Explanation for Flanders's Age
Ghoull
Personally, I thought this episode was pretty good. Not a great one, not a
laugh out loud one, but there were some yuks in it. The only thing that really
bothered me about it was Ned's age. In addition to not looking 60 whatsoever,
if he was about 10 years old circa 1950, he'd still only be 50 years old.
However, I have come up with what may be a suitable solution.
Ned's parents may not have told him his real age. They were, after all,
clove-smoking, freaky beatniks, who, in their mad opposition to civilization
and decency, may not have believed in the numerical system that we know and
love. Ned, as a kid, asks his parents how old he is, and they, in a fit of
hemp-induced madness reply, "Uh, 15? 16? Mona, help me out here." "Groovy,
hep cat."
Yeah, I know, it's rampant apologism for a show whose writers really don't
care much about continuity (Not that that's even much of a problem. Cartoons
don't have a message. They're just a bunch of hilarious stuff that happens.
Y'know, like people getting hurt and stuff. Stuff like that). But if you're
going into convulusions over this, maybe this explanation will help.
---Ghoull
Todd Emerson
1950," he would indeed be around 60 now. 1999 minus 1950 equals 49
years! Where are all those math wizards who can figure out the square
root of the opposite sides of a perpendicular triangle to back me up on
this?
-tpe
Aaron Raphael Teitlebaum
: Excuse me? This is 1999!!! If he were "about 10 years old circa
: 1950," he would indeed be around 60 now. 1999 minus 1950 equals 49
: years! Where are all those math wizards who can figure out the square
: root of the opposite sides of a perpendicular triangle to back me up on
: this?
: -tpe
You're right, but remember that in the Simpsons' universe, characters
don't age. Theoreticaly, their ages were all fixed when the show
premiered a decade ago, though this rule has been bent on occasion.
Aaron Teitlebaum
arte...@engin.umich.edu
Todd Emerson
don't age. Theoreticaly, their ages were all fixed when the show
premiered a decade ago, though this rule has been bent on occasion. >>
Well, if the characters' ages have been fixed, then they should stop
discussing current events! If they've established that Homer & Marge
graduated high school in 1974, then it would fit perfectly that Marge
would turn 34 in 1990. BUT, in later episodes, when Homer looks like
he's no more than 5 when Joe Namath was in the Super Bowl, or looked
even younger when he was at Woodstock (which could be explained away as
just one of Grampa's ramblings), never mind my earlier post about Marge
having a Monkees lunchbox on her first day of grade school, then they
couldn't possibly have graduated in '74! And if Bart was conceived in
1980, and Lisa was born in 1984 during the summer Olympics... well, you
know where I'm going with that. I guess we're all just going to have to
follow a "sliding timeline" that John Byrne used during his run on
"Fantastic Four."
Then again, it could just be all that radiation, extra-thick layer of
pollution, and fumes from the landfill and tireyard fire that keep
everyone so young-looking.
And that's my two cents,
tpe