"Wad Goals" is the 13th episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', and the 697th episode overall. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino, and written by Brian Kelley. In this episode,

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

becomes a successful caddy, but

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

worries that it is ruining his character.

Stephen Root Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom ''NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Stricklan ...

guest-stars as Bildorf. The episode is dedicated in memory of

Marc Wilmore Marc Edward Wilmore (May 4, 1963 – January 30, 2021) was an American television writer, producer, actor, and comedian. He wrote and performed for shows such as ''In Living Color'', ''The PJs'', ''The Simpsons'', and ''F Is for Family''. Wilmore ...

, a writer and producer of ''The Simpsons'' who died on January 30, 2021.

Plot

On the last day of school,

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

is walking in the streets thinking that he is in a parade, and discovers a golf course in the middle of Springfield, where rich people like

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

and celebrities play golf and hang around. He tells

Milhouse Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class ...

, and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

about it and the group of friends discover that the golfers pay their caddies a lot of money (or as they refer to it, "wad"). Bart and Milhouse get jobs there as caddies too, and Bart starts sucking up towards the club members after being successfully paid by

Kent Brockman Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted". He is a grumpy, self-centered local Springfield news anchor. Profi ...

. At home, the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

congratulates Bart at his new job, unaware of how he is getting paid very well. After going to pick Bart up from the golf course,

and Maggie take a sneak peek behind a tree and discover Bart sucking up to the Rich Texan as he pays him. While Bart buys

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

for the whole family, Marge attempts to have

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

talk Bart into quitting his job, but Homer neglects, saying it is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

way of lifestyle Bart is just getting used to. After talking about her stress with

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

, Marge attempts to post an online article about how the golf course does not pay taxes, but accidentally calls upon social groups whose claims against tax fraud threaten to shut the golf course down. Bart gets assigned to another golfer named Bildorf, who tells him to convince Marge to change her mind. The two then come up with the idea to make golf a

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

to allow the course to avoid paying a bunch of taxes, which

Mayor Quimby Mayor Joseph Fitzgerald O'Malley Fitzpatrick O'Donnell The Edge "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed Diamond Joe, is a recurring character from the animated sitcom television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in ...

allows. After

Reverend Lovejoy Reverend Timothy "Tim" Lovejoy, Jr. is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Rev. Lovejoy is the minister at The First Ch ...

and other church leaders prove to be no help, Marge is ready to give up. But after Bildorf insults Bart by firing him as his caddy and hiring an untalented rich kid, then saying that Bart will never be allowed to join the club and will always be inferior to someone like Bildorf, Bart gets mad and joins up with his friends to vandalize the course. Marge is happy to have the old Bart back. Despite Bart's actions being considered a crime,

Chief Wiggum Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sarah ...

and other police officers arrest Bildorf for allowing the golf house to start a

sex cult Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the c ...

inside the religion.

Production

Casting

guest-stars as Bildorf in the episode. This episode marks the first time that recurring co-star Kevin Michael Richardson replaces

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

as the voice of

Dr. Hibbert Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as gree ...

while voice actress

Kimberly Brooks Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...

voices Bart's longtime friend Lewis Clark. Voice actor

James Sie James Sie is an American actor and author. He was the voice of an animated Jackie Chan and several other characters in '' Jackie Chan Adventures'', Master Monkey in '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'', taking over for Chan, and Eddy Ra ...

has a small role as the

Lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

in Lovejoy's circle of religious associates. According to executive producer

Matt Selman Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...

the staff had wanted to get

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seve ...

of ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' and ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...

'' fame to voice the role of the golf-loving

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, but when the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

hit, they decided not to bother him.

Development

On 2021,

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

released 12 promotional pictures from the episode.

Release

The episode was originally scheduled to debut on February 21, 2021, but was rescheduled to February 28.

Reception

Viewing figures

In the United States, the episode was watched live by 1.24 million viewers.

Critical response

Tony Sokol Tony Sokol (born March 23, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York (U.S. state), New York, United States) is an American playwright, writer and composer, best known for writing the theatrical horror series La Commedia Del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre in New York Cit ...

with ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...

'', said "“Wad Goals” aims at too many targets and spends some time in the rough. The arc is timed out perfectly and Bart's corruption and redemption resonates. There are plenty of quick and subliminal visual gags, and the pacing altogether is quick. But it doesn't land as many solid laughs. The sex cult payoff is a little too pat, in spite of how unexpected it is. It's almost like a short cut. Maybe the problem is golf. It's not as exciting as even tennis. ''The Simpsons'' does a good job showing how it as one of the ultimate uneven playing fields, the commentary is pointed but the satire is just under par." He also gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Awards

Animator

Nik Ranieri Nik Ranieri (born August 23, 1961) is a character animator who is primarily known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He has been supervising animator of many characters, and remained so until his layoff in 2013. Career After graduati ...

won the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation is an annual award given to recognize the best animators of the year. There are no nominees for this category, only winners chosen by a jury. Winners and nominations 19 ...

at the

73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ...

as Lead Character Layout for the episode.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, The Simpsons 2021 American television episodes The Simpsons (season 32) episodes Golf on television