A Milhouse Divided Marge because the writers felt that tertiary characters could not carry an audience's interest for an entire episode. Bill Oakley has said that he felt the episode would have failed had they stuck with the Van Houtens for the third act and most of the other writers also felt that it was the right move. The idea for the dinner party came from Oakley, who had wanted to have a party similar to the one in "The War of the Simpsons". For the second half of the episode, Luann was redesigned to look more youthful and was given a new
A House Divided (Dallas) – Comedy Series nomination. The episode finished first in the Nielsen ratings that week and its lead-in "The Dukes of Hazzard" finished second. Schwartz described the episode as "the most promotable television suspense since David Janssen was vindicated after a four-year run on "The Fugitive" in the mid-1960s". In 2011, Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" named the episode number one of the seven most "Unforgettable Cliff-Hangers" of prime time dramatic television. Queen Elizabeth was intrigued by the mystery. In 2009, TV Guide ranked "A House Divided" #69 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes. A House Divided (Dallas) "A