The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons season 36 episode 4, “Shoddy Heat,” now streaming on HuluThe Simpsons has introduced a new ret-con to the animated universe that highlights a key reason the show has been able to remain consistent and relevant for nearly forty seasons. Since season 1 debuted at the tail-end of 1987, The Simpsons has been forced to reckon with a sliding time scale that adjusts with every passing year. In the early episodes of The Simpsons, the mid-30’s Homer and Marge went to high school in the 1970s and Bart was born in 1980. By contrast, season 36’s “Shoddy Heat” recasts Abe Simpson as a single father in the 1980s, raising a young Homer after his mother Mona’s departure.
