Difference between revisions of "Stark Raving Dad"

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"Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of The Simpsons' third season, which aired on September 19, 1991. Homer is committed to a mental hospital, and meets a man who claims to be Michael Jackson.

Plot

At the opening of the show, Lisa reminds Bart that her birthday is coming up and not to forget to get her a present. Homer's traditional white shirt turns pink in the wash, and he is forced to face the ridicule of his co-workers by wearing pink to work. He catches the attention of Mr. Burns, who pegs him as "some kind of free-thinking anarchist", and orders him to be examined by Dr. Marvin Monroe. After receiving a take-home psychological test from him, he has Bart fill it out for him. After handing it in, he is promptly judged to be insane and committed to a mental institution. There he is bunked with a large white man who claims he is Michael Jackson. The two quickly become friends.

The day of Lisa's Birthday, "Michael" calls the Simpson household to let Bart know that Homer has been committed, and Marge starts working on a way to get him out. Marge tries to convince the institution that Homer is not really crazy, and is eventually successful. Homer invites "Michael" to their home for the night. Bart, believing that Leon is really Michael Jackson, begins to inform all his friends that he is on his way. Meanwhile, in all the commotion, Lisa seems to be forgotten.

The word that Michael Jackson is on his way to Springfield, begins to spread through the town, and a large crowd forms around the Simpson house. When the two of them arrive, and the crowd sees a large, white man instead of Michael Jackson, the crowd gets angry and disperses. After the melee, Bart admits to Lisa that he forgot to buy her a birthday present. Lisa storms off, crushed.

After witnessing Lisa's turmoil, "Michael" approaches Bart and tries to convince him to write Lisa a song to make up to her. After Bart confronts him about his obvious delusion about being a famous recording star, they get down to writing, and eventually compose a ballad called, "Happy Birthday Lisa." The next day they perform it for her, and all is well again. After this, "Michael" tells them all that his real name is Leon Kompowski, a bricklayer from Paterson, NJ. He tells them that pretending to be Michael makes everyone around him happy, then takes his leave.

The Michael Jackson Guest Appearance

Michael Jackson himself voiced Leon Kompowsky's dialogue, and a Michael Jackson impersonator performed all the singing parts. Jackson's guest appearance is credited to John Jay Smith. The DVD commentary for this episode indicates that Jackson approached the Simpsons team wanting to appear on the show, but due to a contract obligation, was not allowed to sing. However, he did write "Happy Birthday Lisa" for the show. Great secrecy surrounded the guest appearance for some time, and even Matt Groening, when appearing on the the Jay Leno show, did not openly reveal that it was Jackson (although he hinted strongly). It wasn't until the episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" that a more open clue was given to viewers, when Lisa mentions that Dustin Hoffman and Michael Jackson made cameo appearances in the movie, stating, "They didn't use their real names, but you could tell it was them..." (Dustin Hoffman, of course, voiced Mr. Bergstrom in the episode Lisa's Substitute, and his guest appearance was similarly shrouded).

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