Dead Putting Society
Encyclopedia
"Dead Putting Society" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons
' second season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1990. In the episode, Homer
's son, Bart
, and Ned Flanders
' son, Todd, decide to enter a miniature golf
tournament. Homer becomes confident that Bart will win and makes a bet with Ned that the father of the boy that does not win will have to mow their neighbors lawn in their wife's Sunday dress. On the day of the tournament, Bart and Todd make the finals but decide to call it a draw, forcing both Homer and Ned to fulfill the requirements of their bet.
The episode, which was the first to prominently feature Ned and the rest of his family, was written by Jeff Martin
and directed by Rich Moore
. While animating "Dead Putting Society", the animators went on a field trip to a local miniature golf course to study the mechanics of a golf club swing. Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
of 14.3 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
is mowing his lawn with obvious frustration, his next-door neighbor Ned Flanders
invites him into his basement rumpus room for a beer. Upon seeing Ned's house and observing his exaggeratedly perfect relationships with his wife and son, Homer erupts at Ned, accusing him of showing off. Ned angrily asks Homer to leave in response. Later, however, he feels guilty and writes a letter to Homer saying that he is really sorry and that he loves him as a brother. Homer is amused by Ned's sentimentality and reads the letter to the family at the breakfast table. Marge
is not happy with the family's reaction and chastises Homer for making light of Ned's sincere apology. Afterwards, Homer takes Bart
and Maggie
to Sir Putt-A-Lot's Merrie Olde Fun Centre for a round of miniature golf
. They unexpectedly run into Ned and his son Todd, and end up going golfing together.
The game goes well for everyone (especially Bart), except for Homer, who is obviously still jealous of Ned. Meanwhile, Bart and Todd find out about an upcoming children's miniature golf tournament, with a first prize of $50. They enter it, and although Todd is very good at miniature golf, Homer becomes confident that Bart will win. He tells Bart that it is not okay to lose and forces him to stare angrily at a picture of Todd for 15 minutes every day. Later, when Bart looks at his meager collection of trophies in his room, Lisa
offers to help him practice. Utilizing spiritual books that calm Bart's mind, they meditate. Meanwhile, Homer makes a bet with Ned on whose boy is a better golfer: the father of the boy who does not win the tournament will mow the other father's lawn in his wife's Sunday dress.
On the day of the tournament, Homer threatens Bart to win no matter what. In an extremely close match, Bart and Todd each do well, and tie by the time they reach the eighteenth hole. Bart and Todd agree that the competition is not worth the stress, that they are equally good and that they should call it a draw, splitting the award evenly. Since neither of the boys won, Ned and Homer are forced to wear their respective wife's Sunday dress and mow each other's lawn. People around the neighborhood laugh at them and Ned actually enjoys it (commenting that it reminds him of his fraternity
days), much to Homer's dismay.
"Dead Putting Society" was written by Jeff Martin
and directed by Rich Moore
. Martin was an experienced miniature golfer and based much of the golf-related scenes in the script on his own experiences. Parts of this episode are also based on the 1984 film The Karate Kid, including the way Bart practices for the miniature golf tournament by balancing on a trash can in a "crane position". For "Dead Putting Society", the animators went on a field trip to a local miniature golf course to study the mechanics of a golf club swing. Moore commented that the reason for this was that much of the humor on The Simpsons comes from making the scenery look lifelike; "The realism of the background serves as the straight man for the absurd situations."
This episode was the first to prominently feature Ned Flanders and the rest of the Flanders family, and contained the first appearances of Maude and Rod Flanders. Maggie Roswell
was given the role of Maude, Ned's loving wife, and became a regular cast member with this episode. She had previously played supporting parts in the show's first season. Nancy Cartwright
, the voice of Bart, commented on Roswell's acting: "Maggie has been blessed with a skill in creating one of the hardest things to create: the 'normal sound,' whatever that is. So she can easily slip into the gal next door [...]."
of 14.3, equivalent to approximately 13.3 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week.
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. The Orlando Sentinel
s Gregory Hardy named it the ninth best episode of the show with a sports theme. Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone
contributor, praised the episode as one of the best from season two. He commented that the miniature golf challenges "are delightful, the denouncement is highly amusing [...], and the beauty of the whole episode is that it could just as easily be an episode in a live action TV sitcom, though the slight touches of fancy enabled by the animation enhance its comic impact." Dusty Sanders of the Rocky Mountain News
commented that the title of the episode is "funnier than the content of most TV sitcoms." The reference to The Karate Kid was named the 21st greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
' s Nathan Ditum.
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that "considering what a prominent character Flanders became, it's strange to realize that 'Dead Putting Society' was the first show to feature him heavily. He'd made some token appearances in the past—most notably in season one's 'Call of the Simpsons'—but 'Dead Putting Society' much more clearly defined the Ned we'd come to know and love. It also featured scads of good little bits and gags and seemed like a solid program." The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, commented that apart from "the memorable lawn mowing sequence at the end, this episode is notable for our first viewing of the gaudy, gadget-filled, God-fearing splendour that is the Flanderses' home."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1990. In the episode, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's son, Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, and Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
' son, Todd, decide to enter a miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
tournament. Homer becomes confident that Bart will win and makes a bet with Ned that the father of the boy that does not win will have to mow their neighbors lawn in their wife's Sunday dress. On the day of the tournament, Bart and Todd make the finals but decide to call it a draw, forcing both Homer and Ned to fulfill the requirements of their bet.
The episode, which was the first to prominently feature Ned and the rest of his family, was written by Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin (writer)
Jeff Martin is an American television producer and writer. He was a writer for The Simpsons during the first four seasons. He attended Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon, as have many other Simpsons writers...
and directed by Rich Moore
Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American animation director and a business partner in Rough Draft Studios, Inc., where he serves as Sr. Vice President of creative affairs. He is one of a handful of artists who in the early 90s redefined prime time television animation with his work on The Simpsons...
. While animating "Dead Putting Society", the animators went on a field trip to a local miniature golf course to study the mechanics of a golf club swing. Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 14.3 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot
When HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is mowing his lawn with obvious frustration, his next-door neighbor Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
invites him into his basement rumpus room for a beer. Upon seeing Ned's house and observing his exaggeratedly perfect relationships with his wife and son, Homer erupts at Ned, accusing him of showing off. Ned angrily asks Homer to leave in response. Later, however, he feels guilty and writes a letter to Homer saying that he is really sorry and that he loves him as a brother. Homer is amused by Ned's sentimentality and reads the letter to the family at the breakfast table. Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is not happy with the family's reaction and chastises Homer for making light of Ned's sincere apology. Afterwards, Homer takes Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
to Sir Putt-A-Lot's Merrie Olde Fun Centre for a round of miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
. They unexpectedly run into Ned and his son Todd, and end up going golfing together.
The game goes well for everyone (especially Bart), except for Homer, who is obviously still jealous of Ned. Meanwhile, Bart and Todd find out about an upcoming children's miniature golf tournament, with a first prize of $50. They enter it, and although Todd is very good at miniature golf, Homer becomes confident that Bart will win. He tells Bart that it is not okay to lose and forces him to stare angrily at a picture of Todd for 15 minutes every day. Later, when Bart looks at his meager collection of trophies in his room, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
offers to help him practice. Utilizing spiritual books that calm Bart's mind, they meditate. Meanwhile, Homer makes a bet with Ned on whose boy is a better golfer: the father of the boy who does not win the tournament will mow the other father's lawn in his wife's Sunday dress.
On the day of the tournament, Homer threatens Bart to win no matter what. In an extremely close match, Bart and Todd each do well, and tie by the time they reach the eighteenth hole. Bart and Todd agree that the competition is not worth the stress, that they are equally good and that they should call it a draw, splitting the award evenly. Since neither of the boys won, Ned and Homer are forced to wear their respective wife's Sunday dress and mow each other's lawn. People around the neighborhood laugh at them and Ned actually enjoys it (commenting that it reminds him of his fraternity
Fraternity
A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
days), much to Homer's dismay.
Production
Jeff Martin (writer)
Jeff Martin is an American television producer and writer. He was a writer for The Simpsons during the first four seasons. He attended Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon, as have many other Simpsons writers...
and directed by Rich Moore
Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American animation director and a business partner in Rough Draft Studios, Inc., where he serves as Sr. Vice President of creative affairs. He is one of a handful of artists who in the early 90s redefined prime time television animation with his work on The Simpsons...
. Martin was an experienced miniature golfer and based much of the golf-related scenes in the script on his own experiences. Parts of this episode are also based on the 1984 film The Karate Kid, including the way Bart practices for the miniature golf tournament by balancing on a trash can in a "crane position". For "Dead Putting Society", the animators went on a field trip to a local miniature golf course to study the mechanics of a golf club swing. Moore commented that the reason for this was that much of the humor on The Simpsons comes from making the scenery look lifelike; "The realism of the background serves as the straight man for the absurd situations."
This episode was the first to prominently feature Ned Flanders and the rest of the Flanders family, and contained the first appearances of Maude and Rod Flanders. Maggie Roswell
Maggie Roswell
Maggie Roswell is an American film and television actress and voice artist from Los Angeles, California. She is well known for her voice work on the Fox network's animated television series The Simpsons, in which she has played recurring characters such as Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Miss...
was given the role of Maude, Ned's loving wife, and became a regular cast member with this episode. She had previously played supporting parts in the show's first season. Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, the voice of Bart, commented on Roswell's acting: "Maggie has been blessed with a skill in creating one of the hardest things to create: the 'normal sound,' whatever that is. So she can easily slip into the gal next door [...]."
Reception
"Dead Putting Society" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1990. In its original American broadcast, the episode finished 35th in the ratings for the week of November 12–18, 1990, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 14.3, equivalent to approximately 13.3 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week.
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. The Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
s Gregory Hardy named it the ninth best episode of the show with a sports theme. Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
contributor, praised the episode as one of the best from season two. He commented that the miniature golf challenges "are delightful, the denouncement is highly amusing [...], and the beauty of the whole episode is that it could just as easily be an episode in a live action TV sitcom, though the slight touches of fancy enabled by the animation enhance its comic impact." Dusty Sanders of the Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News
The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
commented that the title of the episode is "funnier than the content of most TV sitcoms." The reference to The Karate Kid was named the 21st greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that "considering what a prominent character Flanders became, it's strange to realize that 'Dead Putting Society' was the first show to feature him heavily. He'd made some token appearances in the past—most notably in season one's 'Call of the Simpsons'—but 'Dead Putting Society' much more clearly defined the Ned we'd come to know and love. It also featured scads of good little bits and gags and seemed like a solid program." The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, commented that apart from "the memorable lawn mowing sequence at the end, this episode is notable for our first viewing of the gaudy, gadget-filled, God-fearing splendour that is the Flanderses' home."
External links
- "Dead Putting Society" at The Simpsons.com