposed to use a theremin (an early electronic musical instrument), but one could not be found that could hit all the necessary notes. Budke described the segment as "one of the most refined Simpsons pop references ever" and knows "people [who] consider this the point that they realized The Simpsons could be both highly hilarious and highly intelligent". [17] In 2008, Canwest News Service chose "Treehouse of Horror" as one of the top five scariest episodes from television's past. [54] A Treehouse of Horror comic book has been published annually since 1995, and collected into several books, including The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Fun-Filled Frightfest, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Spine-Tingling Spooktacular, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Heebie-Jeebie Hullabaloo and The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Hoodoo Voodoo Brouhaha. [22] Sam Simon, who left the show during the fourth season, still receives "developed by" and "executive producer" credits, and until Treehouse of Horror XXII, he had been listed in Treehouse of Horror episodes as "Sam 'Sayonara' Simon" and between Treehouse of Horror XXII and Treehouse of Horror XXV as "simonsam@TWITterror". [12] They are difficult for the writers because they must produce three stories, an opening and, in the early episodes, a wraparound. There have been several references to this in the show, such as in "Treehouse of Horror XIV" where Kang looks at a TV Guide and says, "Pathetic humans. [3] American actor James Earl Jones guest starred in the episode as a moving man, Serak the Preparer (one of the aliens) and the narrator of "The Raven". In some cases there was a fourth writer who wrote the opening and wraparound segments. [12] The entire segment was a parody of the opening of the 1931 film Frankenstein. He voiced a removalist, the Raven narrator, and Serak the Preparer in the season 2 episode " Treehouse of Horror ", Maggie Simpson in the season 6 episode " Treehouse of Horror V ", and narrated the season 9 episode " Das Bus ". [10], Other Treehouse of Horror episodes have opened with parodies; for example, "Treehouse of Horror III" had Homer introduce the episode in a manner similar to Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents,[15] "Treehouse of Horror IV" had Bart introduce the episode and segments in a manner similar to Night Gallery, and "Treehouse of Horror V" featured a parody of The Outer Limits. Marge expresses the desire to leave, but Homer asks her to sleep on it, due to the cost of buying the house. The two exceptions are "Treehouse of Horror V", in which Groundskeeper Willie is killed by an axe in a similar fashion in all three segments, as well as in Treehouse of Horror XXVIII, in which Maggie is possessed by the demon Pazuzu in the first segment and is still recovering in the next segment. James Earl Jones narrates. [18] However, after two decades, this gag made a brief comeback in Treehouse of Horror XXIX at the very beginning, this time appearing before the main opening sequence and title. [24], References to films, novels, plays, television shows, and other media are commonly featured, and many segments have been parodies of a specific work in the horror, science fiction, or fantasy genre. These messages include the names of canceled shows from the previous season, deceased celebrities such as Walt Disney and Jim Morrison,[17] and a tombstone with an inscription that read "TV violence" that was riddled with bullets as the camera panned on it. The story is a play on words and was molded from The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man", which itself was a teleplay of a short story by Damon Knight. [49] Season 12's "Treehouse of Horror XI" was the first episode to air in November. They're showing a Halloween episode... in November!" The sets are: After the Playmates Toys sets were finished, McFarlane Toys produced four Treehouse of Horror themed playsets including the "Ironic Punishment Box Set" released in 2004,[61] the "In the Belly of the Boss — Homer & Marge Action Figures" released in 2005,[62] "The Island of Dr. Hibbert Box Set" released in 2006,[63] and a "Lard Lad Box Set" released in 2007. Kang was a Klingon captain portrayed by actor Michael Ansara in the episode "Day of the Dove", whereas Kodos the Executioner was a human villain from "The Conscience of the King". He points out that his 10-year-old daughter loves films like Coraline, and that, "[in] the age of scary stories [...] appropriateness has gotten lower. 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