The first half-hour long The Simpsons to air was a Christmas special, one which aired several times in its first year, as strong word of mouth spread about it. Since then, however, they have made Halloween their holiday, with a new special Halloween episode every year.
Only, they don’t call it the Halloween special, which turns out to be wise. Ever since Fox got the major league baseball deal, they have run the “Treehouse of Horror” episode after Halloween, when everyone has already had their fill of spookiness. With the World Series not going to Game 7, they managed to run a “Treehouse of Horror” tonight — but not a new one. They ran last year’s. “Treehouse of Horror XIV” won’t air until next Sunday, in the usual Simpsons slot.
Sports trumps everything. (sigh.)
