Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 12, 2003. It was viewed in approximately 7.6 million households that night. With a Nielsen rating of 7.1, the episode finished 39th in the ratings for the week of January 6–12, 2003 (tied with new episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and 48 Hours). It was the third highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following a National Football League playoffs game and an episode of Joe Millionaire. On December 6, 2011, "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" was released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Fourteenth Season. Staff members Jean, Selman, Kirkland, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Carolyn Omine, Matt Warburton, and David Silverman, as well as cast member Yeardley Smith and former Simpsons guest star "Weird Al" Yankovic, participated in the audio commentary for the episode.
In February 2004, "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" won a Writers Guild of America Award in the "Animation" category for its script. Other nominations in that category included the Simpsons episodes "Moe Baby Blues" and "My Mother the Carjacker", both from 2003, and episodes of Futurama, King of the Hill, and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" received a negative review from critic Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide. He wrote: "How many times will the series go to the 'Homer neglects Lisa and gets in trouble' well? Many, and the result is usually the same: mediocrity and sentimentality. 'Little' proves to be no less predictable than its brethren, though the private detective angle adds some mirth. Still, it’s an unexceptional episode that feels like one we’ve already seen many times."
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Famous quotes containing the word release:
“Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
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let us find our rest in thee.”
—Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
“As nature requires whirlwinds and cyclones to release its excessive force in a violent revolt against its own existence, so the spirit requires a demonic human being from time to time whose excessive strength rebels against the community of thought and the monotony of morality ... only by looking at those beyond its limits does humanity come to know its own utmost limits.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
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—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)