Remember the Treehouse of Horror 21 title sequence?

Now we are passed the 20 year mark on these shows. In 2010 what will we see?

The show opens on the Simpson home, with Homer and Bart sitting outside.

The pair are carving Jack O'Lanterns.

But Bart gets bored and decides to carve something else.

Homer responds as he always does...You sometimes forget how disturbing that is to see...Does he still do this in the show? ...It really is just wrong.

Bart, fighting for his life, smashes a lit carved pumpkin over Homer's head.

The pumpkin ignites Homer's head.

And Homer begins to run around...And I am hearkening back to a more pleasant opening with VII.

We soon cut away to Professor Frink. He's watching the new Treehouse of Horror on his TIVO.

He then shares the good news that if parts of the episode prove to be too much you can use the remote to fast forward through. As he walks we can see a return of Frankenstein's Monster in the back. Also he walks in front of an X-Ray machine and reveals that an Alien embryo is growing inside him. That is the first actually funny thing in this opening.

He then proceeds to show how you can fast forward through this violence. And we get to watch more escalating violence between father and son.

And it never starts to get funny. This is like XIV, with it's escalating domestic violence opening. It's just not an opening that is winning me over. It's too real. Treehouse of Horror openings need that certain sense of the macabre that you don't find here.

Frink then accidentally jumps through the whole show, catching moments from each of the episode's stories.

Having ruined the experience for everyone, he proceeds to kill himself by fast forwarding himself to death. And that is actually kind of ridiculous, and funny. Honestly, this whole opening would have worked far better if the fighting was more in the background, focusing on Frink.

Soon he's fast forwarded passed death and unto dust.

As he blows away, the titles are shown.

And, well, that is...Oh, we aren't done. Now the monster (who sadly looks very little like he did last year) picks up the remote so that he can turn on The Office.

...You know how sometimes people say something in a show or movie instantly dates it? Make it feel old and out of date. Personally, I don't always agree. I like things to sometimes be of a time and place. ...This isn't an example of that.

We now go into Monster Office. It's a parody, which uses the shows actual music. This is almost as unfunny as Homer and Bart attempting to brutally murder each other seconds before.

To enjoy this image more check out Jonathan Coulton's "RE: Brains".

You know, an office where monsters work is not an unfunny idea. But plugging it into The Office? Years on now my reaction is, "Ugh. An Office joke." I think that was reaction at the time as well. ..I am not a big fan of that show.

See this? To do this bit they actually skipped out on doing the stupid "scary" names for these guys. For an Office joke in the Halloween special... (This is Jay Leno level humor.)

It is weird. We get a meh Halloween opening, with an odd and funny Professor Frink addendum. Then we get a Monster Office spoof. It's like they had two competing ideas this year, and couldn't agree. It makes for an odd and unsatisfying opening to the show. Really it is about as off as XIV.

This episode gave us...

and

and

Which gave us...

and

and

Oh, no! Dr Frink spoiled what is about to happen!

Now on to YEAR XXII!