Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 24, 2002. On February 7, 2006, "Large Marge" was released in the United States on a DVD collection titled The Simpsons Kiss and Tell: The Story of Their Love, along with the season nine episode "Natural Born Kissers", the season fourteen episode "Three Gays of the Condo", and the season fifteen episode "The Way We Weren't". All four episodes revolve around the romance between Homer and Marge. On December 6, 2011, "Large Marge" was released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Fourteenth Season. Staff members Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Matt Warburton, David Silverman, and Mike B. Anderson, as well as cast member Nancy Cartwright, participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included in the box set.
In his review of the DVD Kiss and Tell, IGN's Jeff Otto commented that while he thought "Natural Born Kissers" was the only "great" episode in the compilation, "All four episodes are good Simpsons episodes." He added: "I can't figure why, if Fox was going to put together a set of this theme, they couldn't have included some of the more classic episodes about Marge and Homer's romance. Still, even the lesser Simpsons episodes are entertaining, so you could certainly do worse." A writer for HorrorNews.net called it one of the highlights of the season, and Aaron Peck of High-Def Digest described it as "memorable". DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that though "the plot of 'Large' screams 'high concept', it actually works pretty well. It uses the silliness attached to Marge’s chest to good comic effect, and the secondary plot with Bart and Krusty ties into things in a fun manner. It presents a lot of funny bits and turns into a strong episode. It’s also hard to knock a show that reunites the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward." While reviewing the fourteenth season of The Simpsons, Victor Valdivia of DVD Verdict wrote: "To be sure, there are some real clinkers this season. Both 'Large Marge' and 'Strong Arm of the Ma' prove that writing good episodes about Marge seem to be out of the question by this point. By normal TV standards these are not unwatchable, but by Simpsons standards, these are the episodes you probably won't watch over and over again."
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