The Simpsons (TV Series) Last Exit to Springfield (1993) User Reviews

Man of the people

[Mr-Fusion · 10/10 · 23 August 2017]

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

"Hold Still While I Gas You"

[midgeret · 10/10 · 31 May 2007]

This is the much hyped and Entertainment Weekly labeled "best Simpsons Episode Ever". Though I would not pick one Simpsons episode as "the best", this is deserves it's reputation. From the opening jokes about the union president (referencing Jimmy Hoffa) to Homer's epiphany ("Lisa needs braces"..."dental plan!"...etc.) to the large bird that looks like and laughs (?) like Mr. Burns, to Lisa playing "Classical Gas" at Lennie's request, this episode is brilliantly hilarious. Of course, nothing can top the insane dentist who accuses everyone of lying, shows Ralph the "Big Book of British Smiles" and shows Lisa the "poker" the "scraper" and "the gouger" so she won't be scared. And then...my personal favorite Simpsons line..."hold still while I gas you". The dentist was supposed to be voiced by Anthony Perkins, who unfortunately died shortly before they could get him.

One of the greatest episodes ever

[anonim-5 · 10/10 · 28 January 2006]

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.

Amazing Episode!

[g-bodyl · 10/10 · 8 January 2015]

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.

A hero name Homer and a devil named Burns

[snoozejonc · 10/10 · 23 August 2022]

Homer is elected union president.

This is a classic episode full of memorable moments.

The story of Homer's tenure as president has a decent arc with Mr Burns (naturally) a great antagonist, but the structure is too surreal to be taken seriously. In this aspect comes the comedy, which is both prolific and brilliant.

There are too many great jokes to pick favourites, but a few standout moments for me include (from a verbal perspective) the wordplay when Homer thinks Mr Burns is coming on to him and similarly the dialogue from Burns when Homer needs the bathroom. The visual gags I love are everything involving Lisa's braces and Lenny getting a punch to the back of the head.

All the references to literature and pop culture are superb and Lisa's protest song is fantastic.

Best by light years of Simpsons at its peak

[philip2017 · 10/10 · 30 June 2014]

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!

This is the perfect episode.

[maghesj · 10/10 · 8 June 2019]

It has so many great jokes and gags in it it would be impossible to list them all. From the epic mcbane opening to the famous big book of British smiles . This episode is proof of why early Simpsons was so good. It has a lot of jokes but it doesn't sacrifice the plot to do so. The plot itself is quite simple. Lisa needs braces but Mr burns tries to get rid of the dental plan. The hilarity lies in all the different tactics Mr burns uses to negotiate with homer. This episode is a must for every fan of the show.

Bursting with invention

[motta80-2 · 10/10 · 27 March 2007]

I just saw this episode again on the season 4 DVD and it's the stand-out in an all-round excellent season (this is the season with Mr Plow, Lisa's First Word, Duffless and so many other greats). The invention is endless. Parodies come thick and fast from Citizen Kane, to Batman TV series, to superb How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Godfather Part 2 riffs - not to mention a wonderful Burton's Batman scene. As with so many of my favourite episodes it is a show with Mr Burns and Smithers front and centre as Homer becomes union chief and fights to keep a dental plan. This episode has so many drifts off the plot - Lisa high on laughing gas, Burns reminiscing about childhood, Homer's Godfather daydream, etc - yet never loses focus. Comic highlights are also constant but watching this on the train home last night a walk with Mr Burns and Smithers through the power plant intent on doing a dastardly deed resulted in a throwaway punchline that had me laughing out loud on the train. Genius is an overused word but when the shoe fits!

The best episode in the entire series

[dmntrsn · 10/10 · 26 October 2022]

If you ever wanted to pull someone aboard the Simpsons ship, this episode is the life preserver you'd use (is that a good comparison?). It's got absolutely everything that makes the show great: satire, politics, and "Lisa needs braces". The show as a whole was a humourous depiction of the working class struggle, and this episode explores the idea that victory can sometimes be achieved through sheer dumb luck, and the people you're facing being much stupider than people give them credit for. And it's true! However, it also explores the idea that victory can be achieved through team work, and having people that believe in your cause backing you up. This is the episode that you show to people who claim the show is dumb, apolitical or isn't funny. It's got it all.

Pushes the Intellect

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 4 May 2022]

The writers of these episodes are so wise to current events and popular norms that one needs to be alert every minute. As a matter of fact, if I were teaching a college course, I would ask my students to dissect some of these shows to pull out the auditory and visual references. Here we have Homer inadvertently becoming a union boss and going head to head with Mr. Burns. Watch and listen to the masters.

Good, not excellent Simpsons episode

[studioAT · 4/10 · 12 October 2016]

Series 4 of 'The Simpsons' was a good example of the show at its absolute peak. However I didn't enjoy this episode.

I thought it was a bit slow to get started and ended on a cheap joke (everybody laughing as the credits role) to cover the fact that they'd run out of plot.

There are some lovely moments though. I liked the 'Grinch' style scene with Burns and of course the classic moment where Homer spins around the boardroom table. If you're unsure of what I mean, watch the clip, it's great.

I know that others on this site have said it's a brilliant episode, and that's fine, but for me there are other episodes that deserve the title of 'classic' more.

The Golden Era Brilliance

[santifersan · 8/10 · 3 January 2024]

"Last Exit to Springfield" is an episode that meets the masterful standard of the golden era of the series, with impressively directed scenes, as I have mentioned in previous reviews.

This episode features those well-directed scenes, and I have discussed in other reviews why the classic era of the series was superior to the modern one, so I won't repeat the keys to that brilliant direction here. Also, because it was a time when the series not only directed well but also produced well, having composer Alf Clausen to contribute immersive musical quality that added a lot to those well-directed scenes. To give an example and better understand what I mean, consider the moment when Burns is about to press the button to cut off Springfield's electricity. At that moment, a masterful camera movement is simulated accompanied by Clausen's immersive music. There are many details apart from those, like the camera hidden in the beer barrel, which, when moved, triggers Clausen's immersive music, but that is an example for you to understand what I am talking about without boring you by repeating the same thing in every review.

Then there's the comedic aspect, here, aided by that brilliant visual and musical narrative and parodies of impressively directed movie scenes, it greatly enhances the humor's impact and emotion on the viewer.

However, the reason I don't rate this episode a 10 is because, despite good humorous moments from the dentist and "The Big Book of British Smiles" and that brilliant portrayal of Mr. Burns as a potential villain, the plot can be difficult to follow due to abrupt scene changes, which in this episode happen more hastily than usual.

Classical gas

[safenoe · 9/10 · 26 April 2024]

Dr Joyce Brothers is a guest voice, voicing herself (not all celebrities voiced themselves in The Simpsons), in this eclectic episode about unions, Jimmy Hoffa, Classical Gas (the Mason Williams hit) performed by Lennie, dental plans, and Lisa's operation. Anyway, I think that this episode, which debuted over 30 years ago, speaks volumes about the working class today and the conditions being eroded over time, or the fightback against corporations and all that, so certainly Last Exit to Springfield deserves to be preserved by Congress because of its cultural and social significance for sure init.