Eerily clairvoyant comparisons between reel and real events lit up social media after Wednesday’s far-right Capitol Hill riots in Washington.
The discourse was enough to suggest the universe has a wicked sense of humour.
Fans of The Simpsons shared stills from the cartoon comedy and likened the images to the group of Donald Trump supporters who wreaked havoc.
While The Simpsons oracle struck again, FMT looks at some American TV shows in which prophetic writings, usually jokes, have made some far-fetched and spooky predictions.
The writers forecast several major historical, political and cultural happenings; and introduced outrageous gadgets, curious technology and impossible science.
The animated crystal ball of The Simpsons’ creator, Matt Groening and his team, wins hands down but let’s begin with some little known predictions about the future in TV shows.
Trackdown, Episode: The End of the World
Predicted: 1958; Happened: 2016
In the Western drama, a conman named Walter Trump uses extreme fear-mongering to convince people that they need a wall to protect them from the “end of the world” in Texas during the Civil War.
Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump called for the construction of a border wall with Mexico to protect every citizen from danger.
Arrested Development, Concept: The US-Mexico border wall
Predicted: 2013; Happened: 2016
It was actually a family nearly as dysfunctional as Donald Trump’s that came up with the horrible idea of the US-Mexico border wall.
Two years before Trump ran for president in 2015, the Bluth family members schemed to profit from building a wall between the two countries in season four of the series.
Quantum Leap, Episode: All Americans
Predicted: 1990; Happened: 1996
Sam, whose mind is thrown through time and into the bodies of others, each time with a task to improve the life of the person into whom he has leaped into, is watching Superbowl 30.
He mentions, casually, that the Steelers are playing and are trailing by three points. In 1996, the Steelers not only played the Superbowl, but were trailing by three points halfway through.
Family Guy, Episode: We Love You, Conrad
Predicted: 2009; Happened: 2015
Bruce Jenner’s transition from Olympic icon to transgender woman in 2015 was a huge moment in cultural history but animated comedy show, Family Guy, broke the news six years earlier.
Baby Stewie called Jenner a woman long before he became Caitlyn while a 2011 Saturday Night Live ‘Kardashian Divorce Special’ skit also referred to Bruce as the Kardashian sisters’ “grandmom”.
Contagion, movie.
Predicted: 2011; Happened: 2019
Doctors race against time to develop a vaccine to stop the spread of a deadly virus that affects the respiratory system. The source of the outbreak was China and originated from a bat. Experts have said bats are a possible source of the coronavirus.
Now, let’s look at some of the modern-day Nostradamus-like predictions in The Simpsons, beginning with last Wednesday’s mayhem:
Episode: The Day the Violence Died
Predicted: 1996; Happened: Jan 6, 2021
Riots break out as a number of characters storm the Capitol Hill with bombs and guns after a constitutional amendment tries to ban flag burning.
On Wednesday, the protest was against the outcome of the recent presidential election.
Episode: Beyond Blunderdome
Predicted: 1999; Happened: Jan 6, 2021
A remake of Hollywood classic ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ in which actor Mel Gibson’s character wreaks havoc at Capitol Hill.
Episode: Treehouse of Horror XXXI
Predicted: November 2020; Happened: Jan 6, 2021
Violent protests and fires rage across Springfield on Inauguration Day 2021 after Homer Simpson fails to vote. His missed vote is the decider of the presidential election.
Episode: Treehouse of Horror XIX
Predicted: 2008; Happened: 2012
In the 2008 presidential election, Homer casts a vote in favour of Barack Obama but the vote goes to John McCain due to a faulty voting machine.
Coincidentally, when Obama ran for a second term in 2012, video footage emerged of a Pennsylvania machine switching a vote from Obama to his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.
Episode: $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)
Predicted: 1993; Happened: 2003
Magicians in a Siegfried and Roy-like show are attacked by their trustworthy white tiger. In real life, Roy Horn was attacked by one of the famous Vegas performers’ white tigers during a live performance. He suffered a career ending injury.
Episode: Marge in Chains
Predicted: 1993; Happened: 2019
A mysterious virus from Asia invades Springfield. Although they named it Osaka virus and claimed that the virus originated from Japan, the symptoms were pretty similar to that of Covid-19.
The series had a similar kind of prediction regarding the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
Episode: Lisa’s Wedding
Predicted:1995; Happened: 2010
In this futuristic instalment, Lisa talks with Marge using her phone’s video chat capabilities, predating the popular FaceTime feature of today’s iPhones by 15 years.
Episode: You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee
Predicted: 2014; Happened: 2015
Uncannily similar to those of the real-life FIFA officials who were arrested on corruption charges about a year later.
The episode also correctly predicted Germany’s defeat of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup.
Episode: Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson
Predicted: 2012; Happened: 2015
When Homer appears as a guest commentator on cable news show ‘Head Butt’, a ticker runs across the bottom of the screen that reads, “Europe puts Greece on eBay.”
This was three years before Greece became the first developed country to default to the International Monetary Fund, plunging the country deeper into economic crisis.
Episode: Bart to the Future
Predicted: 2000; Happened: 2016
Lisa becomes president and inherits “quite a budget crunch” from her predecessor, Donald Trump.
“The country is broke?” she asks her aides in one scene. “How can that be?” At the time, the real Trump presidency was still 16 years away.
Various Episodes: Blinky, the three-eyed fish
Predicted: In cameos; Happened: 2011
The three-eyed nuclear fish that lives in the pond outside Mr Burns’ nuclear factory came to life in Argentina in 2011 when two fishermen caught a three-eyed wolf fish in a reservoir fed by a nearby nuclear plant.
Episode: Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song
Predicted: 1997; Happened: 2013
A lunch lady is seen adding meat from a barrel labelled as ‘Assorted Horse Parts’. In 2013, UK found horse DNA in beef meat.