Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 14, 2006. During this broadcast, it was seen by approximately 8.41 millions viewers, finishing forty-sixth in the ratings for the week of May 8–14, 2006. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from critics. In a retrospective that was published on the twentieth anniversary of The Simpsons in 2010, writers for BBC News selected "The Monkey Suit" as one of the show's "10 classic episodes", one they said demonstrated that "the writers still have fire in their bellies." TV Squad critic Adam Finley wrote that "Last night's episode had some good moments, but it did feel like they were treading upon somewhat familiar ground and not saying anything especially new," referring to the fact the issue of science and religion has been dealt with before on the show, "most notably in the 'Lisa the Skeptic' episode in which the supposed skeleton of a dead angel is found." In 2007, "The Monkey Suit" won an award from the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) for being "one of those rare shows in the media that encourage science, critical thinking, and ridicule those shows that peddle pseudoscience and superstition." J. Stewart Burns, the writer of the episode, was present at the awards ceremony to accept the award.
While reviewing the seventeenth season of The Simpsons, Jesse Hassenger of PopMatters noted that he thought the show had declined in quality compared to its earlier years, and added that the stronger episodes in the later seasons are that ones that "satirize topical issues", giving "The Monkey Suit" as an example. Similarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff writer Robert Philpot commented that "Even in its weak seasons, this show has always been good for at least one belly laugh per episode. Not this year . Aside from an installment that took on the evolution -vs.-creationism edge and a couple of other bits, the satirical edge has really dulled, making the announcement that it will have at least two more seasons a cause for concern rather than celebration." In the July 26, 2007 issue of Nature, the scientific journal's editorial staff listed among "The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons" the scene from the episode in which "Flanders is flabbergasted that the science museum's exhibit on the origins of man both highlights evolution and makes light of creationism — and, to top it all, has a unisex bathroom."
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Famous quotes containing the word release:
“Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.”
—Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
“The shallow consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise man sees in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“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)