In 37 seasons on the air, The Simpsons has managed to crank out an impressive number of classic episodes – but very few of those 796 episodes (and counting, as of writing this…) have managed to actually move the needle in terms of changing the series’ canon in any significant way. One of the biggest running gags in The Simpsons is poking fun at how long its sitcom-style status quo rules have been in effect; Bart, Lisa, and baby Maggie never age, and no one in the family ever alters their wardrobe in any significant way. But how many fans were watching 35 years ago, when The Simpsons did indeed make a significant change to its own canon, and never looked back?
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On November 15, 1990, The Simpsons aired Season 2, Episode 6, “Dead Putting Society” for the very first time. What you may not realize now is that this was the first time the show delved deeper into the character of The Simpsons’ good-natured neighbor, Ned Flanders, and marked the very first appearance of his wife, Maude Flanders.
“Dead Putting Society” Gave Ned Flanders A Life (To Make A Point)
Up until the second season, The Simpsons didn’t do much to flesh out the character of Ned Flanders (voice of Harry Shearer); he was a hyper-religious, always-friendly foil for Homer, and his brief scenes were enough to both satirize the Bible-thumper stereotypes and provide a genuine juxtaposition to the Simpson Family’s unruly ways. “Dead Putting Society” finally put the microscope on Ned Flanders: In the episode, Homer grows jealous of Ned’s home and family life (inlcuding his pretty, perfect wife, and well-behaved sons), leading the two men into an argument, and then a heated bet about their respective sons (Bart and Todd) competing in a kids’ miniature golf tournament.
“Dead Putting Society” was our first exploration of Ned Flanders’ good nature, higher income, and more stable family structure, which made Homer and the Simpson Family feel insecure by comparison. It also went deeper, ruminating on manhood, fatherhood, and how the two can become toxically interwined, long before the term “toxic” was even being used in colloquial utterance.
On a surface level, it was also a hilarious episode, which ended with Homer and Ned’s toxic masculinity landing them both in their respective front yards, mowing the lawn in their wives’ Sunday dresses. The fact that Ned enjoys it is the final twist of the knife for Homer, who only ends up looking like a buffoon. The episode was also one of the rare instances of Bart and Lisa working as an effective team, as Lisa takes her brother through a heady golf training regimen, which earned the episode its titular reference to the classic film, Dead Poets Society.
Ironically enough, this massive shift in Simpsons canon would come around in a full, tragic circle: Maude Flanders became one of the only characters in Simpsons canon to permanently die ( in Season 11 Episode 14, “Alone Again, Natura-Diddily”). Maude was killed off when her original voice actress (Maggie Roswell) moved away for a time, but since Roswell has returned, the character has nonetheless remained dead.
The Simpsons is still airing on Fox. All episodes can also be streamed on Disney+.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
