THE SIMPSONS hands out its annual Halloween treats on the all-new “Treehouse of Horror XV” special episode Sunday, Nov. 7 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), featuring a sampler of 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.
The following week on Sunday, Nov. 14 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), on the official 16th season premiere of THE SIMPSONS, actor James Caan and writer Thomas Pynchon guest-star as themselves. When Bart fishes Homer’s vintage “Playdude” magazines out of the trash, he decides to adopt the ring-a-ding-ding lifestyle of the 1970s, as interpreted by a 10-year-old. Meanwhile, Marge stoops to sabotage to keep up with the other contestants during the Ovenfresh Bakeoff.
On the “Sleeping with the Enemy” episode Sunday, Nov. 21 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) of THE SIMPSONS, Marge, feeling neglected by her kids, takes in town bully Nelson Muntz as her surrogate child. Bart, not especially happy to share a bedroom with his tormentor, is desperate to reunite the Muntz family, while Lisa’s body image suffers after she’s teased on the playground.
