Last Exit to Springfield

As a Simpsons junkie who has seen almost every episode of the show, I can safely say that this is one of the most memorable episodes of the series. It follows the adventures of Homer as a Jimmy Hoffa-like union leader against Mr. Burns, trying to keep the company dental plan. All this because Lisa needs braces. The animation is superb, especially the great Beatles parody when Lisa is gassed-out. The story is excellent, evolving on many levels with a few great spoofs and a lot of little thing that show you that it's far more then the sum of it's parts. In the end, I don't find it surprising at all that it's featured on many polls and is often regarded as the best Simpsons episode ever.

It's remarkable how tightly packed this is. It's not relentless but flows and each scene seems to maximise its comedic opportunities but not exhaust them. It really is a fable of workers prosperity and how the proletariat ultimately holds the "power". Lisa's song is not only a catchy tine but basically the entire message of this 22 minute parodioc fable.

The comedy itself is very good, 90% of gags and excellent and 10% are great. Scenes are strengthened by what The Simpsons does best - dumbing down the standard of humour but slowly. The dumber jokes hit really well when paired with more thought out ones, because they're so unexpected.

That's what makes this epsidoe so strong, having jokes where no on would expect, or going to a point no one would expect. We expect Mr Burns to fall out of the helicopter, we might even expect him to pathetically ask homer to help him, but we wouldn't expect him to ask homer to rub his legs until he can feel.

This occurs a record rate, that is rarely seen in either tv or film.

This is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the Simpsons. I regard this episode as one of my all-time favorites. This is just a hilarious episode, especially as we see Homer fighting for the working class. There are just too many scenes to highlight from the grotesque braces Lisa is forced to wear to the cultural references of The Beatle's Yellow Submarine film to 1989's Batman to Jimmy Hoffa.

In this episode, "Last Exit to Springfield," Mr. Burns decides to take away the dental plan which causes anger in Homer because that means he has to pay for the braces Lisa needs. Homer is voted as the union leader and now he decides to fight Burns, who promises to give Homer the fight of his life.

Overall, this is an excellent episode and is one of my personal favorites. The jokes are incredibly strong and just watching Homer and Burns is worth your time. I rate this episode 10/10.

Early Simpsons set a cracking pace, but this one is a freak of nature compared to even the other great episodes...

If you haven't seen it, best to stop reading now and just start watching it.

Not a dud in it or even average work in it... you could watch normal programs for thousands of hours without being treated so well by the TV industry.

I thought 21 years ago the team had for some reason just decided they'd aim for ultimate comedy highs with every 10 seconds of the 22 minutes and I still think that is true!

Ultimate Mr Burns ep. Most laughs per ep.

No Comic Book Guy, but Best Ep(isode) EVER!

One of my very favorite Simpsons episodes; smart, witty and very much in the show's wheelhouse. Homer becomes the unlikely union president in a struggle to keep the company dental plan, and it's a great showcase for both his buffoonery and Mr. Burns' cackling villainy.

Really, this thing's just a one-liner factory (and oddly enough, most of them go to Dan Castellaneta rather than Hank Azaria), culminating in one of the best:

"Smithers, I'm beginning to think that Homer Simpson was not the brilliant tactician I thought he was."

And more than just outright laughs, it's also sweetly affecting. It's fantastic.

10/10