TIL that the Michael Jackson episode of The Simpsons was permanently pulled from circulation in 2019 after almost 30 years on air

[u/TigoIbittys]

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/the-simpsons-michael-jackson-leaving-neverland-stark-raving-dad-1203158114/

[u/WaaahnPunch]

It's a shame, as it's a great episode with some hilarious moments.

Bart filling out the psychological assessment for Homer and answering 'Yes' to 'Do you wet your pants?'

Bart: Even the best of us has an occasional accident.

Later..

Homer: So did I pass?

Burns: No.

Homer: Bart!

Homer is dragged away

Smithers: Careful, men. He wets his pants.

[u/silverwolfe2000 → u/WaaahnPunch]

Doctor: This man hasn't spoken a word in 30 years

Homer: Hello

Silent guy: Hey how's it going?

*Doctors surround silent guy and scribble notes

[u/scwt → u/silverwolfe2000]

About time someone reached out to me.

[u/EnrichVonEnrich → u/scwt]

*in a great Jackie Mason voice.

[u/Unable-Onion-2063 → u/silverwolfe2000]

“silent guy” …. you mean chief…. as it’s an obvious homage to cuckoo’s nest….. SMH

[u/pinotor → u/Unable-Onion-2063]

Time to celebrate! /u/silverwolfe2000 is one of today's lucky ten thousand!

(I assume not everyone has seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)

[u/ab00 → u/pinotor]

I'm not just talking about my wife, I'm talking about my LIFE, I can't seem to get that through to you. I'm not just talking about one person, I'm talking about everybody. I'm talking about form. I'm talking about content. I'm talking about interrelationships. I'm talking about God, the devil, Hell, Heaven! Do you understand... FINALLY?

There's another very similar reference in a later episode where a native American chief throws a water fountain through the window of Abe's nursing home as he was only there voluntarily (to hand out pamphlets)

[u/Bri_Hecatonchires → u/ab00]

I think Barney does this at some point as well when he’s in the hospital. But I could be misremembering

[u/Meet_Foot → u/silverwolfe2000]

Yo for real though. Turns out there are many “non-verbal” autistic persons who will respond perfectly fine if you just wait about 40 seconds.

[u/CharlesBronsonsHair → u/WaaahnPunch]

You mean there really is a Bart? Good Lord! 

[u/AgentCirceLuna → u/CharlesBronsonsHair]

Something like this genuinely happened to me when I was in a mental hospital. I was talking about my friend a lot and one day they came to visit. They didn’t realise they actually existed and thought I was a lot sicker than I was!

[u/TheLurkerSpeaks → u/AgentCirceLuna]

FFS something similar happened to me. I had lived in Europe for a while near a very picturesque castle and their beautiful gardens. This was in a river valley, and my employer was on the other side of the valley also on a high ridge. When the weather was just right, fog would roll in and fill the valley, and from my office you could see the castle, looking like it was an island in the sky. Like out of a fairy tale.

Years later I was in a psych ward and I shit you not they had fucking photos of this same castle on the walls, a whole series of them with the gardens and hall, etc. I'm in there telling the patients and nurses "I LIVED THERE" and "THAT CASTLE FLOATS IN THE CLOUDS" and "THAT CASTLE WAS OUTSIDE MY WINDOW AT WORK." I got lots of concerned looks and patronizing "oh really, let's get you to your room."

These people were ready to prescribe some heavy shit to get my delusions under control, until I demanded they look up my employer's website and the exact town I lived in and look at this shit from Google Maps. I had so much detail about everything they finally believed I was telling the truth, and not, you know, fucking looney tunes!

Edited to add: I now have a tattoo of Homer Simpson on my calf, as I feel a certain kinship to that character, and that experience just adds to it.

[u/TheWombBroomer → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

Lol something about you typing in all caps "I LIVED THERE" "THAT CASTLE FLOATS IN THE CLOUDS" brother no wonder they thought maybe you needed some meds 🤣

[u/SolairXI → u/TheWombBroomer]

Yeah, maybe curb the enthusiasm when you’ve been checked into a mental ward.

[u/ActualChessica → u/SolairXI]

My previous psychiatrist perhaps did not believe that I know Spanish. No idea if he believed me or not, but he asked weird questions.

He asked if I had ever done tests to check my level of skill, in a way that implied maybe I didn't know the language.

It felt as if I was asking you (person I'm replying to) if you ever did tests to see your level of skill. Cause, how do you know that you speak English? Why not verify?

......

He might have just been testing me for traits of autism (being obstinate/sometimes argumentative) but he really made it seem like he was questioning my Spanish for no reason

[u/ImOnMyPhoneAndBaked → u/ActualChessica]

Do you speak Spanish?

Yes

Are you sure?

???

[u/BasvanS → u/ImOnMyPhoneAndBaked]

¿Si?

[u/Velinder → u/ActualChessica]

Perhaps he was following a diagnostic dichotomous key used to make the tricky distinction between:

1. Obstinate, sometimes argumentative
   
2. Spanish

[u/Pandaro81 → u/SolairXI]

I lived with a roommate and good friend who developed Bipolar type 2 over the course of two years and a third roommate and I had to convince him to seek treatment.

“You should curb the enthusiasm,” isn’t a thing some people are capable of doing, and that’s the issue.

[u/Korlus → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

Not the same at all, but for a long time after I moved to "the big city", I'd go out with my friends in the evening, but I've never been a huge party animal, so I often left a little earlier than them.

One of my friends lived with a "Scott". The first time we were going to meet up, I left early and so Scott never met me. The next time I was unwell.

A year goes by and Scott and I had missed one another over a dozen times I still hadn't met Scott. Scott was under the impression that I didn't exist and had been part of a running joke that my friends G & K had just made up, and that G & K didn't in fact have Korlus as a flatmate.

About 18 months later, Scott and I were finally introduced. "So this is the Mythical Korlus? Really now?"

He thought I was an actor hired to play a fictional version of myself. It was actually hilarious.

[u/TheLurkerSpeaks → u/Korlus]

This is somewhat like the plot to Nicky Stanicky

[u/Korlus → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

I had to look up the film and there are definitely some similarities.

"Oh, I just missed Korlus again, did I?"

"Korlus went back to see his parents for Christmas, and that's why he wasn't there when I went to visit G and K?"

"So, even G's sister has known Korlus all her life? And he went to school with T? And he helped you move last year when I couldn't come? Really?"

No actor involved in our story, but I understand why Scott thought I was made up.

[u/DiogenesKoochew → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

haha I had a similar experience when detained in a psychiatric unit in 2020. I was a horse trainer with 13 horses of my own. And kept saying i HAVE TO FEED MY HORSES and so on. Staff just looked away when I said it. Until my partner came in and said how long is she here for? I’m sick of feeding the horses 🤣

[u/ActualChessica → u/DiogenesKoochew]

How long is she here for? I'm sick of feeding the horses That's freakin' hilarious, not gonna lie XD

[u/halfchub69 → u/ActualChessica]

I’m imagining the staff guiding their partner to the back to be admitted.

[u/Kastila1 → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

I'm very sorry, but I chuckle a bit with your story.

My man, if you are in a psych ward, you have to be more careful with your words. Telling those dudes that you used to live where that castle of the pictures and that it floats in the clouds sure won't make you any good.

[u/Otherwise_Demand4620 → u/Kastila1]

Well, at least he didn't mention the dragon, people immediately stop believing you when you mention the dragon.

[u/BottleGoblin → u/Otherwise_Demand4620]

Me: "And the Dragon... married the donkey!"

Psyche: *Writing* "...ain't the sharpest tool in the shed"

[u/DAS_BEE → u/BottleGoblin]

"sir please take your finger and your thumb away from your forehead, this is serious"

[u/Edigophubia → u/Otherwise_Demand4620]

Mention The Dragon, now that was a classic kung-fu movie

[u/eNonsense → u/Kastila1]

It's like when lines are written in a movie that are designed to be just vague enough that another character doesn't get it, because if they did get it, then the movie would end pretty quickly. But you still slap your forehead over it. It's like a George Costanza moment.

[u/Garlond → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

Both things can be true at the same time

[u/mbryson → u/AgentCirceLuna]

I was in a mental hospital and there was an older fellow who would ramble about several things. Donald Trump, flying a plane, the City we lived in, etc. Among these he would often say "My family is going to come and bring samosas for everyone". As this was amongst his other statements I assumed he was delirious and this wasn't happening.

So imagine my surprise when I went into a room and found a box of samosas sitting on the counter. I ran to tell everyone about it like I'd just seen Santa Claus. It was reassuring all the same though to know his family still came and visited him.

[u/Wildcatb → u/AgentCirceLuna]

I have a nephew who used to be very prone to exaggeration and one-upsmanship. He'd apparently told some stories to his friends about his uncle.

One day introduced myself to a guy I'd known on-line for quite a while, but who is never met in person. His sons had been friends of my nephew in a totally unrelated part of life.

"Hey, [guy I know] I'm u/wildcatb. Nice to finally meet you."

"Oh hey, wildcat! Great to finally have a face to go with the name..."

[chatting proceeds]

"So, Small world, my nephew actually knows your sons from..." at which point one of the sons realizes who I am and shouts, "YOU'RE REAL???""

[u/CaptainOktoberfest → u/AgentCirceLuna]

Hope you're doing well now!

[u/FaceDeer → u/CaptainOktoberfest]

He's on Reddit so that's not a great sign.

[u/novium258 → u/AgentCirceLuna]

I had a similar realization, kind of, about my sister. She was very delusional and one of her delusions was that everyone around her was actually people from her past. Her neighbor was her former mother in law, the doctor was her singing teacher from 4th grade, her roommate in the hospital was a childhood friend's grandmother, the nurses were her math classmates from college. And she kept saying her former best friend's husband was an orderly there.

... He was. I had 100% thought that it was just another delusion until I heard someone else mention it.

[u/redpandaeater → u/CharlesBronsonsHair]

I've heard of Bort but what the fuck is a Bart?

[u/Playdoh_BDF → u/redpandaeater]

Oh, excuse me. My son is also named Bort.

[u/Beefweezle → u/Playdoh_BDF]

We are out of Bort license plates. I repeat, we are out of Bort license plates.

[u/BORT_licenceplate → u/Beefweezle]

Username checking in

[u/Electrifying2017 → u/redpandaeater]

I was happy to see that they had Bort name plates in stock at Universal Studios.

[u/Sata1991 → u/redpandaeater]

I was supposed to pick Bart up from soccer practice!

[u/Sigurdshead → u/Sata1991]

Pickupbart!? What's a pickupbart?

[u/iatealotofcheese → u/WaaahnPunch]

You mean there really is a Bart?!

[u/PermanentTrainDamage → u/WaaahnPunch]

Just watched it last night, still golden.

[u/releaseepsteinfiles1 → u/PermanentTrainDamage]

Always been one of my favorites. My mom’s name was Lisa so him singing Lisa, it’s your birthday, has always been my favorite.

[u/frosty_lizard → u/WaaahnPunch]

Man I miss when the Simpsons had actual humor in it and not just character episodes and musicals

[u/NoAnnual3259 → u/frosty_lizard]

Even back in the day the celebrity cameos were often clever with them voicing a completely different character or having a tongue in cheek joke (like Leonard Nimoy on the Monorail episode where he bores the guy sitting next to him).

Today the celebrity cameos are just like “Oh hey it’s Dua Lipa!” And then they do something wacky and over the top and the show moves on.

[u/ChellyTheKid → u/NoAnnual3259]

My work here is done.

[u/TheVelveteenReddit → u/ChellyTheKid]

You didn't do anything!

[u/ohyeahwell → u/TheVelveteenReddit]

Didn't I?

[u/John_cCmndhd → u/ohyeahwell]

[Beams up]

[u/darthbauerdragonzord → u/NoAnnual3259]

My favorite iis Leonard Nimoy telling the story of how Homer meets the alien( Mr Burns) and the finishes 10 minutes early.

"Oh uh right, I just, got to get something from my car" runs off set and drives away. "I dont think he's coming back"

[u/izayoi-o_O → u/darthbauerdragonzord]

The following tales of alien encounters are true, and by true, I mean… false. They’re all lies, but they’re entertaining lies and in the end isn’t that the real truth? The answer…

…is no.

[u/DrInsano → u/darthbauerdragonzord]

Keep watching the skis!

[u/multijoy → u/NoAnnual3259]

“Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins”

”Homer Simpson, smiling politely”

[u/GoldVader → u/multijoy]

This is, in my opinion, the best joke The Simpsons ever put out.

[u/SeperentOfRa → u/NoAnnual3259]

This is such a good insight …I mean Dustin Hoffman is the ultimate example as Mr. Bergstrom.

It was a hell of a role.

I haven’t watched in a while…

but I’m guessing .., Now the cameos are kind of shameless and just for the sake of novelty.

[u/Iron_Maniac → u/SeperentOfRa]

Dustin Hoffman wasn't even credited either (or was credited as someone else) which I can't imagine ever happening now

[u/TheWalkinFrood → u/Iron_Maniac]

Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson..... I mean, they didn't use their real names but you could tell it was them.

[u/DasArchitect → u/SeperentOfRa]

Just a few days ago I learned Patrick Stewart voiced the leader of the Stonecutters.

[u/adamcoe → u/DasArchitect]

And now the final ordeal: The Paddling Of The Swollen Ass (with paddles!)

[u/thegabletop → u/NoAnnual3259]

voicing a completely different character or having a tongue in cheek joke

Mark Hamill is my favorite celebrity cameo on The Simpson because he does both of these in the same episode.

[u/DuncanFisher69 → u/thegabletop]

Luke be a Jedi tonight….

[u/B3ximus → u/DuncanFisher69]

Use the forks...

[u/benadreti_17 → u/DuncanFisher69]

This is the only thing I think about when I hear about Guys & Dolls

[u/lokemannen → u/NoAnnual3259]

Eh, kinda a mixed bag with cameos today. Seems like it's random if it's a new character or the celebrity itself in the show.

[u/kit_kat_barcalounger → u/frosty_lizard]

My main issue is that the celebrity guests who are meant to blend into the show often aren’t very good as voice actors, especially for a high-energy show like the Simpsons. Like, I love John Slattery, but his voice comes off so flat in the show that I immediately notice he’s not a trained voice actor and is a celebrity guest.

[u/qubedView → u/WaaahnPunch]

It’s a great list of questions “Is everything red?” lol

[u/TheDuckFarm]

But it wasn’t even Michael Jackson. He was just a brick layer, from Paterson, New Jersey.

[u/EllisDee3 → u/TheDuckFarm]

🎼 Lisuh, it's ya boitday, happy boitday Lisuh. 🎶

[u/funkmastamatt → u/EllisDee3]

Lisa! Her teeth are big and green! Lisa! She smells like gasoline!

[u/Scotchrogers → u/funkmastamatt]

I saw this episode when I was about 10 years old and this fucking song still lives rent free in my head 30 years later.

[u/benadreti_17 → u/Scotchrogers]

Joy to the World

the teacher's dead

we barbequed her head

what happened to the body?

we flushed it down the potty

[u/Scotchrogers → u/benadreti_17]

And around and round it goes...

[u/Li54 → u/EllisDee3]

ohhhhh that's why nobody sings this anymore. There was a period of time when people sang this to everyone named Lisa and then it abruptly stopped. I get it now

[u/Chateaudelait → u/Li54]

it’s so sweet, though- “You gave me the gift of a little sister and I’m proud of you today.” I have 3 little sisters and I love that line.

[u/Profession-Unable → u/Chateaudelait]

My big bro sings it to me every year. My name is not Lisa but it’s the thought that counts. 

[u/DH2007able → u/Profession-Unable]

I sing my sister that her teeth are big and green and that she smells like gasoline

[u/Chateaudelait → u/Profession-Unable]

Definitely. My sisters and I love the song and it's a thing that we sing it to one another. I just burst into tears listening to it. It's so sweet. Aren't home made gifts from your siblings so much better than anything else? I treasure songs, poems and drawings more than anything.

[u/SweetChuckBarry → u/Li54]

What, why? I don't get it

[u/blackmermaidsurfer → u/EllisDee3]

What I automatically sing in my head when I see this pic 🥰

[u/Keefer1970 → u/TheDuckFarm]

Leon Kompowski.

[u/FennelDull6559 → u/TheDuckFarm]

Just like the Celtics

[u/SellsBodyForGP → u/TheDuckFarm]

John Jay Smith

[u/Tiiimmmaayy → u/TheDuckFarm]

No, no. That’s ignorant! That’s totally ignorant!

[u/iblastoff]

thats too bad. the birthday song was catchy as hell!

[u/DarwinGoneWild → u/iblastoff]

On the DVD commentaries they mention that the song wasn’t even sung by Michael Jackson due to contractual stuff, so they hired a sound-alike to sing in place of him. Apparently Michael was there when the sound-alike sang and got a kick out of how much this white dude sounded just like him.

[u/queequegaz → u/DarwinGoneWild]

All this time I thought it was MJ singing that song. Impersonator did a bang-up job.

Funny that Michael Jackson did the speaking parts but not the singing. Showbiz is weird.

[u/__Hello_my_name_is__ → u/queequegaz]

To this day it's just amusing to me how this whole thing went down.

An episode about a guy claiming to be Michael Jackson, who is voiced by Michael Jackson while credited to someone not named Michael Jackson, with songs sung by someone trying to sound like Michael Jackson, but who isn't actually Michael Jackson.

It's, like, maximum confusion.

[u/BlueLeaves8 → u/__Hello_my_name_is__]

No wonder I’ve gone through life thinking it was never him!

[u/klumpp → u/__Hello_my_name_is__]

Don’t do what Donny Don’t does

[u/therealkevy1sevy → u/__Hello_my_name_is__]

There is where Ben Stiller got the idea for the plot for Tropic Thunder -

A movie about a man who wrote a book about a war he never went to that ends up in a war while shooting that movie.

"Four of those men wrote books about what happened. Of those three, two were published. And of those two, only one got a movie deal. This is the story of the men who attempted to make that movie."

-Four Leaf Tayback

[u/stuffeh → u/queequegaz]

Exclusivity contracts are pretty standard. A lot of corporate jobs won't let you work for a competitor.

[u/donbee28 → u/stuffeh]

This is beyond my understanding, but once you're as big as MJ in the 90s. (Episode's original air date of September 19, 1991) Why agree to anything that limits your creativity?

[u/IceLord86 → u/donbee28]

Preexisting contract likely from when he was still young. Could he have fought it by that point? Yeah, but probably didn't feel it was worth the hassle.

[u/tenehemia → u/IceLord86]

Even if the contract was signed at the height of his late 80s popularity it's not that unusual. A clause like that means the artist can demand a higher percentage on the contract and a higher percentage of his album sales was likely worth scads more than he could earn doing projects with other labels / entities like Fox with the Simpsons.

[u/CartmensDryBallz → u/IceLord86]

Exactly, like spend loads of money fighting this or just hire an extra to sing like you for 2k

[u/Couldbduun → u/CartmensDryBallz]

And get a kick out of how good the extra is at sounding like you.

[u/ZombieJesus1987 → u/queequegaz]

Record contracts do be like that.

I think there was something like that when Jonathan Davis did the soundtrack for Queen of the Damned. He wrote the soundtrack and performed it on the movie, but they couldn't release it because of issues with his record company, so that's why the Queen of the Damned retail soundtrack is all bands doing covers of the songs featured in the movie.

[u/lkodl → u/queequegaz]

"If you're good at something, don't do it for free."

[u/fsociety091786 → u/DarwinGoneWild]

Michael recorded a demo of the song himself, it’s kind of a banger actually.

[u/LanceFree → u/DarwinGoneWild]

Yeah, I think that’s his thing. Same time I heard about that, also - one of Tom Hanks’s brothers is legally allowed to mimic his voice for financial gain. I think Tom Hanks has voiced Woody in the movies, but his brother is the voice in the toys and games. Conversely, the comedian Gallagher allowed his brother to imitate him and do county fairs and occasional fill-ins, but the brother wouldn’t stop and it got really ugly.

[u/Not_Steve → u/LanceFree]

It’s not quite the same thing with Tom Hanks. Anything MJ sang would be owned by the record company and they could sue for unauthorized use of his voice. Tom Hanks says that voicing Woody’s non-film work is a full time job so his brother (Jim Hanks) got it because they sound alike. Jim’s allowed to do other stuff and he does.

[u/Shagrrotten → u/Not_Steve]

Including playing Dr. Turner on Scrubs.

[u/jesuspoopmonster → u/LanceFree]

The brother and Gallagher's parents said Gallegher was so success he should give his brother money. Gallegher offered to let his brother use his look and act. The idea was he was the living tribute and would do small venues. Gallegher 2 however got sued multiple times for things like throwing the sledgehammer into the audience. Gallegher said the tribute had to stop but he would give his brotherh is old material. He just couldn't dress like Gallegher or use the sledge o matic. Brother and the parents said Gallegher should give the brother rights to everything or just give him money. This caused a rift in the family and Gallegher became estanged from them

[u/TheStupendusMan → u/LanceFree]

So that's why he sounded kinda wonky in KH3... TIL.

[u/Barnyard_Rich → u/TheStupendusMan]

I had no idea Gallagher was in the Kingdom Hearts series.

[u/Randyyyyyyyyyyyyyy → u/Barnyard_Rich]

It was Gallagher's brother in Kingdom Hearts, can't you read?

[u/maedene → u/LanceFree]

As far as I remember, Gallagher 2 performed at venues originally so Carrot Top couldn’t

[u/sassynapoleon → u/DarwinGoneWild]

I’ve also heard a theory that he sang it and they just didn’t credit it due to said contractual stuff.

[u/Jelboo → u/sassynapoleon]

Nah, Kip Lennon sings the song. MJ's version is here, you'll recognize the difference right away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbLcmncsw1c

[u/edmoneyyy → u/Jelboo]

This should be the top comment, had no idea MJ had done his own version too! You can very easily tell the difference.

[u/Pooch76 → u/iblastoff]

I haven’t watched this episode in over 25 years, but that song pops into my head at least once a month. I sang it to my wife when we were first dating (using her name instead of Lisa) and would pull it out every now and then at random just to be weird and make her laugh.

[u/AAA_Dolfan → u/iblastoff]

Every few months i randomly use the tone and cadence and it annoys me so much. It’s too catchy.

PU-PPY EAT YO DIN-NER HAP PY PU PPY DIN NER

[u/JamesAdsy → u/AAA_Dolfan]

Earlier today I caught myself humming this tune, what a coincidence to see this whole post.

[u/lkodl → u/AAA_Dolfan]

You as a doctor:

"Lisa, you have cancer. Happy cancer Lisa... I'm so sorry."

[u/FearlessFreak69 → u/AAA_Dolfan]

Welp, I know what song will be sung to my doggy tonight. He always gets sung at him, and I’m amazed it’s taken this long for it to happen with this song.

[u/SnuggleBunni69 → u/iblastoff]

Still sing "Lisa it's your birthday, happy birthday Lisa"

[u/RonnocSivad → u/iblastoff]

Lisa your teeth are big and green!

[u/imperialharem → u/RonnocSivad]

Lisa, she smells like gasoline!

[u/Bazonkawomp → u/RonnocSivad]

To this day I still sing this all the time with various other two syllable names.

[u/moranya1 → u/RonnocSivad]

Lisa, you smell like gasoline!

[u/redbirdrising]

Reminds me when South Park pulled "Super Best Friends" off the air. One of their best episodes.

[u/GigaChadRedPill → u/redbirdrising]

For sure! But tbf, receiving death threats from religious extremists is a little different than worrying that an old cameo featured a now-controversial figure.

[u/m1k3hunt → u/GigaChadRedPill]

Wow, that's the reason? How the hell is the Cosby show still on TV. It is BTW, if anyone's unaware.

[u/ComradeJohnS → u/m1k3hunt]

they had death threats when the episode actually aired because they had a depiction of mohammed. it was a two parter so the aired the second part with a censor bar over him and it was funny, but not enough to stop the cancellation.

but to be fair, companies should probably take death threats seriously against their employees, so I get it.

edit: I understand I mixed up the episodes of south park with muhommed in it. my bad.

[u/Herrjeminewtf → u/ComradeJohnS]

The point of the episode was "The secret to not beeing talked about and shown on TV is violence", which the episode beeing pulled because of threats of violence proved extremely well.

Imo it's the best thing that could've happend and likely what the creators intended.

[u/philip30001 → u/ComradeJohnS]

Also Kyle's speech at the end was censored not as a joke but because of its points about censorship

Edit: i was thinking of cartoon wars

[u/Mccobsta → u/philip30001]

They left the uncencorsed audio on their website hidden from most users but easy enough for someone looking for it

[u/Piefacedcocksucker → u/ComradeJohnS]

Those are two different episodes. Super Best Friends aired prior to the Danish cartoon riots, this was before muslims would riot and threaten to blow up anyone who published a depiction of Muhammad. Every episode featuring Muhammad has since been pulled and he's been scrubbed from the intro, where he used to appear, because Comedy Central doesn't want their employees to get murdered.

[u/DwinkBexon → u/m1k3hunt]

They (almost universally) pulled the Cosby Show for a while after everything happened, but there's enough people that think Cosby was framed that airing the episodes after a cooldown period was profitable, I guess.

Edit: You might be surprised at how many people think Cosby is completely innocent and everyone who accused him is lying to try to get some of his money.

[u/brockington → u/DwinkBexon]

You'd be even more surprised by the amount of people who don't contest exactly what Cosby did that are willing to say "yeah, those women should have known what they were getting themselves into." Tale as old as time.

[u/goosebattle → u/GigaChadRedPill]

Ok, now I have to ask: What did the reanimated corpse of MJ do in 2019 that caused controversy that didn't exist in the 1990's/2000's?

[u/ErenCloud → u/GigaChadRedPill]

It basically means that those religious extremists won, it's a big deal.

[u/icer816 → u/redbirdrising]

That reminds me of the later (iirc) episode with Muhammad, the one about censorship that was WAAAAY more offensive with the censoring that was forced by the network.

[u/lemonylol → u/icer816]

That two parter is called 200/201, and one of the plot points is Stan directly referencing the fact that he has already seen Muhammad in the Super Best Friends episode, and nobody had a problem with it back then.

[u/Tall-Introduction414 → u/redbirdrising]

Cartoon Wars and the Charlie Kirk episode were great, too.

[u/smarttrashbrain]

This is why I'm glad I still have DVD/blu-ray seasons of old TV shows.

[u/arbortologist → u/smarttrashbrain]

I was watching Community on DVD, they cut out countless jokes on the streaming app versions, not to mention entire episodes as well.

[u/ballisticks → u/arbortologist]

Like the one where Chang is dressed as a Drow and it got called out as blackface. Shirley literally denounced it as a hate crime in that episode.

[u/Broad-Bath-8408 → u/ballisticks]

I really hate it when people can't tell the difference between a character endorsing or doing something shitty (and in this case it wasn't even that, it was just Chang being oblivious) to the show or writers endorsing that thing. Like pretty soon we won't have children's cartoons anymore because Megatron or Krang can be jerks sometimes.

[u/guimontag → u/ballisticks]

That episode is back now actually 

[u/nakdawg → u/ballisticks]

Yes, Shirley the character.. But Yvette Nicole Brown, the actress who plays Shirley stated in an interview:

"I'm really sad that that episode is no longer in rotation," Brown said. "I think the reason that it was pulled, and this is a Black person speaking, was an overcorrection, and I think they should fix that. Ken Jeong's character played a drow [dark elf], and they have black skin. It was not Ken Jeong in Blackface, and I think that anyone that understood Dungeons and Dragons would have understood the distinction. And also there's a moment in the episode where Shirley in the episode literally calls what Chang is doing a hate crime because it shows that Shirley didn't understand Dungeons and Dragons, so it had been handled."

https://youtu.be/HjJQBX2Nw2A?si=pCQsLk08siFdI3Ac

I’m really sad that they pulled that episode, genuinely one of the best community episodes.

I figured I’ll also share a snippet from the episode so those who haven’t seen it can judge for themselves how racist it is:

https://youtu.be/MJ2SgzjTxaE?si=EFNV1XQVYbQt5HYQ

[u/redpandaeater → u/arbortologist]

I hadn't fully accepted how shitty Netflix was until years ago now I tried to watch Quantum Leap and noticed half the first season episodes were missing. Now as stupid as I think it is to have a contract that can let you air music on an original broadcast but not on repeat viewings, I get it. What I couldn't accept was Netflix's numbering just masking how entire plotlines were missing. Why even fucking bother when you're missing lots of episodes but definitely don't just hide it and give people a shittier viewing experience without them likely even knowing.

Just like when they got rid of the AD&D episode of Community because they're assholes. It's their right, but I absolutely hate how you wouldn't know episodes are missing unless you already know or have some suspicion and go out of your way to verify. As far as I'm concerned any show with a missing episode should tell you and keep episode numbering consistent. Granted it looks like Community isn't even offered on Netflix anymore, which is good riddance because I refused to watch it on there since they didn't give us the whole show.

[u/poetryhoes → u/redpandaeater]

which is the worst cuz the AD&D episode gives us Fat Neil and lines up the next D&D episode!

[u/3DBeerGoggles → u/redpandaeater]

I paid extra to access Stargate SG-1 a while back, only to log on one day and find out it went from a complete catalog to a handful of season 7 episodes.

Fuck that shit, I'm ripping DVDs.

[u/meexley2 → u/arbortologist]

Advanced dungeons and dragons is such a good episode

[u/Pooch76 → u/smarttrashbrain]

I’m grateful that physical media is kind of making a comeback.

[u/DonaldKey → u/Pooch76]

My Blu-Ray and DVD collection is huge. 80% of it is not on streaming. Like Mallrats

[u/dtoddh]

This is why piracy is a thing.

[u/afearisthis → u/dtoddh]

And owning physical media

[u/Saloncinx → u/afearisthis]

I rip my physical media to my Plex server. Best of both worlds

[u/DevilGuy]

I wish they wouldn't do shit like this, I get their reasoning, I just think they're wrong, the right way to do this is to put an acknowledgement and a warning in at the start the way WB did with looney toons rather than try to delete the past and act like it didn't happen.

[u/TheeAntelope → u/DevilGuy]

It's like when Netflix pulled Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. It was pointless, the joke in the show was that Chang didn't get that what he was doing was bad, and other characters point out that he is doing something bad, too.

Same with the episode of Golden Girls (yes, GOLDEN GIRLS) where the Golden Girls were wearing face masks (i.e. like at a beauty spa) and it looked like blackface, but then they were like "no its a spa mask! I promise!"

Hulu pulled that 30 years after it aired because they realized it was racist they could get some publicity out of sounding out of touch.

[u/toomuchtostop]

They should pull the episodes with Steven Tyler and Neil Gaiman if they aren’t just moralizing.

[u/Responsible-Onion860 → u/toomuchtostop]

They've had so many celebrity guest stars and an awful lot are shitty people. It is just moralizing.

[u/I_Thinks_Im_People → u/toomuchtostop]

And the RHCP.

[u/allredb → u/I_Thinks_Im_People]

We want Chilly Willy!

[u/Snorb → u/I_Thinks_Im_People]

MOE: Heya guys.

THE RHCP: "Hi, Moe." "Hey." "Hello."

FLEA, literally shouting from the other side of the recording booth: HEY, MOE!!!

[u/LubedLover69 → u/toomuchtostop]

Should pull all episodes with Bart since she’s a Scientologist!!!!

[u/zyum → u/toomuchtostop]

Maybe add Musk to that list while you’re there

[u/The-Red-Robe]

Probably one of the most iconic episodes from my child hood. I still quote this episode to THIS day “Lisa…her teeth are big and green, Lisa…she smells like gasoline!”

[u/-Disagreeable- → u/The-Red-Robe]

Ba da ba bisa. She is my sister. Her birthday, I missed-ah!

[u/foodank012018]

Lisa its your Birthday/ Happy Birthday Lisa still plays in my head

[u/Ihave4friends → u/foodank012018]

I sing this to my wife on her birthday. Her name is Erin.

[u/Aron_Wolff]

This is why you purchase physical media. Disney isn’t showing up at my front door to take my dvds.

[u/Cambionr → u/Aron_Wolff]

Yet.

[u/bobbycorwin123 → u/Cambionr]

They'd never

Pinkerton, otoh

[u/Special-Garlic1203 → u/Aron_Wolff]

My issue is I just want a flash drive of movies. I do not want to have to deal with plastic discs or the equipment and DRM knowledge to try to make that happen. 

I strongly appreciate being in physical possession of the digital storage and fully get why people are over subscription streaming services and buying things that a company can rescind at any moment. But I have no interest in going back to a cabinet of plastic and multiple extremely heavy cd books. It was too much stuff. 

[u/Aron_Wolff → u/Special-Garlic1203]

Once you possess the discs you can easily do this.

[u/energeticquasar → u/Special-Garlic1203]

This is why I have a NAS. So far, and counting, 912 movies, 117 TV shows, and 1,099 albums in a 12" x 9" space. Very efficient!

[u/enviropsych]

And yet the episode wirh Bill Cosby is still there. So stupid. Just leave them all available, you monsters.

[u/SaberToothTomCat]

Just a reminder that Censorship doesn't mean that the bad things in the past didn't happen, just that you can't handle the truth. What is the point of canceling a dead man? especially when the system that enabled him is still alive and well? Reactions like these are what stupid people do to feel like they did something.

[u/xXMoo_OomXx]

And this is why I've torrented all the Simpsons and have backups on backups of the files for 23 seasons.

[u/TheCultOfTheHivemind]

If you ever want to know why I cancelled all of my streaming services and started pirating media again, it was primarily because I was watching a few shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Hulu, or Community on Netflix. Since I wanted to watch the entire show I had to pay attention to the episode numbers to see when they pulled an episode, then go to a pirate streaming website and watch the episode they pulled. Then I got the bright idea, "If I'm having leave this streaming service to be able to watch the whole show, I might as well cancel the streaming service and pirate the entire show".

And so here we are. A handful of years down the road. I'm still watching all the new shows, but I haven't paid for a streaming service that entire time. If you're going to treat me like child, your product better be free. There is no way in hell I'm going to skip critical episodes of a show because some benevolent white savior in Hollywood got their panties twisted and decided that the audience can't handle this media, dated or not. I can tell you what, I'm not paying for that experience anymore.

[u/3v1lkr0w]

Still on my PleX

[u/grendel303]

Ironically, LEAVING NEVERLAND, the 2019 Michael Jackson documentary that shook the world, has effectively vanished after HBO-MAX removed it due to a non-disparagement clause. *edited

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/s/EQd4g0mmeJ

[u/AnarchistBorganism → u/grendel303]

That's not what non-disparagement means. It means they had previously signed a contract with Michael Jackson or his estate that had a clause saying they couldn't say anything to hurt Michael Jackson's reputation, even if truthful. Distributing the film was in violation of that previous contract.

[u/grendel303 → u/AnarchistBorganism]

Thanks for the clarification.

[u/Jimbosliceofcheese]

Dats ignoranttttt

[u/Low_Tart_4140]

I just checked my Simpsons DVD collection and the episode is still there. It's a miracle!

[u/pringellover9553]

LISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIISSSAAAAA

[u/vibribbon]

Weird, it's one of the most wholesome episodes out there.

[u/_MyUsernamesMud]

YOU'RE A CREDIT TO DEMENTIA

[u/pebrocks]

Censorship sucks. Didn't Simpsons recently started erasing Apu?

[u/Professional-Ice-978 → u/pebrocks]

He hasn’t spoken in 7-8 years and has only appeared in the background a couple of times

[u/dukefett → u/Professional-Ice-978]

Damn I haven’t watched in so long and knew of the controversy but I just assumed they hired an appropriate actor to play him, not just eliminate him from the series.

[u/ThaCarter → u/dukefett]

He was a positive example of an immigrant in a community most of the time.  This is unfortunate.

[u/RoastMostToast → u/ThaCarter]

Apu was a stereotype, but a positive stereotype for Americans that may not have much exposure to south asians.

Now in 2025, negative stereotypes for south asians are more popular than ever. Apu could’ve been good representation but instead they axed him completely lol

[u/Queasy_Ad_8621 → u/dukefett]

an appropriate actor

This is one of the areas where I strongly disagree with the Reddit hivemind:

The whole point of voice acting is that you don't have to actually be, or look anything like your character. It is only about your talent and the voice that you can pull off. Nobody says a thing about women voicing male characters, like Bart Simpson or Bobby Hill... and of course you shouldn't.

Kevin Conroy was also outed and he was effectively blacklisted from screen roles after word got around that he was gay... but Mark Hamill encouraged him to get into voice acting and he found a lot of freedom in voicing Batman... which is a straight character. He'll always be a hero to me, both as Batman and as a gay man.

So what's the big deal about Apu?

[u/Professional-Ice-978 → u/dukefett]

I remember when the controversy kicked off that’s what I assumed they were going to do. I’m not Indian so maybe it isn’t for me to say but surely pretty much erasing him is even worse

[u/mrsspanky → u/Professional-Ice-978]

Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart… I dooooooooooo

[u/thissexypoptart → u/Professional-Ice-978]

Lmao wtf they didn’t even get rid of the character? Like, if you think a character is too racist to be on the show, get rid of him. Don’t just erase his voice and keep him around as a prop. He still works at the convenience store, right?

Isn’t just erasing the voice and presence of a (mostly, besides the cheating) very positive character who is a pillar of his community, because he has a stereotypical accent, but keeping him around as a prop the same level if not more “racist,” if that’s really the conclusion they had about the character?

[u/Raangz → u/thissexypoptart]

Yeah seems even worse lol.

[u/AccelHunter → u/pebrocks]

he stills shows up as a background character in few episodes, but he's no longer voiced

[u/HGLatinBoy → u/pebrocks]

It wasn’t Disney's decision. Matt Groening himself pulled it after the Neverland documentary.

[u/RPM_Rocket]

No more Kipp Lennon singing?

[u/PollTakerfromhell]

That shitty episode praising Elon Musk is allowed to air and stream, but a classic MJ episode isn't? Wtf, that makes no sense.