Get Away From My Mom

"Get Away From My Mom" is the pilot episode of the American animated sitcom Home Movies. It originally aired on United Paramount Network 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. 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.