2:44 PM PDT 10/31/2013 by Graeme McMillan
FOX
Having Guillermo del Toro direct the intro for this year's "Treehouse of Horror" episode wasn't enough for The Simpsons -- this Sunday's episode will see Fox's favorite animated family visit Middle-Earth in the opening credits.
In what is titled "The Couch Gag: Part 1 of 6" -- although whether or not it'll actually last six episodes between this weekend and the opening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug seems somewhat unlikely -- the intro features references to Peter Jackson's first Hobbit feature as the family (Marge is Gandalf, fittingly) venture forth from the Shire to find the fabled couch.
The intro accompanies the episode "4 Regrettings and A Funeral," which airs Sunday, Nov. 3.