A Filmmaker's Review: Autopsy S1, E1 - "The Last Hours of Michael Jackson." (2014)

"The Last Hours of Michael Jackson" is the first episode of the first season of the show 'autopsy' - a show about the causes of death that have befell some of the world's most prominent stars. Normally, the causes are shrouded in mystery as was the case for actor Heath Ledger and the biggest name in music, Elvis Presley. Singers like Whitney Houston, actors and actresses such as Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Marilyn Monroe have all had their own episode. But it all began one day in 2014, when Michael Jackson's autopsy was aired on television almost 5 years after he died. The King of Pop's death began not in 2009 on that fateful day in June, but according to 'autopsy' it began in the 80s - when Michael Jackson suffered serious burns which led to a dependance on pain killers for the rest of his life.

Now, when it comes to my history with Michael Jackson - he was basically my biggest childhood obsession. I loved him, I still do - and I'm just as obsessed with him now as I was back then. I loved him far before he died and I'll love him eternally afterwards. I remember when Invincible came out and when the chants of "This Is It" hit the TV screens all over the world. He looked great when returning. But I never knew there was something far more sinister brooding below. The day Michael Jackson died broke my damn heart - I spent over an hour in the bathroom vomiting because I actually had an anxiety attack (hey ho, that was my very first anxiety attack - it caused a lot of problems for me later on). But, I had to get up and carry on, keeping the King of Pop's legacy alive. Sometimes, I still can't believe he's actually dead.

The show starts off with some talk by Dr. Richard Shepherd about the evidence and reports regarding Michael Jackson's death. He takes the evidence straight from the coroner's report and delves into it deeper to see what he can find out about the reasoning for the death of Michael Jackson. He found out that Michael Jackson, physically speaking was in good health except for his skin (which had not one, but two deadly skin diseases from birth) and his lungs (which were filled with disorders due to the destruction caused by one of the skin diseases and the amount of Demerol the King of Pop was taking).

When it comes down to it, Michael Jackson is really the person who caused the death of Michael Jackson (and it was that doctor's fault too), but this documentary also covers the reasons he took certain medications. There was the burns, then there was the skin diseases, then there was the hospitalisation for drug abuse and the anaesthetic - which he then obtained - there was the depression and the anxiety and the painful movement of the joints because he had osteoporosis.

Michael Jackson's death was still though, shrouded in mystery. There were pictures and videos of his home and the drugs he was taking under different alias names. There was information about how he obtained them and how he was keeping certain drugs like Demerol, a secret from Doctor Murray. The fact that so much of Michael Jackson's life was a secret meant that there was nobody who really knew what was going on all the time, only Michael Jackson. This means that left to his own devices, nobody could really say 'no' to him because they didn't know any better. There was one man on the documentary who rightly calls my hero "The King of Manipulation". And that's exactly how he died - he manipulated his doctor to give him more. But the 'more' of what Dr. Murray was giving him was obtained by Doctor Murray and wasn't to be used outside of a hospital setting and without proper regulation equipment. That is why he went to jail - he didn't do any of that.

In conclusion, the way in which the documentary is designed is brilliant. But warning, there are (to my disdain) pictures of Michael Jackson's dead body in the documentary that may upset people (like me). Be that as it may, they weren't there for no reason - they were being used for explanation and then, they weren't used again. I enjoyed this documentary as it gave an unsheltered look at his secret and declining life in the early 2000s. I really do feel sorry for Michael Jackson and I am one of those fans that really thinks that if I got to know him, I could really help him. At least, that's what I like to think.

I will always love you Michael.