Treehouse of Horror XIV

Plot

Bart and Lisa, dressed as Charlie Brown and Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts, argue over Halloween treats and fight until Homer intervenes. He throws a burning log that misses and sets Grampa on fire. Homer rolls Bart and Lisa in a rug and begins to beat them, but Marge shoots him. Her gunshot splatters Homer's blood on the wall, spelling the episode title.

From their spaceship, Kang and Kodos criticize the family for airing a Halloween special in November. The Grim Reaper arrives to take Bart, but the family eludes him in a Benny Hill-style chase. Death pins Bart's shirt with his scythe, but Homer kills Death with a bowling ball in revenge for Snowball I and President John F. Kennedy. Homer puts on Death's robe and becomes the new Grim Reaper.

He reluctantly reaps souls from God's list, but refuses to kill Marge. Homer tricks God by substituting Patty's body for Marge's, and God gives up trying to punish him. Marge thanks Homer with extra pork chops.

Reception

The July 26, 2007 issue of Nature listed the Frinkenstein segment among The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons, noting that chemistry Nobel prizewinner Dudley Herschbach appears to present Professor Frink with a Nobel prize for inventing a hammer with a screwdriver attached. Screen Rant called it the best episode of the 15th season. The episode was nominated for the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore).