The Simpsons
Treehouse of Horror XV
TV Flash files “Treehouse of Horror XV” as the first listed hour of season 16 — The Simpsons (1989–present) on Fox, season 16, episode 1, aired 2004-11-07, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S16E01: listed hour 336 of 802 in the The Simpsons guide, first listed hour of season 16. It aired 2004-11-07 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Fraudcast News” (S15E22). Next is “All's Fair in Oven War” (S16E02). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Hands out its annual Halloween treats on the "Treehouse of Horror XV" special featuring three deliciously frightful mini-episodes. In "The Ned Zone," Ned Flanders gains the power of foretelling people's deaths after suffering a head injury, and is shocked to discover that he will be the one to kill Homer. In the second short, "In the Belly of the Boss," Maggie is shrunken inside a vitamin capsule in a freak science accident and is swallowed by Mr. Burns. The final Halloween scare, "Four Beheadings and a Funeral," is set in Victorian London, where Master Detective Eliza Simpson and her faithful sidekick, Dr. Bartley, attempt to catch The Muttonchop Murderer, a Jack the Ripper-esque serial killer.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Treehouse of Horror XV sit in the The Simpsons guide?
S16E01 is listed hour 336 of 802 — first listed hour of season 16, season 16 episode 1.
When did The Simpsons S16E01 air?
Treehouse of Horror XV aired 2004-11-07 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start if I am not watching all 800 episodes?
Start with the 1989 Christmas premiere, then a handful of golden-age hours from seasons four through eight. Treat the rest as a library, not a novel.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it as a living joke encyclopedia, not a series you owe from pilot to present. The early years still teach how American satire learned to reset weekly; the later catalog is optional weather. You already speak Springfield. This is how the grammar got written.
The first image is a couch, and then it is not. The Simpsons treats the opening gag as a weekly contract: we will reset the living room, and we will still find a new joke about the country that owns it. Fox put a yellow family on Sunday nights in 1989 after the Tracey Ullman shorts, and the half-hour that followed did not merely popularize adult animation. It installed a shared vocabulary. People who stopped watching still speak Springfield.
Filed against
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- Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson
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- Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
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- Hank Azaria as Moe / Chief Wiggum
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- Harry Shearer as Mr. Burns / Ned Flanders
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