I’m in shock. I just found out one of the best shows on television, Home Movies, aired its last episode last night. There was no mention of it in the Adult Swim bumpers, but after the ending, my girlfriend and I said “That looks awful final…”
Brendon is leaning out the window of his mother’s car to film the landscape rushing by when he drops his camera, which is then run over by the car behind them.
It was very sad. I teared up. This whole season has been getting progressively better, and now this. I didn’t even know I could get this upset over a television show.
scratch that last post, it is official, just checked the adult swim boards and they said they’re not renewing it, but they also reminded everyone about family guy being reanimated so dont give up hope.
Like The Family Guy, it was one of those cartoons I didn’t watch often because I hated the animation style and what the characters looked like. I do feel for those who did like it however, since I might have watched it had the animation been less ghastly. It had funny plots.
Cartoon Network has a self imposed rule where unless a show is getting phenomenal ratings they wont order any episodes more then 52. That was the 52nd episode of “Home Movies” and why it was ended. “Home Movies” did not have spectacular ratings. That’s why “Samurai Jack” ended without him going back in time too. Right at 52. They’re not cancelled cancelled, they just wont be ordering any new episodes unless something unusual happens. It’s happened before but for “Home Movies” probably not. It’s a very stupid rule. A very, very stupid rule.
The only shows right now that I can think of that did get renewed after 52 were “Ed, Edd & Eddy” which had 14 months between 52 and 53 and “Dexter’s Lab” which took more then 40 months off and should really have been left dead. So there’s a teeny weeny bit of hope but they’ll need some really good ratings in the reruns to get them to change their mind. Unfortunately I don’t know where they’ll stick “Home Movies.” To get better ratings they’d have to go to M-Th but they wont bump “Family Guy” or “Futurama” and after that they do action. It’s probably going to get stuck at the end of sunday where it will be on too late for most people. Thank goodness I live in Hawaii. Adult Swim starts at 8 o’clock now. Over by 11.
“Space Ghost Coast to Coast” also went over 52 but that’s because it’s been around longer then the rule which I think was enacted in 1998. I don’t know the circumstances which led to their adoption of the rule. But I believe they got burned by being too over zealous for a show with lowsy ratings.
Thanks for the info, Fern. I totally believe you, but in the interest of ignorance fighting, do you have any cites for the “52 Rule”?
Well, elfkin, the last two seasons were done without the Squigglevision in Flash, and the animation improved exponentially. This is a common complaint about the show, though. I always thought the rather abstract (to put it politely) animation was consistent with the show’s themes. The kids made amateur movies and the show looked kinda amateurish.
The more I think about the last episode, the better it gets. Let me ask this of those that that saw it, though. A coupe of folks on the Web have been advancing an interpretation that I dont’ agree with.
After Brendon’s speech where he says that the movies they made are all bad and shouldn’t be watched and the destruction of the camera, some have been saying that the gang stops making movies because their moviemaking activities have been a substitute for something missing in the kids lives and they don’t need them any more because now they have each other. This isn’t consistent with what I saw as the theme of the show: Brendon’s movies were bad, but they were bad in a good way. And they were getting better. They were kids, after all, and their movies were kid’s-eye-view deconstructions of movies–and pretty sophistocated ones at that. The important and inspiring part of the show was that the kids kept going–that the work itself, as Brendon says during his speech, was the important part. It’s kind of like the theme of Tim Burton’s Ed Wood. I imagine after the camera is destroyed that Paula gets Brendon a new one, or they all pitch in and get a new and better camera and start making better movies. I saw it as a watershed rather than an ending. The kids are growing up.
Am I seeing this because I can’t bear the thought of Brendon, Jason, and Melissa not making movies together, even if we can’t see them any more? I think if the other interpretation stands, that the kids stop making movies because it was a phase they were going through and they don’t need to do it any more (and Brendon never goes to film school like he always wanted to), then the idiots on the focus group have won and it’s not just a melancholy ending, it’s a downright depressing and negative ending.
What do y’all think?
And, because I have decided not to bury Brendon but to praise him, what were your favorite Home Movies jokes and moments? Here’s mine:
Kafka: The Rock Opera “Kafka! Kafka! Kafka!”
Hell, just about anything Dewayne did was great!
It’s hard to pick a best moment. Coach McGuirk’s driving his car on stage during the musical and being unable to get the window down (or really, pretty much any Coach McGuirk moment). The video Brendon did when he got in trouble with the law. Finding out that Walter and Perry are actually pretty evil (“Crush the butterflyyyyyyyy.”). The word ‘Guitarmageddon.’
The introduction of Walter and Perry was the point when the show really came into its own!
“Walter?”
“yes Perry”
“Let’s fall in love!”
“Oh yes Perry! Yes yes yes!”
Walter:
I have to go to the bathroom!
Perry:
Me too!
Walter:
Can we go together?
Fenton’s Mom:
No.
And in the episode “Hiatas” where Brendon, Jason, and Melissa decide to take a break from making movies for a little while. Jason decides to go hang out with Walter and Perry, and there’s a shot where the three of them are playing ring around the rosey. Each of their faces comes into frame in turn. Walter and Perry are always happy and smiling, while Jason starts out smiling and gets progressively more bored with each rotation. Genius!
For some reason, the thing that always sticks with me is when they’re going through some of the covers for films they made, and we see Jesuszilla: Son of Godzilla.
Bummer. You know, I have to admit I actually HATED this cartoon with a passion. But now that I’ve given it a chance and I actually started getting into it, this happens? Figures. :rolleyes:
I really hate the programmers at Adult Swim, I really do. They do my head in with their choices.
I imagine it’s not something they like to talk about so you probably couldn’t get any official word from them. However you do hear much talk of it over at the toonzone boards and I could link to one of those. To find more just search them for “52 episode” with quotes. Disney is supposed to have the same thing with 65 episodes. Also only the first season was done in squigglevision and they started flash with episode 14.
I think my favorite moment is the end of “Shore Leave” when Melissa blows up the fair princesses. And for some reason I have a great fondness for “Louis Louis.”
And now it’s time to pay the price.