Reception and Legacy
In its original American broadcast on January 10, 1999, "Viva Ned Flanders" received an 11.6 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 11.5 million viewers. The same year, the episode was nominated for an Emmy award in the category of animated programming less than one hour, but it ultimately lost to the King of the Hill episode "And They Call It Bobby Love." On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season DVD set.
Following its home video release, "Viva Ned Flanders" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Ian Jane of DVD Talk wrote that the episode is a "classic," and Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News found it to be one of the better episodes of the season. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that even though he found Ned being 60 years old "absurd," the episode "musters plenty of fine laughs." He especially liked Homer's escapades, as well as the scenes in Vegas. He concluded his review by writing that "now it’s Marge’s time to shine!" is one of his favorite lines of the series.
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, were also positive, commenting that the episode is "one of the fastest paced episodes ever," and "moves at breathless speed." They added that it is "enormous fun with more bizarre moments than you can shake a stick at," particularly praising a scene involving "a hysterical Joan Rivers." Mac MacEntire of DVD Verdict wrote that the establishing shots in Vegas were the episode's highlights. Aaron Roxby of Collider thought negatively of the episode however, writing that, even though the episode has "some decent gags," it is overall "one of the weaker Flanders based episodes."
Similarities have been noted on multiple occasions between this episode and the 2009 film The Hangover, particularly in the inclusion of plot devices such as intoxicated, unexpected marriage and the protagonists meeting an iconic Boxer. Amber and Ginger would re-appear in later episodes of the series. They first returned in the season 13 episode "Brawl in the Family", in which they track down Homer and Ned. In the DVD commentary for said episode, current show runner Al Jean praised "Viva Ned Flanders, but stated that he thought the ending was "loose." He said, "Usually, like, if you leave a wife like, in Vegas, they track you down". "Brawl in the Family" was produced to "resolve" the ending to "Viva Ned Flanders." In the season 18 episode "Jazzy and the Pussycats", the Simpson family attend Amber's funeral, after it is revealed that she has died of a drug overdose while waiting in line to ride a rollercoaster.
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