AlthoughThe Simpsonsseason 36, episode 1 seemed to promise that the show’s main characters would finally start to age normally, there is a good reason that they don’t.The Simpsonsseason 37’s renewalhas not yet been announced, but it is fair to guess that the longstanding TV staple will get another season in 2025. 769 episodes ofThe Simpsonshave aired since 1989 and, in that time, the cartoon comedy has become one of the most influential shows in the history of television as a medium. In that time, the show has also maintained one surprising element.
The Simpsons Series Finale’s Returning Controversial Character Explained
One character was singled out as the cause of The Simpsons' downfall and, shockingly, The Simpsons season 36 episode 1 brought them back for a cameo.
The Simpsonshas changed substantially since the series began, with everything from its animation style to the tone of its humor transforming over the decades. Early seasons ofThe Simpsonsare crudely animated and feature a darker, more cynical sense of humor, while the show’s Golden Age introduced a zanier visual style and more fast-paced, gag-heavy writing.The Simpsonsseason 36 episode 1 promisedto change the show further by getting rid of one constant that has remained the same since the show began, but the episode eventually reneged on this. This was inevitable due to the show’s construction.
The Simpsons' Characters Don’t Age To Maintain The Show’s Story & Continuity
The Simpsons Would Change If The Characters Aged
Since the series started,the Simpson family and the citizens of Springfield have never aged like normal people. This wasn’t particularly notable in early seasons, since not every sitcom addresses the changing ages of its cast and animated shows have a particularly large amount of leeway when it comes to keeping the ages of their characters static. However, the unprecedented longevity ofThe Simpsonsgradually made this approach weirder and weirder. If the family aged normally, Homer Simpson would now be 68 years old, and his son Bart would be 45. Instead, they remain the same age they were 35 years ago.
Maggie would need to start speaking and attend kindergarten within a season or two if the characters aged like normal people.
WhileThe Simpsonsseason 36 episode 1 aged Bartby depicting his 11th birthday, the show immediately retconned this by changing this event to his tenth birthday. This was an audacious meta-gag designed to reassure viewers thatThe Simpsonswasn’t going to change its status quo, which is the real reason that the show’s characters never age. Maggie would need to start speaking and attend kindergarten within a season or two if the characters aged like normal people, while Bart and Lisa would soon be in high school and later college in a show as long-lasting asThe Simpsons.
Does The Simpsons Use A Floating Timeline?
The Simpsons Generally Utilize A Floating Timeline
LikeFamily Guy,South Park,American Dad,Bob’s Burgers, and many more cartoons that borrowed from the show’s formula,The Simpsonsutilizes a floating timeline to avoid its characters aging realistically. In 2008’sSuperheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films, critic Roz Kaveney attributed the floating timeline’s popularity to the “Commercial need to keep certain characters going.”The Simpsonsnever age its characters because doing so would fundamentally alter the show’s story, something the series humorously illustrated withthe events of “Bart’s Birthday.”There, everything changed the instant Bart turned 11. In reality, the process is slower.
The Simpsonsfirst visited the future of its eponymous family in season 6, episode 19, “Lisa’s Wedding.” There, Lisa was depicted as a college student in her late teens or early twenties in the year 2010. By season 29, episode 8, “Mr. Lisa’ Opus,” Lisa was portrayed as a baby in the same year. The timeline ofThe Simpsonscould not add upp if the cast aged normally. In another example, Marge and Homer are portrayed as teenage high school students in the late ‘90s even though episodes released in the late ‘90s depicted them as middle-aged parents.
Other Possible Explanations For Why The Simpsons Don’t Age
The Simpsons Could Be Living In A Stable Time Loop
The SimpsonsfanWikihas come up with a few alternative in-universe explanations for why the show’s characters never seem to age. Although these don’t have the show’s stamp of approval, they are intriguing.The Simpsonsseason 36 episode 1effectively confirmed that the titular family doesn’t age even when they have birthdays, which had previously prompted viewers to propose a stable time loop. According to this theory,The Simpsonsis working its way back to the show’s first episode, “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire.” Only time will tell if it’s true, but this is not the only explanation.
The Simpsons May Age Incrementally
Another theory claims that The Simpsonsmight age incrementally at the same rate that the show airs. According to this theory,the family and the citizens of Springfield might age at a rate of around 20 minutes a weekas long as the show is on the air. This does account for the family failing to age normally but doesn’t explain how some episodes take place over a matter of months or years and still feature no visible aging. Most infamously, Apu and Manjula’s octuplets went from a pregnancy announcement to full-on toddlers without Maggie ever aging out of infancy.
The Simpsons’ Characters May Evolve Over Time
One interesting theory that explainsThe Simpsons’ storytelling tricksclaims thatthe ages of the Simpson family might evolve. This aligns with showrunner Matt Selman’s claim thatThe Simpsonshas “Elastic canon,” as he phrased it in a tweet onX(formerlyTwitter). This essentially claims that the Simpsons’ ages change over time to reflect the reality the show airs in. In the ‘90s, Homer and Marge were teens in the ‘90s whereas, by the 2010s, they were teens in the ‘90s, so they could remain the same age in every episode throughout this twenty-year window.
The Simpsons Actually Has Changed Character Ages
The Simpsons Have Changed Their Ages At Times
Although it seems like the show’s characters never age,The Simpsonshas actually changed Homer’s ageand this twist seemingly confirms that the character’s ages evolve. In season 34, episode 16, “Hostile Kirk Place,” Homer stated that he was “Two… Or was it 30?” in the year 1986.The Simpsonsfaced the problemswith its shifting canon in this gag, which refused to confirm Homer’s birthdate but did prove that it changed off-screen at some point over the years. This twist meansThe Simpsonsis aware of its inconsistent aging, if evidently unworried by it.
Source:Superheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films(viaAmazon)
