Treehouse Of Horror XXIII opens with another attempt at topical humour but this time it’s not a dated political reference (although there’s a lame Obama gag thrown in) but a joke that’s been millennia in the making. We’re in Mayan times, prophesying the end of the world at the close of the thirteenth baktun. When Mayan Marge saves Homer from being sacrificed, she dooms the world of 2012. It’s a fun segment and sets up this year’s Treehouse Of Horror perfectly.

The Greatest Story Ever Holed

“A black hole! I’m sorry – can we call it that?”

Sticking with matters cosmological, the first vignette brings us Springfield’s latest public white elephant: a super-collider which is too small to discover anything important. However, when it creates a microscopic black hole the fun really begins. It’s packed with witty dialogue and clever visual gags, even managing to make the black hole something of a character in its own right. (And it makes the Zune joke five years before “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2“)

Unnormal Activity

“I swear I am not filming. (Note to self: edit out my lies).”

A good parody knows its target and this is a good parody. It’s probably the high point of Treehouse Of Horror XXIII where plenty of humour is mined from both the Simpsons and the “Paranormal Activity” franchise. It’s an amusing story of a deal with the devil which ends up requiring Homer to…um…take one for the team. Luckily even demons have a safe word.

Bart & Homer’s Excellent Adventure

“Say hello to the united federation of Homers through history!”

Despite the “Bill & Ted” inspired title, this spoof has a different time-travelling franchise in its sights: “Back To The Future”. It works well enough although it’s pretty much just retreading the jokes the original movies already made and the assortment of Homers provides some laughs. At least it’s packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em background jokes, so it’s worth watching more than once of twice.