Stark Raving Dad

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The Simpsons episode
"Stark Raving Dad"

Homer presents the members of Springfield with Leon Kompowsky.
Episode no.	36
Prod. code	7F24
Orig. Airdate	September 19, 1991
Show Runner(s)	James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon
Writer(s)	Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Director(s)	Rich Moore
Chalkboard	"I am not a dentist"
Couch gag	The couch tips over backwards, sending them all through the wall.
Guest star(s)	Michael Jackson as "Michael Jackson"/Leon Kompowsky (credited as "John Jay Smith")
DVD commentary by	Matt Groening James L. Brooks Al Jean Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Rich Moore David Silverman Mike Reiss (Easter Egg)
SNPP capsule
Season 3 September 19, 1991 – August 27, 1992
Stark Raving Dad Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington When Flanders Failed Bart the Murderer Homer Defined Like Father, Like Clown Treehouse of Horror II Lisa's Pony Saturdays of Thunder Flaming Moe's Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk I Married Marge Radio Bart Lisa the Greek Homer Alone Bart the Lover Homer at the Bat Separate Vocations Dog of Death Colonel Homer Black Widower The Otto Show Bart's Friend Falls in Love Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?
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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".^{[citation needed]}

1 Synopsis
2 Trivia
3 Cultural references
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

After Bart washes his red hat in with a white load, 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. (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.)

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 without threatening to prevent from staying 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. Bart and "Michael" write a song specifically for Lisa's birthday that wins Lisa over. At the same time, 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.

[edit] Trivia

Michael Jackson was credited as John Jay Smith in this episode. There was debate for many years afterwards if it was really Jackson or not who did the voice. Although often hinted at, it is only in more recent years has it been confirmed that it was indeed Jackson.
While Michael Jackson did perform 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.
In the official sheet music book from the show, "Lisa, It's Your Birthday" is credited to have been written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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.

[edit] Cultural references

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.