The long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons returned for its 35th season tonight on FOX with an all-new season premiere episode entitled “Homer’s Crossing” (a reference to the 1990s Coen Brothers film Miller’s Crossing). Below are my recap and thoughts on this installment.
I’d like to start this off by noting that over the summer I learned that current The Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman is aware of (and sometimes even reads) my recaps / reviews of the series, so if you’re out there, hi Matt! I’ve been a fan of the show since the very beginning– having been exactly Bart’s age when it started in December of 1989– and I’m always rooting for it to succeed. And succeed it does in the 35th season premiere, which starts with a Heavy Metal / Conan the Barbarian / He-Man and the Masters of the Universe-inspired swords-and-sorcery dream sequence thanks to an acid-tripping Otto the bus driver (voiced, as always by Harry Shearer). Otto disappears with Springfield Elementary School’s only bus, and that learns Principal Skinner (also Shearer) with only three options: have each individual parent drive their own kids to school, have them work together to arrange a carpool system, or simply allow the children to walk to school. Since the first two choices draw jeers from the crowd at a PTA meeting, option three becomes the solution, but Skinner needs just one parent to volunteer to flesh out the school system’s pathetic crossing-guard force, currently led by Hans Moleman (Dan Castellaneta), the Squeaky-Voiced Teen (same), and salesman Gil (ditto). Reacting to a trailer of the Revenge of the Nerds reboot– starring John Cena as Booger– he’s watching on his phone, Homer Simpson (you guessed it, Castellaneta) accidentally volunteers, much to his own chagrin.
But when Homer discovers that his job as safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant has become even more of a joke than usual, the crossing guard gig starts to look all the more appealing. But naturally Homer phones in that job at first as well, and faces mockery from the schoolchildren, including the usually nerdy Martin Prince (Grey DeLisle). But things turn around for Homer when he jumps into action and saves the life of Ralph Wiggum (Nancy Cartwright), earning him a spot as a human interest story on Kent Brockman’s (Shearer again) newscast. This inspires Mayor Quimby to increase the crossing guards’ budget, and anyone who’s seen The Simpsons before can predict that this pretty much immediately goes to Homer’s head, as he enlists a new, heavily militarized force to flesh out his team. This is around the time when we realize what this episode is really about– Moe’s Tavern becomes a crossing-guard-only bar, and Homer abuses his power by denying Skinner his basic requests on an especially busy morning at the school. Despite Homer having saved his son, there’s a growing feud between Springfield’s police force, led by Chief Wiggum (Hank Azaria) and the crossing guards, who have become an untouchable presence on the streets, complete with tanks and bean-bag-launching bazookas. This all culminates in a showdown between the crossing guards, the police, ICE, the meter maids, lifeguards, and other first-responders who maybe have a bit more power over the community than they should.
I have to admit, I missed The Simpsons over the summer, and this was a rather enjoyable outing for the show’s return. My favorite thing about it is that there really isn’t a B-story to speak of– it’s all about Homer and his rise to power, then fall from grace, as a crossing guard, one of dozens upon dozens of temporary jobs he’s held outside the power plant over the decades. And while this episode is definitely intended to make a statement about the abuse of police power and the “Defund the Police” movement, it never gets overly heavy-handed in doing so. As usual, Lisa Simpson (Yeardly Smith) gets to be the preachy one at the end, as Homer lies in the hospital recovering from his injuries, and we in the audience are left to make up our own minds from this sharp piece of satire. And as for The Simpsons as a whole, I’m glad it’s back, I’m glad the writers’ strike is over so we can look forward to more, and I’m eagerly anticipating what the show’s creative team have cooked up for up in season 35.
New episodes of The Simpsons air Sunday nights on FOX, while as of next week, seasons 1-34 of the series will be available to stream via Disney+.