Simpsons Fans Call Out Show For Timeline Error; Producer Reminds Them ‘It’s All Made Up’

There are casual Simpsons fans and hardcore Simpsons fans. You don’t want to piss off the latter ones – or try to pull one over on them. Case in point: viewers spotted a “continuity error” and called out the head honchos of the show about it.

The mistake in question was in Episode 15 of Season 32, “Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars?” In the episode, there’s a flashback of 14-year-old Homer in the ‘90s as a DJ. This clashes with prior episodes that showed Homer as a teen in 1974.

“Homer was now a teenager in the late 90s, meaning his hypothetical birthday is later than Bart’s was at the start of the show,” one Twitter user pointed out. “Homer is now younger than Bart. HOW LONG CAN THEY KEEP IT UP THO”

Homer was now a teenager in the late 90s, meaning his hypothetical birthday is later than Bart’s was at the start of the show.

Homer is now younger than Bart.

HOW LONG CAN THEY KEEP IT UP THO pic.twitter.com/Ux85l8atbF

— Caleb (@NessMudkip) March 12, 2021

Another fan pointed out a different flub – that this new timeline meant Homer’s dad Abe would have been a Vietnam Vet rather than a WWII vet as previously shown.

That means that Abe is now a Vietnam Veteran and Skinner from the Gulf War. Why do they try so hard to make me confused? pic.twitter.com/WHDXm9aISy

— CAPTAIN-CHETO (@CaptainCheto) March 13, 2021

And yet another fan made a stunning – and downright offensive conclusion:

Wait that means Homer is now a millennial ! pic.twitter.com/5fM7K3KJj6

— Maxebon (@maximrutter) March 12, 2021

The bru-ha-ha finally caught the attention of Simpsons executive producer Matt Selman, who got a little snarky is his clap back.

Continuity Alert: Sunday’s @TheSimpsons playfully re-interprets the show’s timeline to allow Homer to be a teenager in the early ’90s — The Simpsons is a 32-year-old series where the characters do not age, so the “canon” must be elastic / contradictory / silly. pic.twitter.com/GTOpOHUa0w

— Matt Selman (@mattselman) March 14, 2021

“Continuity Alert: Sunday’s @TheSimpsons playfully re-interprets the show’s timeline to allow Homer to be a teenager in the early ’90s,” he said. ”‘The Simpsons’ is a 32-year-old series where the characters do not age, so the ‘canon’ must be elastic / contradictory / silly.”

But wait! There’s more!

This does not mean other beloved classic @TheSimpsons flashback shows didn’t happen. None of this happened. It’s all made up. Every episode is its own Groundhog Day that only has make sense for that story (if that).

— Matt Selman (@mattselman) March 14, 2021

“This does not mean other beloved classic @TheSimpsons flashback shows didn’t happen,” he continued. “None of this happened. It’s all made up. Every episode is its own Groundhog Day that only has make sense for that story (if that).”

As Selman points out, the show was never meant to be a realistic depiction of a family. (Hello, just look at that yellow skin and blue hair.)

There is no @TheSimpsons “canon” or “non-canon.” There are only stories. If all these crazy things really happened to one family the characters would be in a mental hospital.

— Matt Selman (@mattselman) March 14, 2021

The producer ended on an uplifting note: “If you love, hate or are completely indifferent to our Silly Putty paradoxical continuity, thank you so much for watching / caring about @TheSimpsons at any point in its 100000 years of existence.”

If you love, hate or are completely indifferent to our Silly Putty paradoxical continuity, thank you so much for watching / caring about @TheSimpsons at any point in its 100000 years of existence

— Matt Selman (@mattselman) March 14, 2021

So keep watching, Simpsons nerds. But don’t take any of it too seriously. It’s an animated sitcom, after all.

Photos: 20th Century Fox

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