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| He isn't popular enough to get away with that look. |
Although the episode name implies its a Homer-heavy episode, and Homer is featured heavily in the middle portion thereof, its really a Bart and Lisa episode. It begins with Bart being woken up by Lisa to remind him that Lisa's birthday is coming up and to not forget to give her a present. Bart's lucky red cap ends up in the whites for laundry, turning them all pink. Forced to wear a pink shirt to work, Homer finds himself a victim of ridicule, and suspicion of being a free-thinking anarchist from Mr. Burns who, under advisement from Dr. Marvin Monroe, administers a take-home insanity quiz. Unable to get Marge or Lisa to do it for him, Homer relies on Bart to take the quiz for Homer, but that doesn't go well and Homer is institutionalized.
There, he meets a large bald man who claims to be the Michael Jackson, whom Homer conveniently has never heard of. "Michael" helps Homer get through the first couple of days at the mental hospital. Marge is eventually able to prove his sanity (mainly by proving that Bart does exist), and when Homer thanks "Michael" by offering him a place to stay upon gaining his sanity, "Michael" states that he's there voluntarily and can visit them that same day.
Homer calls Bart in advance to let him know he and "Michael" are coming home, and pleads with Bart not to let anyone know about it. Bart, of course, can't keep the secret, and soon the entire town is in the Simpson front yard eagerly awaiting Michael Jackson. When the man that turns up is fat, bald, white and without flair, the town hastily and angrily departs, leaving Bart a big scapegoat for the hoax. Worse yet, Bart getting wrapped up in the Michael Jackson thing had him forget Lisa's birthday, and an angry Lisa quickly confirms that Bart did not get her anything before running away crying.
Noticing this, "Michael" decides to help Bart out by writing a birthday song for Lisa. Bart is resistant to accept the help of a crazy fraud, but "Michael" is able to convince him regardless. The next morning, Lisa awakens to find Bart and "Michael" playing their rendition of "Happy Birthday Lisa". Lisa immediately thanks Bart for the great gift, and "Michael" shows pleasure of a job well done - in his own voice. He reveals himself to be a Jersey bricklayer named Leon Kompowsky. Once an angry man, Leon found peace within himself and with others when he suddenly decided to speak and act like Michael Jackson. Having made Lisa happy, Leon takes his leave of the Simpson household, singing the birthday song in his regular voice.
Quick Review
The Season 3 premiere features perhaps the most famous guest voice ever to appear on the show. The voice of John Jay Smith. Also known as Michael Jackson. Jackson, who couldn't be credited with his real name at the time, ironically voiced a man pretending to be Michael Jackson, though the singing was left to an impersonator. The episode, which was replayed on FOX a short time after Michael Jackson's death, has still one of the more ingenious uses of a guest voice in the show's history.
Its an odd thing to do, having a guest star using a pretend name voice a man pretending to be that guest star, but it works out really well for the episode. Having a touching moment between Bart and Lisa does nothing but help as well. What ended up being the subplot, the whole Homer is sane storyline was good for several laughs as well, especially near the end where he won't let go of his "Not Insane" certificate. Season 3 gets off to a good start with this episode.
Final Score: 8.1
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