Treehouse of Horror IV

"Treehouse of Horror IV"
The Simpsons episode
The Devil, in the form of Ned Flanders, appearing at Homer's work station after he says that he would sell his soul for a donut.
Episode no.	86
Directed by	David Silverman
Written by	Conan O'Brien Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein Greg Daniels Dan McGrath Bill Canterbury
Showrunner(s)	David Mirkin
Production code	1F04
Original air date	October 28, 1993
Couch gag	The family (as zombies) enter through the living room floor before sitting on the couch.
Commentary	Matt Groening James L. Brooks David Mirkin Conan O'Brien Greg Daniels Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein David Silverman
Guest appearance(s)
Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz Frank Welker as the gremlin
Season 5 episodes September 30, 1993 – May 19, 1994 "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" "Cape Feare" "Homer Goes to College" "Rosebud" "Treehouse of Horror IV" "Marge on the Lam" "Bart's Inner Child" "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" "The Last Temptation of Homer" "$pringfield" "Homer the Vigilante" "Bart Gets Famous" "Homer and Apu" "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" "Deep Space Homer" "Homer Loves Flanders" "Bart Gets an Elephant" "Burns' Heir" "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" "Lady Bouvier's Lover" "Secrets of a Successful Marriage"
Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz
Frank Welker as the gremlin

"Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season and the fourth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 28, 1993, and features three short stories called "The Devil and Homer Simpson", "Terror at 5½ Feet", and "Bart Simpson's Dracula". The episode was directed by David Silverman and co-written by Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Greg Daniels, Dan McGrath, and Bill Canterbury.

In "The Devil and Homer Simpson", Homer Simpson announces he would sell his soul for a doughnut, and the Devil appears to make a deal with Homer. Homer tries to outsmart the Devil by not finishing the doughnut but eventually eats it and is sent to Hell. A trial is held between Homer and the Devil to determine the rightful owner of Homer's soul. In "Terror at 5½ Feet", while riding the bus to school, Bart Simpson believes he sees a gremlin taking apart the bus piece by piece. Nobody sees it except for Bart, so he tries to remove it on his own. In "Bart Simpson's Dracula", Mr. Burns is a vampire and Bart falls victim to his bite. Lisa and the rest of the family go to Burns' castle to kill Burns so Bart can return to normal.

As with the rest of the Halloween specials, the episode is considered non-canon and falls outside of the show's regular continuity. The episode makes cultural references to television series such as The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and Peanuts. References are also made to films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Lost Boys. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.5, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.