WI: The Simpsons characters had aged in ~real time

psteinx

Sitcoms with actors that air for years have to deal with the actors' aging, and usually a need to evolve the characters lives to some extent.

Cartoons don't. Notably, the Simpsons has been on the air for a LONG time, and Bart is still ~10, Lisa ~8, etc.

I'm trying to think of a major animated show where the characters did age in real time, but none comes to mind (they probably DO exist).

What if the Simpsons characters had aged in ~real time? Bart would be ~43* now - a slightly older version of Homer. Homer would be ~grandpa, and grandpa would be dead.

(Assuming it had stayed on the air this long.)

Would/could the show have survived this way? Would it feel fresher? How might the primary/secondary characters' lives have evolved? I presume the show would mainly follow the path of Bart as an adult (and whatever family HE has), but am open to other thoughts...

* Edited - I had said ~53. ~43 is right.
 
Last edited:

Lalli

Bart would be actually around 43 not 53. But yes, grandpa probably would be dead at this point assuming that the series would had lasted to this day. If lifehabits of characters have similar affects as in real life, Homer probably would be dead too due his really unhealth habits. And he is really accident magnet. At least Homer would had been couple heart attacks by 2023.

Marget's sisters would had been dead from lung cancer long time ago. Burns would had too been dead long time ago from old age. Skinners would be retired Vietnam veteran.

Bart, Lisa and Maggie would have married and them would have their own children. It is too possible that some of them have moved from Springfield and are just mentioned but seen rarely. There is some future flash Lisa being politician so I would think that she might be representative on Congress probably from Democrats.
 

Hörnla

I asked myself the question several times. I am quite fond of the (usually futuristic) episodes which deal with grown-up Bart/Lisa/Maggie and aged grown-ups.
To me it seems, that several writers yearn for such a development as I am under the impression that there is a growing tendency to depict Bart, Lisa and their peers in situations / behaviours which neither suit 8- nor 10-year olds.

Having main characters (the ones we know as well as alternate offspring of them) go through every age sounds like madness on the one hand, but it would of course give the writers more room for ideas. It could portray the characters consistently as representatives of their generations. It would also give them the possibility to create "event-episodes" - marriages, births, deaths of main characters. (I know I start to sound like Cristof from "The Truman Show")

Actually, to me, no cartoon series come to mind either which depicts their characters aging (I think even the one or the other live-action series has its issues keeping track with their aging flesh-and-bone-thespians). I wonder, however, if someone had told Matt Groening from the outset, that "The Simpsons" would last for more than three decades, if he had opted for this totally unusual way. What the Simpsons actually did from early on (and which is unusual, too) is that they let characters die "on screen" and for good. Bleeding-Gum Murphy was probably the first, and Flanders being widowed TWICE is the most extreme example.

Now with the Simpsons (as a series) starting in 1989 that means Bart was born in 1979, Lisa in 1981 (both rather GenX) and Maggie in 1988 (opposite to their older siblings a typical Millenial); Homer and Marge were probably about 34 in the early seasons (their ages have never been consistent and they tend to be depicted as closer to 40 by now, perhaps reflecting later marriages and births in Western society); that makes their birthyear ca. 1955- typical baby boomers.

Abe would probably have been born in the 1910s, representing the "Greatest Generation" (he is always depicted as an "old dad" even when Homer was young and fought in WW2). As often depicted, Mr Burns would probably be roughtly of the same age. While we would have witnessed Abe's death somewhen around 2000 slightly above average life expectancy; Mr Burns might still be around with his treatments to actually become the oldest living human being a running gag.

Now, in 2023, Homer and Marge would have their 68th birthdays (and despite his habits, I am quite certain that Homer wouldn't be written off the show that young - unhealthy lifestyle makes an early death more probable, but not certain); Bart would become 44 this year (spoiler: that makes him a year younger than me), Lisa 42 and Maggie 35.

This means currently most characters representing a profession would have passed the torch to a character we don't know or someone who is forever stuck in Elementary School in our world. (Imagine Ralph Wiggum turning out to be more competent than his father due to his childish moral compass.)

This also means a new generation of Simpsons. Barts oldest offspring would most probably be in their early 20s by now. (Bart might even become a grandfather soon.) Lisa's child/ren will probably be significantly younger, she might also be a single mom. With the little we know about Maggie, she is a blank slate and improbably to predict. She might be written into an LGBTIQ-character (and nevertheless by now raise one or more children).
 
Last edited:
Megafighter3

Megafighter3

There's a lot of possibilities with the Simpsons aging in real time, one of which is I actually think Homer would've died at some point post season 4 given his triple bypass.

I'd also wonder about if the rules equally applied to Family Guy, especially since they had a four-year cancellation period.
 

Lalli

Hörnla said:
I asked myself the question several times. I am quite fond of the (usually futuristic) episodes which deal with grown-up Bart/Lisa/Maggie and aged grown-ups.
To me it seems, that several writers yearn for such a development as I am under the impression that there is a growing tendency to depict Bart, Lisa and their peers in situations / behaviours which neither suit 8- nor 10-year olds.

Having main characters (the ones we know as well as alternate offspring of them) go through every age sounds like madness on the one hand, but it would of course give the writers more room for ideas. It could portray the characters consistently as representatives of their generations. It would also give them the possibility to create "event-episodes" - marriages, births, deaths of main characters. (I know I start to sound like Cristof from "The Truman Show")

Actually, to me, no cartoon series come to mind either which depicts their characters aging (I think even the one or the other live-action series has its issues keeping track with their aging flesh-and-bone-thespians). I wonder, however, if someone had told Matt Groening from the outset, that "The Simpsons" would last for more than three decades, if he had opted for this totally unusual way. What the Simpsons actually did from early on (and which is unusual, too) is that they let characters die "on screen" and for good. Bleeding-Gum Murphy was probably the first, and Flanders being widowed TWICE is the most extreme example.

Now with the Simpsons (as a series) starting in 1989 that means Bart was born in 1979, Lisa in 1981 (both rather GenX) and Maggie in 1988 (opposite to their older siblings a typical Millenial); Homer and Marge were probably about 34 in the early seasons (their ages have never been consistent and they tend to be depicted as closer to 40 by now, perhaps reflecting later marriages and births in Western society); that makes their birthyear ca. 1955- typical baby boomers.

Abe would probably have been born in the 1910s, representing the "Greatest Generation" (he is always depicted as an "old dad" even when Homer was young and fought in WW2). As often depicted, Mr Burns would probably be roughtly of the same age. While we would have witnessed Abe's death somewhen around 2000 slightly above average life expectancy; Mr Burns might still be around with his treatments to actually become the oldest living human being a running gag.

Now, in 2023, Homer and Marge would have their 68th birthdays (and despite his habits, I am quite certain that Homer wouldn't be written off the show that young - unhealthy lifestyle makes an early death more probable, but not certain); Bart would become 44 this year (spoiler: that makes him a year younger than me), Lisa 42 and Maggie 35.

This means currently most characters representing a profession would have passed the torch to a character we don't know or someone who is forever stuck in Elementary School in our world. (Imagine Ralph Wiggum turning out to be more competent than his father due to his childish moral compass.)

This also means a new generation of Simpsons. Barts oldest offspring would most probably be in their early 20s by now. (Bart might even become a grandfather soon.) Lisa's child/ren will probably be significantly younger, she might also be a single mom. With the little we know about Maggie, she is a blank slate and improbably to predict. She might be written into an LGBTIQ-character (and nevertheless by now raise one or more children).
Click to expand...

Otherwise I agree but I highly doubt even Bart's oldest child being yet 20 or even more since people tend to marry and get children later than earlier times. Bart's oldest child is probably around 15 - 20 years old or might be even bit younger.

There has been some future flash where Lisa has political career so I think that it is possible that she would has some elected office. So we wouldn't see her much if all. Her has some radical views but probably she moderates through times like most people do.

Yours idea about Maggie's future is intresting.

Just wondering how Ned Flanders would evolve. I don't remember if his age has been ever told but probably he would be around 70 in 2023.

And yes, major characters would are them who are children in OTL the Simpsons or there might be even completely new characters.
 
Grey Wolf

Grey Wolf

Donor
Hilariously, the first ever episode of The Simpsons that I saw had Lisa and Bart as young adults. I don't know if it was time travel or what. I remember thinking "Ah, they have aged the characters", because I knew that the show existed for some years before, with them as children.
 

Hörnla

Lalli said:
Otherwise I agree but I highly doubt even Bart's oldest child being yet 20 or even more since people tend to marry and get children later than earlier times. Bart's oldest child is probably around 15 - 20 years old or might be even bit younger.

There has been some future flash where Lisa has political career so I think that it is possible that she would has some elected office. So we wouldn't see her much if all. Her has some radical views but probably she moderates through times like most people do.

Yours idea about Maggie's future is intresting.

Just wondering how Ned Flanders would evolve. I don't remember if his age has been ever told but probably he would be around 70 in 2023.

And yes, major characters would are them who are children in OTL the Simpsons or there might be even completely new characters.
Click to expand...
I agree with Ned Flander's age. There is a flashback episode in which he is befriending the not-yet-married Simpsons and he is depicted as slightly older.

The age of Bart's children depends totally on his character development and if his often reckless attitudes translates into his sexual behaviour as a young adult. It might also be a conscious decision of the writing room whether to keep the next generation close agewise, or rather apart (in order to either have them interact a lot or to have different age viewpoints).

Concerning Maggie, well, the Simpsons have a liberal-leaning compass, so this might be in the cards - perhaps also in order to not have her around as a Lisa 2.0 when growing up.

I see Lisa in a position where she thinks she can improve the world - however the producers are savvy enough to show that it is easier said than done. I think the makers would be aware that a stellar political career (while good as a joke in sci-fi episodes in our world) would make the show too political as a whole. Or her political career would be in Springfield itself, trying to inherit Quimby's job. She might be sort of an activist for different causes (just as the Marge in our series tries different jobs now and then) and have to juggle them with her everyday life. Professionally, she might be trying to be an activist lawyer (similar to Marshall on HIMYM) or an investigative journalist (which might be interesting given how much this job changes over the last decades).
 

Nivek

I think the problem here...people don't hate the Simpsons,they hate to admit they liked a cartoon
 

Mort the Reaper

Hörnla said:
Abe would probably have been born in the 1910s, representing the "Greatest Generation" (he is always depicted as an "old dad" even when Homer was young and fought in WW2). As often depicted, Mr Burns would probably be roughtly of the same age. While we would have witnessed Abe's death somewhen around 2000 slightly above average life expectancy; Mr Burns might still be around with his treatments to actually become the oldest living human being a running gag.
Click to expand...
IIRC, there were some episodes establishing that Mr. Burns was a child of the late 19th century, though Simpsons continuity has always been rather loose and the timing doesn't always add up (Exhibit A: Sideshow Bob having a son old enough to talk without anybody else aging).
 

Hörnla

My impression is that the age of Mr Burns started reasonably as "someone who should have retired from running his own business some time ago, but hasn't" , but the jokes about his age ( and his health / lack of vitality) are too easy a target to resist (such as showing him in the "Little Lord Fauntleroy"-outfit which would have been trendy for a child raised in the 1890s) so it became very hard to pin down later on.
According to Wikipedia, his age is first stated as 81 in season 2; that would make his year of birth 1909. In that sense, coming of age in the Roaring Twenties as well as serving / producing arms in WW2 (he would be almost exactly the same age as Oscar Schindler to whom he once famously compared himself) fits. I also remember him being aging, but not yet old during the 1960s in an episode about Mona Simpson's activism.

He would be 114 and my guess would be, that once he reaches world-record-age ; he becomes the first person to have his severed head consciously in a jar à la Futurama...
 
Emperor Norton I

Emperor Norton I

If they knew the show would last this long, that may have been a consideration. I'd only say may because 90s television was mostly Floating Time. A live action show would age because actors age, but even so, they would try to slow it down (That 70s Show spent 8 seasons in 3 years of the 70s with 30 year old teenagers). But an animated show never had characters age up. They could age down for the youth market, but never up.

If I would have a suggestion, every 365th episode, one year goes by. I think that'd be a decent splitting of the difference.
 
Last edited:
Ico

Ico

I'll find this on my iPad, could this be what you imagine the show being?
image.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top