When I say I have ‘solved the Simpsons’ what I mean is that I have cracked the (dis-)continuity code and ushered in a new form of understanding on just how the world of the show could (and potentially does) function. To begin, we look at the following scenarios:
- It has been shown that the Simpson children have both been born in the 80s and not been born in the 90s.
- The viewer has experienced multiple major holidays, repeatedly, without the general populace of the show aging. (Though Monty Burns has stated or has had his age stated by others to be all sorts of varying numbers…and on one occasion even having a mother!)
- On at least three separate occasions the viewer has been shown that ‘The Simpsons’ is a television show (Spectacular, Spin-Off Showcase, Behind the Laughter).
- Hans Moleman has died roughly a thousand times (Marvin Monroe and maybe Doctor Nick both died and were brought back as well).
At first, I was struck with the notion that the show exists in some bizarre Dark Tower type loop where the characters are forced to forever live out the same year of their lives in every possible way except following the calendar (the same year of age is lived through, not the same calendar year), but decided against this theory due to their not being a good (known) explanation for why they would need to do this (be it a Donnie Darko Save The World explanation or a Groundhog Day Everything Must Work Perfectly explanation).
So then I moved into the realm of alternate realities, and this is where I believe I hit gold. If we as the viewer are pushed into a different reality each week, then this can easily explain Status Quo Is God (tvtropes FTW), the lack of aging, The 90s Show, Hans Moleman, and numerous other potential plot holes. It can even explain the location of Springfield itself, at least on some level, as in certain realities Springfield could be near mountains or lakes or gorges or beaches or any other random climate the creators choose to place it.
In discussing this with a colleague, he questioned me on The Principal & The Pauper and those that have stayed dead (Bleeding Gums & Maude Flanders). “Does every reality know that Skinner isn’t Skinner?” I say potentially, but they do not have to as it is rarely a plot point (especially after the writers of the episode handwaved it off while speaking of torture) and as far as Murphy and Maude, they just happen to have died in each reality (possibly even in the same manner) and what we have seen since then are instances after they have passed on. I also believe that the Olmec Head received as we saw in “Blood Fued” and seen numerous times since could either indicate that episodes showing the head are a part of the same stream of reality (or, and this is the annoying part) that potential discrepancies between two episodes (or more) that show the Head simply would mean that in more than reality the events of the episode occurred (or hell, the family could have just won a silly raffle for the thing). I would like to note he also made mention of “Lisa’s Wedding” (my favorite episode) and its future time line of the far off year 2010. So much for Fox being a hardcore sex channel.
I want to believe Deep Space Homer, Two Bad Neighbors, Homer’s Enemy (and any more recent mentions of Frank Grimes or his son) are all a part of the same reality due to the photos in Homer’s Enemy that tie them together (those being Homer with Buzz Aldrin and Gerald Ford). I am also fairly certain that the show generally jumps around from universe to universe, rarely staying in the same one for more than an episode at a time (but there are probably at most around twenty or thirty that we have glimpsed into).
Finally, I posit that Waylon Smithers is some form of reality-jumper (whether mentally or physically) and thus has knowledge of events and actions of all realities. Could Monty just be senile, or is it just Smithers’ way of giving a clue to the real truth behind the Simpsons by casually rambling off every which way in which the Simpson family and Mr. Burns have crossed paths (even when they may have not in whatever reality we are currently watching). Honestly, senility it probably part of it even if the latter is true, but what can he say, really? He’s always been somewhat ambiguous and private.
So there, the Simpsons solved in one quick decision to build a multiverse around a hapless family and let us all join in for the ride. I’m ashamed I didn’t think of it sooner.