There’s no shortage of sight gags and one-liners from The Simpsons that have become popular meme templates. The humor in The Simpsons is so razor-sharp that it’s survived the next evolutionary cycle of comedy. Meme culture didn’t even exist for about the first two decades of The Simpsons’ run, but the jokes in the show’s golden-age episodes are so tight and timeless and perfectly constructed that they’ve been retrofitted into this new comedic medium.

Whether it’s Lisa giving a presentation in town hall or Ralph Wiggum chuckling, “I’m in danger,” (although that one actually originated in Family Guy’s Simpsons crossover episode, not The Simpsons itself) or Moe throwing Barney out of his tavern only for him to instantly reappear behind him, The Simpsons has been a goldmine for meme templates. The Simpsons’ writing is so astute that the foundations of its jokes can be rewritten and reshaped to satirize new subjects.

One of the most popular Simpsons meme templates is Homer in the bushes. Homer ominously emerging from the hedge dividing his and Flanders’ lawns, then quietly vanishing back into the hedge, is one of the greatest visual gags ever animated, and it’s become one of the internet’s favorite GIFs. I even have a Funko Pop of Homer in the bushes proudly displayed in my living room. But that scene technically shouldn’t be possible.

There’s No Hedge Between The Simpson & Flanders Houses

The “Homer in the bushes” scene is taken from season 5, episode 16, “Homer Loves Flanders.” The episode sees Homer do a complete 180 on Flanders, and go from being his worst enemy to his best friend. Flanders’ Christian hospitality is tested as he begins to realize that being loved by Homer Simpson is even worse than being hated by him. When Flanders’ patience is just about to reach a breaking point, Homer creeps out of the hedge between their two houses and invites himself on a family trip. When Flanders politely rebuffs him, Homer returns to the hedge.

But here’s the thing: there’s no hedge between the Simpson and Flanders houses. In the wide shots of the street, you can clearly see that the hedge Homer emerges from doesn’t exist. We’re through the looking glass here, people.

The Simpsons Itself Has Responded Perfectly To Such Inconsistencies

There are a bunch of inconsistencies like this in The Simpsons; it’s just the nature of television. The writers can’t possibly be expected to remember every single thing they’ve established, especially when they’ve been on the air for hundreds of episodes, and the animators will just draw in whatever works best for a given gag, because comedy is more important than continuity. These inaccuracies are bound to happen; it’s an occupational hazard. But The Simpsons has already covered itself in the case of these inconsistencies.

Throughout the ‘90s, The Simpsons helped to popularize self-aware, self-effacing satire, with its meta nods to the Fox network and groundbreaking fourth-wall breaks. When President Bush publicly lambasted The Simpsons, The Simpsons responded with a whole episode about Bush moving in across the street from the Simpsons and getting into an intense feud with Homer. The Simpsons was way ahead of its time with this kind of meta self-awareness. Now, everyone’s doing it, but back then, it was exciting and new (postmodernism itself was still in its infancy).

The Simpsons has a ton of self-aware gags about how cartoons don’t need realism or consistency or to get every minute detail right. When Bart complains about an unrealistic knot in an episode of Itchy & Scratchy, Lisa reminds him that cartoons don’t need to be 100% realistic — and, with pitch-perfect timing, an inexplicable second Homer walks by the window.

Speaking of Simpsons lines that have become popular memes, “Boy, I hope somebody got fired for that blunder” is one of the most commonly quoted Simpsons jokes on the internet, because it perfectly applies to all this fanboy nitpicking. It points out the absurdity of the argument. If you complain about a cartoon featuring a hedge that wasn’t there in a previous shot, what’s your endgame? Do you want a hard-working animator to lose their job?

The Simpsons

9/10

Release Date

December 17, 1989

Network

FOX

Showrunner

Al Jean

Directors

Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Rob Oliver, Michael Polcino, Mike B. Anderson, Chris Clements, Wes Archer, Timothy Bailey, Lance Kramer, Nancy Kruse, Matthew Faughnan, Chuck Sheetz, Rich Moore, Jeffrey Lynch, Pete Michels, Susie Dietter, Raymond S. Persi, Carlos Baeza, Dominic Polcino, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Marcantel, Neil Affleck, Swinton O. Scott III, Jennifer Moeller

• 

  Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)

• 

  Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)