Reception
"The Principal and the Pauper" finished 41st in the United States in the ratings for the week of September 22–28, 1997, with a Nielsen rating of 9.2. The episode was the second highest rated show on the Fox network that week, following King of the Hill. The Fox network's ratings average for the week was 6.4.
The revelation that Principal Skinner was an impostor and the self-referential deus ex machina ending were negatively received by many fans and critics. Skinner had been a recurring character since the first season and, after years of development, his back-story had suddenly been changed. Bill Oakley considers "The Principal and the Pauper" the most controversial episode from his tenure as executive producer.
Read more about this topic: The Principal And The Pauper
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“But in the reception of metaphysical formula, all depends, as regards their actual and ulterior result, on the pre-existent qualities of that soil of human nature into which they fall—the company they find already present there, on their admission into the house of thought.”
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