Lisa's First Word performance as Maggie was praised by critics. She was named the 13th greatest guest spot in the history of the show by IGN. Taylor also appeared on AOL's list of their favorite 25 "Simpsons" guest stars. Todd Everett at "Variety" called the last scene in the episode, where Maggie speaks her first word, "quite a heart-melter". He added that "it is probably no surprise that the casting of Elizabeth Taylor as the voice for baby Maggie Simpson's first word was a publicity stunt [...] No mind, the episode in question delivered well-rounded view of series' multiple attractions." "Total Film"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Nathan
Friends and Family (The Simpsons) wore me down." Tony Sokol of Den of Geek rated the episode four of five stars commenting, "Lines aren’t everything, especially in animated entertainment and this episode has dozens of sight gags, many of them are happening in the background...I don’t use this word lightly, but this episode was excellent." "Friends and Family" scored a 2.6 rating with a 9 share and was watched by 6 million people, making "The Simpsons" Fox's highest rated show of the night. Friends and Family (The Simpsons) "Friends and Family" is the second episode of the twenty-eighth season of the animated television series "The