a terrible idea for an episode, but it's not a particularly exciting one, either. The show plods through its scenario without much life, mostly because parodies of reality TV just aren't very interesting; the programs they mock are already so absurd that there's not much room for satire." Ryan Keefer of DVD Talk wrote that the episode is "a prime example of [the show's writers] trying to do something funny and falling flat." References External links Helter Shelter (The Simpsons) script at Springfield! Springfield! The Simpsons (season 14) episodes Reality television series parodies 2002 American television episodes