Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 2001. It was viewed in approximately 8.79 million households that night. With a Nielsen rating of 8.6, "Pokey Mom" tied with an episode of 60 Minutes for the 38th place in the ratings for the week of January 8–14, 2001. It was the third highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following episodes of Temptation Island and Boston Public. On August 18, 2009, "Pokey Mom" was released on DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Twelfth Season. Staff members Tom Martin, Bob Anderson, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, and Joel H. Cohen, as well as cast members Dan Castellaneta and Joe Mantegna, participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
Critics have given "Pokey Mom" generally negative reviews. Nancy Basile of About.com said she "loathed" it. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that "Other than a nice guest turn from Michael Keaton, 'Mom' doesn’t do much to stand out from the crowd. Oh, like much of Season 12, it keeps us interested, but that’s not exactly a strong endorsement. 'Mom' provides a watchable show but nothing more." Den of Geek critic Matt Haigh wrote that the episode "starts well, but begins to feel tired and drawn out, and there just doesn't seem to be much of a story there."
Following the original broadcast of the episode, the staff members of the series received several complaints from chiropractors. The February 26, 2001 issue of the magazine Dynamic Chiropractic featured an article about the episode that noted: " has poked fun at numerous people, and about every institution and profession imaginable. On January 17, it was chiropractic's turn." In an article of the magazine Canadian Chiropractor, Steven R. Passmore (D.C., M.S.) and Lorraine Kochanowski-Sutter (D.C.) analyzed the portrayal of chiropractors in the media. They gave "Pokey Mom" as an example of how "chiropractors on sitcoms pok fun at themselves as they prescribe the duration of a course of care. Dr. Steve on The Simpsons corroborates this stereotype when telling Homer that he will need to see him 'three times a week for many years.'" Passmore and Kochanowski-Sutter also noted that in the episode "we see a dreamcatcher on the wall behind Dr. Steve as he treats Homer. This strategically placed decoration could suggest that the chiropractor is in touch with native and/or natural healing, or it could be a jab at the field’s more esoteric practitioners."
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