I sometimes notice you Simpsons fan posters mention that their Hallowe’en specials are not canonical. Actually I am surprised none of you seem to know the reason why.
They never age. So therefore it’s always the same year. Therefore they’re still in that treehouse telling scary stories. Each new vignette is just another story in the treehouse. Duh. That is also why each subsequent Hallowe’en special is ‘Treehouse of Horror (fill in the number)’.
Of that doesn’t account for the fact the next year when they all are Hallowe’en candy and had nightmares. But forget I just said that;).
I just assumed they were non-canonical because next week they aren’t living under alien rule, Marge isn’t a witch, giant mascots aren’t destroying the world, and donuts don’t fall like rain.
None? That’s an awfully presumptuous statement. It’s got an easily disprovable superlative and everything.
Do you have a cite or did you just make up the statement? I mean, I know I wasn’t asked.
In any case, it’s not quite how you stated it.
It’s true, they never age, but that’s just how the timeline works for that show. I don’t know how common floating timelines are, but they’re certainly not unheard of. South Park would be another example of this. They’re always the same age, even though they have birthdays and there’s a lot of real-world current events mentioned in the show. IOW, time advances, they stay the same age.
However, you did touch on the actual reason it’s not canon. It’s not canon because they’re just telling stories. There’d be no reason for it to be canon. That would be like assuming JD’s (Scrubs) day dreams are canon.
I think the only reason this even comes up as a question is because when people are discussing the Simpsons, doing Simpsons trivia or just about anything else regarding the show, they’ll specifically state that Treehouse of Horror episodes can’t be cited since they’re not canon.
Besides, it’s all moot anyway since the show doesn’t really strive for continuity.
