Strange as it may seem, The Simpsons season 34 seems committed to keeping the unlikely friendship between Homer and Superintendent Chalmers alive. If there is one thing that Simpsons viewers can rely on, it is the ever-changing nature of the long-running show. The Simpsons is consistently inconsistent, constantly changing the show’s cast and ignoring some backstories while paying a surprising amount of attention to others.
For example, the absence of Apu proves The Simpsons is ignoring some aspects of the show’s canon, but the series seems committed to keeping a couple of random plot threads alive. While The Simpsons season 34 premiere was not entirely unpredictable, few viewers could have guessed which story from season 33 the show would end up bringing back. Of all things, it was Homer’s new friendship with a surprising supporting star of the series that found its way into the new season of The Simpsons.
In “Habeus Tortoise” (season 34, episode 1), Homer accidentally embarrasses himself in front of a town hall meeting and soon becomes embroiled in an online conspiracy movement as he attempts to find like-minded people who won’t mock him for his apparent idiocy. Instead of Homer’s old friends Carl, Lenny, and Moe coming to his aid, the Simpson family patriarch instead brings together a ragtag band of Springfield citizens including Miss Hoover, Gil, and Comic Book Guy. Soon after, this group leads Homer and Superintendent Chalmers to deepen the burgeoning friendship that the duo established in “Girls Just Shauna Have Fun” (season 33, episode 19). While Homer ends up friends with all his fellow conspiracy theorists, The Simpsons season 34 premiere gives particular focus to Homer and Chalmers’ antics, much like that earlier outing.
Homer and Superintendent Chalmers’ Friendship Explained
Homer and Superintendent Chalmers may seem like an unlikely pairing on the face of it. After all, the superintendent is even less laid back than Seymour Skinner, meaning Homer is about as well-suited to a friendship with him as one with Bart’s longtime Simpsons nemesis Sideshow Bob. However, the years have apparently mellowed out the meaner side of Superintendent Chalmers, as he and Homer spent their season 33 episode subplot brewing beer together, and The Simpsons season 34 now seems set to continue this unlikely pairing, giving one of the show’s countless supporting stars more to do going forward.
In the premiere, Homer knocks on the door of Superintendent Chalmers when searching for proof that the Springfield Zoo’s missing tortoise has been kidnapped, and initially it seems as though the educator will be another local character who laughs at Homer’s buffoonery. However, instead, Chalmers is excited by the prospect of joining the conspiracy theorist club and Homer is happy to have him, resulting in a surprisingly sweet moment. While there are some recent show trends that The Simpsons season 34 could do without, this particular subplot is a welcome surprise from the series. Whatever else might happen in season 34, it is fun to see Homer taking a new, utterly unlikely friend on adventures on The Simpsons.