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Rodney "Rod" Flanders is the oldest son of Ned Flanders and Maude Flanders and a stepson to Edna Krabappel. He has curly hair, a light blue polo shirt, dark blue pants and gray shoes. He makes his first appearance in "The Call of the Simpsons."

He was originally voiced by Pamela Hayden, but he is currently voiced by Chris Edgerly.

Rod often prays, first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed. He prays for God to watch over him and his little brother, Todd. He prays for the success of his father's business. He also prays for the success of all Christians, but due to his upbringing does not respect people of other (or no) faiths. Aside from praying, Rod enjoys playing with Todd and eating lots of "Nachos, Flanders-Style" (cucumbers with cottage cheese).^[1] His one regret is that he can't pray at school due to school's not allowing it.

Rod's favorite songs are "Bringing in the Sheaves" (followed closely by "Noah and the Arky-Arky") and "I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart."

Rod has type 1 diabetes^[2] and has described being quiet during trips as one of his favorite hobbies (including clapping during songs).

Biography

Rod, like his parents, is very religious; much more religious than his younger brother Todd, who’s often the only Flanders member to question their faith. He enjoys attending church, reading Bible stories, watching religious cartoons and playing religious-themed board games. These games include Good Samaritan - though they don’t use dice because Ned says that dice are wicked. Instead they just move one space at a time - he believes "It's less fun that way",^[3] and Billy Graham's Bible Blaster, a video game in which players try to "convert the heathens" by firing bibles at them. It cheered him and Todd up when their mother died.^[4]

Ned prohibits them consuming foods containing sugar, as he fears it will make them behave badly, in which it does^[5] or send them into diabetic shock. He is also extremely entomophobic (particularly with moths and ladybugs), a behavior probably learned from their father, who considers an insect flying near someone a "bug attack". They enjoy stories about robots named Rod and Todd, though these also frighten them.^[6] He was also scared by Todd's 'Rod' mask. He claims he's envious/jealous of girls because they get to wear dresses.^[7]

Rod obtained new climbing skills and rescued Bart from a gorilla atop a church.^[8] Rod thought of Marge as the most fun they've ever had ever since Maude died.^[9]

On the episode "Bart Sells His Soul", Rod and family were at "Moe's Family Feedbag" celebrating his 10th birthday, making him the same age as Bart Simpson^[10].

Website Biography

Rod prays. He prays first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. He prays for God to watch over him and his little brother, Todd. He prays for the success of his father's business. He also prays for all the naughty little boys and girls, like Bart Simpson, who are too bad to pray for themselves. Aside from praying, Rod enjoys playing wholesomely with his brother and eating lots of nachos Flanders-style ("That's cucumbers with cottage cheese!"). His one regret is that he cannot pray at school.

Behind the Laughter

Age discrepancy

There is also some controversy as to which of the two is the elder. In "Dead Putting Society" the commentator at the golf tournament states that Todd is 8. In Homer Badman, one of the corrections that the TV-magazine show Rock Bottom makes is to their claim that "the older Flanders boy is Todd, not Rod" (although this could have been included purely to stir up fans). Later, in Bart Sells His Soul, the Flanders family eats out for Rod's "big ten-oh", suggesting the two are of similar age. However, the present time in at least one other Simpsons episode has been set two years before that of others, as shown by All's Fair in Oven War.

In "My Sister, My Sitter" Lisa, when babysitting Rod and Todd, tells a story about a robot named Todd who "had a brother named Rod, who was two space years older", suggesting that Rod is 10. Todd responds by saying, "I don't like this story!"

As Rod is shown to be quite a bit bigger and taller than Todd, the claim that Todd is the older brother is disputed. Rod and Todd were both born before Lisa (who is 8). Todd appearing a younger age than Bart (who is 10) in the episode "Lisa's First Word" (when Bart was entering "the terrible twos").

Despite these discrepancies, the Simpsons official website states that “Todd is the youngest and most impressionable member of the happy Flanders clan”. This seems to trump any inconsistency concerning age seen in the episodes. On the other hand, the character profile for Rod Flanders in the book "The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family" describes him as the "youngest of the Springfield Flanders", but they have made some mistakes in that book. Another possible reason for the variation is that, in the DVD commentaries for show, the writers have stated that they are never sure which Flanders sibling is Rod and which one is Todd and are often forced to check character models to be sure. According to the commentary, early show writers used two different mnemonics to identify the taller brother: Todd started with a T and was taller, or Rod was long like a rod and hence taller.

Non canon

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The contents of this article or section are/can be considered non-canon, and exist outside of the main continuity of The Simpsons.

Future

At age 40, Rod, with his brother, Todd, is a cross-dressing lounge singer.^[11] They live with their father, who uses his pension to pay for their estrogen treatments. At age 40, he and Todd still live with Ned and take care of him because his eyes fell out.^[12]

The Simpsons Game

Rod appears along with his brother Todd Flanders and Ralph Wiggum as Hobbit-like children who help Homer and Marge defeat the two-headed dragon in order to get the Keycard.^[13]

Gallery

Appearances

Citations