Simpsons fans feeling seriously old after realising how long ago iconic Homer meme episode aired

There are things in life you can always count on; the train to meet your mates is probably running late, Brits will form an orderly queue for anything that requires one, and the weather will come up in any bit of small talk.

And of course, you can trust that somewhere there’ll always be an episode of The Simpsons to watch - or you know, seasons to binge.

But while the cartoon family might seem totally timeless, plenty of fans are feeling seriously old after realising just how long ago an iconic moment aired.

The sitcom has been on TV since 1989 with Matt Groening having created the iconic family in Springfield.

Disney Plus

The Simpsons is responsible for countless meme-worthy moments, quotable phrases and even for ‘predicting the future’.

It’s almost impossible to scroll through social media without seeing one of the characters popping up in a GIF, and easily one of the most used has to be Homer in the bush.

You know the one I mean, where he backs into the bushes while Ned Flanders is playing with his kids.

But it’s actually been three whole decades since the episode that birthed the meme originally aired.

Yep, the ‘Homer Loves Flanders’ episode from the fifth season of The Simpsons initially aired on the Fox network in the US on 17 March 1994.

An X user shared the meme to social media marking the 30 years since with fans using the meme to reflect their disbelief.

Many were quick to comment: “Jeez I’m old af.”

As others said: “Damn we are ooooooooold.”

But plenty of viewers were adamant: “I’m not convinced that’s 30 years old.”

And another praised: “Now this is the history we’re here for.”

Disney

In case you’ve not actually seen the meme-birthing episode, it’s the one where Homer becomes best mates with Ned – his usual nemesis.

It actually ends up being Flanders who hates Homer while the Simpson is being his friend.

Obviously within a week Homer ends up annoyed by Ned again and all is right.

Fans pointed out as they reminisced on the episode: “This is the only time Homer liked Flanders.”

One was pretty happy with the aging of the meme as they boasted: “It's rare I'm younger than a reference so this makes me feel good.”

Plenty called it an ‘iconic moment’ and to be fair, I can’t see a time when we won’t use Homer backing into a bush anymore.

Topics: The Simpsons, Viral, TV and Film

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_