Get Away From My Mom

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"Get Away From My Mom"
Home Movies episode
Home Movies pilot.jpg
Brendon acts up during soccer practice.
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 1
Directed byLoren Bouchard
Written by Brendon Small
Loren Bouchard
H. Jon Benjamin
Paula Poundstone
Melissa Bardin Galsky
Featured musicBrendon Small
Loren Bouchard
Original air dateApril 26, 1999 (1999-04-26)
Guest appearance
Episode chronology
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"Get Away From My Mom" is the pilot episode of the American animated sitcom Home Movies. It originally aired on the UPN network in the United States on April 26, 1999. In the episode, eight-year-old Brendon Small discovers that his mother, Paula, is set to have a date with Brendon's soccer coach, the lazy, profane alcoholic John McGuirk. Brendon resents McGuirk for this and expresses his outrage throughout the episode. The date goes terribly and McGuirk and Paula decide to not pursue a relationship. Meanwhile, Brendon and his friends Melissa and Jason film a new movie about a rogue police officer.

Contents

The episode used retroscripting, a process by which the actors completely improvised all their dialogue lines, the first time this technique was used for an animated television production. Certain script material, however, was provided by series co-founder Loren Bouchard, who also directed the episode. The pilot also utilized the "Squigglevision" style of animation which was used to produce the show for the entirety of its first season. In its original broadcast, "Get Away From My Mom" received a 1.4/2 Nielsen Rating, the lowest UPN had ever received in that time slot. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics, particularly pertaining to its employment of improvisation.

Plot

After soccer practice, eight-year-old aspiring filmmaker Brendon Small shows his mother Paula a self-made trailer for his upcoming film, The Dark Side of the Law, a crime film about a rogue police detective. Paula expresses indifference to the production. At breakfast the next morning, Paula informs Brendon she plans to go on a date that night with Brendon's soccer coach, John McGuirk, much to Brendon's chagrin. Brendon seeks advice from his friend Melissa and her father Erik, but they are unable to advise him as they are late for a violin recital.

When McGuirk shows up at Brendon's house for the date that night, Brendon tries to scare him off by acting as if he is his son, but it proves unsuccessful. During the date, Paula becomes agitated at McGuirk's inappropriate, boring subject matter, and she becomes drunk in order to entertain herself. Meanwhile, Brendon, Melissa, and their friend Jason film a scene from The Dark Side of the Law in Brendon's basement, where Brendon's character is in a French prison, confronted by his mother, played by Melissa. They stop filming when Jason's nose starts running, and he demonstrates how he can move the mucus up and down to their disgust.

At soccer practice the next day, Brendon—still upset with his mother's decision to date his coach—is uncooperative and chastises McGuirk for dating his mother, accusing him of desires to engage in a relationship with all the soccer players' mothers. While being driven home by Erik, Brendon asks Erik to fight McGuirk as revenge, but Erik denies his request and suggests he take his mind off the topic by playing a car game. Eventually, Brendon decides to apologize to McGuirk for his behavior, and the two reconcile. Later, McGuirk and Paula decide over the phone to end their relationship, a decision Brendon overhears using three-way calling.

At the next soccer game, Brendon's team plays poorly, and an opposing player injures Brendon, which causes McGuirk to yell at the referee. While sitting out, Brendon spots Erik and Paula engaging in meaningless and casual flirtation in the bleachers, which Brendon interprets as another possible relationship.

Production

Co-creator Loren Bouchard directed "Get Away From My Mom." Loren Bouchard by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Co-creator Loren Bouchard directed "Get Away From My Mom."

"Get Away From My Mom" was the first episode of Home Movies, [1] which was created by Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard. [2] The episode, as with the four subsequent episodes, demonstrated a writing style known as "retroscripting," in which the cast completely improvised their lines. [3] [4] [5] Main cast members Small, H. Jon Benjamin, Paula Poundstone and Melissa Bardin Galsky wrote the episodes, while Bouchard also contributed to certain dialogue material. [6] The episode marked the first animated television production without a script. [7]

Bouchard directed this first episode and the entire series. [8] Along with the rest of the first season, the episode was animated using "squigglevision," a technique pioneered by the show's executive producer, Tom Snyder. [2] The animation style consists of eight frames of looped "zigzagged" lines that stimulate the character's mouth movement. This style was used to produce the series on its incredibly low budget and allow for the actors to improvise. [9] The style was eventually changed during the second season to Flash animation, which was believed to be a more conventional style. [2]

To make the young characters sound like children, instead of adults, recordings of the actors' performances were electronically altered. [10] Galsky was cast to play Melissa despite having no prior experience in voice acting. Galsky considers Bouchard the biggest benefactor to her career based on that decision. [11] After recording sessions for "Get Away From My Mom" concluded, Small (who voices Brendon) and Benjamin (who plays McGuirk) went out to drink beers before going to see a concert. According to Small, the experience contributed to their understanding of the unique dynamic between the characters. [3]

"Get Away From My Mom" is available on the DVD "Home Movies: The Complete First Season," which was released on November 16, 2004. A bonus feature on the DVD enables an audio commentary track, recorded by Small, Bouchard, and Benjamin, to play over the episode. Though generally intended to be humorous and entertaining, the track also details actual information on the episode's production. [12]

Reception

"Get Away From My Mom" was originally broadcast on April 26, 1999 on UPN at 8 p.m. [7] The episode received a 1.4/2 Nielsen rating, positioning it at 133 in total viewership for 1999's May sweeps. [13] This marked the lowest rated telecast the network had ever aired in its timeslot at the time. [14]

The episode received generally mixed reviews from television critics. Writing for The Cincinnati Enquirer, John Kiesewetter criticized the show's use of improvised dialogue: "The uneven plot and sophomoric bodily function jokes sound like these people were making it up as they went along. And they were." [7] Rob Owen, television critic for the Post-Gazette, paralleled Kiesewetter and said that the episode was a "pitfall" of the improvisation process: "The half-hour seems like a collection of scenes rather than a cohesive episode." [15] Owen called it "so lackadaisical, it's hard to imagine UPN's most recently announced target audience - young males - having any patience for the program. The entertainment value is low", [15] but did note that McGuirk's scenes in the episode were "the closest to ha-ha funny the show gets." [15]

Conversely, John Levesque called the show a "keeper" in his review for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and applauded the series subtle, improvised style. [16] Chicago Sun-Times journalist Phil Rosenthal commended the episode. In his review, he wrote, "Rather than big laughs, it's more likely to elicit the grin of bemused recognition. It's not about sight gags or clever puns. It's not about parodying the sitcom form. This sweet ass series[...]is not always subtle - unless a child showing another how to have fun with a runny nose is intellectual - but it nicely plays off the inherent absurdities and weirdness of everyday modern life." [17] Dennis Landmann of DVD Freak wrote that the episode "sets up the tone quite well, for it develops the aspirations of Brendon becoming a filmmaker," [18] and praised the confrontational scenes that occur between McGuirk and Brendon. [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>Home Movies</i> (TV series) American animated television series

Home Movies is an American television sitcom created by Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard. The show centers on an eight-year-old aspiring filmmaker, also named Brendon Small, who makes homemade film productions in his spare time with his friends Melissa Robbins and Jason Penopolis. He lives with his divorced mother Paula and his adopted baby sister Josie. He develops a skewed father-son-like relationship with his alcoholic, short-tempered soccer coach, John McGuirk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendon Small</span> American actor

Brendon Small is an American actor, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, director, producer, and musician known for co-creating the animated series Home Movies and Metalocalypse. He also writes the music, and is the main performer for, the virtual melodic death metal band Dethklok, which began as the subject of Metalocalypse but has taken on a life of its own, with four albums and an occasional live touring band, headed by Small. Small has also released two albums under his own name, in a similar musical style to Dethklok.

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Melissa Bardin Galsky is an American voice actress, writer and producer for several animated sitcoms from the Soup2Nuts company. She was associate producer and talent coordinator for Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, but is best known for playing the character "Melissa" on the show Home Movies, which was created by Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard. In addition, she has voiced characters on two other shows animated by Soup2Nuts: O'Grady on Noggin and Hey Monie! on BET, both also starring fellow Home Movies alumnus H. Jon Benjamin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loren Bouchard</span> American animator and writer

Loren Hal Bouchard is an American animator, writer, producer, director, and composer. He is the creator of several animated TV shows such as Bob's Burgers, Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, and Central Park. He is also the co-creator of Home Movies with Brendon Small as well as the executive producer of The Great North.

The Dick and Paula Celebrity Special is an adult animated series that aired on FX in 1999. The premise of the show was that Dick and Paula hosted a talk show where famous individuals, usually deceased, talked about their work or what made them widely known. The guest list included Charles Darwin, Marquis de Sade, Oedipus Rex, and Lewis and Clark, among many others. Accompanying the two hosts was a Paul Shaffer-esque keyboard player. This premise bears similarities with that of Steve Allen's Meeting of Minds.

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<i>Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil</i> American adult animated series

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<i>Home Movies</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of the animated sitcom Home Movies originally began airing in the United States on the television network UPN from April 26 to May 24, 1999, and on Cartoon Network from September 2 to October 7, 2001. The pilot episode was titled, "Get Away From My Mom." Co-creators Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard, along with Tom Sydner, served as writers, executive producers, and directors for the season. The season utilized Sydner's signature "squigglevision" animation style, though it would change to a more "conventional" flash-animated style for the subsequent three seasons.

<i>Home Movies</i> (season 2) Season of television series

The second season of the animated sitcom Home Movies aired in the United States on the television network Cartoon Network from January 6 to March 31, 2002.Every Sunday and Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. Central time and 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Co-creators Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard, along with Tom Snyder, served as the executive producers for the season. Small and Bill Braudis acted as writers for the season, while Bouchard was director for each episode.

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The Art of the Sucker Punch 3rd episode of the first season of Home Movies

"The Art of the Sucker Punch" is the third episode of the first season of the American animated sitcom Home Movies, and the 3rd episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the UPN network on May 10, 1999. The episode concerns a confrontation between Brendon Small and local bully Shannon, after Brendon discovers Shannon has been physically harassing his friend Jason. Brendon decides to record his preparation for the fight, as well as the fight itself, in order to create a documentary.

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"Focus Grill" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season and the series finale of the American animated sitcom Home Movies, and 52nd episode of the series overall. It originally aired in the United States on Adult Swim on April 4, 2004. In the episode, Brendon, Melissa, and Jason decide to finally film an ending to the first movie they did together.

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References

  1. ↑ "adult swim - Home Movies - Episode 1: Get Away From My Mom". Adult Swim. Archived from the original on 2009-02-23. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  2. 1 2 3 Booker, M. Keith (2006). Drawn to Television: Prime-time Animation from The Flintstones to Family Guy. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 181. ISBN   0-275-99019-2.
  3. 1 2 Masters, Clay (2005-11-21). "'Home Movies' creator has a new cartoon on his drawing board". Daily Nebraskan. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  4. ↑ O'Leary, Devin D. (1999-05-17). ""Home Movies" on UPN". Weekly Wire. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  5. ↑ Edel, Raymond (1998-12-28). "THINKING SMALL". The Record .
  6. ↑ "Home Movies: Get Away From My Mom". Zap2it . Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  7. 1 2 3 Kiesewetter, John (1999-04-26). "'Home Movies' hardly a home run". The Cincinnati Enquirer .
  8. ↑ "Home Movies TV Show". Film.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  9. ↑ Erickson, Hal. "Home Movies (Animated TV Series) Summary". Allmovie . Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  10. ↑ Brown, Mike. ""Home Movies" Season One DVD". About.com . Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  11. ↑ P., Ken (2004-11-18). "10 Questions: Melissa Galsky". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  12. ↑ Rizzo, Frank (2004-11-16). "Home Movies: Season One". DVD Talk . Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  13. ↑ "People's choice.(April 20-May 2 Broadcast networks prime time ratings)". Broadcasting & Cable . 1999-05-10.
  14. ↑ Bouchard, Loren (2004). Radio interview with H. Jon Benjamin and Loren Bouchard in "Home Movies - The Complete Third Season" (DVD). Shout! Factory.
  15. 1 2 3 Owen, Rob (1999-05-25). "UPN animated comedy a lame attempt at humor". Post-Gazette . Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  16. ↑ Levesque, John (1999-04-26). "UPN's 'Home Movies' is finely tooned". Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  17. ↑ Rosenthal, Phil (1999-04-26). "Animated humor UPN's series finds absurdity in everyday life". Chicago Sun-Times .
  18. 1 2 Landmann, Dennis (2004-11-29). "Home Movies - Season 1 DVD Review". Movie Freak. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2009-07-26.

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