The Holistic Brilliance of "Last Exit to Springfield"
196The Simpsons sits among the pantheon of most successful and influential television series of all time with hundreds of episodes over the course of more than thirty seasons. It isn't uncommon to see lists of "The Greatest Episodes of All Time" or "The Top 10 BEST Simpsons Episodes", but the seventeenth episode of Season 4, "Last Exit to Springfield", has always intrigued me. And now I think I've finally pinned down what's so great about it: everything about this episode fits together to create a great tapestry of comedy and commentary.
The inspiration to make this video comes from the podcast Escape From Vault Disney, which covered this episode in September 2021. The specific episode of the podcast can be found here: https://escapefromvaultdisney.libsyn.com/the-simpsons-s4e17-last-exit-to-springfield
0:00 Intro
4:18 Synopsis
5:49 Jokes & Gags
11:33 We Need to Talk About Homer
16:39 Working Class Spirit
Links to the various "Best Of" lists I referenced:
https://www.vulture.com/article/best-the-simpsons-episodes.html
https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/springfield-of-dreams-150-best-simpsons-episodes-229356/
https://www.gamesradar.com/best-simpsons-episodes/3/
https://ew.com/gallery/simpsons-25-best-episodes-ever/?slide=445530#445530
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a808377/best-simpsons-episodes-of-all-time/
https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-simpsons-50-best-episodes/
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/simpsons-best-episodes-disney-plus-ranked-homer-bart-cartoon-a9414301.html
https://www.newsweek.com/simpsons-30th-anniversary-30-best-episodes-ranked-top-30-fox-1477647
New Yorker Interview with John Swartzwelder: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/john-swartzwelder-sage-of-the-simpsons
Argentina Protest Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAQcutlALU0
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LordDrubie
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AndrewBluett
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