Hey hey hey Addictereenos! So one of the conversations I’ve had with Simpsons nerds on occasion is discussions of canon vs. non-canon. For the uninitiated, this refers to items that “exist” in the Simpsons universe and others that don’t i.e. Treehouse of Horrors (TOH) episodes, etc. To give you an idea of nerd debates, here’s a short example.
Are Kang and Kodos canon? They usually only appear in TOH but have been seen in other episodes. With “The Man Who Came to Be Dinner”, they are possibly canon so is anything from Halloween canon too? Just to further the confusion, Rigel is actually a real star in the Orion constellation so is it possible that Rigel VII is a planet in that solar system? Even further nerdity will draw you to Rigel VII being an inhabited planet in Star Trek. Star Trek also featured in the canon Kang & Kodos episode… min blown yet? I’ll stop before I go too far lol.
As a Star Wars nerd, the idea of something being canon is weird for me. For years I’ve enjoyed things from the Expanded Universe and talked about them with other fan boys but with the acquisition by Dizznee, and future movies, everything I learned as bonus geek info is now non-canon. Talk about a bunch of useless info that now never happened. What about Grand Admiral Thrawn and Jacen and Jada? Frustration doesn’t begin to describe it.
Before you debate with me the fact none of these things ever happened, let’s just stop and go with the fuzzball on this one. Your arms are much safer that way… just saying. I do have a point for all this. One of the fun things I’ve done since starting my social community journey for The Simpsons: Tapped Out was talk about whether our game is canon or not. Often, items and episodes of the Best. Show. Ever. appear within our games. Episode tie-ins actually give information for episodes that lead right in to the show.
Is TSTO a part of the Simpsons universe? It has included items from commercials, films, games and daydreams from the show so maybe not. Then again, it did introduce us to other goodness like Kumiko, Freedom, Fit Milhouse and Slave Labor Willie before the show ever told us these things existed. Curiouser and curiouser. How could something be both canon and non-canon? I could probably prattle on about all this for much longer than anyone would care to read so I’ll just leave it simple as saying it might be canon in a way.
In The Simpsons universe, tapped out does exist. Our first glimpse of the game was in “A Tree Grows in Springfield” (S24:E6). Homer wins a MyPad at the Springfield Elementary auction. The product is “like a giant expensive smart phone that can’t call anyone.” Homer is enjoying his adult Etch-a-sketch in bed and tells Marge it “has awesome games like Tapped Out.”
Why is this not a the screen for us? This screen cracks me up and I think of this scene whenever our games have Bart screens. When this episode aired on 11/25/2012, TSTO was in its infancy. Of course, they didn’t say TSTO in the episode so it’s canon status is up for debate. That is, until you watch “Labor Pains” (S25:E5). TSTO is seen in all its glory! Homer pulls up the game on his myPhone when babysitting little HoJu. Way too funny that the game bilks him for $300.
TSTO becomes officially canon. So… we’ve seen server issues and evidence of Homer not having his donut confirm button on. Is that all? Well no of course. One of the newest episodes showed TSTO and none other than innovator Elon Musk plays it… IN SPACE! I give you the finals scene from “The Musk Who Fell to Earth” (S26:E12).
Here’s what I can discern from his game:
– Elon is Level 8 with 1827 donuts and 410 cash… that is a lot of donuts but seeing as my game has over 2K and Elon Musk is a tad richer than me… I think this is fair. What I really want to know is why he hasn’t bought anything cool? Is Elon a rich freemium player?
– Mr. Musk doesn’t care about his conform-o-meter and only has 1 ½ stars. For fairness though, all of our meters were low when we first started playing. I aslo don’t pay attention to mine and never really have.
– Elon… there’s something new in your inventory! Maybe he just leveled up?
– He has Apu, Ned, Krusty, Milhouse, Homer and Lisa. He’s also built the KEM, Simpsons house, Flanders house and Purple, Pink & Brown Houses. Certainly a few of his buildings aren’t showing on screen.
– All the Buildings and Characters make sense except for the top left notification for Marge having a task… all us nerds know Marge doesn’t appear until level 15!
– Since the game is shown on his spaceship’s view screen, it’s safe to say Elon plays on Android or Bluestacks. Last time I checked, Mapple didn’t build spaceships.
So The Simpsons: Tapped Out IS canon in The Simpsons but the show’s game has Marge by Level 8. The show’s game also has server issues and somehow can automatically charge your credit card right when you log on. So the final answer is it’s canon but we all play a different version of the game. Maybe rich people get a different one? Since Homer’s not rich, he got the server/money stealing version? Homer does play on his myPad in our games so is he playing Tapped Out and all of reality is just a game within a game within an animated sitcom?
No matter what, it’s rad to see the game in the show. I wonder if it’s destined to appear at least once in every new season as a form of advertising? You know anyone who saw these was all, “ooooh, oooh, TSTO… I play that game!” Others may have actually found the game based on the episode if you can believe that. Anywho… what were your thoughts when you saw these? Happy you’re in the same company as animated Elon Musk and Homer? Do you also play on a myPad or myPhone or are you more of a spaceship player? Also upset Dizznee made the Expanded Universe non-canon?
Sound off below with your comments and stay classy my friends. TTFN… Wookiee out!
The best Simpsons season by far, in my opinion. Almost all of the episodes are brilliant, funny and well-written. Season four contains some
what is KEM
Kwik-E-Mart
I’ve lost count of the Star Wars books I’ve read but it’s probably around 50 to 60 (including the entire New Jedi Order series) so I’m rather disappointed that big-D has made this decision — I say the fans should decide what is canon and what is not.
As long as the subject of Star Wars has come up, I’d like to point out something that seems interesting to me: We’ve all heard the axiom that the winners of a war will write the history of that war. This is equally true in Star Wars — anyone who watched the original episode IV will recall that Han Solo shot the bounty hunter rather than be taken into custody. After the rebellion won the war, the story was rewritten and the bounty hunter shot at Han Solo first. Seems suspicious to me!
As for Elon playing TSTO, perhaps he is testing a beta version of the game just for spaceships where Marge is released during an earlier level of the game….
Well as you all know i am not one to go off topic …..but yes Hans shot first from under the table…..very sneaky.
Also jabba was a lot thinner and humonoid in the first rushes
And the Simpsons were kept in a “Cage” in ” The Menagerie” on Rigel VII. Coincidence? I think not….
That means that Futurama and Family Guy exist in the Simsons universe since they both appeared in regular episodes and not Halloween or “What If” Episodes!
But neither are in the game yet,
True
Glad you brought this episode up. I figured the Willie with the new clothes would be a major part of the episode. Why make this part of the game if it literally appeared for 2 seconds? Elon Musk would have been a better addition.
TSTO is canon ever since Kumiko arrived before the TV show its a great way to test ideas and finally Elon is a hacker how canon is that?
The Marge icon is probably a glitch.
Lol
Love TSTO. Haven’t watched TV since 1992. Good game though.
You’re not missing much!!! 🙂
*waits for valentines update*
I love it when tapped out appears in the show it’s almost like they’re breaking the fourth wall without actually breaking the fourth wall
I popped rather vocally when I saw TSTO in the space ship. I love little in jokes like that.
Hey everyone. Another great article by wookie. Thanx. It’s funny, all this talk of canon vs. non-canon because we are talking about things that are made up and imaginary. So we are basically debating if made up things are real-fake or fake-fake. I can understand though, especially with something that has been around for more than 25 years. I have invested a lot of time with the simpsons and if I found out it was all just a dream or something I wouldn’t like it. As far as TSTO goes, even if the simpsons were real, the game is just a game and there for is non-canon even if there are things that really are on the show. On New Year’s Day this year, when homer was playing a”fashion” game and then playing TSTO, I thought that way great and it put a funny though tiny head. Imagine Kim kardashion playing her own game. Or better yet, imagine Kanye acting all tough but then sneaking into the bathroom to play his wife’s game. That make me laugh…for real. Remember it’s all entertainment and meant to be fun. So, have fun. Thanx.
I love Disney, and have never seen Star Wars all the way through even though all my friends have, but I am somewhat upset that it basically scrapped all of the old stuff save for the original movies. That’s like a slap to all of the Star Wars fans.
About the game, I love the non canon stuff. I rarely use them unless I need to get cash or if I won’t be on for a while, but I love seeing them. I like the out of place look of the THOH characters, and decorating a section for them is always fun.
Get em Wookie… I saw that episode and was like Marge and I look around at the buildings thank God for DVR lol….
I play my TSTO on iPod Touch.
I am very strict in my TSTO world about canonical items! I thought I was alone. I only place items in my town that actually exist in the show. Great article