American Dreams
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| American Dreams | |
| |
| Meg Pryor, as portrayed by Brittany Snow, in a promo photo | |
| Format | Serial (Dramedy) |
| Run time | approx. 1:00 (per episode) |
| Creator | Jonathan Prince |
| Starring | Brittany Snow Tom Verica Gail O'Grady Will Estes Vanessa Lengies Jonathan Adams Arlen Escarpeta Rachel Boston Sarah Ramos Ethan Dampf |
| Country | USA |
| Network | NBC |
| Original run | September 29, 2002 – February, 2005 |
| No. of episodes | 61 |
American Dreams was an American television drama program broadcast on the NBC television network. It debuted on September 29th, 2002. It initially aired on Sundays at 8:00pm but moved to the same time on Wednesdays starting March 9, 2005. Season 3 began on September 26, 2004.
The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the 1960s. Season 1 takes place in 1963-64, Season 2 in 1964-65 and Season 3 in 1965-66. The show is known as "Our Generation" in Australia.
| Contents |
Characters
Major Characters
- John "Jack" Pryor (Tom Verica) - head of the Catholic household, Jack is a tough-but-loving husband, father, and owner of Pryor's TV and Radio Store. Also represented his district in the Philadelphia City Council.
- Helen Pryor (Gail O'Grady) - Jack's wife. Also employed at Pine Street Travel, a travel agency.
- John "JJ" Pryor Jr. (Will Estes) - See John Pryor, Jr.
- Margaret "Meg" Pryor (Brittany Snow) - See Meg Pryor
- Patricia "Patty" Pryor (Sarah Ramos) - See Patricia Pryor
- Will Pryor (Ethan Dampf) - an elementary school student whose leg was crippled with polio, but underwent an operation to fix it in the show's second season. - See Will Pryor
- Henry Walker (Jonathan Adams) - a black employee in Jack's store who later became a partner/owner in the store, who also heads a family.
- Sam Walker (Arlen Escarpeta) - Henry's son, a bright college student and track star at University of Pennsylvania. In season 1, he went to East Catholic High.
- Elizabeth " Beth" (Mason) Pryor (Rachel Boston) - JJ's girlfriend, whom he marries in the third season shortly after returning from Vietnam. They have an infant son "Johhny" (see below).
- Roxanne Bojarski (Vanessa Lengies) - See Roxanne Bojarski
Minor Characters
- Pete Pryor (Matthew John Armstrong) - Jack's younger brother, an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department. Addicted to alcohol and gambling. Almost married in Season 2 to Nancy (Helen's coworker and friend), but got cold feet at the last minute.
- Gwen Walker (Adina Porter) - Henry's wife and a housekeeper, who died in Season 2 of cancer.
- Angela Walker (Aysia Polk) - Henry and Gwen's daughter, roughly Patty's age.
- Nathan Walker (Keith Robinson) - Henry's outspoken nephew. Spent some time in jail; eventually rehabilitated himself and now operates a delivery service.
- Willie Johnson (Nigel Thatch) - Charismatic neighborhood agitator in North Philadelphia who played a major role in instigating the (1964 Philadelphia race riot).
- Rebecca Sandstrom (Virginia Madsen) - Helen's friend from a book club. Her character was dropped after the first season.
- Nancy (Alicia Coppola) - After meeting Helen while working at the same travel agency, she became one of Helen's confidantes. Nancy dated and then became engaged to Pete Pryor, only to be left standing at the altar.
- Father Conti (Steve Ryan) - The Pryor family's strict Catholic priest who also serves as the headmaster of East Catholic high school.
- Tommy DeFelice (Paul Wasilewski) - JJ's macho friend and former football teammate.
- Danny O'Connor (Rodney Scott) - Quarterback of the East Catholic football team in the first season. His older brother was declared missing in action in Vietnam.
- Michael Brooks (Joseph Lawrence) - the original floor producer of American Bandstand. His character left after the show's first season.
- Mr. and Mrs. Mason (James Read and Barbara Alyn Woods) - Beth's well-to-do parents. Estranged from Beth after she became pregnant with JJ Pryor's child, although some reconciliation was attempted in the show's third season.
- Jimmy Riley (Jesse Hutch) - an American Bandstand dance partner of Meg's who eventually leaves to fight in Vietnam (he would later return to American Dreams in the second season, in a wheelchair).
- Luke Foley (Jamie Elman) - a record store clerk with an affinity for all things Dylan. Originally Meg's boyfriend in the first season, after they broke up Luke and Roxanne developed a relationship and began living together in the third season.
- Mr. Greenwood (Art Garfunkel) - The bohemian owner of the Vinyl Crocodile record store. Appeared sporadically during the first season; in the second season he is said to have gone "on a worldwide tour with his friend," an allusion to Art Garfunkel's singing partnership with Paul Simon.
- Drew Mandel (Sam Page) - A college student at the University of Pennsylvania; he and Meg have several dates during the show's second season.
- Teresa McManus (Michelle Morgan) - A regular dancer on Bandstand who does not like Meg.
- Shelly Pierce (Daphne Zuniga), a single mom who works at a nearby Playboy Club and is the Pryors' next door neighbor (starting at the beginning of Season 3).
- Chris Pierce (Milo Ventimiglia) - Shelly Pierce's son, who becomes Meg's new love interest in the third season.
- Ted Pryor (Christopher Cousins)- Jack and Pete's older brother, a successful businessman who has a strained and distant relationship from the rest of the family. He is only seen in a couple of episodes, but dies from a car accident late in Season 3.
- John "Johnny" Pryor III - JJ and Beth's son, born in Season 3.
- Murray (Murray Rubenstein) - Barber shop owner whose business is next to Pryor's TV and Radio. A frequent visitor to the store, though he rarely buys anything.
Synopsis
Season 1 (2002-2003)
In the pilot episode (set in November 1963), Meg and Roxanne win the opportunity to join the dancers on the TV show American Bandstand, filmed in Philadelphia. Bandstand immediately becomes the principal creative pillar of American Dreams, with each episode featuring recreated versions of Several musical acts that originally appeared on the real Bandstand, often rendered by modern singers.
JJ Pryor, a running back for the East Catholic Fighting Crusaders football team, tries to earn a full athletic scholarship to play at the University of Notre Dame, but can only earn a partial scholarship. He later applies for and is accepted to Lehigh University, but a nagging ankle injury curtails his football career - and thus he enlists in the United States Marine Corps to pay for school. Meanwhile, JJ's on-again, off-again girlfriend Beth chooses to attend the University of Pennsylvania in order to be near JJ.
In the early part of the season, Meg develops a crush on Bandstand dancer Jimmy Riley, and they go on a couple of public appearance dates. While never becoming romantic, they remained good friends until Riley shipped off to United States Marine Corps boot camp. Meg later developed a romance with Luke Foley, the bespectacled record store clerk and fellow East Catholic student.
Sam Walker wins a track scholarship to East Catholic. Some in the majority-white student body resent Sam's presence, especially Tommy DeFelice, who is later expelled after a football betting scandal. Sam and Meg develop a friendship, even creating a record-swapping club while meeting at the Vinyl Crocodile record store.
In the final episode (18 May 2003), JJ departs for boot camp at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, while Meg and Sam are caught in the riots that shook Philadelphia in the summer of 1964.
Season 2 (2003-2004)
Meg and Sam survive the riots unharmed, but the branch of Jack's store under Henry's management is destroyed. Gwen dies from cancer. JJ excels at boot camp and arrives in Vietnam. While on leave, he and Beth are reunited in Hawaii; they break up, but Beth soon learns she is pregnant with JJ's child, and moves in with the Pryors.
Helen discovers that there might be a possible surgical treatment for Will's paralysis, and the early part of the season deals with Will's medical treatment. By the end of the season, Will's leg braces have been removed and he is able to walk normally.
Sam wins a scholarship to Penn. Jack decides to run for the City Council. In the final episode (4 April 2004), Sam's cousin Nathan is drafted and opts to go to jail rather than serve, JJ is caught in a fierce firefight while Meg and Sam are arrested at a campus rally protesting the Vietnam war.
Season 3 (2004-2005)
The arrests widen the communications gap between parents and children, and inspire Meg to lead additional protests. A strict new headmaster also fires Meg up. An injured JJ wakes up in an American military hospital, and learns of his forthcoming child; Beth refuses to accept JJ's offer of marriage. Roxanne, estranged from her mother, moves in with the Pryors. JJ gets recruited for special, somewhat mysterious duty for the US government. Jack wins an upset victory for the City Council.
As Thanksgiving nears closer, JJ is captured by the Viet Cong. He and his sergeant escape, but are presumed missing in action (the sergeant is later found buried in a shallow grave). The Pryors learn of JJ's "Missing In Action" status just before Thanksgiving.
Luke Foley returns to Philadelphia, and Roxanne, who moves out on her remarrying mother, moves in with him in a loft above the Vinyl Crocodile record store.
On a commercial-free special episode (sponsored by Ford) that aired November 21, 2004, JJ returns home. At episode's end JJ glares harshly at his mother. It could be a sign of things to come. In the next original episode (aired January 2, 2005), JJ becomes a Marine recruiter and suffers from post-traumatic flashbacks. He proposes to Beth. Beth and JJ are married on the January 23, 2005 episode. Helen becomes involved with a Catholic peace group.
As the show enters 1966, JJ marries Beth at a church ceremony. Jack Pryor, newly elected to the Philadelphia City Council, is forced to take a bribe, with the money going to help JJ repay some gambling debts. Eventually Jack votes to elect a local activist in his district. Reverend Davis, to the Police Review Board; essentially voting against the Council. For this act of disloyalty, several members of the police force beat up JJ after a traffic stop. Pete soon finds the culprits who attacked JJ and roughs them up, but Jack decides to resign from the Council.
Chris and Meg's relationship becomes more intimate, but Meg is troubled by reports that Chris helped set fire to a recruitment center. Despite this, Meg and Chris eventually have sex - with Chris revealing afterward that he did indeed lie to Meg about the recruitment center. Meg and Chris eventually break up, and Chris leaves Philadelphia.
Meg and Sam consider the possibility of a romantic relationship, but JJ and Nathan discourage the idea. Meanwhile, Jack and Pete's older brother Ted gets into a serious car accident, putting him on a respirator. After much soul searching, the Pryors decide to disconnect the machine. After returning home from a Rolling Stones concert, Meg finds her ex-boyfriend Chris standing in front of her home. He's just been drafted.
In the final episode of the season, Meg and Chris both leave Philadelphia on Chris' motorcyle, with plans for them to live in Berkeley and campaign against the war. JJ Pryor applies for and receives a job in aeronautics, assisting in space suit design for future NASA missions to the moon.
Timeline of Events in the Series
"Past" Events
- c. 1925 - Jack Pryor is born.
- c. 1927 - Helen Dolan is born.
- c. September, 1945 - Jack Pryor, presumably returning from fighting in World War II, conceives a child with Helen Dolan.
- c. 1946 Beth Mason is born.
- c. 1947 Sam Walker is born.
- c. 1948 - Roxanne Bojarski is born.
- c. 1951 - Angela Walker is born.
Events Depicted On Screen
- 1965 - Gwen Walker dies.
"Future" Events
Cancellation
On May 16, 2005, NBC announced their fall schedule for the 2005-06 season. Confirming months of speculation (and an unofficial confirmation article on May 1 by Reuters), American Dreams was formally cancelled, a victim of low ratings.
Never a strong performer in its Sunday 8:00 p.m. timeslot, the show's third-season ratings dropped 33% from its first season and 13% from its second season. In the third season, the show was regularly beaten in the Sunday night ratings by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and CBS's Cold Case. On February 2, 2005 NBC reduced the number of third season episodes of American Dreams from 19 to 17. The network also moved the program away from its original Sunday night timeslot to Wednesday nights, airing before The West Wing. This put the show up against CBS's Survivor: Palau and ABC's Lost, and American Dreams could not compete against these popular programs.
At this time, it is unknown if a special extra "concluding" episode will ever air. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on April 12, 2005 that in late February NBC ordered two endings filmed for the season finale [1] (http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/11370090.htm). The un-aired ending was a 12 minute segment set on July 20, 1969 (the day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon), with Meg returning home to face her family after a 3 year absence. With the show's cancellation, this unshown footage could become part of a special extra "finale" episode, a 2 hour TV movie or just a bonus feature to the 3rd season DVD. Other actors on the show apparently saw the writing on the wall and filmed pilots for new shows to possibly air in the 2005-06 television season.
Fans of American Dreams organized an online petition drive and postcard writing campaign to save the show. The internet petition generated over 22,000 signatures. Fans sent over 5000 supportive e-mails to NBC after the season finale and sent several thousand postcards to the network as well. On May 4, 2005, fans flew an aerial banner over NBC's Burbank studios in support of the show, even as the show's sets were being dismantled at Sunset-Gower Studios, where the show was filmed. In spite of these actions, as well as rave reviews from television critics (and even some advertisers eager to see more "family"-oriented programming on network TV), NBC officially cancelled the show on May 16, 2005, with the release of the upcoming television schedule.
Fourth Season Plotlines
In interviews, Jonathan Prince revealed that if American Dreams was renewed for a fourth season, the following plotlines would have been included[2] (http://www.al.com/tv/mobileregister/mbrantley.ssf?/base/entertainment/1113902204208630.xml)[3] (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=136817)
- The fourth season would have picked up in January of 1967.
- Meg would have returned to Philadelphia at some point, perhaps after being convinced by a family member who came to California to bring her home.
- Roxanne would have taken a job as the hairdresser for American Bandstand.
- Jack would become angry after discovering that Helen had been using her job as a travel agent to help young men dodge the draft and flee to Canada.
- There would be tension in JJ and Beth's marriage, after Beth reluctantly agreed to JJ's wishes to postpone going back to college.
- Henry would re-marry and accept a new, deaf stepson into his home.
- JJ would continue working for the company designing spacesuits for the manned mission to the moon.
- The Apollo 1 fire (a tragic accident in which astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee died while training in an enclosed capsule) would somehow figure into the fourth season plotline.
- Patty would serve as the team manager for the East Catholic football team.
Accuracy
Despite its popularity as a family drama, American Dreams has been heavily criticized for its various levels of historical inaccuracy. Several historic events have been restaged earlier or later in the timeline to fit a plotline, and some of the music and pop culture references do not match up with the show's current timeline.
Some examples of this include:
- American Bandstand still tapes a daily after-school show in Philadelphia; where in real life the show moved to Los Angeles in February, 1964 and was only broadcast once a week, on Saturday afternoons.
- During the show's first season, the music of several artists, such as the Kinks, Dusty Springfield and Manfred Mann, are heard and referenced in 1963, months before the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (February 1964) that triggered the musical British Invasion.
- When the Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, the scene is set up so that the first song the Beatles play is "I Want To Hold Your Hand," which although it was the Beatles' first American hit, it was not the first song played on Ed Sullivan (that honor goes to "All My Loving").
- In one episode in the show's third season, set in late November 1965, the East Coast Blackout of 1965 and the Leonid meteor shower were both "rescheduled" so that they would fall on the same day that Beth Mason gave birth to JJ Pryor's son.
- JJ and Beth have intimate relations in January 1965 and July 1965, yet Beth gives birth in November 1965, making her pregnancy either 11 months long or 5 months long.
- In the show's first season, set in November 1963, Meg Pryor and Luke Foley argue over the merits of Bob Dylan, and Luke hands Meg a 45 of Dylan singing "Mr. Tambourine Man." Dylan was two years away from writing that song; he never released it with his voice on a commercial 45; and when it was released, it was sung by the Byrds.
- References are made in the show's second season to I Dream of Jeannie, which was still a year away from premiering.
- The Monkees perform on the Bandstand stage in January 1966, despite their television series not even premiering until September 1966, or the four actors playing the Monkees even performing a live concert until a year later.
- While working at the space suit company, JJ Pryor meets Gus Grissom, and they discuss the Apollo 1 mission. Grissom later says, "Get me back to Cape Canaveral." In reality, the Apollo 1 mission was not designated by that number or name until after the accident that claimed the lives of Grissom and two other astronauts (at the time the mission was known as Apollo/Saturn 204), and the reference to Cape Canaveral would have been wrong, as the area where the space center was located had been renamed "Cape Kennedy" during the 1960's. While the town was officially renamed back to Cape Canaveral in 1973, the space station was (and still is) known as the Kennedy Space Center, and at least three years had passed since the town was renamed from Cape Canaveral to Cape Kennedy; so although it is not impossible that in a casual conversation Grissom would have used the traditional name, it is still unlikely that this would happen).
- Artists such as Blake Shelton, John Ondrasik and Joss Stone are allowed to perform their current pop hits, which in real time would have been 40 years away from ever existing.
- Neither The Who nor Ricky Nelson ever performed on the Bandstand stage in real life (Nelson's father Ozzie refused to allow his performing son to appear on anybody else's TV series, even if such appearance might help increase record sales); but that didn't stop the producers from staging performances by those artists in this series.
Special guests
During the show's run, several contemporary artists recreated performances of artists from the 1960's. These recreations were often performed on the American Bandstand stage; although several performances took place at a performing area adjacent to the Vinyl Crocodile record store. In the second and third seasons, several of the recreations took place at The Lair, a coffee house/student union facility on the University of Pennsylvania campus.
The following contemporary artists, along with the songs they performed and the artist they "interpreted," are listed below.
Performances on Bandstand
- 112, as The Four Tops, performing "Reach Out I'll Be There"
- Fantasia Barrino, as Aretha Franklin, singing "Respect"
- Kelly Clarkson, as Brenda Lee, singing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
- JoJo, as Linda Ronstadt, auditioning for Bandstand with "That'll Be The Day"
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, as Nancy Sinatra, performing "These Boots Are Made For Walking"
- Chris Isaak, as Roy Orbison, performing "Pretty Woman"
- Monica, as Mary Wells, performing "My Guy"
- Lil' Kim, as Shirley Ellis, performing "The Clapping Song"
- Third Eye Blind, as The Kinks, performing "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night"
- Kelly Rowland, as Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas, performing "Dancing in the Streets"
- Alicia Keys, as Fontella Bass, performing "Rescue Me"
- Steadman, as the Dave Clark Five, performing "Do You Love Me"
- Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff, as The Shangri-Las, performing "Leader of the Pack"
- Richie Sambora, as Eric Clapton of the Yardbirds, performing "For Your Love"
- Brad Paisley, as Ricky Nelson, performing "Dream Lover"
- Macy Gray, as Carla Thomas, performing "B.A.B.Y"
- Nick Lachey, as Tom Jones, performing "It's Not Unusual"
- Liz Phair, as Jackie DeShannon, performing "When You Walk in the Room"
- Evan & Jaron, as The Everly Brothers, performing "Wake Up Little Susie"
- Fefe Dobson, as Tina Turner, performing "River Deep - Mountain High"
- Wyclef Jean, as Curtis Mayfield, performing "Woman's Got Soul"
- B2K, as The Temptations, performing "My Girl"
- Hawk Nelson, as The Who, performing "My Generation"
- Phantom Planet, as The Zombies, performing "Tell Her No"
- Usher, as Marvin Gaye, performing "Can I Get A Witness"
- Brandy Norwood, as Gladys Knight, performing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
- Duncan Sheik, as Bobby Darin, performing "Beyond the Sea"
- LeAnn Rimes, as Connie Francis, performing "Where the Boys Are"
- Vanessa Carlton, as Dusty Springfield, performing "Wishin' and Hopin'"
- Ashanti, as Dionne Warwick, performing "Walk on By"
- Fountains of Wayne, as the Hollies, performing "Bus Stop"
- John Legend, as Stevie Wonder, performing "Uptight - Everything's Alright"
- Van Hunt, as Jimmy Ruffin, performing "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"
- Jason Mraz, as Dion DiMucci, performing "Ruby Baby"
- Stacie Orrico, as the lead singer of The Angels, performing "My Boyfriend's Back"
Performances at the Vinyl Crocodile
- India.Arie, as Nina Simone, performing "Come Ye"
Performances at the Lair
- John Ondrasik from the band Five For Fighting, performing a folk arrangement of his 2004 recording "If God Made You"
- Art Aleksanis, as Country Joe McDonald, performing "I Feel Like I'm-a Fixin' To Die Rag"
- Joss Stone, performing a folk arrangement of her 2005 hit "Right To Be Wrong"
- Alanis Morissette, as a folk singer performing her original composition "Offer"
- Bonnie McKee, as Janis Joplin, performing "Summertime"
Other Guest Star Appearances
- Paris Hilton, as Barbara Eden of I Dream of Jeannie
- Tavis Smiley, as Thurgood Marshall
- Brian McKnight, as Stokley Carmichael
Trivia
- Jonathan Adams and Gail O'Grady are the only member of the primary cast who were alive when the pilot episode is set (though O'Grady was just an infant then).
- Dick Clark is a co-producer of American Dreams. Clark, who hosted and produced American Bandstand, can also be seen in archival footage whenever the Bandstand scenes are filmed.
- An episode from the show's third season, "Tidings of Comfort and Joy," was broadcast without commercial interruptions, although Ford sponsored the episode (due to the fact the episode prominently featured JJ getting a Ford vehicle)
- According to a Star Magazine issue, Meg Pryor's character was loosely based on actual American Bandstand regular Fran Giordano.
External links
- NBC's American Dreams website (http://www.nbc.com/American_Dreams/)
- IMDb entry (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0319930/)
- TV Tome entry (http://www.tvtome.com/AmericanDreams/)
- Chuck Miller's comprehensive reviews (http://groups.google.com/groups?q=american.dreams+chuck.miller), posted to Usenetsv:Drömmarnas tid
Categories: NBC network shows | Soap operas | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2000s TV shows in the United States
