Funny, scary - and political

BY DIANE WERTS | Newsday Staff Writer

November 2, 2006

Halloween is never so hilarious as in the annual Treehouse of Horror episode of "The Simpsons." Or so creepy. Each year's three short scarers turn the trick on both ends of the emotional spectrum.

The 2006 collection also manages to be touching. And politically pointed.

Keep telling yourself: It's only a cartoon ... only a cartoon ...

It's only "The Simpsons," which 18 seasons into its prolific run shows no signs of letting up in its satiric assault on life as we know it. This 17th free-form Treehouse (the series' first season spanned only the spring of 1990) kicks off with your basic monster movie, featuring a guest shot from Dr. Phil. Oh, wait, it's Homer who's the monster in "Married to the Blob," in which he wantonly consumes a goopy space meteor and can't stop eating anything or anyone thereafter. From goofy puns to Sir Mix-a-Lot rap, this curtain-raiser ranges far and wide, even dipping a toe into social engineering when town fathers sense a sunny side to Homer's bloat when it comes to solving their homeless problem.

"You Gotta Know When to Golem" goes ethnic, as Bart stumbles upon Krusty the Clown's magical order - following Golem of Jewish mythology; Krusty explains he's "like Alan Dershowitz, but with a conscience." The vengeance rampage here ("Oh, it's always the Jews' fault," retorts bad little Bart) takes a romantic turn when the mute Golem finds his voice in Richard Lewis and a lady love in Fran Drescher. "The Simpsons" thus adds heart to the horror and humor.

And finally, social commentary. Though it would be nice to report the Iraq references in the space-attack send-up "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" were sly and sharp, they're obvious and heavy-handed, tacked on to provide a disquieting ending (where this year's other two creepouts essentially just stop short when they've run out of things to say). At least this climactic cartoon is stylish to the max, shot (drawn?) in sepia to suit its 1938 setting, when a worlds-war radio drama-hoax creates an opening for aliens Kang and Kodos to actually attack the now unsuspecting Earthlings of Springfield.

Down the road of alien rule, there's talk of being "greeted as liberators," "weapons of mass disintegration" and "enduring occupation." The I-word is actually uttered in a country coda to critics' preview screener that manages to feel unsettling while making essentially no sense in its own context of mixed metaphors. (Internet reports have hinted producers might delete the final line before Sunday's broadcast.)

Cheap shot? Publicity grab? Well, we're writing about it, aren't we? Those "Simpsons" dudes do know what they're doing.

THE SIMPSONS. Halloween's annual Treehouse of Horror episode gets topical. Sunday at 8 p.m. on Fox/5.