American Dreams is an American television drama program broadcast on the NBC television network. It debuted on September 29th , 2002, and airs on Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, effective with the next original episode, scheduled to be broadcast on Wednesday, March 9 , 2005. Season 3 began on September 26th ,2004.

Contents

1 Background 2 Synopsis 2.1 Season 1 (2002-2003) 2.2 Season 2 (2003-2004) 2.3 Season 3 (2004-2005) 2.3.1 Special guests 3 External links

Background

The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1960s. Head of the Catholic household is "Jack" Pryor (played by Tom Verica), a tough-but-loving husband, father, and owner of a TV/radio store. Jack and his wife Helen (Gail O'Grady) are busy raising four children:

• "JJ" (Will Estes), Oldest Pryor child, and soldier in Vietnam.
• Meg (Brittany Snow), a sophomore at East Catholic High, and current anti-war protester. Her best friend Roxanne Bojarski (Vanessa Lengies) often eats dinner with the Pryors.
• Patty (Sarah Ramos), an unusually bright student. She is currently a freshman at East Catholic.
• Will (Ethan Dampf), an elementary school student whose leg was crippled with polio, but underwent an operation to fix it.

Henry Walker (Jonathan Adams), a black employee in Jack's store, also heads a family:

• Gwen (Adina Porter), Henry's wife and a housekeeper. She died in Season 2 of cancer.
• Sam (Arlen Escarpeta), a bright college student and track star.
• Angela (Aysia Polk), a daughter roughly Patty's age.
• Nathan (Keith Robinson), Henry's outspoken nephew

Minor characters include Jack's younger brother Pete (Matthew John Armstrong), a policeman; Tommy DeFelice (Paul Wasilewski), JJ's macho friend and football teammate, and Mr. and Mrs. Mason, Beth's WASP parents.

Other minor characters include 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 Elfman), a record store clerk with an affinity for all things Dylan, and the Pryors' next door neighbors, Shelly Pierce (Daphne Zuniga), a single mom who works at a nearby Playboy Club), and her son Chris (Milo Ventimiglia), who becomes Meg's new love interest in the third season.

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 the musical acts that (almost always) appeared on the real Bandstand, often rendered by modern singers.

Sam wins a track scholarship to East Catholic. Some in the majority-white student body resent Sam's presence, especially Tommy, who is later expelled. JJ is disappointed in his hopes of winning a full athletic scholarship to play at Notre Dame, and instead enrolls at Lehigh University, while Beth chooses to attend the University of Pennsylvania in order to be near him. However, an old injury costs JJ the Lehigh scholarship, and thus he enlists in the Marines to pay for school. 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 there break up, but Beth soon learns she is pregnant with JJ's child, and moves in with the Pryors. Sam wins a scholarship to Penn. Jack decides to run for the City Council. In the final episode (4 April 2004), 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.

Special guests

• 112, as The Four Tops, performing Reach Out I'll Be There on Bandstand
• Fantasia Barrino, as Aretha Franklin, singing Respect on Bandstand
• Kelly Clarkson, as Brenda Lee, singing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree on Bandstand
• JoJo, as Linda Ronstadt, auditioning for Bandstand with That'll Be the Day
• Alanis Morissette, as a folk singer performing her original composition Fest on Scraps
• Jennifer Love Hewitt, as Nancy Sinatra, performing These Boots Are Made For Walking on Bandstand
• Chris Isaak, as Roy Orbison, performing Pretty Woman on Bandstand
• Monica, as Mary Wells, performing My Guy on Bandstand
• Lil' Kim, as Shirley Ellis, performing The Clapping Song on Bandstand
• Third Eye Blind, as The Kinks, performing You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night on Bandstand
• Kelly Rowland, as Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas, performing Dancing in the Streets on Bandstand
• Alicia Keys, as Fontella Bass, performing Rescue Me on Bandstand
• Steadman, as the Dave Clark Five, performing Do You Love Me on Bandstand
• Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff, as The Shangri-Las, performing The Leader of the Pack on Bandstand
• Richie Sambora, as Eric Clapton of the Yardbirds, performing For Your Love on Bandstand
• Brad Paisley, as Ricky Nelson, performing Dreamlover on Bandstand
• Macy Gray, as Carla Thomas, performing B.A.B.Y on Bandstand
• Nick Lachey, as Tom Jones, performing It's Not Unusual on Bandstand
• Bonnie McKee, as Janis Joplin, performing Summertime
• Liz Phair, as Jackie DeShannon, performing Walk in the Room on Bandstand
• Evan & Jaron, as The Everly Brothers, performing Wake Up Little Suzie on Bandstand
• Fefe Dobson, as Tina Turner, performing River Deep Mountain High on Bandstand
• Wyclef Jean, as Curtis Mayfield, performing Woman's Got Soul on Bandstand
• B2K, as The Temptations, performing My Girl on Bandstand
• Hawk Nelson, as The Who, performing My Generation on Bandstand
• Phantom Planet, as The Zombies, performing Tell Her No on Bandstand
• Usher, as Marvin Gaye
• Brandy Norwood, as Gladys Knight, performing I Heard It Through the Grapevine on Bandstand
• Duncan Sheik, as Bobby Darin, performing Beyond the Sea on Bandstand
• LeAnn Rimes, as Connie Francis
• Vanessa Carlton, as Dusty Springfield, performing Wishin' and Hopin' on Bandstand
• Ashanti, as Dionne Warwick, performing Walk on By on Bandstand
• India.Arie, as Nina Simone, performing Come Ye

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 Usenet