Annual ‘Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror’ episode to animate your spookiest senses

Of course, given it’s a Halloween episode, Bart’s demise won’t be permanent.

With the annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode of “The Simpsons” airing Sunday, it was a safe bet we’d be seeing a new horror-themed couch gag.

‘I hated frustration comedy so we’ll scratch that itch, ‘ executive producer Al Jean revealed back in the summer at the ATX Festival in Texas. The episode will feature another confrontation between Bart Simpson (Nancy Cartwright) and Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) but this time it won’t go well for Bart. Is this a sign of lazy writing, finally giving in and letting Bob kill Bart?

This may be the most significant “Treehouse of Horror” special yet. “[Sideshow Bob’s] whole life has just been about killing Bart, so what’s next?” “So Bob will finally somehow execute Bart – and then won’t know what to do with himself after his life’s mission has been accomplished”.

Also of note: If the art style looks familiar, there’s a good reason – the Simpsons team tapped Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi to bring his unique style of weird to this one, and it shows.

To help build a few buzz for “Treehouse of Horror XXVI”, Fox has released the intro couch gag for the latest Halloween episode.