Top 20 Plot Holes in The Simpsons You Never Noticed
#20: Ned Flanders’ Age
Top 10 Plot Holes In The Simpsons You Never Noticed
“Viva Ned Flanders” In the episode “Viva Ned Flanders,” it’s revealed that the Simpsons’ pious neighbor is actually 60 years old, owing his good aging to taking care of himself. But this revelation doesn’t line up with his backstory. As we saw in previous episodes, Ned was raised by beatnik parents, meaning he would’ve been a child sometween between the 1950s and early 1960s, which doesn’t align with him being 60 years old. At least, it didn’t when this episode first aired in 1999. By now, if Ned was raised by beatniks, he’d probably be closer to 70 years old.
#19: When the Nuclear Plant Opened
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Various Homer’s workplace of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant is one of the most important aspects of the show, driving the plot of many classic episodes. However, it’s not clear when exactly it opened. In the first flashback episode, a high school-age Homer is told about the soon-to-open plant. However, in another flashback episode, where Homer is even younger, the plant is said to have just opened. In another episode, Lenny says that Homer started working at the plant the day it opened. And no, we don’t think he was working there as a child.
#18: Lisa’s First Crush
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“Dude, Where's My Ranch?” At the end of the episode “Dude, Where's My Ranch?,” Lisa laments that her friendship with cowhand Luke Stetson has come to a heartbreaking end. She also refers to him as her “first crush.” But by the time this episode first aired in 2003, Lisa had had numerous crushes. There was an entire episode focused on her strange affection for bully Nelson Muntz. Other crushes include an older boy who works at the library, and teen idol Corey. Maybe this crush was so intense, she ignored all the previous ones? Or maybe she just forgot.
#17: Fat Tony’s Real Name
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Various Mob boss Fat Tony is the perfect encapsulation of gangster stereotypes, right down to his being primarily known by a nickname. However, it’s unclear what exactly his government name is, or if he’s even a “Tony.” In his debut episode, he’s referred to as “William ‘Fat Tony’ Williams” by news reporter Kent Brockman. In a later episode, another name is given at a boxing match. Then, in season 12, blabbermouth mobster Frankie the Squealer spills the beans about what Fat Tony’s name actually is. Perhaps this criminal kingpin is known by multiple names to help cover his tracks?
#16: Maggie Photo Before She Was Born
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Various In the episode “And Maggie Makes Three,” we learn the story of how the youngest Simpson joined the family. But somehow, they had a photo of her before she was born? In the episode, we see a picture of Maggie on the wall while Marge is pregnant with her. Maybe this was an incredibly realistic portrait of a baby that just so happened to look exactly like Maggie? Okay, maybe not. What’s far likelier is that the artists weren’t paying close enough attention. Another timeline error in this same episode is Homer learning of Marge’s other pregnancies while living in their current house. But a previous episode shows they bought when Marge was pregnant with Lisa.
#15: Maude Flanders and Edna Krabappel Exist in the Future
“Lisa’s Wedding” In the first future-set episode, older versions of Maude Flanders and Edna Krabappel are shown in attendance at Lisa’s wedding. This made sense initially, but later episodes made it contradictory. A pay dispute with Maude voice actress Maggie Roswell led to the character being killed off in a rather tasteless manner. Then, the death of Edna actress Marcia Wallace led to the beloved teacher character being retired and established as deceased, though without a specific explanation as to what exactly happened. Maybe the fortune teller who predicted Lisa’s future had some glitches in her vision?
#14: The Simpson Gene and Herb Powell
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“Lisa the Simpson,” “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?,” & “Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?” In the episode “Lisa the Simpson,” Grampa tells Lisa about the supposed gene that causes Simpsons to lose their intelligence over time. However, the end of the episode clarifies that it only affects the Simpson men. That shaky science gets even shakier when you take Homer’s half-brother Herb Powell into account. He has Simpson DNA, yet he’s able to launch a successful car company and invent a baby translator? Is it having a different last name that made the difference? Or is Grampa Simpson just not a particularly reliable source for information, scientific or otherwise?
#13: Santa's Little Helper's Premature Appearance
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“Homer's Barbershop Quartet” In the first aired episode of “The Simpsons,” the family adopts former racing greyhound Santa’s Little Helper. But a flashback episode has him showing up years before. While Homer is away on tour with the B-Sharps, a makeshift dad is made for younger versions of Bart and Lisa, to disastrous results. Right after, we see the dog burying the fake Homer head in the backyard. Granted, the dog we see has a gray nose. So, maybe the Simpsons had a different greyhound? Or maybe it was another dog that wandered into their yard? No, it’s probably just a basic continuity problem.
#12: Ned Flanders Not at Church
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“Homer the Heretic” If there’s one place you can count on finding Ned Flanders, Sunday, Monday, really any day of the week, it’s church. In the episode “Homer the Heretic,” Homer quits going to church, and accidentally starts a house fire, from which Ned rescues him. The problem? It’s a Sunday. So, why isn’t Ned at church? He’s usually seen at the same services as the Simpsons and the rest of the townspeople. Maude, Rod, and Todd don’t seem to be at home. So, did they go to church without him? It’s not clear why Ned is at home on this particular Sunday morning. But Homer is very lucky he was.
#11: Nelson’s Father
Various Multiple episodes have shown Nelson Muntz’s unhappy home life, with his father’s abandoning him being a recurring subject. However, how and why he left has had numerous explanations, including mental illness, incarceration and substance abuse. But other episodes have shown him around and involved in Nelson’s life. A further explanation was given in season 16’s “Sleeping with the Enemy.” Apparently, an allergic reaction led to his being forced into a circus. Either way, father and son were reunited and we hope they were able to enjoy as much quality time as possible, plot holes or not.
#10: Statewide Bans
“Kill the Alligator and Run” It’s no secret that the Simpsons cause more than just a little trouble wherever they go. While on a trip to Florida, Homer appears to have killed the state’s pride and joy, an alligator by the name of Captain Jack. As a result, the family is banned from the entire state of Florida, and the final joke indicates that the family is banned from all states aside from North Dakota and Arizona. It's funny, but considering how the family would continue to travel all over the United States in later seasons, it makes this one a bit of a disparity.
#9: Locations in Springfield
Various Places like Moe’s Tavern, Springfield Elementary and the Kwik-E-Mart have become almost as iconic as the town of Springfield itself. However, depending on the script and plot lines, the locations of these places are subject to change. One episode shows Moe’s to be a short walk away from the Simpson home, though this is never again the case. Another episode shows the power plant infecting fish in a nearby river, which we also never see again. While the opening credits give us a brief tour of Springfield, the layout we see doesn't seem to hold up in the show.
#8: The Simpsons’ Computer
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“The Computer Wore Menace Shoes” When Homer misses out on a day off from work due to his lack of an e-mail address, he was quick to fix the problem by getting the family a computer. He's completely hopeless with it, of course. However, an earlier episode called “Das Bus” showed Homer achieving the not-so-simple task of starting his own Internet business – even attracting the attention of Bill Gates. It’s possible that all the beer damaged his memory, but considering that the episode ends with the family trapped on a mysterious island, maybe we shouldn’t pay too much attention to its continuity.
#7: The Old Simpson Farm
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“E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)” Homer spent his youngest years with his parents on a quaint farm just outside of Springfield, until he traumatized the cows out of producing milk by yelling at them. After a fight in season six, Homer and Abe return to the abandoned farm, and accidentally burn it to the ground. But by season 11, the farm somehow returns to play a large role in an episode, as the Simpsons invent a lucrative crop called tomacco. Obviously, for this to work out by the show’s admittedly loose chronological logic, the farm would have needed to be rebuilt, or never burned down in the first place
#6: Bart’s Allergies
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Various A major plot point in the episode “Please Homer, Don’t Hammer ‘Em,” is Skinner using Bart’s shrimp allergy against him. It was an odd choice to make shrimp his weakness, since several seasons earlier, he had bragged about devouring the shellfish. Strangely, this isn’t his only inconsistent food allergy. In season two, Marge mentions that Bart is allergic to butterscotch, despite the fact that he’s never shown restraint around candy. Marge would even mention several seasons later that his favorite dish is butterscotch chicken. Mmm... Still, any excuse to stage a battle to “Duel of the Fates,” right?
#5: The Whereabouts of Dr. Marvin Monroe
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“Diatribe of a Mad Housewife” Several Springfield residents have passed away throughout the series. However, though many believed therapist Marvin Monroe to be dead, the show has indicated he may not be. Season seven appeared to confirm his death twice, with a trivia question and a memorial hospital named after him, while a season 11 episode clearly showed his tombstone. But, after not appearing on the show for several seasons, Monroe returns to buy Marge’s romance novel, where he explains that he had apparently just been very sick. The show would later poke fun at this plot hole by hinting that he even wrote a book about it.
#4: Marge’s Fear of Flying
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“Fear of Flying” The Simpsons have had adventures all over the world, from Australia to Itchy and Scratchy Land. That’s what makes this season six episode, which focuses on Marge’s fear of flying, so odd. It would be one thing if it was a mild fear, but we discover that it’s a deep-seated fear stemming from childhood trauma – which isn’t really fixed by the episode’s end. Additionally, a season three episode featured the family flying to Washington, D.C., during which her fear was never brought up. Though it’s one of the best Marge-centric episodes, there’s a laundry list of other episodes this one contradicts.
#3: Why Did Homer Lose His Hair?
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“Simpson and Delilah,” “And Maggie Makes Three,” & “Marge on the Lam” The cause of Homer’s hair loss has been a subject of debate since the show’s earliest seasons. In the second season, Homer yells at Bart that losing hair is hereditary – the explanation that makes the most sense. However, in season five, it’s indicated that a medical experiment had the unintended side effect of hair loss. To further complicate the matter, a season six flashback shows a stressed Homer ripping more of his hair out every time Marge announces a pregnancy. In other episodes, it’s been assumed that it was due to radiation from the power plant. Maybe it’s a combination of each?
#2: The Simpsons’ Address
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Various It’s widely known that the Simpsons live on Evergreen Terrace. Where exactly on Evergreen Terrace, however, is a subject of debate. Most fans agree that 742 Evergreen Terrace is the address, though several other numbers have been thrown around, including 94, 555, 723, 1094, and once even 430 Spalding Way. Even more confusingly, 742 Evergreen Terrace has also been shown to be a different house entirely in “Homer’s Triple Bypass.” We’ve already mentioned that locations in Springfield rarely stay in the same place, but in the case of the most important one on the show, it seems like a major oversight.
#1: Homer and Marge’s Backstory
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“I Married Marge,” “That ‘90s Show” & “3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage” Due to the agelessness of the characters, the story of Homer and Marge has played out multiple times in multiple eras. In one episode, it appears that Bart was conceived after the two see “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980, while a later episode indicates that he was conceived in the late ‘90s after Homer’s grunge band disbanded. A more recent episode even portrayed their young, carefree life in the mid-2000s being disrupted by the pregnancy. Though a consistent backstory is tough to keep for characters who live in a time vacuum, it’s hard to know what we should believe about this beloved TV couple.
