The Simpsons: 10 Most HATED Episodes
3. That 90's Show
Simpsons fans are a sentimental bunch, often revering the show's early classic seasons with an almost religious fervour. They didn't take kindly, then, to "That 90's Show" retconning the show's established timeline and essentially throwing out everything that had come before.
With characters that never age despite shifting eras of history and technology, a certain suspension of disbelief is required as the years go on. Directly contradicting history depicted in prior episodes and flashbacks, however, is rage-inducing for devoted fans.
Remember Homer's dumbfounded observance of contemporary grunge music at Lollapalooza in the 90s? Never happened! How about those flashbacks to Homer and Marge's early adulthood and subsequent marriage in the 70s and 80s? Mere fantasies!
According to "That 90's Show", we are supposed to believe instead that the two were of college-age in the 1990s, during which time Homer formed a (successful!) band, Sadgasm inventing (!) the grunge genre. Also, the kids were conceived soon after. Nope.
Callously and obnoxiously ignoring that The Simpsons had already been on for decades before this episode, and had already carefully established the histories of its central characters was a widely derided move. Longtime fans reacted with even more bitterness and fury than Sadgasm could possibly convey.
"Erase Me!"... from your memories.