Treehouse of Horror episode: 4
Year: 1993
Season: 5
Segment: 2 of 3
Segment title: “Terror at five and a half feet”
Writer(s): Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
Characters:
Main: Bart, Milhouse
Supporting: Skinner, Otto, Uder, Willy, Hans Moleman, Ralph Wiggum, Kang, Kodos, Jimbo, Flanders, Martin Prince, Sherri, Terri, Wendell
Homage to? Twilight Zone episode “Terror at 20,000 feet”
Basic premise: The school bus goes out of control, and Bart and Milhouse see a tiny creature outside, tearing parts off the bus.
Best quotes:
Otto: “I don’t see anything.”
Milhouse: “Wait a minute! Who’s driving the bus?”
Otto: “Ooh! Uno momento, por favor!”
Skinner: “Now I’ve gotten word that a child is using his imagination, and I’ve come to put a stop to it.”
Skinner: “Pull, Willy! Pull!”
Willy: “I’m doin’ all the pullin’, ye blouse-wearin’ poodle-walker!”
Flanders: “Oh my lord! It’s some sort of hideous monster! Oh isn’t that cute? He’s trying to claw my eyes out!”
Type of ending: Downbeat/ Horrific
Synopsis: As the school bus proceeds through heavy rain, Bart looks out the window and sees a tiny monster tearing at the outside, ripping holes in the metal, pulling out wires etc. He tries to convince Otto, Skinner, and everyone else on the bus but nobody can see the creature except him. Eventually he decides to take matters into his own hands, and grabs an emergency flare (wait, what? What is a school bus doing with emergency flares on board? It gonna go sailing on the sea or something? Emergency flares, with excitable children around? Great idea!) and throws it at the creature, knocking it off the bus where it’s found and picked up by Flanders.
When the bus finally stops everyone can see how badly it’s damaged, and nobody but Bart knows why. He’s being taken to a mental institution when the creature taps on the rear window of the ambulance, holding up Flanders’ head.
Rating: A -
Score
Story: 4
Laughs: 3
Originality: 2
Ending: 5
Longevity: 1
Total: 15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A6CzxmVeIE