The Simpsons ‘fixed’ IT, from Stephen King: the must-see Halloween special programme

After the film adaptations of IT, based on the book written by Stephen King, were a big hit in cinemas, The Simpsons thought it would be a good idea to do a spoof in which, coincidentally, they fixed something that didn’t “connect” in the most recent films.

Basically, the creators of The Simpsons enhanced the plot in the Season 34 Halloween special, Treehouse of Horror, where they mocked horror movies in general.

The Simpsons changes the IT dynamic

While 2017’s IT and its 2019 sequel, IT Chapter Two, captured the attention of niche audiences, the films failed to make the love triangle between Bill, Ben and Beverly overly compelling, and this did not go unnoticed.

The second episode of season 34 of The Simpsons, focusing on Krusty, “Not IT”, also marked the first parody of the Treehouse of Horror movie.

The Simpsons usually divides their annual Halloween specials into three segments, each parodying a movie. However, Not IT focused exclusively on Stephen King and IT. Comic Book Guy played Bill Denbrough, while Homer filled in for the new kid in town, Ben Hanscom. The “Not IT” storyline blended the two storylines into a bizarre and funny story that actually improved the dynamic.

Season 34 of The Simpsons focused on Marge, putting her in the lead female role and solving a plot problem from the original movies.

In “Not IT”, Bill, as Comic Books Guy, is aware that Homer is in love with Marge and does his best to prevent the two from reuniting. He lies and pretends that he wrote the poem. Unlike the travesty made by South Park, The Simpsons mimics the pathos of this moment and even provides a surprisingly creepy scene of this conflict later when Comic Book Guy almost confesses to Marge, only to realize he’s talking to a Krusto in disguise.

Killing Comic Book Guy also allows the Simpsons to avoid one of the biggest problems of It Chapter Two. In It Chapter Two, Richie and Eddie are basically in love, but they are unable to admit it. However, The Simpsons’ latest parody departs from this storyline by dropping Eddie and Richie’s relationship.

This approach gave Eddie and Richie’s equivalents from The Simpsons a happier ending, even if inconsistent with the original.