We all know that The Simpsons can predict the real-life future. However, on occasion, the writers are happy to step away from our world and predict what’s next for Springfield. Only a few episodes are set (almost) fully in the future, but we’re treated to various flash-forwards that help us pad out what might one day happen to the yellow family and their associates.
Technically, none of these moments are canonical, and as with a lot of The Simpsons, they can be a little hit and miss. We get to see a few great predictions, but also our fair share of duds. Take a look below to see which futures worked, and which futures we have no desire to go back to.
Best: Bart To The Future
The best future episode of The Simpsons, and one of the best of the show in general, does pretty much everything right. Through the powers of a future-telling casino manager, Bart is transported to the year 2030. He is a failed musician living with Ralph Wiggum, while Homer and Marge are still back in Springfield eating Soylent Green (which, by the way, is made of humans).
Lisa, on the other hand, is struggling with being the President of the United States, having ‘inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump’. Disturbingly accurate and gloriously funny throughout, the writers hit the nail squarely on the head with this one.
Worst: Barthood
Taking its premise from one of the best films of the decade, Boyhood, which perfectly reflects the nuances of its 12-year filming period, “Barthood” is disted and strange.
While the premise is great, they basically miss the whole point of the film. Rather than the usual Simpsons film parody structure in which the events of the films can be used to propel the characters into unexpected and increasingly strange situations, this episode plays it safe. It instead builds its jokes around the progression of time and stereotypes of time periods and ages, rather than taking their source material to its edge like The Simpsons of the Golden Age would have done.
Best: Lisa’s Wedding
While the future in question here is the long since ed, back in 1995, a fortune-teller manages to project Lisa 15 years ahead to the time of her marriage. While we get to see Bart aged 25 with two divorces under his belt (not a failed musician living with Ralph like “Bart To The Future”), it’s the portrayal of Maggie that works best.
The writers subvert the impossible to meet expectations of what future-Maggie would be like by making her incredibly talkative... and then avoiding all potential disappointment by having her interrupted every single time she opens her mouth.
Worst: Mr. Lisa’s Opus
In a rare move for The Simpsons, “Mr. Lisa’s Opus” is effectively a Lisa-centric sequel to “Barthood” presented via an essay application to Harvard. As a whole, the episode works better than “Barthood”. We get a few interesting moments, such as the revelation that Lisa accidentally ruined her favorite blue dress on her seventh birthday, giving her iconic orange dress a sort of an origin story we didn’t know we needed.
However, considering this is supposed to be a lighthearted cartoon, the non-linear storyline is weirdly complex and stops some of the better moments from being fleshed out into other potential flashforward episodes. Plus, Kid Rock is President in this alternate future. Considering The Simpsons’ track record for future prediction, that’s a bold choice.
Best: Future-Drama
This is another example of a future prediction that now lies firmly in the real-life past. Bart and Lisa are shown their 2013 high school graduation, while Homer and Marge are separated and Lisa and Milhouse are married. The cameo from Bender (of Futurama) is done brilliantly, without any of the oversaturation or desperation of “Simpsorama”.
This episode also ends with Professor Frink giving one of his most brutally funny lines, explaining to Bart that when he is 83, he’ll finally meet someone who loves him for himself. Then die one minute later and have his brain buried in a paupers grave.
Worst: Simpsorama
Unlike “Future-Drama”, this episode doesn’t perfect the art of the crossover. It isn’t a bad episode by any stretch (in fact, Screen Rant named it the best episode of season 26, though ittedly that isn’t a brilliant pool to choose from), but it just doesn’t seem to have much point.
“Future-Drama” had already provided the thrill of seeing Futurama characters in a Simpsons landscape, and the rest of the episode doesn’t seem to be done with enough effort. Having been announced just a few days after the much-bigger-deal “The Simpsons Guy” and coming just a year after the cancellation of Futurama, this episode just wasn’t done at the right time or in the right way.
Best: Holidays of Future ed
With yet another divorce under his belt, this episode is set at Christmas time 30 years in the future with Bart struggling to become a better dad. Simultaneously, Lisa (now married to Milhouse once again) is trying to connect with her rebellious daughter and world-famous singer Maggie goes into labour.
Considering this episode came well into the show’s decline, it has received surprisingly universal acclaim. It’s funny, well-written, and genuinely heartfelt. There’s a moment between Bart and Lisa up in the treehouse which allows you to see past their childhood differences and find a genuine connection. Oh and they also pretty much predicted Ready Player One.
Worst: Days Of Future Future
Despite acting as a direct sequel to “Holidays Of Future ed”, this episode gets really, really weird. Just listen to this outline: Bart’s ex-wife is dating an alien, Lisa is trying to decide whether to cure Milhouse, who is now a zombie, and Marge has loaded Homer (who kept dying and being cloned) onto a monitor, which she then throws out of the house.
Losing most of its heart and ion, this episode turns towards an experimental use of bizarre ideas that normally aren’t part of The Simpsons idiom, and it doesn’t work.
Best: Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie
This is only the second entry on our list that comes directly from the Golden Era of The Simpsons. In season 4, the show is perfectly written and beautifully poignant throughout, and “Itchy And Scratchy: The Movie” is no different.
The only glimpse into the future comes in the closing moments of the episode, with Bart, now 50-years old and Chief Justice Of The United States (a very different approach to most other future episodes), finally being taken to see the Itchy and Scratchy movie by Homer. It’s a truly touching end to an exceptionally funny episode.
Worst: The Marge-ian Chronicles
The end of this strange season 27 episode takes Marge and Lisa into the year 2051 during its flash-forward epilogue. The family spent the first half of the episode trying to convince Lisa not to move to Mars, and then the second half trying to move there with her.
Thirty-five years later, Lisa and Marge had finally managed it. The idea that The Simpsons is running out of ideas is often over-exaggerated, but you’d be forgiven for thinking this one really does take things a little far.