The Call of the Simpsons episode, along with his four other appearances on "The Simpsons", the best guest appearance in the show's history. "The Call of the Simpsons" received mixed reviews from critics. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book "I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide", both criticized and praised the episode saying: "This episode is a bit less than the sum of its parts. The early stuff at the RV Round-Up is much better than the main camping story, although there's some nice Marge-Lisa bonding, and who could resist Maggie and the bears?" In a
The Simpsons shorts December 17, 1989, as an independent series with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". One marketing study found that only 14 percent of Americans were familiar with the shorts, compared to 85 percent in November 1990 who were familiar with the Simpsons family, 11 months after the full-length show began airing. Only a few of these shorts have been released on DVD. "Good Night" was included on "The Simpsons" Season 1 DVD. Five of these shorts were later used in the clip-show episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" on the half-hour show, which was released on the