| Home Movies Season 4 | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
| File:Home Movies s4.png DVD cover art. | |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Cartoon Network |
| Original release | November 11, 2003 – April 4, 2004 |
| Season chronology | |
The fourth season of the animated sitcom Home Movies originally began airing in the United States on the television network Cartoon Network on November 11, 2003, with the episode "Everyone's Entitled To My Opinion." The season was broadcast every Sunday night at 11:00 p.m. on the network's Adult Swim programming block.[1] Series co-founders Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard, along with Tom Sydner, served as executive producers for the season.[2][3][4] Small and Bill Braudis acted as writers for the season,[2][5] while Bouchard was director throughout.[3][6]
The series follows the life of 8-year-old Brendon Small, who writes, directs, and stars in several homemade film productions that he creates with his friend Melissa and Jason. Brendon and Melissa's soccer coach, John McGuirk, is an alcoholic who constantly becomes involved with the kids' lives and gives them bad advice on life. Brendon's mother, Paula, meanwhile, is divorced and jugging her children, her job as a creative writing teacher, and romantic life.
The main cast for the season consisted of Small, Janine Ditullio, H. Jon Benjamin, and Melissa Bardin Galsky. As noted by reviewer Jesse Hassenger of Pop Matters, the season explored several different themes other then generally filmmaking, including film reviewing and theater productions. Music also plays a prominent part throughout the season. The episode "Camp" featured guest performances from John Linnell and John Flansburgh of the band They Might Be Giants. The "Bye Bye Greasy" episode satirizes musicals such as Grease and Bye Bye Birdie. "Temporary Blindness" featured countless cultural references to rock operas performed by band The Who.[7][8]
The fourth season also served as the final of the series' broadcast run; the last episode of the season, "Focus Grill," acted as the series finale.[7][9] Mike Lazzo, executive vice president of Adult Swim, informed the crew of the series' cancellation, simply remarking—as Small puts it—"No matter what the numbers are, no matter what happens – we're not going to bring the show back."[10] Small decided to write "Focus Grill" with the idea that it was a finale in mind, knowing that "nothing positive happening." After the episode's broadcast, he received several e-mails from fans, informing him that they cried watching it.[11]
The complete season DVD was released by Shout! Factory on November 15, 2005, a few months after the release of the first season DVD. It contained all thirteen episodes along with an assortment of bonus features, along with a special bonus CD.[9]
Episode list edit
| No. | Title | Director | Writer(s) | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (40) | "Everyone's Entitled To My Opinion" | Loren Bouchard | Brendon Small, Bill Braudis | November 11, 2003 | |
|
Brendon becomes a film critic for the review website movieweinerorwinner.com. His work on the site coincides with production of the kids' film O’Pinion Where Art Thou? He becomes critical about the film and interrupts filming to give a review of the acting. Jason and Melissa are upset and begin feeling that Brendon's reviews are interfering with the movie. He gets hired by the site to attend the premiere of the R-rated movie All That Violence, but Paula refuses to let him go see it. Meanwhile, McGuirk begins to wreck mayhem around the school after Lynch begins interim principal, getting drunk on the soccer field and interrupting a science class. Brendon convinces McGuirk to drive him, Melissa, and Jason to the premiere, ignoring his mother's demand, but McGuirk's battery dies when he tries to take them. They get a jump start from a tow truck but miss the premiere. Lynch decides to suspend the McGuirk the next day, but with pay. | |||||
| 2 (41) | "Camp" | Loren Bouchard | Brendon Small, Bill Braudis | January 11, 2004 | |
|
The kids attend a weeklong trip to a performing arts camp, Camp Campington Falls, and are placed in "Rabbit Troop," with Dwayne and his friends as their councilors. Soon, however, they realize that they hate the camp and the scoutmasters who work at it. Melissa runs off into the woods, so Jason and Brendon go off searching for her and start becoming terrified by the noises they hear. Soon, they find Melissa with McGuirk, who has been stuck in the woods after running away from a cult that he thought was a group of campers, and take him back to the cabin. On the final day, they decide to perform a play making fun of the camp, claiming that the workers on in league with Satan. While waiting for the kids to return, McGuirk is confronted by the cult and runs away from them, falling into a lake. Melissa faces her fear of water to save him and the boys are kicked off the stage. Paula shows up and drives the kids home, but McGuirk runs off into the woods nude. | |||||
| 3 (42) | "Bye Bye Greasy" | Loren Bouchard | Brendon Small, Bill Braudis | January 18, 2004 | |
|
Brendon becomes the director of the upcoming school play. After he casts the roles, bully Shannon arrives and threatens to harm Brendon if he doesn't cast him in the lead. He agrees, but Shannon's behavior upsets the actors and crew. On opening night, Mr. Lynch informs Brendon that Shannon has been suspended for his horrendous misconduct around school, so Brendon has to take over as the lead. Chaos continues to ensue during the play when Melissa believes that she ate kiwi pie, which she is allergic to, and needs to be injected with an epi-pen. Paula, however, tells her that she switched the pie and Melissa would have been fine without the injection. Finally, though, Shannon arrives and performs a musical number that wows the crowd, and—despite there being another act left—everyone decides to conclude the production and bow to the applauding audience. | |||||
| 4 (43) | "The Heart Smashers" | Loren Bouchard | Brendon Small, Bill Braudis | January 25, 2004 | |
|
In the kids' new film Septopus, their classmate Fenton plays a mythical octopus-like creature known as the "Septopus." Fenton's obnoxious behavior agitates the kids and Brendon is forced to fire him, despite feeling awkward about doing so initially. Paula, similarly, feels constricted while trying to break up with her new clingy boyfriend. He refuses to accept their breakup and Paula eventually has to just blatantly tell him to leave the premises of her home immediately. Meanwhile, McGuirk gains an overtly huge pair of inflatable peaks at his new gym, which causes people around him to be uncomfortable. He accidentally deflates them and is forced to wear a bra. | |||||
| 5 (44) | "The Wizard’s Baker" | Loren Bouchard | Brendon Small, Bill Braudis | February 8, 2004 | |
DVD release edit
References edit
- ^ "Home Movies: Season 4". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- ^ a b Plume, Ken (2004-11-17). "An Interview with Brendon Small". IGN. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ a b Plume, Ken (2004-11-16). "10 Questions: Loren Bouchard". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ Booker, M. Keith (2006). Drawn to Television: Primetime Television from The Flinstones to Family Guy. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 181. ISBN 0275990192.
- ^ Braudis, Bill (2005). "Home Movies writer Bill Braudis speaks!" in "Home Movies: The Complete Second Season" (DVD). Shout! Factory.
- ^ "Home Movies: Season 4 (2003)". Netflix. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ a b Hassenger, Jesse (2006-05-15). "Home Movies: Season 4". Pop Matters. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- ^ Marty Crandall, James Mercer (2005). Home Movies season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Temporary Blindness". Shout! Factory.
- ^ a b Rizzo, Francis (2006-04-16). "Home Movies: Season Four". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- ^ Plume, Ken (2004-11-17). "An Interview with Brendon Small". IGN. p. 6. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- ^ Plume, Ken (2004-11-17). "An Interview with Brendon Small". IGN. p. 12. Retrieved 2009-12-18.