Treehouse of Horror VI Draft April 14th 1995
Treehouse of Horror VI Draft April 14th 1995
Treehouse of Horror VI Draft April 14th 1995
By
John Swartzwelder
Steve Tompkins
David S. Cohen
Throughout this sequence, the camera swoops and twists (Steadicam style) through a large
haunted house, a la the opening of HBO’s “Tales from the Crypt.”
We open outside, where through flashes of lightning, we see LEATHERFACE (from “The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre”) charge into the house, chainsaw ROARING. The CAMERA FOLLOWS
him into:
1) THE KITCHEN, where Leatherface removes his mask to reveal it’s NED FLANDERS.
He sits down at the table with the rest of the Flandereses, dressed like the other
“Chainsaw” characters. NELSON, looking nervous with an apple in his mouth, is the
main dish. The family begins to say grace reverently as the CAMERA MOVES INTO:
2) The PARLOW, where the ghosts of SIDESHOW BOB and BART circle each other,
preparing to strike. Each is trying to conceal an axe behind his back, but since they’re
both transparent, it doesn’t do much good. We MOVE INTO:
3) The BATHROOM, where SMITHERS is cheerily BLOW-DRYING his hair. He doesn’t
notice that behind him is MR. BURNS, drowning in a glass shower completely full of
water. Burns GASPS and pounds on the glass to no avail. Smithers finishes up and
casually tosses his blow dryer into the shower as the CAMERA SWINGS INTO:
4) The LABORATORY, where DR. HIBBERT is experimenting on RICHARD NIXON’S
severed head, a la “Re-Animator.” With each JOLT of electricity, the head makes Nixon-y
SHUDDERING SOUNDS. The CAMERA then MOVES INTO:
5) THE BEDROOM, where a SKELETON is trying to decide on an outfit for the day. He
peruses the contents of his closet – SKINNER’S empty hide, MOE’S empty hide, APU’S
empty hide, and then decides on KRUSTY’S skin. As the skeleton steps into Krusty like
a jumpsuit...
The CAMERA MOVES through the rear window, down the hillside, and into the Simpson house
for our standard beginning.
FADE IN:
INT: HOMER’S CAR – DAY SCENE 1
Homer’s car turns onto Springfield’s garish business strip.
HOMER
Ah, the Miracle Mile – where value wears a neon sombrero and there’s not a single church or
library to offend the eye. It truly is a miracle.
HOMER
Now that’s a great sign! I will try ox meat.
Homer passes “Aladdin’s Magic Carpets & Linoleum”, which features a giant statue of
ALADDIN on a flying linoleum floor. Then he passes a giant TAM O’SHANTER on top of
“Tam O’Shanter Tax Preparation”.
HOMER (CONT’D)
(IMPRESSED) Oooh, big. (BEAT) Oooh, big.
HOMER (CONT’D)
There it is! The chain that put the “fat” in “fat Southern sheriffs!”
HOMER
I want a colossal donut. Just like the one on the sign.
The TEENAGE CLERK gives Homer a normal-sized donut. Homer looks at it in dismay.
HOMER (CONT’D)
(ANNOYED GRUNT) Nuts!
HOMER (CONT’D)
That’s false advertising! Lard Lad lied!
TEENAGE CLERK
Sorry, sir. No refunds.
HOMER
I paid for a colossal donut and I’m gonna get a giant donut.
Homer stalks toward the door. Thunder CRACKS in the distance. Outside, we see dark,
Spielberg style thunder clouds rolling in.
EXT. SPRINGFIELD STRIP – 2:30 AM
Lightning flashes in the sky. The empty Miracle Mile is lit up like the Las Vegas Strip. Homer,
wearing pantyhose over his head like a bank robber, drives up to Lard Lad Donuts. (p.2)
HOMER
Hee hee hee. I’ve got your donut, Lard Lad! And what are you gonna do about it?
There is a flash of LIGHTNING and Lard Lad’s smile turns into a grimace of rage. His head
slowly rotates to watch Homer, a la the statues in “Jason and the Argonauts”. He breaks free
from his moorings and lumbers after Homer, but can’t catch up. (p.3)
LARD LAD
(UNEARTHLY ROAR)
UP AND DOWN THE STRIP
In quick succession, Paul Bunyan, Aladdin, and the Tam O’Shanter are brought to life by the
unearthly roar.
MARGE
Homer! Where did you get that?
HOMER
(GENUINE INNOCENCE) Get what?
MARGE
The giant donut.
HOMER
Well... I acquired it legally, you can be sure of that.
CHILDREN
(SCREAMS)
OTTO
(RUBBING EYES) Whoa! Another acid flashback! Man, I’m sure getting my money’s worth out
of that little tab.
EXT. STREET – A LITTLE LATER
SCREAMING people run hysterically down the street. When they get to a red light, they stop
and wait, making low WHIMPERING sounds. Then, when the light changes, they panic down
the street again, SCREAMING even louder. A giant PROFESSOR PEANUT (wearing pince-nez
glasses and mortarboard) CRACKS open a car like a peanut and eats the people inside,
discarding the “shell.” We see a trail of car “shells” behind him.
EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET
A huge OCTOPUS MONSTER has slithered off a store and is grabbing citizens with its tentacles
and vaporizing them with its laser eyeballs.
ANGRY CITIZEN
Why did you have to name your store “Atomic Octopus Yogurt”?! (p.6)
HIPPIE SHOPKEEPER
(HOSTILE) What would you like, man?! “Suburban Polyester Power Trip Yogurt?!”
The hippie is immediately vaporized by the octopus.
ANGLE ON A FAMILAR FLYING SAUCER
Hovering over the scene. KANG looks out the window.
KANG
Hey Kodos, you’ll like this...
KODOS joins him at the window.
KANG/KODOS
(EVIL LAUGHTER) Foolish Earthli---
They are instantly vaporized as well.
EXT. KWIK-E-MART
Apu is frantically painting “Monster Owned” on the side of the Kwik-E-MART.
EXT. BIG AND TALL MEN’S SHOP – SIMULTANEOUS
A giant MAN lurches away from the shop. CHIEF WIGGUM FIRES at him and he instantly
DROPS to the ground.
CHIEF WIGGUM
Aw, they’re not so tough.
LOU
Ah, Chief, that wasn’t a monster. That was the captain of the high school basketball team. (p.7)
CHIEF WIGGUM
(COVERING) Uh, yeah... Well, he was turning into a monster, though.
MOMENTS LATER
Lard Lad happily holds the donut. The family looks relieved. Suddenly, Lard Lad storms off,
destroying cars and houses with his donut, and kicking BARKING dogs over fences.
HOMER
Don’t you ever get tired of being wrong all the time?
MARGE
(MEEKLY) Sometimes.
LISA
Hey , Springfield! Are you suffering from the heartbreak of (DEEP VOICE) monsteritis?
(NORMAL VOICE) Then take a tip from Mr. Paul Anka...
PAUL ANKA
(SINGING) To stop those monsters 1-2-3/Here’s a fresh new way that’s trouble free/It’s got Paul
Anka’s guarantee/
LISA
(SINGING) Guarantee void in Tennessee.
LISA/PAUL ANKA
(SINGING) Just don’t look! / Just don’t look!
During the above, citizens turn their attention away from the monsters and toward the sound
track. They tap their feet and slowly join in.
LISA/PAUL ANKA/TOWNSPEOPLE
(SINGING) Just don’t look! / Just don’t look!
ON PAUL BUNYAN AND THE GIANT EXTERMINATOR
We see them PUNCHING buildings, then noticing that no one is watching them. They gesture to
each other a la “what gives,” then start showing off, PUNCHING the buildings with even more
ferocity.
LISA/PAUL ANKA/TOWNSPEOPLE
(SINGING) Just don’t look! /Just don’t look! (p.13)
ON LARD LAD
He weakens, collapses and dies. The donut slips out of his hand and rolls off down the road past
a sign that reads “Birthplace of Paul Anka – 1 Mile.”
PAUL ANKA
Oh no! My beloved Ankabello!
He runs off in pursuit of the donut.
By
Steve Tompkins
FADE IN:
EXT. SIMPSON HOUSE – FRONT YARD – AFTERNOON
SCENE 4
PAN DOWN from a street sign reading “Evergreen Terrace” to BART and SANTA’S LITTLE
HELPER playing in the Simpson yard. In a corner of the yard, we vaguely see someone raking
leaves.
BART
Okay, boy, catch the Frisbee!
BART (CONT’D)
Good catch, boy.
BART
...And then he raked me across the chest. And the weirdest thing was, it was that
school janitor who mysteriously disappeared- Groundkeeper Willie.
LISA
(GASP) Oh my God! Bart, Groundskeeper Willie was in my nightmare, too! But
he got me with hedge-clippers!
In her outstretched hand, he holds two points of yellow hair. We see her hair is missing two
points. A group of kids overhears and joins in, including SHERRI and TERRI, who have one
continuous scratch across both of them, and Nelson, who is incredibly shiny and polished. He
sparkles.
NELSON
He ran his floor-buffer over me!
PRINCIPAL SKINNER appears behind them.
PRINCIPAL SKINNER
(CHUCKLES) I couldn’t help monitoring your conversation. There’s no mystery
about Willie. Why, he simply disappeared... under very non-mysterious circumstances. Now, let’s
have no more curiosity about this bizarre cover-up.
MARTIN
(Raising hand) But I’m afraid I’ve already filled in all the answers correctly.
MRS. KRABAPPEL
(ROLLING EYES) Then put your head down on your desk and sit quietly.
MARTIN
Aah, a duet of pleasures!
Martin puts his head down. His eyes flutter as he falls asleep.
MARTIN’S DREAM
Martin is dressed like a wizard in a robe of letters. He swirls his cape with a flourish.
MARTIN
I am the Wondrous Wizard of Latin! I am a dervish of declension and a conjurer
of conjugation, with a million hit points and maximum charisma! (p.20)
He walks to a giant chalkboard that extends up into the stars and is covered with Latin conjugat.
MARTIN (CONT’D)
(TRIUMPHANT; POINTING TO BOARD) Ha ha! Moirre: To die. Morit: He,
she, or it dies.
Behind him, a Willie-shaped figure made of chalkboard and chalk oozes out of the board (a la
T2). Willie drags his rake down the chalkboard with an awful SCREECH. Martin turns in horror.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
Moris: You die.
MARTIN
(SCREAM)
Martin starts to run away.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
(CHUCKLES) Ye’ve mastered a dead tongue, but can ye handle a live one?
His long tongue snakes out and coils around Martin, choking him like a boa constrictor. Martin
STRUGGLES FRANTICALLY.
BACK TO THE CLASSROOM
MRS. KRABAPPEL
Now, who got the answer to number seven?
Martin, still asleep, convulses violently in his chair and makes CHOKING SOUNDS.
MRS. KRABAPPEL
Someone besides Martin, please.
MARTIN
(SCREAMS IN HORROR) Aagh! Aaaaaaugh! (p.21)
Martin jerks violently and falls over with a THUD, toppling his desk. Then he is still.
NELSON
Haw haw!
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – CLASSROOM – LATER
SCENE 5
PRINCIPAL SKINNER, Mrs. Krabappel, and NURSE DORIS confer by Martin’s body which
lies covered on a gurney.
PRINCIPAL SKINNER
(WHISPERS) Wheel him out quietly. It’s best the children don’t see him.
As Nurse Doris wheels him out, Skinner unknowingly stands on the sheet, which pulls off,
revealing Martin’s body frozen in tortured agony.
CLASS
(HORRIFIED SCREAMS)
PRINCIPAL SKINNER
Oh, just get it out of here!
Doris cringes and quickly wheels it out.
PRINCIPAL SKINNER (CONT’D)
Not into the kindergarten!
KINDERGARTEN KIDS (O.S.)
(HIGHER-PITCHED SCREAMS)
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – DINING ROOM – THAT EVENING
LISA
Mom, Dad—Martin died at school today!
MARGE
(SHOCKED MURMUR) I don’t see what that has to do with Groundskeeper
Willie. (p.22)
There is a beat of SILENCE.
BART
Um....we didn’t mention Groundskeeper Willie, Mom.
Marge and Homer share a guilty look.
MARGE
(GRUNTS) Kids, it’s time we told you he true story and put your fears to rest. It’s
a story of murder and revenge from beyond the grave.
The kids look hopeful.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – NIGHT – THE PREVIOUS WINTER
It is snowing and the wind BLOWS furiously.
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – CLASSROOM – NIGHT
A sign on the door reads ‘P.T.A MEETING TONIGHT.’
MARGE
(OMINOUS) It all started on the thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day of the
thirteenth month. We were there to discuss the misprinted calendars the school had purchased.
PARENTS enter the classroom past a calendar open to the month of “SMARCH”. Homer comes
in, shaking snow off his coat and shivering.
HOMER
(SHIVERING) Lousy Smarch weather.
He turns to the thermostat, next to which is a handwritten note reading “DO NOT TOUCH –
WILLIE.” (p.23.)
HOMER
(READING) “Do not touch Willie.” Good advice.
CLOSE UP OF THERMOSTAT
We see that the “Cool”, “Warm”, and “Hot” settings are closely grouped together at the left end
of the scale. Homer shoves the lever clear to the other side.
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – BOILER ROOM – SIMULTANEOUS
Willie sits on a bucket playing his BAGPIPES. He turns to see fingers of flames poking out of
the furnace.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
A wee bit o’ tummy trouble, eh, Furnie-Sue?
He approaches the furnace. At that instant, an enormous ball of flame shoots out and sets all of
the basement, and Willie, on fire.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
Ach!
He tries to open the door, but the doorknob falls off.
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – CLASSROOM – SIMULTANEOUS
PRINCIPAL SKINNER
Our next budget item: Twelve dollars for doorknob repair.
ALL PARENTS
NAY!
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – BOILER ROOM – SIMULTANEOUS
Willie, partially ablaze and SCREAMING, tries to put the flames out with a fire extinguisher. A
pathetic puff of powder spurts out and does nothing. (p.24)
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – CLASSROOM – CONTINUOUS
PRINCIPAL SKINNER
...Recharge fire extinguishers. This is a free service of the fire department.
ALL PARENTS
NAY!
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – BASEMENT – SIMULTANEOUS
The door to the boiler room BURSTS open and Willie, engulfed in flames, staggers out and
down the hall.
INT. SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – CLASSROOM – CONTINUOUS
Willie lurches into the classroom and full burn.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
(SCREAMS) Help! Please help me!
PRINCIPAL SKINNER
Willie, please. Mr. Van Houten has the floor.
Willie sits politely as Mr. Van Houten drones on.
MR. VAN HOUTEN
I, for one, would like to see the cafeteria menus in advance, so parents can adjust
their dinner menus accordingly. I don’t like the idea of Milhouse having two spaghetti meals in
one day.
PRINCIPAL SKINNER
None of us wants that, Kirk. (p.25)
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE (O.S.)
(UNEARTHLY WAIL)
The parents and teachers turn to look at Willie, who is now just a smoldering skeleton. Willie
stands in an eerie, supernatural fashion and points accusingly at the parents.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE (CONT’D)
(RASPY) Ye’ll pay for this with yer children’s blood!
CHIEF WIGGUM
(MOCKING) Oh, right. How ya gonna get ‘em? “Skeleton power”?
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
I’ll strike where ye kina protect them – in their dreams!
Willie’s skeleton collapses into a pile of dust. The dust obligingly slides into a dustpan, which
empties itself into a trash can.
BACK TO THE DINING ROOM
LISA
Bart, don’t you realize what this means? The next time we fall asleep we could
die!
From offscreen, we hear CUTESY BABY SLEEPING SOUNDS. The family looks over to see
Maggie asleep.
MARGE/BART/LISA/HOMER
Awww. (BEAT) Aagh!!
PUSH IN on Maggie’s face. (p.26)
MAGGIE’S DREAM
Maggie toddles down Sesame Street. The Sesame Street THEME becomes off-key and ominous.
Willie, as OSCAR THE GROUCH, pops up from a trash can.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
(SLY) Yoo-hoo, Maggie! How’d’ you like to see Big Bird?
He gestures to an enormous cooked bird on a platter with Big Bird’s distinctive orange feet as the
drumsticks.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
Don’t forget the Stove-Top Stuffeluffagus! (EVIL LAUGH)
Willie grabs Maggie and starts to pull her into the can.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
This nightmare has been brought to you by the number 7 and the letter “hell!”
(BEAT) And a generous grant from the Ford Foundation.
Maggie begins SUCKING her pacifier rapidly, like an outboard motor. She trembles and we
MATCH CUT TO:
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – DINING ROOM
The family is trying to shake Maggie awake.
BART/LISA/HOMER/MARGE
Maggie! Maggie! Wake up! (AD LIBS)
Maggie’s eyes snap open, terrified. She grabs for the tablecloth like a security blanket. Dishes
and silverware CRASH to the floor as she PURRS with relief.
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – TV ROOM – LATER THAT NIGHT SCENE 6
Bart and Lisa are surrounded by coffee cups. Bart affixes a nipple to a bottle of Buzz Cola and
hands it to Maggie. Heavy-lidded, they stare dully at the TV. (p.27)
BART
(DROWSY) I gotta stay awake or Willie will get us.
TV ANNOUNCER (V.O)
We now return to Paul Muni and Greer Garson in the 1936 classic “To Build A
Chapel.”
PAUL MUNI (V.O.)
(SCRATCHY AND WARPED) Susan, we need more boards. About ten more.
Bart starts to nod off, then jerks himself awake.
LISA
It’s no use, Bart. We can’t stay up forever.
BART
(GETS AN IDEA) Oh, the only thing left to do is to go into my dream and force
Willie into a final showdown. (INTENSE) You stay awake, and if it looks like
I’m in trouble, wake me up.
LISA
Okay, but promise you won’t be grouchy.
Bart YAWNS and drifts off to sleep.
DISSOLVE TO:
BART’S DREAM
Bart appears in the schoolyard. It is creepy and deserted. He walks around cautiously, fists at the
ready. (p.28)
BART
(NERVOUS) Come on, Willie. I know you’re out there.
After a beat, a tractor with Willie’s face, plaid chassis, and a menacing mowing attachment
SMASHES through the hedge behind Bart and nearly runs him down.
BART
(SCREAM)
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
(EVIL CHUCKLE) Better write your girlfriend a John Deere letter!
BART
What? I don’t have a girlfriend.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
How am I supposed to know that?
Bart charges back through the hedge. Willie tries to follow, but in order to turn around, he ahs to
make a laborious eight-point turn. We hear TRUCK BACKING UP BEEPS.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLAYGROUND
BART
(FRANTIC NOISES)
Bart spies a bag of grass clippings and gets an idea. He grabs the bag and starts sprinkling the
clippings onto something.
TRACTOR’S POV
Willie has finished his turn and is looking around for Bart.
ON BART
Bart picks up a garden hose, throws it out of frame, and turns on the spigot. (p.29)
BART
Hey Lawn-Boy! You missed a spot!
Bart gestures to an overgrown patch of grass in front of him.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
That’s impossible! I’ll grind ye into mulch, ‘cause I come with that attachment!
TRACTOR’S POV
Willie swerves towards Bart. We see his gearshift slide forward and his accelerator floor itself.
He bears down on Bart, sending up a big rooster tail of sod, dirt, sprinkler pipes, etc. When the
tractor is almost upon Bart, it blows away his grass clippings, revealing a water-soaked sandbox.
Willie can’t stop in time and becomes mired in the “quicksand.” He begins to sink.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE (CONT’D)
Ach! Sinky-sand! (YELPS OF DISTRESS)
As Willie sinks, he desperately morphs into a succession of different forms, including: a tank, a
mastodon, a rocket, and finally, his human form. His arm reaches up from the muck as his head
goes under.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE (CONT’D)
(DEATH GURGLES)
Bart sits down by the sandbox.
BART
(RELIEVED SIGH) Willie’s gone for good. Now I can get back to my normal
dreams: me and Krusty winning the Superbowl.
Krusty trots over in a football uniform. (p.30)
KRUSTY
(PANTING) Bart, there’s two seconds left! Go long!
Bart smiles. Behind him, pipe-like tentacles slither up from the sandbox, followed by an
enormous spider-like bagpipe monster with Willie’s face. Bart turns around, SCREAMS, and is
immediately seized by one of the bagpipe tentacles.
KRUSTY
(REVOLTED NOISE) Oh, boy. Don’t dream about me no more, kid.
Krusty runs away as the bagpipe tentacles start pulling Bart under.
SFX: WHEEZY BAG-PIPE “BREATHING”
BART
Help! Lisa, help!
Lisa runs up to the sandbox.
LISA
Bart, wake up! You’ve got to get out of this dream!
BART
Wait a minute... If you’re here, then you’ve fallen asleep too!
LISA
I’m not asleep, I’m just resting my eye—uh oh.
A tentacle grabs Lisa, and Willie starts pulling both kids into the quicksand. The WHEEZY
BAGPIPE BREATHING gets faster and faster as the kids struggle. The bagpipe’s blow-hole
opens and closes with each breath. (p.31)
LISA
Good-bye, Bart!
BART
Good-bye Lis. (BITTER) I hope you get reincarnated as someone who can stay
awake for fifteen minutes.
From offscreen, we hear a PLUGGING SOUND and the bagpipe’s breathing stops abruptly.
Willie’s eyes bulge out in horror.
BART/LISA
(HOPEFUL GASP)
WIDEN TO REVEAL that Maggie is there, and that she has corked the blow-hole with her
pacifier. Willie’s eyes dart back and forth in panic as he tries to exhale. He drops the kids and
begins flailing frantically for the pacifier, all the while growing larger and larger until the air bag
has inflated to the size of a house. After a beat, he EXPLODES, splattering plaid everywhere and
blowing the kids sky high.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
(ANGUISHED SCREAM/DISSONANT BAGPIPE CHORD)
EXT. EARTH – CONTINUOUS
The kids are blasted into space and fall into orbit around a cratered, sofa-shaped moon. After a
few quick orbits, they smack into the surface of the sofa/moon.
MATCH CUT TO:
INT. SIMPSON TV ROOM – CONTINUOUS (MORNING)
Bart, Lisa and Maggie wake up on the sofa. Lisa hugs Maggie.
LISA
You saved us, Maggie!
Maggie produces a new pacifier, spins it like a six-gun, and blows on it before sticking it in her
mouth. (p.32)
BART
Thanks to you, the nightmare’s over forever.
The three get up and head outside to admire the sunrise.
EXT. SIMPSON HOUSE – FRONT PORCH – CONTINUOUS
It’s a beautiful morning. Birds are CHIRPING, etc.
LISA
I don’t know, Bart. Something tells me Willie’s still out there, and he could come
back any time in any form and kill us in ways we can’t even imagine.
A city bus pulls up and stops across the street. The doors open, and Willie gets off. He glares at
the Simpson children and makes a variety of mildly scary gestures.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE
(SCARY NOISES)
Willie realizes the bus is pulling away.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE (CONT’D)
Stop! I left my gun on the seat!
He chases after the bus, then stops and turns to the Simpson kids.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE (CONT’D)
Wait here, please. (p.33.)
He runs off HUFFING and PUFFING. A shoe falls off as he goes.
GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE (CONT’D)
Aw, geez!
FADE OUT:
THE END (p.34)
HOMER 3
By
David S. Cohen
FADE IN:
INT: SIMPSON HOUSE – KITCHEN – DAY
SCENE 7
HUMMING happily, Marge is preparing party snacks at the counter. As Maggie looks on, Marge
mixes some chopped-up items in a bowl.
MARGE
What’s mommy making? Apples.... Walnuts... Raisins...
Maggie reaches eagerly into the bowl.
MARGE (CONT’D)
(WAGGING FINGER) Unh, unh, unh. It’s not fit to eat without the wholesome
kiss of mayonnaise.
With a GLOMP she empties an entire jar of mayonnaise onto the mixture, stirs it in, and samples
it.
MARGE (CONT’D)
Mmmm, Waldorf salad. I feel like a millionaire.
She hands the mayonnaise covered spoon to Maggie, who licks it greedily.
MARGE (CONT’D)
(CALLING) Homer? Get ready. Patty and Selma will be here any minute.
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – FOYER – CONTINUOUS
A panicky Homer looks for a hiding place. (p.35)
HOMER
Oh, no. Better ride this one out in the closet.
He OPENS the coat closet. Bart and Lisa are already huddled inside.
LISA
Sorry , dad. This is our spot.
HOMER
Oh yeah? It’s my house, so it’s my spot.
BART
Nuh-uh, ‘cause we called it.
HOMER
(DEFIANT) Did not.
LISA
Well, we’re calling it now.
HOMER
(ALARMED) You are?
BART
‘Fraid so.
HOMER
(MOANS) They got me with their legal mumbo-jumbo.
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – A SECOND LATER
Homer looks around desperately. He lifts up the rug by SANTA’S LITTLE HELPER and
SNOWBALL II are there. They GROWL and HISS at him as he cautiously lowers the rug.
SFX: DOORBELL. (p.36)
MARGE (V.O.)
Just a second!
HOMER
(PANICKED SOUND)
Homer sees a tall bookcase, pushes it out from the wall, and ducks behind it.
HOMER (CONT’D)
Huh. I never looked behind this whatchamacallit case before.
Homer CHUCKLES and leans cockily against the wall. Strangely, his arms passes ghost-like
through the solid wall.
HOMER (CONT’D)
That’s odd.
We hear a SPOOKY SCI-FI STING. Homer stares in disbelief as he slides his arm in and out of
the wall. (The wall shimmers slightly and there are occasional blue sparks around his arm.)
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – FOYER – CONTINUOUS
Marge opens the door and PATTY and SELMA barge in.
PATTY
How’s it hangin’, Marge?
Selma starts to take off her heavy overcoat. (It’s raining outside.)
SELMA
Ugh. I’m baking like a meatloaf under this wet wool.
She OPENS the closet door, revealing Bart and Lisa. They attempt to look casual. (p.37)
BART
(COVERING) May I take your coat, Aunt Selma?
LISA
(STILTED) I would also like to take your coat.
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – A FEW SECONDS LATER
The morose-looking kids enter, followed by Marge, Patty and Selma. Patty carries a large
RATTLING sack.
SELMA
Have we got a family activity for you!
PATTY
A pillowcase full of seashells from our trip to Sulfur Bay.
SELMA
You’re gonna help us clean and organize ‘em.
PATTY
And pry out all the dead hermit crabs. Get a screwdriver.
Selma heads toward the bookshelf where Homer is hiding.
BEHIND THE BOOKSHELF
Homer’s eyes widen in horror as Selma heads right toward him.
HOMER
(STIFLED YELP) I’ll take my chances in the mystery wall.
Homer steps through the wall and into... (p.38)
FRINK
Well, that should be obvious to even the most dimwitted individual – who holds
an advanced degree in hyperbolic topology – that Homer Simpson has
stumbled into... (DRAMATICALLY) the Third Dimension.
MARGE
(GASP) Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Professor Frink?
PROF. FRINK
I doubt it, ma’am. It’s highly complicated.
A GRADUATE STUDENT wearing a Springfield Polytech shirt wheels up a chalkboard.
Professor Frink draws a square on it.
PROF. FRINK (CONT’D)
Here is an ordinary square...
CHIEF WIGGUM
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Egghead!
PROF . FRINK
But suppose we extend the square beyond the two dimensions of our universe,
along the hypothetical Z axis there.
Frink extends his chalk square into a cube. The onlookers GASP in astonishment. (p.45)
PROF. FRINK (CONT’D)
This forms a three-dimensional object known as a “cube” or a “Frinkahedron”, in
honor of its discoverer. (MODEST FRINK NOISE)
HOMER (V.O.)
(SCARED) Help me! Are you helping me, or are you going on and on?
PROF. FRINK
(AFTERTHOUGHT) Oh, right, and of course, within we find the doomed
individual.
He draws a crude picture of Homer trapped within the cube. Homer’s expression is one of
unmitigated horror.
CHIEF WIGGUM
(LEAPING UP) Enough of your borax, Poindexter! A man’s life is at stake! We
need action!
Wiggum draws his gun and FIRES six shots into the portal.
CHIEF WIGGUM (CONT’D)
Take that, you lousy dimension!
IN THE THIRD DIMENSION SCENE 9
HOMER cowers as the bullets zoom at him. At the last second, however, the bullets are pulled
off course by the black hole, which is growing larger by the second. The bullets orbit around a
few times, then spiral down into oblivion. Homer peers into the black hole, scared. (p.46).
HOMER
Oh, there’s so much I don’t know about astrophysics. I wish I’d read that book by
that wheelchair guy.
Suddenly, Homer’s face starts to stretch and twist down the hole, becoming many meters long.
HOMER (CONT’D)
(DISTORTED SHRIEK)
He quickly yanks his face back. He backs away from the hole as it continues to widen. The
WHOOSHING suction increases, pulling in objects, including the MYST Temple and the golden
fish. OMINOUS MUSIC BUILDS.
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
The spectators mill about in consternation. Grampa enters, wearing an old-fashioned deep-sea
diving suit.
GRAMPA
I’ll save Homer. All I needs is four stout men to work the bellows.
JASPER wheels out an old-timey hand-cranked generator, which is hooked up to Grampa.
Grampa closes the porthole on his helmet and heads toward the wall. Frink stops him.
FRINK
No, Pops, it’s too risky. For all we know, there could be cubes in there the size of
gorillas and other large...
HOMER (V.O.)
Help! I don’t have much time!
BART
That does it. I’m going in.
Bart has tied a rope around his waist. He rushes toward the wall. (p.48)
MARGE
Bart, no!
Before she can stop him, he vanishes into the wall.
IN THE THIRD DIMENSION
We see Bart becoming three-dimensional as he steps through the portal. He looks around in
wonder.
BART
Cool, man!
BART’S POV
The ROAR OF THE WIND is deafening as the black hole sucks in most of the remaining
objects. A la “Monday Night Football”, two animated football helmets smash into each other and
explode, the pieces being sucked down the hole. After the helmets disappear, Bart sees a terrified
Homer on the far side of the vortex.
OVERHEAD SHOT
The black hole now takes up almost the entire universe. Homer stands on a narrow ledge, trying
not to fall in.
HOMER
(CRAZED WITH FEAR) (AD-LIB BABBLING ABOUT TH EBLACK HOLE)
I’m gonna be sucked into the black hole!...What’s gonna become of me on the
other side?! I don’t know... (ETC)
BART
I’ll save you, Dad.
The sign for X, Y and Z streets is bent over the black hole like a palm tree in a hurricane. Bart
shimmies out to the end and extends his arm toward Homer.
BART (CONT’D)
Oh, I can’t get any closer! You’ll have to jump! (p.48)
HOMER
(PHONY CONFIDENCE) Piece of cake
Homer runs straight down the wall of the vortex and disappears (breaking up into his component
spheres, cubes, etc. On the way.)
HOMER (CONT’D)
(AS HE DISAPPEARS) Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap!
The CREAKING street sign reaches its breaking point. It SNAPS off and falls into the black
hole.
BART
(SCREAM)
Bart tumbles into the darkness, but is suddenly yanked out of frame by the rope as the entire grid
COLLAPSES in on itself.
INT. SIMPSON HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Wiggum, Hibbert, etc., jerk on the rope, pulling Bart back in through the portal with an electric
SPARK. There’s a beat of silence as Bart shakily stands up and turns to Marge.
MARGE
Bart, what happened?!
BART
Well, we hit a little snag when the universe sorta collapsed on itself.... but dad
seemed cautiously optimistic.
HOMER
(DISTANT) Craaaaaaaaaaaap!
MARGE
Oh, Homie... (p.49)
REV. LOVEJOY
Be strong, Marge. I’m sure he’s gone to a better place.
EXT. VENTURA BOULEVARD – LIVE ACTION
There is an electrical CRACKLE, and a live action Homer (Dan Castellaneta in costume) falls
from the sky and lands in a dumpster.
HOMER
(FALLING NOISE, PUNCTUATED BY ANNOYED GRUNT)
He dusts himself off, climbs out of the dumpster, and looks around.
HOMER (CONT’D)
Eww. This is the worst place yet.
He cautiously begins making his way down Ventura Boulevard. PEDESTRIANS (including our
regular cast members), pass by gawking and pointing at Homer.
HOMER (CONT’D)
Omigod... (TERRIFIED WHISPERS)
Under the closing credits, a frightened Homer lumbers down the street past more wary
pedestrians – a stranger in a strange land. As the credits close, Homer looks in a store window.
HOMER (CONT’D)
(HAPPILY) Ooh, erotic cakes!
Homer perks up and confidently strides into the store.
FADE OUT:
THE END
END OF SHOW