Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Marge Be Not Proud" finished 47th in the ratings for the week of December 11 to December 17, 1995, with a Nielsen rating of 9.5. The episode was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following a boxing match, Fox NFL Sunday, and The X-Files.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote: "A Christmas special in all but name, and a touching look at the relationship between Marge and her growing Bart." Dave Foster of DVD Times said that "thanks to the keen eye of the writers and the rarely shown good side of Bart, this episode works very well as both an amusing insight to the way a child’s mind works and as a strong relationship building episode between Bart and Marge." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said that despite being one of the "sappier" episodes at times, it "still packs some terrific laughs". Jacobson commented that he "absolutely lost it when Homer’s drawing of a robot grilling a hot dog was seen - it’s funnier if you see it - and Lawrence Tierney’s guest turn as the store detective adds hilarious grit to the show." He added that the episode does not "fall into the classic" category, "but it offers more than enough entertainment to satisfy." Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict considered the best part of the episode to be when a depressed Bart makes a snowman from the dirty, leftover snow under the car. She called the scene "amazingly pathetic". The website concluded its review by giving the episode a grade of B. In 2011, Richard Lawson of The Atlantic Wire cited it as the best Christmas episode of The Simpsons, noting that "it's very sweet and there are some funny videogame jokes." He added that the episode "features a terrific guest starring voice performance from the late Lawrence Tierney."
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