History Recap / TheSimpsonsS11E4TreehouseOfHorrorX

Later, Lucy Lawless is answering questions about ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' (and providing the TropeNamer for AWizardDidIt) while dressed as the titular character, when she is abducted by the Collector (Comic Book Guy), who puts her in a mylar bag and plans to marry her. Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl run to the rescue, but are defeated by the Collector, and put into a DeathTrap. In the meantime, Lawless tricks the Collector, knocks him into his own death trap, and saves the superheroes. She then flies off into the sunset with them. Clobber Girl protests that Xena can't fly, to which Lawless replies that [[IAmNotSpock she's not Xena]], she's Lucy Lawless.

* AWizardDidIt: This episode is the [[TropeNamers Trope Namer]], which comes from a line from Lucy Lawless as a quick way to answer fans complicated questions.

%%* TooDumbToLive: Homer in "I Know What You Diddily-Iddly-Did" used to provide the page quote.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Homer neglecting to debug the computer at the power plant on New Year's Day causes [[NoOntologicalInertia the corruption of all the computers in the world]], ending the world in a tech-apocalypse.

* PoliceAreUseless: Instead of trying to stop the looting, Chief Wiggum steals stuff he doesn't know what they're used for and goes to the church to encourage everyone there to loot as well.

** "Life's A Glitch, Then You Die" opens with Music/RickJames performing "Superfreak" only to be arrested afterwards, a nod to how during the 1990s, he was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman, getting a 5-year prison sentence but being released after 2 years. This would severely stain his reputation till his life was spoofed by Creator/DaveChappelle on ''Series/ChappellesShow in 2003.

** The rocket sent on a collision course to the sun with the apparent purpose of getting rid of the worst/most useless people on Earth, which include such celebrities/familiar 1990s faces as Ross Perot, UsefulNotes/DanQuayle, Tonya Harding, Al Sharpton, Music/CourtneyLove, Creator/SpikeLee, Creator/TomArnold, Pauly Shore, Rosie O'Donnell and Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Homer finds them all so intolerable that he'd rather eject himself into space than spend another five minutes with them. The world was already in the midst of an apocalyptic scenario where their chance of survival would be sparse, so the people in charge must have really wanted to ensure these specific people died.

* TooDumbToLive: Homer in "I Know What You Diddily-Iddly-Did" used to provide the page quote.

** The rocket sent on a collision course to the sun with the apparent purpose of getting rid of the worst/most useless people on Earth, which include such celebrities/familiar 1990s faces as Ross Perot, UsefulNotes/DanQuayle, Tonya Harding, Al Sharpton, Music/CourtneyLove, Creator/SpikeLee, Creator/TomArnold, Pauly Shore, Rosie O'Donnell and Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Homer finds them all so intolerable that he'd rather eject himself into space than spend another five minutes with them.

* DrivenToSuicide: In "Life's a Glitch, Then You Die", Homer would rather kill himself and Bart than spend five more minutes with lame celebrities.

! Desperately Xeeking Xena

Later, Lucy Lawless is answering questions about ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' (and providing the TropeNamer for AWizardDidIt) while dressed as the titular character, when she is abducted by the Collector (Comic Book Guy), who puts her in a mylar bag and plans to marry her. Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl run to the rescue, but are defeated by the Collector, and put into a DeathTrap. In the meantime, Lucy Lawless tricks the Collector, knocks him into his own death trap, and saves the superheroes. She then flies off into the sunset with them. Clobber Girl protests that Xena can't fly, to which Lucy replies that [[IAmNotSpock she's not Xena]], she's Lucy Lawless.

! Life's a Glitch, Then You Die

Airing on Halloween Night itself (one of only two Treehouse of Horror episodes to do so), it was notably the last annual Treehouse of Horror special to consecutively air in October, something which would not happen again for another full decade.

!!"[=Tropehouse=] Of Horror X":

* CelebrityParadox: ''Simpsons'' creator Creator/MattGroening is among the stars the Collector had abducted before capturing Creator/LucyLawless.
* CelebrityPower: Creator/LucyLawless flies Bart and Lisa away from the Collector's lair, leading to this immortal exchange:
-->'''Lisa:''' Wait a minute! Xena can't fly!\\
'''Lucy Lawless:''' I told you; I'm not Xena. I'm Lucy Lawless.

* IAmNotShazam: InUniverse, Homer thinks that the piano genius from Film/{{Shine}} was called “[[NameMcAdjective Shiney McShine]]”.
* IAmNotSpock: Invoked in "Desperately Xeeking Xena": She's not [[Series/XenaWarriorPrincess Xena]], she's Lucy Lawless (she was in costume for a bookstore Q&A). An important distinction is: Xena can't fly, but Lucy Lawless ''can'', apparently.

* MythologyGag: After the Simpsons find Ned Flanders seemingly alive and well, Bart asks "Are you a zombie", and Ned answers "Oh, I wish...", referring to "Treehouse Of Horror III"'s "Dial 'Z' For Zombie", that saw Ned become a zombie and get gunned down by Homer ("Dad, you killed the Zombie Flanders!" "He was a zombie?").

--> "NOT FAST ENOUGH!"\\

* AWizardDidIt: This episode is the [[TropeNamers Trope Namer]], which comes from a line from Creator/LucyLawless (the actress who plays the titular character of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'') as a quick way to answer fans complicated questions.
--> '''Professor Frink:''' ''(after Lucy Lawless established the phrase)'' But in episode [=AG4=] --\\

* ActionGirl: Clobber Girl and Lucy Lawless.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Homer forgetting his computer wasn't Y2K-compliant, [[FromBadToWorse causing every other computer and electric appliance to go berserk and sending the whole planet Earth into a downward spiral]].

* TheFantasticFaux: Bart and Lisa's Superhero alteregos: Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl. Stretch Dude has RubberMan powers, while Clobber Girl has SuperStrength and SuperToughness. Unlike most examples of this trope they are a duo rather than a quartet. "Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl" would later go on to have their own shorts in ''Simpsons'' comics.
* GivingThemTheStrip: Subverted, Lucy Lawless considers removing her breastplate to escape the Collector's magnet, but decides to not go through with it when she realizes that the crowd is full of nerds with cameras who will photograph her bare breasts if she does so.

* KilledOffscreen[=/=]GoryDiscretionShot:
** Unusually, it's Homer who was killed offscreen by a werewolf Flanders eating him.
** Also in "Life's a Glitch," Homer and Bart eject themselves into space, where they inflate like balloons and then [[YourHeadAsplode pop just off-screen]]. The same goes for all the other people on the second plane flying into the sun.

** Oh no, Creator/RosieODonnell!

* CelebrityPower: Lucy Lawless flies Bart and Lisa away from the Collector's lair, leading to this immortal exchange:

* ContinuityNod: During the opening sequence, all the Simpsons (barring Lisa) are dressed as various creatures they've been turned into during several past Treehouse episodes.