Stark Raving Dad (The Simpsons)

Stark Raving Dad is the 1st episode of the 3rd season (actually a leftover from season 2) of The Simpsons. Michael Jackson stars in this episode.

Plot
Because of Bart, Homer accidentally lands in a mental hospital and ends up sharing a room with a white man who thinks he is Michael Jackson. Meanwhile, it's Lisa's birthday, but everyone (except Maggie) forgot.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Michael Jackson makes a guest appearance in this episode, what makes it unique is that Michael doesn’t actually play as himself but instead a character called Leon Kompowsky who pretends to be Michael Jackson.
 * 2) Unlike most guest appearances on The Simpsons, it doesn't rely on being a shameless advertisement for Michael Jackson, it actually feels like a proper episode of the series with Michael Jackson starring in it.
 * 3) The plot to this episode is creative and enjoyable.
 * 4) As usual, the animation is fantastic.
 * 5) There a handful of funny moments such as the part where Lisa tells her poem to Homer.
 * 6) The hilarious scene:
 * 7) *Bart: "Lisa! Her teeth are big and green, Lisa! She smells like gasoline, Lisa! Ga-da-da Lisa! She is my sister, her birthday, I missed her..."
 * 8) *Leon: "No!"
 * 9) The scene where Bart and Leon sing the "Lisa, It's your Birthday" song is a heartwarming moment.
 * 10) It started Season 3 on a high note and when it was supposed to be originally, ended Season 2 on a high note.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) As of March 2019, this episode has been pulled from syndication following the release of mh:awfulmovies:Leaving Neverland. It's bad enough to ban the episode from airing on TV, but to make matters worse, said episode was also removed from digital distribution and future reprints of the Season 3 DVD set, and remained absent on Disney+. Thankfully, it was back on the air through FXX on October 9, 2019 and it can be bought digitally on Amazon Prime in the UK, but even that wasn't enough.

Reception
The episode has been generally well received, being praised by many critics for its writing. In a 2009 review for Slate, Josh Levin wrote that "The greatness of 'Stark Raving Dad' has a lot more to do with The Simpsons' writing staff than with Jackson's voice-over talents. The show's scripters came up with a plot device far more ingenious than simply dropping the singer into Springfield."

Trivia

 * This episode was originally going to be the final episode of Season 2, but it was pushed over to Season 3 as a leftover because of FOX’s broadcasting reasons. Either way, the episode would have been iconic.