The 1991 season premiere episode that producers pulled from circulation in response to Leaving Neverland is still worth watching, says Jen Chaney. "I understand the impulse, especially given the tenor of the episode and the Jackson-focused nature of it," says Chaney. "But the loss of 'Stark Raving Dad' makes me sad, not just because it’s a great episode of The Simpsons, one that’s funny and genuinely touching, but also because it’s especially interesting to watch in light of Leaving Neverland." Chaney adds: "What’s most fascinating about the episode is that Michael Jackson isn’t really playing Michael Jackson. At the end of the episode, the 'big, fat, white mental patient,' as Bart calls him, admits that he’s actually a bricklayer named Leon Kompowsky and reverts to his gravelly, vaguely New York–ishly accented voice provided by Simpsons regular Hank Azaria...In other words, this imposing, unhappy man seemed kind of scary until he started convincing himself and others that he was Michael Jackson. Because who could be afraid of Michael Jackson? And wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone could be like him? The way that 'Stark Raving Dad' so casually accepts that as truth is a reflection of how Jackson was regarded at that point. He was considered a gentle man and an odd one, for sure, but still a hero and an icon."
TOPICS: The Simpsons, FOX, Leaving Neverland, Michael Jackson