(circa
1939 ?- ) is a
Fictional Character on ''
The Simpsons '', voiced by
Harry Shearer . Ned, along with the rest of his family, is a devout
Christian , and is often used to
Satirize Christian Fundamentalism , as well as the "niceness" of doggedly upbeat
Born-again Evangelicals .
Homer Simpson once said that Ned is even
Holier than
Jesus . Ned Flanders is named after Flanders St. in
Portland ,
Oregon . Simpsons creator
Matt Groening is originally from Oregon.
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Ned has the habit of attaching "diddly", "doodly" and other nonsense phrases to sentences ("Hi-diddly-ho", for example). Despite an outward appearance of exceeding
Meekness , Ned has an exceptionally well-built physique under his sweater. Ned's age cannot be determined, because although he stated that he was 60 in the season 10 episode ''
Viva Ned Flanders '' (which aired in 1999 so he may have been born in 1939), this comes two years after the season eight episode ''
Hurricane Neddy ''. That episode has flashbacks to the mid
1960s , and while his age isn't given in the flashback, he can't be more than 10, which when the math is done makes him in his late 30s or early 40s.
Homer more or less hates Ned because Ned's life just seems so much better than his own—better family, better job, better health, better everything.
Ned was raised in
New York City by two
Nihilistic Beatniks (the pair closely resembled
John Lennon and
Yoko Ono ). Their refusal to discipline Ned and terrible parenting skills made him a childhood terror. He was eventually put on an experimental eight-month
Spanking therapy program (the
University Of Minnesota Spankological Protocol) which taught him to suppress all feelings of
Anger . This resulted in Ned bearing a lifelong hatred of his parents—one of only two things that he hates (the other being the line in the
Post Office ). Also, all of the family's
Board Game s contain no
Dice , as Ned believes that dice are "wicked". Rod says that they just move one space at a time, as it is "less fun that way!". However, in the episode, ''
Lisa's First Word '', one can clearly see Rod, Todd and
Bart playing a board game with dice.
Ned Flanders is a graduate of
Oral Roberts University (as seen when Homer stole his diploma) where he belonged to a
Fraternity .
At one point Ned Flanders became
Principal of Springfield Elementary School after
Principal Seymour Skinner was fired, despite Ned's thorough lack of administrative skill and experience. Already a shaky establishment to begin with, the school fell apart even more so under Ned's rather lax approach to being principal, putting the whole place on the
Honor System instead of traditional punishment. Bart eventually decided to get Skinner reinstated, finding that there was no real challenge in pulling pranks under Ned's watch, since Ned didn't have Skinner's uptight personality for Bart to play off of. Ned was eventually fired after
Superintendent Chalmers heard him making a prayer over the school intercom, which is not allowed in public schools.
During the course of the series, Ned has represented both the
Devil and
God . In The Treehouse of Horror IV special, Ned played the Devil/Satan/Prince of Darkness in the opening segment "The Devil & Homer Simpson" (explaining that "It's always the person you least expect") in which the Ned-Satan offers Homer a donut in return for his soul, but is thwarted in a court of law when it was revealed that Homer had already legally promised his soul to Marge when they got married. Later in the series, when Marge fantasizes about being Eve opposite Homer as Adam, Marge/Eve imagines Ned as God.
In the first several episodes he appeared in, Ned seemed to have only one son.
There was a relative of Flanders who served in , which is not a rank in the
United States Army . The rank "Commander Flanders" was most likely used as a cute rhyme, which is typical for a Flanders).
Both Ned and his kids rarely if ever refer to his moustache as such, preferring nicknames such as "Nose Neighbor", "Mr. Tickles", "The Soup Strainer", "The Pushbroom", "Dr. Fuzzenstein", etc.
For some reason, he is very afraid to say the word "
Sex ", even when there are no children in sight (he either spells it out or calls it "doodily").
Ned appears to be slightly taller than Homer, who is 6', which would make Ned somewhere between 6' and 6' 2".
See Also: Flanders family
Ned Flanders had a wife,
Maude Flanders (
Deceased ), and two children, Rod and Todd Flanders. Ned presumably named his sons Rod and Todd because both names
Rhyme with "
God ". (An alternate theory on their names is that they are meant to rhyme with Maude, their mother whose name also rhymes with God, whom Ned worships to the point of idolatry.) His mother's name was revealed as Mona in an early episode (strangely enough, this is also the name of Homer's mother).
When Lisa was being born, Bart went to live at the Flander's house. At this time, Ned's grandmother "Grandma Flanders" also lived with him and his family. Very senile, Grandma Flanders called Bart "Joe".
Ned is widowed from Maude Flanders and is currently married to a
Las Vegas waitress named Ginger. After Ginger managed to track down Ned (Homer's Vegas wife did the same), Ned and his boys tried to reduce Ginger's "peppermint-ness" and have her embrace their Christian lifestyle. However, Ned's goody-goody ways drove her crazy and she fled.
He quit his earlier career as a
Pharmacist to open a store in the
Mall called The Leftorium, which specializes in products for
Left-handed people. He does this because he's left-handed himself. It sells items that are made only for
Left-handed people, from left-handed
Can Opener s to a left-handed car, of which only three were ever made. The Leftorium first appeared on the second floor of the Springfield Mall, but in the episode "
Last Tap Dance In Springfield ," it was on the first floor. Known competitors of The Leftorium include ''Leftopolis'' and ''Left-Mart'' (a parody of
Wal-Mart ). Many of the Leftorium's products are superflously labelled as "left handed", such as left handed coffee mugs, pens, or notebook pads.
Despite his firm religious beliefs, Ned is quite timid and often controversial remarks. He has collected many Beatles-related items, including vintage records, novelty Beatles-themed soda cans, Beatles bobble-heads, the identical suits the band wore during their Ed Sullivan Show appearance and a cardboard
Yellow Submarine .
Despite being timid, Ned Flanders can sometimes fight for what he believes in, e.g. when Homer and Bart became with two gorgeous women and say that they're movie producers ''...and Jewish''. When Lisa converted to
Buddhism he ordered Rod and Todd into an underground shelter, telling them that they may never return to the surface.
It should be noted that despite his occasional intolerance towards other religions and beliefs, he is still honest and sincere in carrying out many of the Christian doctrines of charity, kindness and compassion. He spends every Wednesday working at the Springfield homeless shelter and soup kitchen, and reading to sick children at the hospital (he has met
Moe Szyslak also looking after the children there), and is rigorously honest and upright, even going so far as to spend almost an entire day giving a Leftorium customer the extra change Ned forgot to give him by mistake. Ned is also very selfless and brave, risking his life to save Homer from a burning housefire, and even donating one of his kidneys and lungs to whoever asks for them ("First come, first served", he says). Despite his obsession with the rules and regulations of Christianity, Ned Flanders is still a generally good-natured and kind-hearted man who tries to follow what Jesus taught.
Flanders'
Religious Denomination (along with that of Rev. Lovejoy) is a matter of much speculation among fans. In ''
The Father, The Son, And The Holy Guest Star '' Rev. Lovejoy states that they will bring Bart and Homer back to the One True Faith: "The Western Branch of American Reformed Presby-Lutheranism".
Despite his religious fervor, or perhaps because of it, in
Treehouse Of Horror IV (outside the usual continuity of the show) he was "revealed" to actually be the Devil. ("It's always the one you least suspect!") He also participated in "Run for a Cure - for homosexuals" during one of the Halloween episodes.
In the "Team Homer" Episode, Ned bowls with his right hand.
He also has no airbag in his car, because "the church opposes it for some reason". This is contradicted in the episode
Much Apu About Nothing when his car's airbag deploys after swerving out of the way of the bear.
Inspired by the character,
Brianists use the term "Ned" to refer to Christians in general and Protestants in particular. A "Head Ned" is a
Pastor or
Priest .
Radio talk show host and cultural commentator
Michael Medved often says that he was the inspiration for the character Ned Flanders. Medved notes such similarities as the glasses, the mustache, the sweaters, and the faith-based lifestyle (except that Flanders is a born-again Christian, while Medved is an observant Jew).
Irish academic Brendan Bartley is believed to be the inspiration for Ned Flanders. Similarities include the glasses, moustache, large hair and general nice-guy demeanour. Brendan is a lecturer at NUI Maynooth
{Link without Title} . His nickname among students is Ned or Ne(n)dan. He also sports a green jumper.
In ''
The Fairly Oddparents '' TV movie, "Channel Chasers", a parody of Ned Flanders, a parody of
Barney Gumble , as well as a parody of
Krusty The Clown were in a scene that was a parody of The Simpsons. he said "well hidilly-diddily-diddily-daddily-diddily-daddily!"
During an episode of
Cheap Seats on
ESPN Classic that focused on a poker tournament, the Sklar Brothers mocked one of the players for looking like Ned Flanders.
Players of the
Australian Cricket Team refer to their coach
John Buchanan as ''Ned'', mainly because of his close similaritites with Ned Flanders like the thick moustache and spectacles. In recent times, John has shaved his moustache to avoid getting teased.
