Stark Raving Dad
From Simpsons Wiki
| Stark Raving Dad | |
| |
| Season 3 Episode 1 | |
| Production Code | 7F24 |
| Original Airdate | September 19, 1991 |
| Written By | Al Jean & Mike Reiss |
| Directed By | Rich Moore |
| Show Runners | James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon |
| Special Guests | Michael Jackson as "himself"/Leon Kompowsky (was credited as John Jay Smith) |
| Blackboard Text | "I am not a dentist" |
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"Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of The Simpsons' third season. The episode aired on September 19, 1991. As commented on the third season DVD set, coming at the start of the third season, many fans regard it as the start of the show's "golden era".
Contents |
Plot
Lisa wakes Bart up and reminds him that her birthday is coming up and that he neglects or forgets her birthday every year. Bart promises to get her the best present ever. Meanwhile, Bart washes his red hat in with a white load, and Homer has no choice but to wear a pink shirt to work. As a result, Mr. Burns has Homer detained for being a "free thinking anarchist". He is examined by Dr. Marvin Monroe who administers a 20 question quiz that Homer has Bart fill out. The results cause Homer to be sent to a mental institution, where he shares a cell with a large white man who thinks he's Michael Jackson. Not knowing who Michael Jackson is, Homer believes him.
Marge comes to visit Homer and convinces his doctors that Bart is the primary cause of Homer's problems. Homer gets the official certificate that says he is not insane. Homer calls and tells Bart that he is bringing Michael Jackson to stay for a few days, and he says it softly, in a non-threatening tone, to avoid having to stay in the hospital. Bart lets the word out and all of Springfield turns out to see Michael Jackson. All the town's excitement is deflated when the faux Michael is revealed by Homer. Lisa becomes enraged when she realizes that Bart has yet again failed to acknowledge her birthday, due to the fact the Bart found out that Michael is coming. After hearing Lisa writing an angry letter to Bart, "Michael" convinces Bart to let him help. Michael and Bart take a while , but eventually write a song specifically for Lisa's birthday. Lisa is thrilled and hugs her brother, saying that he has given her the best present ever. Suddenly, Michael regains his confidence and tells the Simpsons that he is Leon Kompowsky, a native of Paterson, New Jersey. He explains that he does his Michael voice due to the fact he felt angry for the majority of his life and that he earned people's respect when he did the vocal impersonation.
Michael Jackson's casting
The real Michael Jackson performed the voice of the white man under the pseudonym John Jay Smith. Jackson's contract at the time prevented him from using his real name. The producers of the show were legally prevented from confirming this and would only say "read between the lines". However, a later episode, "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie", contained brief dialogue that clued viewers in on the John Jay Smith controversy. On the Season 3 DVD commentary for the episode, the show's producers confirmed it was Michael Jackson who did the voice. While Michael Jackson performed the voice work for the character, all his singing was sung by Kipp Lennon, as the contract signed by Jackson before the episode never made a mention of him having to sing. But Rich Moore stated that Michael must have done the singing for "Billie Jean", while Lennon did the singing with instruments involved.
Trivia
- Also Starring Kipp Lennon as Michael Jackson/Leon Kompowski when he sings.
- In the official sheet music book from the show, "Lisa, It's Your Birthday" is credited to have been written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
- Originally Michael Jackson sung the song "Happy Birthday, Lisa" in fact, but his version could not be used due to contract issues. His original version was included on a test pressing of the Special Edition of the album Dangerous, but finally canceled. Remains unreleased.
- The line "some sort of free thinking anarchist" is used in "Mouthful of Shit", a song by anarchist band Chumbawamba.
- The line uttered by Lisa "You are a credit to dementia" was referenced in heavy metal band Megadeth's track "Sweating Bullets", which was released the following year.
- The second Fox network airing on January 30, 1992 starts with a response to George H. W. Bush's 1992 State of the Union address, in which Bart comments that his family are just like The Waltons; "we're praying for an end to the depression, too!" This is followed by an opening sequence recycled from Bart the Murderer; the rest of the episode is unchanged. This opening can be found on the Season 4 DVD boxset.
- This is the first "holdover" episode; an episode produced as part of the previous season but not aired until the following one.
Cultural references
- The episode title is a play on the popular saying "Stark Raving Mad", suitably appropriate for the episode.
- Many of the scenes in the hospital (including the character "Chief") are directly out of the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, based on the novel by Ken Kesey of the same name.
- During the scene when Bart and 'Michael' sing Lisa's song, an "End Apartheid Now" poster can be seen on her closet door.
- When Maggie wakes up due to the song a toy Binky from Life in Hell appears next to her, although original bunny (from Groening's 1977 comic strip "Life in Hell") has only one ear.
- Bart hums "Beat It" after he tells Marge that Homer is in a mental institution.
- Mr. Burns calling Homer a "Free thinking anarchist" due to his wearing of a pink shirt, instead of a white shirt like everyone else, is an obvious reference to McCarthyism.