Why hasn't the Simpsons aged a day
Gary Abersek
On Mon, 08 Dec 1997, Lapordon <tast...@access.net.au> wrote:
>When the Simpsons began Bart was 10 years old,Lisa was 8 years old,
>Maggie was 1, Homer was 36 years old and Marge was 34 years old by
>now Bart should be 17 OR 18
>Lisa should be 15 or 16 years old, Maggie should be 9years old and homer
>and Marge and Homer should be 44 and 42 years old.
>Why hasn't the Simpsons aged one day since the First Season.
I think that this is part of the show's general ridicule of regular
sitcoms--they have to have a young kid in there to keep that comedic appeal
and cutesiness in the show. The original COSBY show was a prime example (as
well as FAMILY TIES and GROWING PAINS): when the youngest (played by Keshia
Knight-Pulliam) got into the pre-teen range, there was introduced a new
family member/regular visitor (Raven Simone, in this case). In GROWING
PAINS, there was a new child in the family and she went from toddler to
precocious seven-year-old over one summer break. Apparently, one soap opera
from the US has aged one of its child characters about ten years in less than
six months (sort of the reverse trend of keeping 'em young and cute).
Also, I think the show's writers do it because they can! This keeps the
"shtick" for the show about the same all the way along. Lisa has said in one
episode that she's been wearing the same dress for what feels like forever...
Bart's near-failing of a grade in Mrs. Krabapple's class ("Bart Gets an F")
shows how absurdly funny all of this is.
Gary in BC
Phil Reed
I believe they have aged. At least a year. You have to remember that the
Simpsons have had under 200 episodes. Each one shows us a day in the life
of Springfield, so we haven't even seen 365 days yet. To have Lisa be
12-13-14-15 or whatever would actualy make LESS sense than it does now.
But notice we have seen birthdays. Bart had one in "Radio Bart." Lisa had
one in "Stark Raving Dad." Marge had one in "Jaques in the Fast Lane."
That makes sense. We haven't seen a full year yet, so we've only seen a few
of the birthdays.
Just think about it that way.
--Phil Reed
Fox McCloud
They're a cartoon family. If they did age, they'd all die and I think very
few would want that.
Fox McCloud
re...@ne.infi.net
>When the Simpsons began Bart was 10 years old,Lisa was 8 years old
>,Maggie was 1,
>Homer was 36 years old and Marge was 34 years old by now Bart should be
>17 OR 18
>Lisa should be 15 or 16 years old, Maggie should be 9years old and homer
>and Marge and Homer should be 44 and 42 years old.
>Why hasn't the Simpsons aged one day since the First Season.
>
>
>--
>Cadet Lapordan
>Navigation
>USI Stealth
>USI - 0001
>
>
George Hiebert
We've seen the school year end a couple of times yet they always remain
in grades 2 and 4.
Lapordon
Bishop187
>From: "Phil Reed" <Jense...@aol.com>
>I believe they have aged. At least a year. You have to remember that the
>Simpsons have had under 200 episodes. Each one shows us a day in the life
>of Springfield, so we haven't even seen 365 days yet. To have Lisa be
>12-13-14-15 or whatever would actualy make LESS sense than it does now.
>
>But notice we have seen birthdays. Bart had one in "Radio Bart." Lisa had
>one in "Stark Raving Dad." Marge had one in "Jaques in the Fast Lane."
>That makes sense. We haven't seen a full year yet, so we've only seen a few
>of the birthdays.
>
>Just think about it that way.
>
>--Phil Reed
>
>
>
summer vacations?
last day of school?
Xmases?
Bishop
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VoVat
On Sun, 7 Dec 1997 16:36:46 -0800, the one known as Phil Reed
<Jense...@aol.com> wrote thusly:
>
>I believe they have aged. At least a year. You have to remember that
the
>Simpsons have had under 200 episodes. Each one shows us a day in the
life
>of Springfield, so we haven't even seen 365 days yet. To have Lisa be
>12-13-14-15 or whatever would actualy make LESS sense than it does now.
>
Actually, some of the episodes take place over a week, a month, or
several months. For instance, "The Itchy & Scratchy Movie" encompasses
the entire length of time that the movie was in the theater, and, since
it was a popular movie, I would imagine that the episode took place over
a period of a few months.
>But notice we have seen birthdays. Bart had one in "Radio Bart." Lisa
had
>one in "Stark Raving Dad." Marge had one in "Jaques in the Fast Lane."
>That makes sense. We haven't seen a full year yet, so we've only seen a
few
>of the birthdays.
>
>Just think about it that way.
>
>--Phil Reed
>
>
--
Nathan Mulac DeHoff
vo...@geocities.com or ln...@grove.iup.edu
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/5447/
"I'm having a wonderful time, but I'd rather be whistling in the dark."
Tama
Lapordon <tast...@access.net.au> wrote:
>When the Simpsons began Bart was 10 years old,Lisa was 8 years old
>,Maggie was 1,
>Homer was 36 years old and Marge was 34 years old by now Bart should be
>17 OR 18
>Lisa should be 15 or 16 years old, Maggie should be 9years old and homer
>and Marge and Homer should be 44 and 42 years old.
>Why hasn't the Simpsons aged one day since the First Season.
>
>
It's a cartoon series.
Characters in cartoons don't ever age.
You might see scenes which are set in their future or their past, but in the
end of each episode they remain the same as they were in the beginning
of it.
btw: we can't complain about things in "The Simpsons" as not changing.
e.g. take season 8: Milhouse's parents get divorced and STAY divorced.
That's already a special characteristic feature that you'd never find in say
"The Flintstones" or "Bugs Bunny" or whatever...
Tama
VoVat
On 8 Dec 97 11:10:58 EST, the one known as VoVat <vo...@geocities.com>
wrote thusly:
>
>On Sun, 7 Dec 1997 16:36:46 -0800, the one known as Phil Reed
><Jense...@aol.com> wrote thusly:
>>
>>I believe they have aged. At least a year. You have to remember that
>the
>>Simpsons have had under 200 episodes. Each one shows us a day in the
>life
>>of Springfield, so we haven't even seen 365 days yet. To have Lisa be
>>12-13-14-15 or whatever would actualy make LESS sense than it does now.
>>
>
>Actually, some of the episodes take place over a week, a month, or
>several months. For instance, "The Itchy & Scratchy Movie" encompasses
>the entire length of time that the movie was in the theater, and, since
>it was a popular movie, I would imagine that the episode took place over
>a period of a few months.
>
>>But notice we have seen birthdays. Bart had one in "Radio Bart." Lisa
>had
>>one in "Stark Raving Dad." Marge had one in "Jaques in the Fast Lane."
>>That makes sense. We haven't seen a full year yet, so we've only seen
a
>few
>>of the birthdays.
Oops! I sent this off before I could finish it. Anyway, I was going to
mention that Homer and SLH had a birthday in "The Springfield Files," and
Milhouse had TWO birthdays, one just before "Homer Defined," and the
other in "Homer the Clown." Also, Bart and Lisa finished their
respective grades in three separate episodes: "Kamp Krusty," "Summer of
4'2," and "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson."
Chad McKenzie
Did the Flintstones age?
Did the Jetsons age?
Did the Scooby gang age?
How old do you figure the Peanuts gang is by now?
Shouldn't Garfield be dead by now? I mean, that cat's been around a LONG
TIME!
Dennis the Menace? This kid's never going to grow up.
My point -- it's a cartoon. Cartoons are not real. They do not have to
follow the laws of nature. They do not have to age every season. The
Simpsons' comes on 1 night every week -- if they only cover a few days of
their lives in an episode, how many new episodes are required to make up one
year? Have you counted the time elapsed during each episode? Get over it.
Laugh at it. It's funny. It was meant to be funny. That' s why it's on
TV.
Kris Miller
Chad McKenzie wrote:
DAMN RIGHT!!!
monk...@worldnet.att.net
On Sun, 7 Dec 1997 16:36:46 -0800, "Phil Reed" <Jense...@aol.com>
wrote:
>I believe they have aged. At least a year. You have to remember that the
>Simpsons have had under 200 episodes. Each one shows us a day in the life
>of Springfield, so we haven't even seen 365 days yet. To have Lisa be
>12-13-14-15 or whatever would actualy make LESS sense than it does now.
Actually, Lisa acts like a college student much of the time, so it
wouldn't seem so out of place if they aged her into her teens. She
would finally be acting her age. As for Bart, the same might apply -
The way he is portrayed right now, he could probably fit rather well
if they made him a high school-age kid. Lord knows that in practically
every high school- there are immature, prankish 'underachievers' -
class clowns who fit Bart's persona.
Roycer
As for Bart, the same might apply -
>The way he is portrayed right now, he could probably fit rather well
>if they made him a high school-age kid. Lord knows that in practically
>every high school- there are immature, prankish 'underachievers' -
>class clowns who fit Bart's persona.
>
Solon Boomer-Jenks
Roycer wrote:
Hey!!!!!!
Waggy6
I think they will keep the Simpsons this age until they run out of
idea(hopefully never) but then if they do,then all they need to do is then move
Bart and Lisa up a grade and let maggie talk. Right now it is just fine. But
think if Bart was moved up, it would allow for new characters, such as new
friends and teachers. It could still have the same effect as it did before but
just slighty changed.
Benjamin Robinson
On 8 Dec 97 11:10:58 EST, vo...@geocities.com (VoVat) wrote as follows:
>On Sun, 7 Dec 1997 16:36:46 -0800, the one known as Phil Reed
><Jense...@aol.com> wrote thusly:
>>
>>I believe they have aged. At least a year. You have to remember that
>the
>>Simpsons have had under 200 episodes. Each one shows us a day in the
>life
>>of Springfield, so we haven't even seen 365 days yet.
>
>Actually, some of the episodes take place over a week, a month, or
>several months. For instance, "The Itchy & Scratchy Movie" encompasses
>the entire length of time that the movie was in the theater, and, since
>it was a popular movie, I would imagine that the episode took place over
>a period of a few months.
You're forgetting the fact that episodes can be "interleaved." Note that in
"The Itchy & Scratchy Movie," there were gaps in the timeline: the episode
showed a few days here and there as Bart's punishment wore on. That leaves
a lot of time unaccounted for. An episode that takes place over a shorter
span of time could fit in there. For example, "Lisa's First Word (9F08)"
could have taken place after Homer handed down his judgement, but before the
movie ended its run. (I guess that could explain why Bart was at home to
hear the story of Lisa's first word, and not out watching the movie for the
10,000th time.)
Of course, you could also say that, as is traditional in animation, the
characters don't age even though time moves forward. But that would be far
too silly.
-Benjamin Robinson
Jason Adams
Waggy6 <wag...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19971209233...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
I fixed the grammer in the subject line. It was making me loopy. Bad
grammer'll do that to us wispy types.
It's a bad idea for the characters to age because the writers have
developed great characters at Springfield Elementary that would essentially
disapear without some lame, Saved-By-the-Bell-esque plot device.
Imagine the show without Skinner, Mrs. Krabapple, Miss Hoover, Otto,
Groundskeeper Willie, Lunchlady Doris, Superintendent Chalmers...
A grim thought indeed.
Grim.
Indeed.
A grim thought, that.
---------------------------------------------------------------jason (Grim.)
monk...@worldnet.att.net
I don't know about that. As far as I'm concerned, Bart is the pinnacle
of maturity as compared to the 'them' to whom you refer.
Roycer
monk...@worldnet.att.net wrote in message >> As for Bart, the same might
apply -
>>>The way he is portrayed right now, he could probably fit rather well
>>>if they made him a high school-age kid. Lord knows that in practically
>>>every high school- there are immature, prankish 'underachievers' -
>>>class clowns who fit Bart's persona.
>>>
>>A lot of them post here.
>>
>>
>
>I don't know about that. As far as I'm concerned, Bart is the pinnacle
>of maturity as compared to the 'them' to whom you refer.
Good point.
MEBuckle66
Oh I ceartainly do hope thet the simpsons never age. However--- they have!
Remember when Lisa turned 8? The Jackson Episode?
They won't age any more. None of the brilliant cartoons did. For instance,
Charlie Brown remained...uh... somewhere between 5 and 8 for over 50 years.
I'll bet it's easy to think of other cartoons that do this. On the Simpsons,
the joke about it sometimes. Once Lisa said "I have a feeling that years from
now I'll still be in the second grade in Springfield Elementary." They also
joke about the number of fingers they have. I bet you can think of other
cartoons that only have four fingers.
Miranda Buckle
MEBuc...@AOL.com
JJJAAAZZZ
"Jason Adams" said:
<snip>
Saved-By-the-Bell-esque
<snip>
This is the best word ever.
---------------------------------------------------
"The strong must protect the sweet"
Tim
Actually,
The Flintstones aged. They started childless, had Pebbles and BamBam, as
teenagers the kids got their own cartoon show, Pebbles and BamBam got married
and later had a kid of their own.
The Scooby gang aged. Freddy, Velma, and Daphney left. Daphney came back.
Freddy got a job in theature, and Velma got a research job. Shaggy went from a
green shirt to a horrible brown shirt.
David N. Barnett
rich...@uni-duesseldorf.de (Tama) wrote:
>btw: we can't complain about things in "The Simpsons" as not changing.
>e.g. take season 8: Milhouse's parents get divorced and STAY divorced.
>That's already a special characteristic feature that you'd never find in say
>"The Flintstones" or "Bugs Bunny" or whatever...
And I'll betcha that we'll be seeing more of Mrs. Apu
Nahasapeemapetilon too.
--dnb
cmorley
Except for Pebbles and Bambam!
cmorley
Tama wrote:
> It's a cartoon series.
> Characters in cartoons don't ever age.
> You might see scenes which are set in their future or their past, but in the
> end of each episode they remain the same as they were in the beginning
> of it.
>
>
> Tama
--
cristofer morley
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============================================
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One word... WEBSTER.
*******************************************************************************
"Why does Seaworld have a seafood restaurant? I'm half way through my
fishburger and realize, oh my god... I could be eating a slow learner!!!"
--Lynda Montgomery
Kenneth David Oliver
p77...@morgan.ucs.mun.ca
"The Dark Knight"
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VoVat
On Mon, 15 Dec 1997 05:56:46 GMT, the one known as David N. Barnett
<davidb...@aristotle.net> wrote thusly:
>
>rich...@uni-duesseldorf.de (Tama) wrote:
>
>>btw: we can't complain about things in "The Simpsons" as not changing.
>>e.g. take season 8: Milhouse's parents get divorced and STAY divorced.
>>That's already a special characteristic feature that you'd never find
in say
>>"The Flintstones" or "Bugs Bunny" or whatever...
Yes, but I don't think that anyone ever got divorced on "The Flintstones"
or "Bugs Bunny." Still, I know what you mean.
>And I'll betcha that we'll be seeing more of Mrs. Apu
>Nahasapeemapetilon too.
Well, she already made an appearance in "Lisa the Skeptic."
JEdraw
In article <34949fc4...@news.aristotle.net>, davidb...@aristotle.net
(David N. Barnett) writes:
>>btw: we can't complain about things in "The Simpsons" as not changing.
>e.g.
>take season 8: Milhouse's parents get divorced and STAY divorced.
>That's
>already a special characteristic feature that you'd never find in say
>"The
>Flintstones" or "Bugs Bunny" or whatever...
And I'll betcha that we'll be
>seeing more of Mrs. Apu
Nahasapeemapetilon too.
I think it's great that The Simpsons have given these characters an actual
life that can continue from episode to episode, like the Van Houten's divorce,
Apu's marraige, Skinner's and Mrs. Krabappel's dating, etc. Even Homer's job
title is kept consistent (He wasn't originally safety inspector). I also
appreciated that in each Sideshow Bob episode they began with him in a prison
appropriate to the crime he had commited the last time (i.e. Attempted
Murder=Alcatraz-ish Island, Election Rigging=Minimum Security).
The Simpsons is not innocent of discontinuity, though. Marge's father has
taken on many forms over the years. Mr. Burns can sometimes lead an exercise
class and outshine other workers, but other in other episodes he can't throw a
football. Ned Flanders seems to get a new house every week. And, Abe Simpson
seems to always hang around the house even though he lives in the Home. The
list goes on and on.
For now, the cons seem to outweigh the pros, but now that the writers seem
to be taking continuity more seriously, the tables could turn.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
JEd...@aol.com
"So, would you say it's about time for our viewers to . . . crack each
other's heads open and feast on the goo inside?"
"Yes. Yes I would, Kent."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
VoVat
On 16 Dec 1997 22:22:57 GMT, the one known as JEdraw <jed...@aol.com>
wrote thusly:
> The Simpsons is not innocent of discontinuity, though. Marge's
father has
>taken on many forms over the years. Mr. Burns can sometimes lead an
exercise
>class and outshine other workers, but other in other episodes he can't
throw a
>football. Ned Flanders seems to get a new house every week. And, Abe
Simpson
>seems to always hang around the house even though he lives in the Home.
The
>list goes on and on.
Except for a very brief time in "Realty Bites," Ned has always had the
house next door to the Simpsons'. Skinner's house, however, seems to
change its architectural style every time it is shown. As for Abe
hanging around the house, I wouldn't call that a continuity goof. Who
would want to be shut up in the retirement home all the time? Abe
occasionally goes to visit his family (even though they often try to
avoid him).
Tim155
>>Actually,
The Flintstones aged. They started childless, had Pebbles and BamBam, as
teenagers the kids got their own cartoon show, Pebbles and BamBam got married
and later had a kid of their own<<.
They did age, but not naturally, For 3 years P&BB were babies. Then about five
years after the original series was cancelled, they were about 18. In a
Christmas special (what does B.C. stand for?) in the late 70s the kids were
about 5, back to teenagers again in the early 80s, and then they were yong
adults. But, it probably doesn't matter since the Flintstones takes place a
long, long time ago- and they just skipped and went back some years.
The Simpsons age changes in flashbacks and flashforwards- yet since it takes
place in the present, some of the age diiferences are a little awkward (ie.
years not adding up, etc.).
0rlando
Tim155 wrote:
>
> Christmas special (what does B.C. stand for?) in the late 70s the kids > were
B.C.= Billy Corgan
0rlando
AlleyAllen
>Why hasn't the Simpsons aged a day
In over 40 years of the running of the cartoon Peanuts, there has been very
little aging of the characters. They all started off young, then grew up till
about the age of 5-10. They've been stuck there for years. Charlie Brown has
remained pretty much the same age despite have a little sister grow up to
school age from infancy.
And Calvin and Hobbes didn't age either.
And you know what? Those are/were two fantastic comic series. So who the hell
cares if the Simpsons characters haven't aged.
Single White Male
On 22 Dec 1997, Tim155 wrote:
> The Simpsons age changes in flashbacks and flashforwards- yet since it takes
> place in the present, some of the age diiferences are a little awkward (ie.
> years not adding up, etc.).
>
>Yes. Lisa was born in 1984(during the Olympics), but she was 3 in 1990,
as we just saw tonight. Do the math. Something doesn't quite seem to add
up.
"Early to rise, early to bed makes a man healthy but socially dead."
---Yakko Warner
Wolf303
>Sigh...< Look, Leave it To Beaver failed as soon as the little geek reached puberty. Boy Meets World began to suck (as I see it) as soon as Corey grew up. If the Simpsons aged, they'd suck. Badly.
Rameses Niblick The Third
On Mon, 29 Dec 1997 23:05:26 -0600, Wolf303 <r...@flash.net> wrote:
>Single White Male wrote:
>>
>> On 22 Dec 1997, Tim155 wrote:
>>
>> > The Simpsons age changes in flashbacks and flashforwards- yet since it takes
>> > place in the present, some of the age diiferences are a little awkward (ie.
>> > years not adding up, etc.).
>> >
>> >Yes. Lisa was born in 1984(during the Olympics), but she was 3 in 1990,
>> as we just saw tonight. Do the math. Something doesn't quite seem to add
>> up.
>>
Well why should they age? It's not reality we're talking about, but a
cartoon. Ever heard of artistic license?
-
Rameses Niblick The Third Kerplunk Kerplunk Whoops Where's My Thribble
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Remove the 2 'at's at each side of the @ in my email address to reply.
Wolf303
Rameses Niblick The Third wrote:
>
> On Mon, 29 Dec 1997 23:05:26 -0600, Wolf303 <r...@flash.net> wrote:
>
> >Single White Male wrote:
> >>
> >> On 22 Dec 1997, Tim155 wrote:
> >>
> >> > The Simpsons age changes in flashbacks and flashforwards- yet since it takes
> >> > place in the present, some of the age diiferences are a little awkward (ie.
> >> > years not adding up, etc.).
> >> >
> >> >Yes. Lisa was born in 1984(during the Olympics), but she was 3 in 1990,
> >> as we just saw tonight. Do the math. Something doesn't quite seem to add
> >> up.
> >>
If she was born in 1984, unless she was born on Jan 1st, she wouldn't be
4 until her B-day.