After more than 30 years on the air, The Simpsons has created enough content to drive some fans to ask – do they have a crystal ball, or does satire simply come in waves as history tends to repeat itself?
Current events have led fans to highlight old Simpsons clips once again.
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CORRECTION : In a previous version of this article, we highlighted how Simpsons fans had discovered a theory that the show had predicted Coronavirus and Tom Hank’s diagnosis of Coronavirus over a decade ago. But we got the story wrong. The theory was actually a combination of a plotline from The Simpsons Movie (2007) where Tom Hanks goes into isolation during an environmental crisis, and an episode of the show in 1993, ‘Marge in Chains’ about a virus that spreads across Springfield, devastating humans. It turns out that the show did not, in fact, predict that Tom Hanks would get coronavirus or that he would go into self-isolation due to a global virus. We regret the error.
With the Coronavirus sweeping the world, people are fearing for Tom Hanks, who revealed that he and his wife, Rita, tested positive for the Coronavirus.
But he kept people updated about it and assured them that, despite their fevers, they are doing well!
He’s recovering and has even been released from the hospital, which is great news!
After Hanks’ diagnosis, some Twitter users made the link between his quarantine to his cameo in 2007’s ‘The Simpsons Movie’.
In the movie, Springfield becomes overrun with pollution, but the government fails to do anything about it.
So the politicians call in an animated version of Hanks to promote the “new Grand Canyon” – i.e. a masqueraded plan to destroy the town.
Hanks starts off by saying: “The US government has lost its credibility so it’s borrowing some of mine.”
And closes with: “This is Tom Hanks saying if you see me in person, please, leave me be.”
Although the scene doesn’t mention Coronavirus, some users are taking liberties with connecting it to Hanks’ current self-isolation.
Twitter users are also drawing parallels between the storyline of a ‘Simpsons’ episode in 1993 to the current Coronavirus crisis.
This debunked claim references Episode 21 of Season 4 called “Marge In Chains,” which alludes to a fictional illness called “Osaka Flu” that spreads across Springfield.
However, 1 of 2 episode writers Bill Oakley described the connection to Reuters as a “stretch” and it was simply them “satirizing real life events from years before.”
The Tom Hanks and Coronavirus claims are the latest in a long line of ‘Simpsons’ fan theories.
Other widely-covered “predictions” from The Simpsons include Trump’s presidency and the Siegfried and Roy tiger attack .
What do you think about it? Let us know below in the comments!
