If you were to ask me what my favorite TV show of all-time is, I’d say, without hesitation, The Simpsons. No show in the history of television has crafted such wonderful characters, some superb witticisms and some of the best comedy created by the human race. That yellow family from Springfield has brought an unreal amount of joy into my life over the past few years, and thanks to this year’s Halloween special, “Treehouse of Horror XXIV” (the twenty-fourth, which is older than any single member of One Direction) they’ve shown that they haven’t lost a beat in crafting delightful Halloween episodes that are full of chills and chuckles.

In the past few years, artists like Bill Plympton, Banksy and John Kricfalusi have brought their iconic art and style to The Simpsons famous opening couch gags, but for this years Treehouse of Horror, they take things to the next level, with visionary director Guillermo Del Toro lending his iconic spin not just to the couch gag, but to the entire opening sequence of the show. For nearly three minutes, Del Toro doesn’t just reference his work (though there are plenty of Hellboy, Blade and Pacific Rim references for Del Toro fanatics like yours truly) but also to the horror genre at large, with Hitchcock, Stephen King and other iconic horror icons given superb treatment that both lampoons and homages their contributions to horror. I really, really hope Del Toro returns to the show in some capacity in the future, as this opening is both brilliant and bonkers, both perfect ways to describe anything Halloween related.

The first segment, “Oh The Places you’ll D’oh!”, has the world of The Simpsons adopting the artistic style of Dr. Seuss, as the characters do one of the more twisted and violent depictions of  Seuss’s work I’ve ever seen. I was worried this short might overstay it’s welcome on a premise that might be a little too one-note, but luckily it keeps coming up with humorously over-the-top and violent things for Homer (here known as The Fat In The Hat) to do that keep things interesting and humorous. Thanks to the fantastic animation (which makes everybody look like a Seuss creation) and a story that never runs out of steam, this is a surprisingly well done segment.

The weakest part of the half hour comes next, although it still contains a healthy amount of laughs. “Dead and Shoulders” has Bart’s head attached to Lisa’s shoulders, causing many shenanigans to ensue. This one doesn’t quite have as many laughs as the previous two segments and the plot too closely resembles a part of Treehouse of Horror II for my taste. Luckily, this being The Simpsons, it’s almost impossible for there not to be at least a few laughs in the proceedings and the ending is just crazy enough to work.

Closing things out is “Freaks, No Geeks”, a short that parodies the film Freaks. Having not seen that movie, I still found much enjoyment in the tale, which depicts all the residents of Springfield as being part of a freak show in a circus in the 1930’s. Similar to the first two segments, a different animation style is utilized here, with darker colors being prominent and all of the characters (except for Moe, Marge and Homer) looking different. Their circus freak appearances are good for several laughs, and the segment contains some of the show’s scariest moments, especially a scene where all of the circus freaks gang up on Homer. Out of the three, this was likely the best segment of the bunch, and the ending of the segment, which is so out of nowhere yet perfect, is likely the hardest I’ve laughed at something on TV in a long time.

Kudos to The Simpsons for another great Halloween episode. Between this and a fantastic season premiere that parodied Homeland, I have high hopes for their historic 25th season.  If this episode is any indication, those high hopes will be easily surpassed.