davey1107-1

I believe this show may have run for only one or two episodes. It was your typical situational comedy sitcom, something similar to Perfect Strangers. I am a little hazy on the details, as I was only twelve at the time. Alexander (Tim Matheson) was your average NY City guy, happy to have a good apartment, a good job, and an overall average life. Then he runs into Nikki (Irena Ferris), a down-on-her-luck Russian girl homeless and loose in the city (she may have defected, I can't recall). For whatever reason, Alexander let's her stay the night in one of those typical 'well this is obviously going to become permanent' sitcom twists. It does, and we are promised week after week of ensuing hilarity as a New York Capitalist tries to cohabitate with a Russian Communist. The promise was short lived, however, and the show disappeared after one or two episodes. What I remember most of all was that Nikki was rather cute, and that I was supposed to get two dogs on my birthday that year and I wanted to name them Alexander and Nikki. So let's all raise our glasses to the sky, and toast another show that was never meant to be...

Home Movies may be one of the best and most unappreciated animated television shows produced today. Following the adventures of three young filmmakers, Brendon, Melissa and Jason, Home Movies stands as one of the better social satires of the day, perhaps picking up the slack in this arena that has been present since The Simpson's arguably lost their edge.

If asked what exactly the show is about, I would hesitate to state a specific topic that prevails from week to week. In fact, like that other famous 'show about nothing,' Home Movies meanders from situation to situation, making light of life's little innocuous events and satyring what it is to be young in America in the 21st century. In fact, the only common thread may be that Brendon and crew are continuously in the process of making various films, which range from low budget horror to high-class drama to 1970's style rock musicals. Film buffs will certainly enjoy the not-to-subtle parallels the Home Movies gang's films make to modern Hollywood productions.

The humor ranges from the sophisticated to the low brow - a joke comparing a character to Chairman Mao may be shortly followed by a gag with a soccer ball ending up in someone's groinal area. All in all, the creators of Home Movies, who also play most of the characters, find the exact right blend of sublime and subtle humor to make Home Movies a must-see each week. While the animation is not high-end, it's the low budget feel of Home Movies, coupled with it's sarcastic dry wit, that gives it its charm. Here's to another 5 seasons!