American Dreams

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This article is about the 2002-2005 television series. For the 2006 film, see American Dreamz.
American Dreams
Image:AmericanDreamsCast.jpg
The American Dreams cast in a promotional photo
Genre Serial (Dramedy)
Running time approx. 1:00 (per episode)
Creator(s) 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 of origin USA
Original channel NBC
Original run September 29, 2002–March 30, 2005
No. of episodes 61
IMDb profile
Portal:Philadelphia
 Philadelphia Portal

American Dreams was an American television drama program broadcast on the NBC television network. It debuted on September 29, 2002. The show was filmed in Philadelphia, Pennslvania, and parts at Lehigh University. It initially aired on Sundays at 8:00pm but moved to the same time on Wednesdays starting March 9, 2005. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the 1960s. Season one takes place in 1963-64, Season two in 1964-65 and Season three in 1965-66. The show was known as "Our Generation" when it debuted in Australia, however was changed back to "American Dreams" when it returned for the second season.

The theme song "Generation" was written and performed by Emerson Hart, lead singer of the band Tonic. The song earned Hart an ASCAP award for Best Theme Song-Television in 2003.

Contents

[edit] Characters

[edit] Major characters

[edit] Minor characters

[edit] Pryor Family

  • Pete Pryor (Matthew John Armstrong) - Jack's younger brother, an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department. He is 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.
  • 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.
  • Melissa Pryor (Natalie Marston) - Ted's 18 year old daughter, niece of Jack and Helen. She entered Vassar College in the fall of 1966.
  • John J. "Johnny" Pryor III - JJ and Beth's son, born in Season 3.

[edit] Walker Family

  • 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.

[edit] Meg and Roxanne's friends

  • 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.
  • 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).
  • Drew Mandel (Sam Page) - A college student at the University of Pennsylvania; he and Meg have several dates during the show's .
  • Lenny Beeber (Johnny Lewis) - Roxanne's second season boyfriend. Head of the band Lenny and the Pilgrims.
  • Chris Pierce (Milo Ventimiglia) - Shelly Pierce's son, who becomes Meg's new love interest in the third season.

[edit] JJ's friends

  • 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. In Season three, we learn that Danny's brother's body was found in Vietnam.
  • Tommy DeFelice (Paul Wasilewski) - JJ's macho friend and former football teammate.
  • Kenny Keegan (Kevin Sheridan) - JJ's East Catholic friend and teammate; a mediocre athlete.

[edit] Bandstand characters

  • Michael Brooks (Joseph Lawrence) - the original floor producer of American Bandstand. His character left after the show's first season.
  • Colin (Michael E. Rodgers) - Floor producer of Bandstand who took over after Michael Brooks' departure.
  • Gus (Peter Spellos) - witty production assistant of American Bandstand.
  • Teresa McManus (Michelle Morgan) - A regular dancer on Bandstand who does not like Meg.

[edit] Other minor characters

  • 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.
  • Donald Norville (Hank Stratton) - Helen's colleague at the travel agency. He is later fired for being a homosexual.
  • Father Conti (Steve Ryan) - The Pryor family's strict Catholic priest who also serves as the headmaster of East Catholic high school.
  • Mr. and Mrs. George 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.
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • 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.

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 she 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 the University of Pennsylvania. 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 in Vietnam. Also in that episode, JJ is caught in a fierce firefight, while Meg and Sam are arrested at a campus rally protesting the Vietnam war.

[edit] 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' motorcycle, with plans for them to live in Berkeley, California 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.

[edit] Timeline of events in the series

[edit] "Past" events

  • c. 1925 - Jack Pryor is born.
  • c. 1926 - Helen Dolan is born.
  • c. September, 1945 - Jack Pryor, presumably returning from fighting in World War II, conceives a child with Helen Dolan.
  • c. December, 1945 - Jack Pryor and Helen Dolan are married.
  • c. June, 1946 - JJ Pryor is born.
  • c. 1946 Beth Mason is born.
  • c. 1947 Sam Walker is born.
  • c. 1948 - Roxanne Bojarski is born.
  • c. August, 1948 - Meg Pryor is born.
  • c. 1951 - Angela Walker is born.
  • c. April, 1951 - Patty Pryor is born.
  • c. Spring, 1956 - Will Pryor is born.

[edit] Events depicted on screen

  • November, 1963 - Meg and Roxanne become regular dancers on American Bandstand.
  • June, 1964 - JJ and Beth graduate from high school.
  • August, 1964 - The Philadelphia riots take place.
  • 1965 - Gwen Walker dies.
  • June, 1965 - Sam graduates from high school.
  • November, 1965 - Northeast Blackout of 1965
  • December, 1965 - Beth Mason gives birth to John Pryor III.
  • January, 1966- JJ returns home from Vietnam.
  • April 23, 1966 - JJ Pryor and Beth Mason are married.
  • June, 1966 - Meg and Roxanne graduate from high school.
  • July, 1966 - Ted Pryor dies.

[edit] "Future" events

  • June, 1968 - Patty's graduation from high school is estimated to take place at this time.
  • July, 1969 - Meg returns to Philadelphia after spending three years in Berkeley with her boyfriend Chris. The couple have a baby son, born in March of that year, and make plans to marry in the near future. They decided to name the baby Robert, in honor of Senator Robert F. Kennedy who was assassinated the previous June.
  • June, 1974 - Will's graduation from high school is estimated to take place at this time.
  • Spring through Fall 1976 - The Pryors actively support Jimmy Carter's run for the presidency, through local canvassing and handing out campaign literature in the Philadelphia area.
  • June, 1984 - John Pryor III's graduation from high school is estimated to take place at this time.

[edit] 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.

As the third season wound down, 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 a postcard writing campaign to save the show. 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.

It had been reported that American Dreams may have been cancelled as early as December 2004 primarily because of the interracial dating issue between Meg and Sam; Jonathan Prince mentioned in a Miami Herald article that he was able to get four additional episodes made by having companies such as Kraft and Nabisco pay for additional episodes in exchange for product placement (Campbell's Soups and Ford also participated in product placement episodes).

[edit] Series epilogue and DVD releases

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on April 12, 2005 that in late February NBC ordered two endings filmed for the season finale [1]. 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. NBC opted not to air the 12 minute epilogue when the third season finale aired on March 30, 2005, a month and a half before the official cancellation of the series. TV Guide reported on July 26, 2005 that this epilogue was likely to air in a rerun of the third season finale in August or September, but the airing never materialized. NBC was unable to attract sponsorship for the segment, which reportedly contained many rock and roll oldies, resulting in expensive music licensing fees for the network [2].

The first season of American Dreams was released on DVD in September of 2004. Fans are clamoring for the release of the remaining two seasons, and despite some reports and promises that plans are in the works, as of summer 2006 no release dates have been announced. Prince has promised that the series epilogue will appear in the third season DVD release [3].

[edit] 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 [4][5][6]

  • The fourth season would have picked up in January of 1967.
  • Meg would have returned to Philadelphia six episodes into the season after JJ goes to California with intentions to take 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 would somehow figure into the fourth season plotline.
  • Patty would serve as the Team Manager for the East Catholic football team.

[edit] Accuracy

Despite its popularity as a family drama, American Dreams was heavily criticized for its various levels of historical inaccuracy. Several historic events were restaged earlier or later in the show's timeline to fit a plotline, and some of the music and pop culture references do not match up with either historic fact or the show's current timeline. Several arguments between the show's loyal fanbase can be traced to whether the show should be viewed as a chronologically accurate representation of life in 1960s Philadelphia, or is instead an idealized combination of mnemonic images and pop culture references from points throughout the 1960s, much as the film The Wedding Singer was for the 1980s.

Some examples of these disputes include:

  • On American Dreams, a running plotline is the appearance of Meg and Roxanne as dancers on American Bandstand, which 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 (in real life, the studio used for Bandstand was later appropriated by Philadelphia public radio station WHYY).
  • In the first year JJ Pryor Jr supposedly attended Lehigh University on a football scholarship in 1963 but joined the Marines when injured to pay for college. As is common at elite academic institutions, Lehigh doesn't have athletic scholarships but gives financial grants in aid instead. Thus he would have still had financial aid even if injured.
  • The Philadelphia 1964 race riot depicted in the first season finale started at night, not in the daytime, as depicted in the show. Television footage of the riots shown on the episode actually came from the Watts riots of 1965 Los Angeles.
  • 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 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 sex 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 a first-season episode, Meg and Roxanne gush over meeting the group Jay & the Americans, and Roxanne is especially enamored with "Carl, the drummer" (the group neither had a member named Carl, nor a drummer, in real life). Also in real life, there were two lead singers known as "Jay" - Jay Traynor, who sang on their hit "She Cried", and Jay Black, who replaced Traynor for the group's other hits - yet on the episode, it is assumed that there was only one "Jay" who sang all the hits without interruption.
  • 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." In fact, Dylan did not write or perform the song until 1964, and he never released it on a commercial 45 (it appeared on his "Bringing It All Back Home" album released in early 1965), although the Byrds' rendition of it was a hit single.
  • 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 1960s. While the town was officially renamed back to Cape Canaveral in 1973, the space center 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.
  • In an episode that is supposedly taking place in the spring of 1965; Two customers at the TV store, played by Days Of Our Lives actors John Aniston and Frances Reid, were watching an episode of Days Of Our Lives on a TV (Frances was watching herself on an early episode). Days Of Our Lives did not premiere until November 8, 1965.
  • In an episode purporting to take place in the summer of 1966, a character on "American Bandstand" is asked to rate the Rolling Stones' song "I Can't Get No Satisfaction", despite the song being over a year old.
  • In a late third-season episode, Meg, Roxanne and Luke sit outside Connie Mack Stadium with lawn chairs, listening for free to the Rolling Stones, who are playing a live concert at the stadium. Luke makes a reference that he heard a Bob Dylan concert at Connie Mack Stadium for free this way. Bob Dylan did not play Connie Mack Stadium as an outdoor venue in 1966 or earlier.
  • In another third season episode that takes place in June 1966, the Mamas and Papas appear on American Bandstand to perform "California Dreamin'". However, the Mamas and Papas actual appearance on the show was in February 1966, they did not appear again in June of that year.

[edit] Special guests

During the show's run, several contemporary artists recreated performances of artists from the 1960s. 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.

[edit] Performances on Bandstand

[edit] Performances at the Vinyl Crocodile

[edit] Performances at the Lair

[edit] Other guest star appearances


[edit] Trivia

  • 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.
  • American Bandstand announcer Charlie O'Donnell was portrayed by numerous actors, but never was identified as him in the series; instead identified only as the Bandstand Announcer.
  • 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.
  • The unaired 12-minute epilogue is likely to be included in the series third-season DVD release.

[edit] International

[edit] External links

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