April 26th marks the 19 year anniversary of the debut for Home Movies on Adult Swim. Celebrating this anniversary, Shout! Factory TV has partnered with Twitch to host a three-day marathon on April 26th of the entire series. You will get to relive all four seasons of Home Movies and watch bonus content that includes interviews with Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small as well as episode commentaries with the full cast and crew. To help you prepare for this marathon, we listed the ten most essential Home Movies episodes you need to look for.
“Get Away From My Mom” (Season 1, Episode 1)
This episode started it all so, of course, it’s essential. We are introduced to Brendon and Coach McGuirk’s weird relationship when Brendon’s mom reveals she is going on a date with him. It also sets up Brendon’s relationship with his friends, Melissa and Jason.
“Brendon’s Choice” (Season 1, Episode 13)
This is the first episode that Brendon starts to ask questions about his dad. He’s won the “Best Young Filmmaker of the Year” award for his film Fat Her and a journalist wants to do a story on him, Melissa, and Jason. Meanwhile, Coach McGuirk is forced to take anger management classes in order to keep his job. The episode ends on a cliffhanger when Brendon answers a call from his mysterious father.
“Dad” (Season 2, Episode 7)
Seven episodes after Brendon’s first acknowledgment of his dad, we finally get to meet him. Their awkward car ride reveals that it has been years since they last saw each other and his dad reveals he is going to marry his girlfriend, Linda, who does not have an interest in Brendon’s relationship with his father. Coach McGuirk learns he wants to work one-on-one with children after he spends time with a sick kid named Eddie, paralleling the dysfunctional father-son relationship with Brendon and his dad.
“Therapy” (Season 2, Episode 8)
Following the previous episode, Brendon’s father thinks it is a good idea to have Brendon and Linda go to therapy with him to work on their relationship as a family. It is clear that Linda is the source of the dysfunction within the family but the therapist claims that Brendon is the one causing problems. Of course, Brendon’s mom and Coach McGuirk both tell him he’s not the issue. Throughout this episode and the previous one, Brendon’s dad and Linda are not listening to him. Much like in his home movie, Brendon feels he is shrinking away from his dad’s life.
“The Wedding” (Season 2, Episode 13)
Before Andrew’s (Brendon’s father) and Linda’s wedding, Brendon gets a bad rash that starts to grow throughout the episode. Ironically, the wedding takes place in a chapel where a casket has been placed for a funeral after the ceremony. The rash spreads all over Brendon’s body and the doctor tells him it’s due to stress. Brendon’s mom gets her old teaching job back and Coach McGuirk awkwardly refuses Stephanie’s attempt to seduce him. The episode ends with Brendon’s rash clearing and his father and Linda getting married.
“Time to Pay the Price” (Season 3, Episode 10)
While making a movie, Brendon, Melissa, and Jason get detention for trespassing on school property. They get in trouble during detention because of their attempt to sneak away and make the movie so they are sent to a “scared straight” program. Brendon’s mom watches most of his movies while he is in this program and realizes a reccurring theme of his movies: they end with the phrase “time to pay the price”.
“Coffins and Cradles” (Season 3, Episode 13)
Linda is pregnant and gives birth while Brendon, Melissa, and Jason are getting ready for a Halloween party. Coach McGuirk runs into Stephanie (who tried to seduce him back in season two) and she tries recruiting him into a new religious group she is a part of. Instead, they get frisky and the excitement causes Coach McGuirk to have a heart attack and end up at the same hospital as Linda. Coach McGuirk’s death scare causes him to pledge his life to be a better person and to help kids. Also, this episode is funny because Melissa is at the hospital dressed as the grim reaper.
“Psych0-Delicate” (Season 4, Episode 6)
Paula gets a new haircut and Brendon enters his first film festival. There’s a reoccurring theme of tipping that starts when Paula tips her stylist and, again, when Coach McGuirk leaves a large tip in order to hit on his waitress. He’s so desperate to hook up with her that he talks her into starring in the film Brendon is making for the film festival. Brendon takes the idea of tipping too far when he tries to tip the video rental worker in order to get him to take his movie to the film festival. At the end of the episode, Paula, Coach McGuirk, and Brendon all try and take back the tips they gave from the beginning of the episode.
“Those Bitches Tried to Cheat Me” (Season 4, Episode 9)
This episode shows both Coach McGuirk and Brendon cheating on a test. Brendon cheats on Mr. Lynch’s test by finding the answer sheet he accidentally dropped. Of course, Brendon immediately feels guilty of cheating on the test. Coach McGuirk talks Melissa into being his fake daughter so she can tell him the answers for a driving test. Melissa can’t take the guilt so she rats him out. At the end of the episode, Coach McGuirk almost hits Brendon and Jason because of his plan to cheat the driving test.
“Focus Grill” (Season 4, Episode 13)
The series finale of the show does a good job of bringing us back to the beginning while showing the growth of Brendon, Jason, and Melissa. Jason questions Brendon about the possibility of Coach McGuirk being his new father and Melissa joins the conversation wearing a lot of makeup. They decide to finish a film they forgot about when they first started making movies but can’t agree on an ending. The episode closes when Brendon accidentally drops his camera and a car runs over it.
Coach McGuirk, Brendon, Melissa, and Jason grew with us from 1999 to 2004 and we will get to relive that experience with the Shout! Factory TV Home Movies Bingefest on Twitch. Grab some popcorn, get in a comfortable position on your bed or couch and tune in Thursday, April 26th at 9 AM (PT) on Shout! Factory’s official Twitch channel for the ultimate Home Movies marathon.
What are some of your favorite Home Movies episodes and moments? Tweet at us or let us know in the comments below!
Images: Adult Swim, Turner Broadcasting System
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