lighting candles near the leaking gas, forcing him and Ned to tackle them before an explosion can happen. The townspeople believe Ned and Homer assaulted the children and the former is forced to shut down Praiseland. Rachel, now in a wig to cover the Maude hair, returns to accept a date from Ned. That night, they get rid of Maude's imprint on Ned's bed and make plans for another date. Production "I'm Goin' to Praiseland" was written by Julie Thacker and directed by Chuck Sheetz as part of the twelfth season of The Simpsons (2000–2001). The idea for Praiseland came from the Christian theme park Heritage USA that was built in Fort Mill, South Carolina in the 1970s. The gas leak that occurs in Praiseland in the episode is based on a real life event that has happened at Disney World. The bible gum product that is sold at Praiseland was real unbeknown to the writers, and, according to executive producer Mike Scully, they were sued by the owners of the company that produced the real product. The episode marked the return of the character Rachel Jordan, who had previously appeared in the season eleven episode "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" (2000). Rachel was guest voiced by American musician Shawn Colvin in both episodes. Colvin has told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that being raised in Carbondale, Illinois meant she did not have to do much research for the guest appearances: "It's just very isolated [in Carbondale]. There was church music and that was about it. [...] I didn't have to dig too deep for the role. I suppose the whole 'Simpsons' thing is kind of like a hick town." Release The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 6, 2001. On August 18, 2009, it was released on DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Twelfth Season. Staff members Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, and Chuck Sheetz participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode, including an alternate ending, were featured in the box set as well. Critics have given "I'm Goin' to Praiseland" generally mixed reviews. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that "Given its theme, 'Praiseland' comes with a large risk of turning sappy. And it does! From its thin plot to its uninspired gags,