10 Times Ned Flanders Was Indeedily-Doodily The Funniest Character In The Simpsons
8. When He Was 'More Animal Than Man'
Why is there so much (one-sided most of the time) friction between Homer and his goodly neighbour? Because they have absolute polar opposite personalities.
Whereas Ned eats well, tries to stay active, doesn’t curse and has a solid work ethic, Homer… well, isn’t remotely inclined towards any of that. Ned harshly berates himself for the slightest slip, and we often see just how hilariously slight these slips are.
In Season 4’s “Duffless,” Homer has promised to stop drinking (temporarily), and has a lot of predictable issues with the concept. This episode brings us another fantastic Flanders moment, in which Ned himself is confronting his own supposed issue with drinking.
At a meeting, he recalls a moment 4,000 days ago in which he’d drunk his first (and last, he promises) blackberry schnappes. In bed with Maude, his wife asks if he’d clipped Ann Landers. His scathing response? “Ann Landers is a boring old biddy!”
Maude is shocked as the flashback ends and Flanders recalls with the utmost shame, “I was more animal than man!”