Entertainment
The Simpsons producer takes down critics over Homer Simpson flashback: ‘It’s all made up’
The Simpsons producer Matt Selman has fiercely defended the latest episode, which was hit with criticism over a flashback of Homer Simpson as a teenager in the 90s.
Long-running fans of the animation were baffled during the instalment Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars, which also featured a cameo from sci-fi icon JJ Abrams, when they were taken back to the 90s and Homer was a teen.
Of course, Homer was previously a teen when he met Marge in the 70s during early episodes of The Simpsons, and was seen as a child in the 60s.
Some critics pointed out the warped timeline would now make Homer younger than his son, Bart.
One complaint on Twitter read: ‘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.’
However, few shows have spanned for 30 years and with the characters remaining the same age throughout, naturally the timeline of their respective backstories has been altered to fit with the times.
Selman has hit back at the moans in a series of tweets.
‘Continuity Alert: Sunday’s @TheSimpsons playfully re-interprets the show’s timeline to allow Homer to be a teenager in the early ‘90s,’ he wrote.
‘The Simpsons is a 32-year-old series where the characters do not age, so the “canon” must be elastic / contradictory / silly.
‘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 [to] make sense for that story (if that).’
He added: ‘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.’
Regardless, The Simpsons is still going strong with its 32nd series launching this year and being renewed for another two seasons. Basically, Homer will likely outlive us all.
The Simpsons airs on Sky One and is available to stream on Disney Plus now.
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