News

In 2019, a single decision left a deep cut in pop culture history – The Simpsons pulled its iconic Season 3 premiere, Stark Raving Dad, featuring none other than Michael Jackson. Six years later, the sting still lingers. What was once a fan-fave, emotional, and musically memorable episode became collateral damage in the wake of HBO’s Leaving Neverland documentary, which spotlighted abuse allegations against the late pop icon.

“This was a treasured episode. There are a lot of great memories we have wrapped up in that one, and this certainly doesn’t allow them to remain,” said long-time producer James L. Brooks (per The Wall Street Journal), acknowledging how deeply personal the choice was for the creators who’d worked closely with Jackson to craft it.

The episode marked a surreal and powerful crossover between two cultural titans – The Simpsons at the peak of its golden age and Michael Jackson, still the biggest music icon on Earth.

"The Simpsons" is not just one of the most influential series in history and a cultural phenomenon, but it's also possibly the greatest TV show of all time. Still, the animated sitcom is not without controversy. "The Simpsons" has been banned many times in many countries, whether it's the entire "Simpsons" movie being banned for an innocent color scheme or TV standards changing and banning the show from showing an animated butt.

Of course, there is another, rather infamous example of a "Simpsons" episode being banned. Most every long-running sitcom is eventually haunted by the problematic elements from its earlier episodes, and "The Simpsons" is no exception. Be that as it may, the "Simpsons" episode that was quietly removed from streaming was pulled for reasons that had nothing to do with its subject matter and everything to do with its guest star. Yes, I'm referring to season 3's "Stark Raving Dad,...

Quick Links Stark Raving Dad Features a Controversial Guest Star Leon Kompowsky Defies a Common Sitcom Trope Michael Jackson Was an Integral Part of the Shows Success

This article contains references to child sexual abuse.

The Simpsons is often celebrated for its guest stars as they help to add a ton of subtle references to this popular sitcom. Fans have seen Mulder and Scully investigate Springfield as well as Meryl Streep transform into Bart's new love interest. As such, without these celebrity cameos, many fans argue that the animated sitcom just wouldn't be as successful.

Though the majority of these guest appearances are praised, "Stark Raving Dad" is often regarded as one of the best. Yet, many fans are still struggling to find the episode on streaming platforms on Disney+. But the reason for this is due to the episode's content that led to it being banned on the streaming service.

With any TV show that goes on for thirty-six years and counting, there will inevitably be something from an early episode that comes back around to haunt it. The "South Park" showrunners have written entire episodes apologizing for poorly-aged takes they gave in their early years, while "Family Guy" has had their characters outright say that they're now "phasing out the gay jokes" that were all too common in their early seasons. 

Meanwhile, "The Simpsons" ended up the center of a national conversation around 2020 about the ethics of having white voice actors play non-white cartoon characters, leading to the show giving Dr. Hibbert a new voice actor who unfortunately couldn't quite pull off the character's trademark laugh. They've also quietly phased Apu out of the show entirely, after comedian Hari Kondabolu sparked a nationwide discussion over the character's legacy as one of the only Indian characters so many Americans were familiar with for decades.

An episode of The Simpsons featuring the voice of pop singer Michael Jackson is being pulled from circulation amid the fallout from HBO’s shocking Leaving Neverland documentary.

“I’m against book burning of any kind,” producer Jim Brooks told the The Wall Street Journal. “But this is our book, and we’re allowed to take out a chapter.”

The 1991 Season 3 episode, “Stark Raving Dad,” has Homer sent to a mental institution after being mistaken for an anarchist. While confined, he befriends a hulking, gentle-voiced man who believes he’s Michael Jackson, before the fellow inmate finally admits he’s Leon Kompowsky, a bricklayer from Paterson, NJ.

After years of fan speculation, series creator Matt Groenig revealed that Jackson actually voiced Kompowsky. The voice credits went to a pseudonym, John Jay Smith. Even though Kompowsky sang a few Jackson numbers in the episode, Jackson was contractually bound not to sing,...

The Simpsons episode “Stark Raving Dad” is considered one of the most iconic episodes from the show’s early run — but it will now be harder for fans to view.

Michael Jackson infamously provided a voice for the episode, which aired as the show’s Season 3 premiere on Sept. 19, 1991. His involvement was uncredited, and only rumored to be Jackson’s voice until it was finally confirmed to actually be him, years later. But now, following the extensive allegations of sexual assault by Jackson as chronicled in the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland,” “The Simpsons” producers have decided to pull the episode from rotation.

“It feels clearly the only choice to make,” executive producer James L. Brooks told the Wall Street Journal, which broke the news on Thursday. He told the paper that fellow executive producers Matt Groening and Al Jean agreed with the decision. “The guys I work with — where we...

Title: Roger Waters The Wall Director: Roger Waters, Sean Evans Starring: Roger Waters, Dave Kilminster, Snowy White, G.E. Smith, Jon Carin, Kipp Lennon, Mark Lennon, Pat LEnnon, Jon Joyce, Robbie Wycoff and Graham Broad. Genre: Documentary The cinematic homage to the legendary 1979 Pink Floyd album, ‘The Wall’, intertwines Roger Waters’ 219 concerts (between 2010-2013), with his own personal voyage of the inner wall he had to break through. The British lead of Pink Floyd hits the road through Europe, from the UK to Italy, to reach the memorial of his father in Anzio, where the man died during World War II. ‘Roger Waters The Wall’ is enthralling both for [ Read More ]

The post Roger Waters The Wall Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Andrew time travels 35 years back to revisit the theatrical release of the Buck Rogers In The 25th Century film...

Once synonymous with science fiction, the phrase ‘That Buck Rogers Stuff’ once called to mind everything the average person thought about Science Fiction - ray guns, rocket ships and robots. Certainly in the 1928, when the then-christened Anthony Rogers made his debut, he was something pretty unique in Sci-Fi - the space adventurer as swash-buckler. Given the nickname ‘Buck’ by John F. Dille, the novel, Armageddon, was adapted into the comic strips in 1929 and then in 1932, Buck Rogers became the first major Science Fiction radio drama. 1939 saw Larry ‘Buster’ Crabbe take on the role for a 12-part serial. All of this is to say that Buck Rogers was around for quite a while before many people of my generation discovered him.

Buck Rogers In The 25th Century arrived on UK shores via the medium of cinema.

There's no point of reviewing Sunday (September 14) night's The Simpsons Take The Bowl show from The Hollywood Bowl, at least not in a traditional way. Sunday's presentation was the third and final night for The Simpsons Take The Bowl and, alas, if you didn't catch one of the shows... That's it. Sorry. Timed to loosely synchronize with the classic comedy's 25th anniversary, the show's recent syndicated move to Fxx and Sunday, September 28 premiere for the new season, The Simpsons Take The Bowl was a terrific two hours of live music, singing and dancing, culminating in fireworks. The event featured an assortment of new animation tailored around the venue, but also included classic "Simpsons" bits including Homer's plummet down the Springfield Gorge, Homer's gambol through The Land of Chocolate and the transition from the Ajax Steel Mill into The Anvil. I'm not sure that all of my favorite "Simpsons" musical moments were acknowledged.

If you caught any of Fxx’s epic 12-day Simpsons marathon, then you must have seen at least one great musical moment. Now Springfield is getting the big Hollywood salute it deserves with three performances of The Simpsons Take the Bowl.

Hosted by Hank Azaria (and the countless characters he voices on the show), the event—featuring the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra—highlights some of the sitcom’s best song parodies and musical scoring. Also on tap: Special guests, both in person and in animated form. Here are 6 of the most memorable moments from Friday night’s opening concert:

The Simpsons are fans too!

If you were to ask me to list the absolute worst movies I have ever subjected myself to and I failed to list Chud II: Bud the Chud near the top of that list, it is only because I’ve worked very hard to try to block the memory of that rancid film from my mind. And yet, here I am paying homage to the film’s corny theme song. Am I a masochist or what?

If Troll 2 is the best worst movie, then Chud II: Bud the Chud is a contender for worst worst movie. The film’s screenwriter, Ed Naha, must have agreed since he took his name off of the film, instead billings himself as M. Kane Jeeves.

It was bad enough that Chud II: Bud the Chud had absolutely nothing to do with the original movie and that the CHUDs were just fanged zombies that...

Michael Jackson reportedly "hand-picked" his singing double when he appeared on a classic episode of The Simpsons. Jackson was famously banned from singing in the 1991 episode, titled 'Stark Raving Dad', due to his contract with Sony. Yeardley Smith, who voices Lisa Simpson, recalled how Kipp Lennon was drafted in for Jackson. Smith told TMZ: "[Michael] was not allowed to sing on the show, so he literally hand-picked a guy to sing like him. "How unnerving would it be to sing like Michael Jackson in front of Michael Jackson?" Lennon also provided Jackson's (more)...

'Simpsons' Bombshell -- The Truth About Mj Song!!!

Michael Jackson hand-picked an Mj voice impersonator to sing the famous "Happy Birthday Lisa" song featured on "The Simpsons" back in 1991 ... this according to Lisa herself, Yeardley Smith.

Smith was outside the Red O restaurant in L.A. this weekend, when she explained, "[Michael] was not allowed to sing on the show, so he literally hand-picked a guy to sing like him."

During the famous episode, "Stark Raving Dad," Michael provided the voice to a mental patient who thought he was Mj ... but according to reports, Jackson's record label blocked Mj from singing the Lisa birthday song.

Mj ultimately selected a man named Kipp Lennon -- and Yeardley explains, "How unnerving would it be to sing like Michael Jackson in front of Michael Jackson?"

We called Kipp to find out -- so ...

Michael Jackson hand-picked an Mj voice impersonator to sing the famous " Happy Birthday Lisa " song featured on " The Simpsons " back in 1991 ... this according to Lisa herself, Yeardley Smith . Smith was outside the Red O restaurant in L.A. this weekend, when she explained, "[Michael] was not allowed to sing on the show, so he literally hand-picked a guy to sing like him." During the famous episode, "Stark Raving Dad," Michael provided the voice to a mental...

To preserve Michael Jackson's legacy, Fox is planning to air "The Simpsons" episode where the King of Pop contributed a voice. On Sunday, July 5 at 8/7c, the network will re-run "Stark Raving Dad", the first episode of season 3 that originally aired in September 1991.

Michael voiced the character of Leon Kompowsky, an overweight brick-layer whom Homer met during his stint at Mental Institution. Leon made Homer believe that he was Michael Jackson. Not recognizing the famous name, Homer brought Leon home to Springfield where many had anticipated the arrival of the star.

Michael was not credited when the episode was first aired because due to contractual reasons, he has to use the pseudonym of John Jay Smith. There is a time where Leon sings, but the singing voice was provided by impressionist Kipp Lennon.

However, Michael's contribution is beyond just making a guest voice on the show. He also composed...

In Hollywood, they say you’re not famous until you’ve done a guest spot on “The Simpsons,” which means that Michael Jackson’s fame was confirmed in September of 1991 when he provided a guest voice on the third season premiere “Stark Raving Dad.” In the episode (considered a classic amongst aficionados), Homer gets sent to a mental institution and meets a man named Leon Kompowski, a bald oaf who thinks he is actually Michael Jackson. Kompowski’s voice? Jackson himself. At the time of the episode’s airing, a contractual conflict didn’t allow the show’s creators to confirm that Jackson was on the show or even allow for him to be credited, which is why the voice of Leon Kompowski is in the credits as “John Jay Smith.” Subsequent interviews and DVD commentaries have confirmed that it was in fact Jackson playing the role. Show creator Matt Groening...