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Ned Flanders

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Not to be confused with Ed Flanders.

Ned Flanders
The Simpsons character
Flanders waving
First appearance"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989)
Created byMatt Groening
Designed byMatt Groening
Voiced byHarry Shearer
In-universe information
Full nameNedward Flanders Jr.
GenderMale
OccupationPharmaceutical company clerk (former, until he opened the Leftorium), owner of the Leftorium (former, until it closed), fourth grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School (former, he was fired)
FamilyMona Flanders (mother)
Nedward Flanders, Sr. (father)
Spouses
​
(died)​
Ginger Flanders
​
(separated)​
​
(died)​
ChildrenRod Flanders
Todd Flanders
ReligionEvangelical Christian
NationalityAmerican

Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr.,[1] commonly referred to by his surname, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer[2] and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, cheery next-door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally loathed by Homer Simpson, though there are numerous instances where the two are portrayed as good friends. A scrupulous and devout Evangelical Christian, he is among the friendliest and most compassionate of Springfield's residents and is generally considered a pillar of the Springfield community.

He was one of the first characters outside the immediate Simpson family to appear on the show, and has since been central to several episodes, the first being season two's "Dead Putting Society". As the series progressed, Flanders's religious fanaticism increased immensely, prompting the coining of the term "Flanderization". His last name comes from Flanders Street in Portland, Oregon, the hometown of Simpsons creator Matt Groening.

Characterization

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Creation

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The writers found Harry Shearer's voice for Flanders so sweet that they decided to make the character a Christian.
Series creator Matt Groening named the character after Flanders Street in his hometown of Portland, Oregon.

Ned Flanders, who was designed by Rich Moore, first appeared in the season one episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The episode was the series premiere, but not the first episode produced.[3] The first episode in which Flanders and his family were prominent is season two's "Dead Putting Society", which also contained the first appearance of Maude and Rod Flanders.[4] The character was named after Flanders Street in Portland, Oregon, the hometown of Simpsons creator Matt Groening.[5] Groening described the inspiration for Flanders as "just a guy who was truly nice, that Homer had no justifiable reason to loathe, but then did". It was not until after the first few episodes that it was decided Flanders would be a faithful Christian.[6] Mike Scully noted that Flanders is "everything Homer would love to be, although he'll never admit it".[6] Flanders had been meant to be just a neighbor that Homer was jealous of, but Harry Shearer used "such a sweet voice" and Flanders was broadened to become a Christian and a sweet guy that someone would prefer to live next to over Homer.[7] Flanders is known for his nonsensical jabbering,[8] such as "Hi-diddly-ho, neighborino" (meaning "Hi, neighbor"). His first use of the word "diddly" was in "The Call of the Simpsons".[9]

Development

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Ned Flanders' religion was not mentioned in his first few appearances and in the first few seasons he was only mildly religious and his primary role was to be so "cloyingly perfect as to annoy and shame the Simpsons", whereas Homer Simpson has always hated Ned Flanders and always tries to undermine him.[10] There has been a consistent effort among the show's writers to make him not just a "goody good and an unsympathetic person".[4] In the later seasons, Flanders has become more of a caricature of the Christian right, and his role as a "perfect neighbor" has been lessened.[11] For example, in some recent episodes Flanders has appeared to show rather prejudiced attitudes towards women, non-whites, homosexuals and people of religions other than Christianity.[12] Though he only ever showed homophobic signs in non-canon episodes, notably "Frinkenstein" where he says "I'm running to find a cure for homosexuality".[13]

Ned's store the Leftorium first appeared in "When Flanders Failed".[7] It was suggested by George Meyer,[14] who had had a friend who had owned a left-handed specialty store which failed.[15]

There have been at least two occasions where Ned was not voiced by Harry Shearer. In "Bart of Darkness", Flanders's high pitched scream was performed by Tress MacNeille[16] and in "Homer to the Max", Flanders comments about cartoons being easily able to change voice actors and on that occasion he was voiced by Karl Wiedergott.[17]

The Adventures of Ned Flanders

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The Adventures of Ned Flanders was a "series" of shorts starring Flanders, but only one episode, "Love that God", was produced. It appears at the end of the fourth season episode "The Front"[18] because the episode was too short and the producers had already tried "every trick in the book" to lengthen it.[19] Although the episode was scripted by Adam I. Lapidus, "Love That God" was written by Mike Reiss, Al Jean and Sam Simon.[20] In the 34-second-long segment, which comes complete with its own theme song, Ned walks into Rod and Todd's room as they are praying and tells them it is time for church. He is upset when Todd replies that they are not going, until Todd reminds him it is Saturday, and Ned laughs at his mistake.[21]

Most fans were confused by the short,[19] but Bill Oakley and several other writers loved it so much that they wanted to do more. Later, Oakley and Josh Weinstein decided to produce an entire episode that was nothing but loosely associated shorts, which became the season seven episode "22 Short Films About Springfield".[22] The Flanders/Lovejoy segment of that episode was written by David X. Cohen. "22 Short Films about Springfield" in turn inspired the Futurama episode "Three Hundred Big Boys".[23]

Role in The Simpsons

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Ned is very honest and sincere in carrying out the Christian doctrines of charity, kindness, and compassion. He is frequently shown doing volunteer work, and is rigorously honest and upright, even going so far as to spend an entire day tracking down a Leftorium customer in order to give him the extra change that he had forgotten to hand over.[21]

In "Homer's Triple Bypass", he donates a kidney and a lung out of the goodness of his heart to whoever needs them first. He also is a good neighbor to the Simpsons, regularly offering his assistance.[24] Ned's dogged friendship inspires the loyalty of others; when his Leftorium shop appeared on the verge of bankruptcy shortly after it opened, Homer arranged a bailout with the help of many people in Springfield.[25] Despite a meek outward appearance, Ned hides an exceptionally well-toned physique.

The Simpsons' good neighbor

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In the early years of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson generally loathed Ned, because Ned's family, job, health and self-discipline are of higher quality than he could ever hope to attain himself.[26] Homer is often shown "borrowing" (stealing) items from Flanders, such as a weather vane, a camcorder, a diploma, a toothbrush and an air conditioning unit. Even the Simpsons' couch came from "the curb outside Flanders' house". Homer has since come to have a love-hate relationship with Ned, sometimes being his best friend, partly due to Ned's selfless tolerance of him, and other times treating Ned with complete disregard.[27] Homer seems to genuinely care for Ned, despite still expressing and often acting on feelings of loathing.[28] Nowadays Homer seems to regard Ned as more of a nuisance. An early running joke was that Marge considers Flanders to be a perfect neighbor,[25] and usually sides with him instead of her husband, which always enrages Homer.[29] In "Left Behind," Homer succinctly states, "[Flanders] makes me feel so damn guilty!"

Religiosity

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Flanders as the devil in "Treehouse of Horror IV", portrayed as such due to being "the one you least suspect"

Ned Flanders is a genuinely well-meaning good-natured person and is one of the few in Springfield to whom that description applies. Firmly religious, he can be timid and something of a pushover. He is a Republican[30] and a devout Evangelical Christian who strictly follows the Bible literally and is easily shocked when challenged on any point of dogma. This causes frequent calls to Reverend Lovejoy, even over minuscule things, to the point that Lovejoy has stopped caring[31] and has even suggested that Flanders try a different religion.[32] This was a running joke in the early seasons, but has been used less in the later episodes.[29] In the eighth season, the episode "In Marge We Trust" would examine the relationship between Lovejoy and Flanders, and shows the history of their relationship and how Lovejoy became increasingly uninterested in Flanders' problems.[31] Flanders is shown to have a room in his house filled with memorabilia of The Beatles. He claims that this is because they were "bigger than Jesus".[33]

Family and job

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Ned is a widower, having been married to the equally religious Maude. They had two children together; the sheltered and naïve Rod and Todd Flanders. In the eleventh season episode "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", Maude died an untimely death in a freak accident involving a T-shirt cannon, leaving Flanders alone and grieving.[28] While still married to Maude, Ned married Ginger, while on a drunken bender in Las Vegas.[34] Ginger came to live with Ned and his sons for a brief period following Maude's death in a later episode, but she quickly grew tired of the Flanders' sickly-sweet personalities and fled. Despite his outward nerdishness, Flanders has also been connected romantically with a beautiful Christian-rock singer, Rachel Jordan,[28] movie star Sara Sloane and eventually marrying local teacher Edna Krabappel until she died as well.[35]

A young Ned seen with his beatnik parents

Ned got his diploma from Oral Roberts University in an unspecified field and worked as a salesman in the pharmaceuticals industry for the bulk of his adult life. Having saved much of his earnings, Flanders decided to quit his job and invested his family's life savings into a store in the Springfield mall called the Leftorium specializing in products for left-handed people.[25] In the fifth season episode, "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", Superintendent Chalmers fires Ned Flanders, who has become principal after Skinner being sacked, only because he freely expresses his religious views in the school. However in the Season 29 episode "Left Behind", owing to declining sales, the Leftorium had been downsized from an outlet to a kiosk, eventually going out of business alongside the Sears outlet at Springfield Mall. Left unemployed, Flanders returned to Springfield Elementary School, finding a new job as Bart Simpson's new teacher and substituting the void left by his deceased second wife Edna Krabappel, as well as honoring her life dream.[36][37] Flanders remained Bart's teacher until the Season 33 episode "My Octopus and a Teacher", at which point the role was assumed by Rayshelle Peyton.[38]

In the episode "Hurricane Neddy" a flashback to 30 years earlier shows Ned as a young child, despite the fact that in the episode "Viva Ned Flanders" he says to the church congregation that he was actually 60 years old, attributing his youthful appearance to his conformity to the "three Cs"—"clean living, chewing thoroughly, and a daily dose of vitamin church".[34] Ned grew up in New York City and was the son of "freaky beatniks" who did not discipline Ned (as they did not think it was right) and let him run wild. Eventually they took him to Dr. Foster, a psychiatrist, who put the young Ned through the University of Minnesota Spankalogical Protocol, which involved eight months of continuous spanking. The treatment worked so well that it rendered Flanders unable to express any anger at all and resulted in his trademark nonsensical jabbering at moments when he was particularly close to losing his temper, causing Ned to unknowingly repress his anger.[39]

Reception

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Although in more recent seasons Flanders has become a caricature of the Christian right, he is still a favorite of many Christian viewers.[4] Rowan Williams, a former archbishop of Canterbury, is a confessed Simpsons fan,[40] and is reportedly a Flanders fan.[41] Ned's "unbearable piousness" has been described as The Simpsons' sharpest critique of organized religion: "The show's implicit argument seems to be that humorless obsessives like Ned have hijacked religious institutions, removing them from the center of society to a place where only those who know their brides of Beth Chedruharazzeb from their wells of Zohassadar can seek solace."[11] Steve Goddard of the website Ship of Fools said, "Ned is an innocent abroad in a world of cynicism and compromise. We love him because we know what it's like to be classed as a nerd – and to come out smiling at the end of it."[42] The February 5, 2001 edition of Billy Graham's Christianity Today, titled Saint Flanders, featured Flanders, along with Homer and Marge, on the cover and described him as "the most visible evangelical to many Americans."[43]

Cultural impact

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Flanders has been described as "The United States' most well-known evangelical".[41] According to Christianity Today in 2001, "on American college and high school campuses, the name most associated with the word Christian—other than Jesus—is not the Pope or Mother Teresa or even Billy Graham. Instead, it's a goofy-looking guy named Ned Flanders on the animated sitcom known as The Simpsons. The mustache, thick glasses, green sweater, and irrepressibly cheerful demeanor of Ned Flanders, Homer Simpson's next-door neighbor, have made him an indelible figure, the evangelical known most intimately to nonevangelicals."[44] In 2001 and 2002, the Greenbelt Festival, a British Christian music and arts fest, held a special "Ned Flanders Night". The 2001 event featured a look-alike contest, as well as the tribute band "Ned Zeppelin". It was held in a 500-seat venue that was filled to capacity, and an extra 1500 people were turned away at the door.[45] A second event was held in 2002, with Ned Zeppelin reappearing.[42] In 2017, after then-president Donald Trump insulted anchor Mika Brzezinski on Twitter, Orrin Hatch responded and said, "Every once in a while you get a dipsy-doodle," as Ned Flanders' term.[46] In 2019, Trevor Noah on The Daily Show compared Mike Pence to Flanders when discussing the Ukraine scandal.[47] Aaron Stonehouse, Western Australia's first Liberal Democrat MP, made a comparison between the McGowan government and Ned Flanders' wife, Maude Flanders, a devout Christian who died after being knocked off a grandstand in a T-shirt cannon accident on The Simpsons.[48] In 2022, Relevant claimed that Flanders was "unapologetically not cool" as a Christian, but overall "decent".[49]

Professional ice hockey goaltender Peter Budaj was known for having Ned Flanders painted on his mask during his hockey career.[50] Another tribute band, Okilly Dokilly, plays heavy metal music.[51] In 2018, MadeinTYO released a rap song about Flanders.[52] The Ned Flanders Crossing, a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Interstate 405 in Portland, Oregon, was named for the character in 2021. It connects two sections of Northwest Flanders Street, for whom the character is named.[53]

Flanderization

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Main article: Flanderization

Flanders' significant evolution of his Christian fanaticism has led to the term dubbed "Flanderization", which refers to the increasingly exaggerated characterization of any character throughout a TV or a film series.[54][55] The specific case of Flanders attracts special attention. Debate exists over whether Flanders is a consistently flanderized character or whether he later returned to a more complex, dynamic portrayal.[54][56] The appropriateness of the term "flanderization" has also been disputed, as many characters in The Simpsons have undergone the caricaturizing process, and Flanders himself may not be the most extreme case.[57] Flanders' shifting portrayal has also been controversial as representative of a shift in media portrayals of religious people. As both the primary representative of Christianity on The Simpsons and as one of the most significant Christian fictional characters in the real world,[58] the simplification of Flanders as a character has been the subject of criticism, study, and reinterpretation.[59]

Merchandise

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Flanders has been included in The Simpsons merchandise. In 2008, the Flanders' Book of Faith, part of the Simpsons Library of Wisdom, was released by HarperCollins. The book takes a look at Flanders' life and his ever enduring faith.[60] In 2021, Flanders got a sneaker line from Adidas.[61]

References

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  1. ^ Groening 2010, p. 606.
  2. ^ Groening 2010, p. 1105.
  3. ^ Silverman, David (2001). Commentary for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in The Simpsons: The Complete First Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  4. ^ a b c Jean, Al (2002). Commentary for "Dead Putting Society", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  5. ^ Blake, Joseph (January 6, 2007). "Painting the town in Portland". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on February 14, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Rhodes, Joe (October 21, 2000). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide.
  7. ^ a b Jean, Al (2003). Commentary for "When Flanders Failed", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  8. ^ "The Simpsons: Why Ned Flanders Speaks The Way He Does". ScreenRant. April 27, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  9. ^ Jean, Al (2001). Commentary for "The Call of the Simpsons", in The Simpsons: The Complete First Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  10. ^ Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. pp. 270–271. ISBN 978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC 55682258.
  11. ^ a b Turner 2004, pp. 270–271.
  12. ^ "The Simpsons: 10 Worst Things Ned Flanders Ever Did". ScreenRant. November 2, 2019.
  13. ^ Steinberg, Nick (November 1, 2019). "The Simpsons: 10 Worst Things Ned Flanders Ever Did". ScreenRant.
  14. ^ Reiss, Mike (2003). Commentary for "When Flanders Failed", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  15. ^ Vitti, Jon (2003). Commentary for "When Flanders Failed", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  16. ^ Groening, Matt (2005). Commentary for "Bart of Darkness", in The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season DVD. 20th Century Fox.
  17. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Homer to the Max". BBC. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved October 31, 2007.
  18. ^ Lapidus, Adam I.; Moore, Rich (April 15, 1993). "The Front". The Simpsons. Season 04. Episode 19. Fox.
  19. ^ a b Reiss, Mike (2004). Commentary for "The Front", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  20. ^ Jean, Al (2004). Commentary for "The Front", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  21. ^ a b "The Ned Flanders effect: why God just isn't sexy". Telegraph.co.uk. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  22. ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). Commentary for "22 Short Films About Springfield", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  23. ^ Cohen, David S. (2005). Commentary for "22 Short Films About Springfield", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  24. ^ Vitti, Jon; Baeza, Carlos (February 13, 1992). "Bart the Lover". The Simpsons. Season 03. Episode 16. Fox.
  25. ^ a b c Vitti, Jon; Reardon, Jim (October 3, 1991). "When Flanders Failed". The Simpsons. Season 03. Episode 03. Fox.
  26. ^ Martin, Jeff; Moore, Rich (March 2, 2003). "Dead Putting Society". The Simpsons. Season 02. Episode 06. Fox.
  27. ^ Richardson, David; Archer, Wes (March 17, 1994). "Homer Loves Flanders". The Simpsons. Season 05. Episode 16. Fox.
  28. ^ a b c Maxtone-Graham, Ian; Reardon, Jim (February 13, 2000). "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily". The Simpsons. Season 11. Episode 14. Fox.
  29. ^ a b Jean, Al (2003). Commentary for "Bart the Lover", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  30. ^ Cohen, Joel H. (May 15, 2005). "Home Away from Homer". The Simpsons. Season 16. Episode 12. Fox.
  31. ^ a b Cary, Donick; Moore, Steven Dean (April 27, 1997). "In Marge We Trust". The Simpsons. Season 08. Episode 22. Fox.
  32. ^ Vitti, Jon; Dietter, Susie (October 1, 1995). "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily". The Simpsons. Season 07. Episode 03. Fox.
  33. ^ Wilmore, Marc; Polcino, Michael (May 18, 2003). "Bart of War". The Simpsons. Season 14. Episode 21. Fox.
  34. ^ a b Stern, David M.; Affleck, Neil (January 10, 1999). "Viva Ned Flanders". The Simpsons. Season 10. Episode 10. Fox.
  35. ^ Kelley, Brian; Marcantel, Michael (March 2, 2003). "A Star Is Born-Again". The Simpsons. Season 14. Episode 13. Fox.
  36. ^ Perkins, Dennis (May 7, 2018). "Flanders loses his faith and an inconsequential Simpsons tests ours". Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  37. ^ "The Simpsons Season 29 Episode 19 Review: Left Behind". May 7, 2018. Archived from the original on May 13, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  38. ^ "Kerry Washington joins 'The Simpsons' cast as Bart's new teacher — get a first look". Entertainment Weekly.
  39. ^ Young, Steve; Anderson, Bob (December 29, 1996). "Hurricane Neddy". The Simpsons. Season 08. Episode 08. Fox.
  40. ^ "Archbishop of Canterbury May Star on 'Simpsons'". Beliefnet. June 21, 2004. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  41. ^ a b Feuerherd, Peter (May 1, 2006). "Save me, Jesus! Getting along with your born-again neighbor". U.S. Catholic. Claretians. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  42. ^ a b Wilson, Giles (August 6, 2002). "How Ned Flanders became a role model". BBC News. Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  43. ^ "Saint Flanders". Christianity Today. February 5, 2001. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  44. ^ Pinsky, Mark I. (February 5, 2001). "Blessed Ned of Springfield". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  45. ^ Tomkins, Steve (2001). "Ned Flanders Night fandiddlerific!". Ship of Fools. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  46. ^ "The day Orrin Hatch channeled Ned Flanders - The Boston Globe". Bostonglobe.com. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  47. ^ Haring, Bruce (October 4, 2019). "'The Daily Show With Trevor Noah' Says Donald Trump Is Like Homer Simpson, Mike Pence Like Ned Flanders". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  48. ^ "'Like Ned Flanders' wife': McGowan scorned for beer stance at stadium". Watoday.com.au. June 8, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  49. ^ Huckabee, Tyler (January 3, 2022). "A New Year's Resolution Proposal: Be More Like Ned Flanders". Relevantmagazine.com. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  50. ^ Dater, Adrian (April 5, 2007). "Budaj coming up big". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  51. ^ "Ned Flanders-themed band Okilly Dokilly reveal they are writing 'an ode to the Leftorium'". NME. August 18, 2015. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  52. ^ "At long last, Ned Flanders has received his own rap song". The A.V. Club. June 28, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  53. ^ Ramakrishnan, Jayati (September 9, 2021). "Neighborinos say 'hi-diddly-ho' to new Ned Flanders Crossing in NW Portland". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  54. ^ a b "7 classic TV characters who TOTALLY changed from their first appearance". Digital Spy. May 17, 2018. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  55. ^ "The decline of The Simpsons". October 18, 2017. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  56. ^ "How The Simpsons Ruined Ned Flanders". ScreenRant.com. December 31, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  57. ^ "How Old Are The Simpsons Children, Really?". Vice.com. May 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  58. ^ Pinsky, Mark I. (February 5, 2001). "Blessed Ned of Springfield". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  59. ^ Stefánsson, Stefán Birgir (2013). The Id, the Ego and the Superego of The Simpsons (BA). University of Iceland.
  60. ^ Pinsky, Mark I. (May 18, 2008). "Ned gets star status in Groening's new book, 'Flanders' Faith'". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2008.
  61. ^ Warner, Sam (August 16, 2021). "Ned Flanders from 'The Simpsons' gets new sneaker from Adidas". NME.

Bibliography

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