Ratings The season premiere "
The DVD" was watched by 2.120 million viewers in the United States, and received a 0.4 rating in the 18–49 demographic
Nielsen household rating. Nielsen ratings are
audience measurement systems that determine the audience size and composition of
television programming in the United States, which means that the episode was seen by 0.8 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds at the time of the broadcast. This season had an average of 2.00 million viewers per episode in the United States. "The DVD", the first episode of the season, was broadcast on a Tuesday night at 8:30 pm. All episodes of the season from "
The Responsible" to "
The Club" were broadcast on Monday nights at 7:30 pm. All remaining episodes of the season, starting with "
The Wand", were broadcast on Tuesday nights at 7:30 pm.
Critical reception The A.V. Clubs Noel Murray graded the DVD release of the series' first 12 episodes a B+, writing that "what sets [
The Amazing World of Gumball] apart from the many other super-silly, semi-anarchic cartoons on cable these days is that it features such a well-developed world, where even with the eclectic character designs, there are recognizable traits and tendencies." "Z." of
GeekDad gave the first volume DVD a positive review; he praised the season for having "genuine heart even as the plots themselves transition from well-worn TV tropes to all out madness." He panned the lack of
extra features on the disc, but said "[the disc] at least gives viewers the opportunity to experience the show's delightful theme song, ... often truncated during television broadcasts". In reviewing the first DVD volume, he praised the "knockout" visuals but felt the animation was "relatively simple, even when it's going exaggerated for a gag." He praised the season for its visuals, which he felt complemented the series' "anarchic nature". Nancy Basile of
About.com favored "
The Ghost" out of the third DVD volume; she praised the series as a "smart, fast-paced, hilarious cartoon." ==Episodes==