History YMMV / TheSimpsonsS4E17LastExitToSpringfield

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Was Grandpa just being senile, or was he secretly supporting Homer's efforts to help Lisa get good braces while also sticking it to a man he personally despises? A little of both?
* AlternativeJokeInterpretation: Did the "100 % Loyal" Worker Robots turn against Burns because the company he bought them from lied about the quality of their products, or is Montgomery Burns such a horrible person that even robot workers programmed to obey him cannot stand working for him?

** [=McBain's=] line "Ice to see you" as he bursts out of an ice {{sculpture|s}} -- an Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger-esque action star being encased in ice and making horrible ice/cold puns would become a reality in [[Film/BatmanAndRobin an infamous superhero movie]][[note]]To the point that the quote "Ice to see you" is [[BeamMeUpScotty often mistakenly attributed to said movie]][[/note]].

** In 1993, Lisa finally managing to get a set of braces so subtle you can "hardly see" them (which are completely invisible to the audience) was a [[{{Pun}} transparent]] HandWave to maintain StatusQuoIsGod. 1997 would see the development of clear aligners, and now "braces" like Lisa's are a standard option--if, as in the episode, a more expensive one.

** "Dental plan! Lisa needs braces." [[BrokenRecord Repeat]] ''[[BrokenRecord ad nauseum]]''. Also usable as a call and response in live chats.

** Where's my burrito? Where's my burrito? Where's my--Ow!

* HumorDissonance: {{Parodied}}. At the dentist, Lisa ends the episode by making a ridiculously cringeworthy "tooth/truth" pun. The rest of the family and the dentist burst out laughing as though it's the greatest joke ever told... at which point the dentist realises he's accidentally left the laughing gas on.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Lisa's strike song was originally modeled on [[Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin "The Times They are A-Changin'"]], though it eventually took on its own style (except it still retained "Come gather 'round" as the opening phrase of the lyrics).

** Where's my burrito? Where's my burrito? Where's my-Ow!

** Mr. Burns gets mad at a monkey failing to rewrite Dickens by writing that "It was the best, of times it was the ''blurst'' of times", instead of "worst of times." Years later and the word "[[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blursed#:~:text=Adjective,quotations%20%E2%96%BC blursed]]" has come into fruition to mean a fusion of blessed and cursed so the monkey was ''almost'' writing something sensical, though not Dickens and definitely a little unprofessional.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Much like "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E12MargeVsTheMonorail Marge vs. The Monorail]]", this episode, when viewed these days, has all the elements (here still kept under control to the point of not really being flaws) that would go completely out of control later and become hallmarks of the much-maligned latter-day episodes (celebrity cameos, Homer being cartoonishly stupid, repeated jokes added to pad out the show, and the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''-esque {{Imagine Spot}}s and pop culture references).

** [=McBain's=] line "Ice to see you" as he bursts out of an ice sculpture -- an Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger-esque action star being encased in ice and making horrible ice/cold puns would become a reality in [[Film/BatmanAndRobin an infamous superhero movie]][[note]]To the point that the quote "Ice to see you" is [[BeamMeUpScotty often mistakenly attributed to said movie]][[/note]].

** Mr. Burns gets mad at a monkey failing to rewrite Shakespeare by writing that "It was the best, of times it was the ''blurst'' of times", instead of "worst of times." Years later and the word "[[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blursed#:~:text=Adjective,quotations%20%E2%96%BC blursed]]" has come into fruition to mean a fusion of blessed and cursed so the monkey was ''almost'' writing something sensical, though not Shakespeare and definitely a little unprofessional.

** In 1993, Lisa finally managing to get a set of braces you can "hardly see" them (which are completely invisible to the audience) was a [[{{Pun}} transparent]] HandWave to maintain StatusQuoIsGod. 1997 would see the development of clear aligners, and now "braces" like Lisa's are a standard option--if, as in the episode, a more expensive one.

** In 1993, Lisa finally managing to get a set of braces so subtle they're essentially invisible was a [[{{Pun}} transparent]] HandWave to maintain StatusQuoIsGod. 1997 would see the development of clear aligners, and now "braces" like Lisa's are a standard option--if, as in the episode, a more expensive one.

* WeirdAlEffect: The novel ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' is very much a CultClassic, highly-regarded, and was given a well-reviewed film adaptation in 1989, but among the wider public, it's best-known for inspiring this episode. Hubert Selby, Jr.'s other major novel, ''Literature/RequiemForADream'', has more wide recognition, though that's also due to AdaptationDisplacement by the film version.

* MemeticMutation: "Dental plan! Lisa needs braces." [[BrokenRecord Repeat]] ''[[BrokenRecord ad nauseum]]''. Also usable as a call and response in live chats.

** The scene where Burns gets replacement worker robots that turn against humanity is more hilarious now that they made a full episode on it (season 23's "Them, Robot").

** [=McBain's=] line "Ice to see you" as he bursts out of an ice sculpture -- an Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger-esque action star being encased in ice and making horrible ice/cold puns would become a reality in [[Film/BatmanAndRobin a notoriously awful action movie]][[note]]To the point that the quote "Ice to see you" is [[BeamMeUpScotty often mistakenly attributed to said movie]][[/note]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The writers were very conscious of this trope, knowing that in doing an episode about unions they ran the risk of being accused of favoring one side or the other. Instead, they tried to keep things fair, satirizing corruption and incompetence on the part of corporations ''and'' unions.