American Dreams 3:08 - Beth's water broke and the power went out! Get her in an elevator NOW!!!
Chuck Miller
Dum-da-dum-dum-DAAAHHH...
The review you are about to read is true. No names have been changed
to protect the innocent.
This is the city. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's not the capital
of the Commonwealth, but it is one of its largest cities. Nestled
along the banks of the Delaware River, the city was the birthplace of
liberty, where great patriots like Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross and
Walt Whitman eventually had bridges named after them. Its sports
heroes have been lionized and booed at the same time. Steve Carlton
gets booed after a 20-win season. Heck, they even booed Santa Claus
one year. Philadelphia's also spawned a number of television dramas
and comedies, including Angie, Hack, Philly, Cold Case, and a
historical drama based during the time of the 1960's. When TV shows
like this provide intelligent drama and action to the viewer, it
benefits the entire viewing community. When they get lazy with plot
devices, historical inaccuracies, timeline goofups and other televised
malfeasance, I go to work. My name's Miller. I carry a keyboard.
It was Sunday, November 14, 8 o'clock p.m., I was working the evening
watch out of prime time division. The boss is Captain Enbeecie. He's
a good captain to work with - a little self-absorbed with himself,
often strutting like a peacock around the precinct. He's a good
captain, often providing me with dramas about rundown teaching
hospitals in Boston or Chicago, legal dramas from Los Angeles, an
invasion from reptilian invaders wearing humanistic rubbery skin, and
the occasional animated comedy about lions in a Las Vegas magic show.
"Miller?"
"Yeah Captain?"
"Remember that report about the East Coast Blackout of 1965? The one
with an overblown generator in Niagara Falls took out most of the
Northeast for about two hours or so?"
"Yeah."
"The one American Dreams didn't even bother mentioning? Even though
the plotline is now a week past Thanksgiving 1965?"
"Yeah."
"The one you said that would cause Beth Mason to give birth in a stuck
elevator?"
"Yeah."
"You're gonna want to see this."
8:04 p.m. At that point, I investigated American Dreams and saw what
looked like a "Megface." Yep. It was a Megface.
And a moment later, I heard the dulcet tones of "You're coming up like
a flower..."
On tonight's episode of American Dreams, Fantasia Barrino sneaks in a
couple of "yeah-yeahs" at the end of her performance of Aretha
Franklin's "Respect," Roxanne watches as "The Organization" pulls a
Pete Best with one of its members, Meg and Chris meet in the women's
lavatory at East Catholic like it's nobody's business, Will and Patty
nearly burn the house down, JJ Pryor gets rescued by what appears to
be a bad imitation of the character Bellooq from the Indiana Jones
movies, and in this episode, Chuck finally proves that the writers of
American Dreams will rearrange history just to serve its convoluted
plotlines.
Probably the best plotline of this week's episode was Sam finally
realizing that one should not be ashamed of one's heritage, and no
matter how many college functions and mixers Sam goes to, no matter
how many times he hangs out with Melanie and her rich friends, he
still realizes what his father and late mother did for him - getting
him into East Catholic for a better education, watching over his
sister Angela and his cousin Nathan, despite all his troubles, etc.,
etc. And Sam standing up to Melanie and telling her that he was
originally embarrassed to tell her where he came from, was poignant
and moving. It showed a dimension of Sam Walker that I hope gets more
development in the future, someone with pride in his upbringing who
wants to provide a better life for his future, as his father did for
him. Now I realize there was still "separate but equal" going on in
the South, but unless the UPenn basketball team had an integrated
lineup for the first time in history, there should already be
arrangements made for a hotel that would take all the basketball
players. Or maybe UPenn could have played a game against the Kentucky
Wildcats and met Adolph Rupp, and REALLY discovered what segregated
basketball was all about.
Wow, isn't it JJ's luck that he apparently escapes from all the VC,
and finds the one person who can save his life - a French expatriate
poppy farmer living in a secluded plantation with a Vietnamese wife
and biracial children? What's the odds of that happening? And of
course he gets his clothes cleaned, gets fed, and almost gets killed.
And then he eventually escapes. What is this, the Vietnam plotline of
American Dreams, or a bad episode of the Fugitive? And that whole
thing about an arrangement between Rene the Frenchman and the VC about
him providing American prisoners and they leaving his opium/heroin
production alone, something about that reminded me of that awful
Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach, where DiCrapio (no I didn't
misspell it) finds a hidden society in a jungle paradise surrounded by
a marijuana plantation. Or something like that. I got dragged to
that movie kicking and screaming. And of course, for all his trouble,
JJ gets kicked in the leg, most likely ruining that ankle he damaged
when training against Sam in the first season...
Hey, Pete got his job back! And we get our first taste of "Criswell"
for the night, as Pete references someone who helped him get back on
the job, a guy named Rizzo. Wonder if he means Frank Rizzo. Hey Pete
- here's some news. If you're still on the force 18 years later, and
Rizzo suggests you actually drop a bomb on a neighborhood house to
force an organization called The Move out to the streets, don't do it
- you don't want to deal with the aftermath...
Helen's still in a funk, to the point where she doesn't realize
Patty's in one of her "all the way to the hilt" moods (i.e., gathering
clothes for the homeless, in the hopes that enough good deeds can be
done that St. Sebastian would bring JJ back home). Yet we do have to
commend her for keeping a canister of Morton Salt nearby to put out a
stove fire. And at that point, it dawned on Helen - time to go see a
mental health specialist, or in the 1960's jargon, a psychiatrist.
And that only lasted for about a couple of seconds. I'm sure if that
psychiatrist had a few extra hours with Helen Pryor, he'd get down to
the nuts and bolts of things with that woman - as far as I can tell,
she's about two steps away from those "mother's little helper" pills
that fit very nicely in the kitchen cupboard.
Ah, we get our complimentary Bandstand episode, with Meg and Roxanne
back to their old bandyak. But look, here comes American Idol III
champion Fantasia (Barrino), performing Aretha Franklin's "Respect"
EIGHTEEN MONTHS TOO SOON! (originally released April 1967). Anyways,
I guess being an American Idol champion means that you get a longer
performance on stage than other artists, and I will give Fantasia
credit for a halfway decent mimicking of Aretha Franklin, but she
couldn't resist sneaking in a few "yeah-yeahs" at the end of the song
(at least four, you owe me Evie).
And this plotline with the Organization is just so ecch. I'm going to
reserve judgment on why they got rid of one drummer and replaced him
with a guy who has about as much rhythm as wind chimes in a tornado,
but apparently it's for no other reason than to prove that Luke wanted
Roxanne back, Luke came back from California with that Mike Stivic
beard of his, just to prove to himself that he still loved Roxanne and
wanted to stay a couple. Let us now christen a new word - "Lurox,"
the blending of Luke and Roxanne, for which this plotline is now
branded. Hey Luke - I hope you're going to pay Roxanne's tuition at
East Catholic, cause I don't see anybody else paying for it.
By the way, did American Dreams develop the Ally McBeal concept of
unisex bathrooms as meeting places and plot advancement tools?
Because Chris Pierce has been going in that bathroom to talk to Meg a
lot lately...
And now, we come to the pivotal moment of tonight's episode. Okay
true believers, work with me on this one. For the past few months, I
predicted that the East Coast blackout of November 9 1965 would hit
Philadelphia, and that Beth would be trapped in a powerless elevator
and would give birth, like every other cliched emergency birth (if
it's not in an elevator, it's in a taxicab or somewhere non-hospital
related). So while Meg and Chris are taking in a rooftop view of
Philadelphia after dark, the East Coast Blackout hits Philadelphia.
At least four weeks after the rest of the country got it.
And of course, Beth takes that moment to break her water. For which
we then get Beth in what looks like a hotel room-turned-hospital
waiting room, and as Jack and Helen wait outside, a doctor arrives and
Beth has given birth to a baby boy, JJJ Pryor.
All right, I know real hospitals don't crack three chests open every
week like they do on ER, but the kid Beth was holding looked to be at
least two months old - and was nursing from a bottle on his first day?
And instead of the baby resting in a pediatric ward, it's being
passed around to Meg Pryor, who just came off a dirty roof after doing
God-knows-what with Chris Pierce, a boy whom her father forbade her to
see again? Is this a hospital or did Beth give birth in a bunkhouse
cabin? Totally unbelievable pabulum rewritten as sappy melodrama that
almost gave me a diabetic seizure.
This from a baby that was conceived in July 1965, and born in the last
week of November 1965? What, is this kid suffering from Soap Opera
Sudden Growth Spurt Syndrome? By AD's fourth season will little baby
JJJ be attending East Catholic with Will? By the fifth season, will
he be dancing on Bandstand? And by the show's finale, will he be
working as a janitor at the Watergate Hotel?
For everybody who grumbled at me and said that it's just a show, that
AD can have some artistic license with historical events, I say this -
was it necessary to move the East Coast Blackout a month later, just
so you could have a plotline about Beth Mason giving birth because of
it? Or to move all the AD main characters into locations for the most
dramatic effect possible, as if to anticipate the blackout? Come on,
Chris takes Meg to the roof of a building, with a neon sign in the
background, and suggests they look at a meteor shower - then all of a
sudden the power goes out, and Meg suddenly starts seeing meteor
showers in the darkness? Oh wait - they apparently moved the great
Leonid meteor shower of 1966 BACK a few months so that it would
coincide with the blackout! Great move, writers! Would have never
thought of that!
Hey, why stop there? Let's put the Monkees on Bandstand a year before
their show ever premieres on NBC! Let's get Patty or Will hooked on
Star Trek, even though the show was a flop in its original network
run!
Anyways, next week JJ limps home. He sees little JJJ. He thinks
about proposing to Beth (give him about four more episodes or so).
And since this episode is presented with limited commercial
interruptions by Ford, how much you wanna bet there's a Ford in some
Pryor member's future?
Dum-da-dum-dum
Dum-da-dum-dum-daaaaaa....
On November 14, trial was held in rec.arts.tv, the Superior Court of
Usenet, in and for the County of the Internet Community. In a moment,
the results of that trial.
The suspects, the writers of American Dreams, were found guilty of
several counts of historical realignment for plotline advancement, as
well as a couple of misdemeanor instances of bandyak, one Megface, a
minor Criswell, and not finding an elevator to put Beth in so that she
could give birth properly. Their punishment is to suffer from
severely low ratings, to the point where they're running neck and neck
with the UPN Movie of the Week.
A Mark VIII 1/2 Production
Dum da Dum Dum - DAAAA!!!
Chuck
P.S.: This review is for the exclusive enjoyment of rec.arts.tv
readers. No permission is granted for reprinting in any Yahoo!
groups. Ever.
CR Gandy
home next week enough war already.
Anthony Cerrato
"Chuck Miller" <board...@aol.computerone> wrote in message
news:20041114221037...@mb-m15.aol.com...
> Dum-da-dum-dum...
[snippage]
ROTFLMAO! I believe the blackout was due to time travel
leakage from another time and place (and channel) where
Chicago was being approached by an F5 thunderstorm and
associated tornados -- the blackout being initiated by a
hacker in the power network computer net. :)
...tonyC
kenm47
> Dum-da-dum-dum...
>
> Dum-da-dum-dum-DAAAHHH...
>
> The review you are about to read is true. No names have been changed
> to protect the innocent.
>
The ironic thing here for me is that I never would have remembered the
blackout being before Thanksgiving if you hadn't made that birth in an
elevator prediction, which caused me to look it up on the Internet.
Having learned the right timeline, it bothered me somewhat.
A couple of things on a more positive light, because I still really
like the show:
Patty's "Great, another one." when told the baby is a boy.
JJ in peril. All in all I thought that was done nicely and
suspensefully, and the betrayal of the French guy was, for me,
unexpected (A comment on the Iraq situation? Nah, probably reading too
much into it). I really thought they might kill off JJ.
For that matter, now that I think of it, is next week's special no
commercial episode because JJ comes home, OR BECAUSE JJ does NOT come
home and they're doing "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" thing?
Hmmmm? They still have me wondering, so I think that's pretty good.
Ken
pepsi
wrote:
Thanks, Chuck. I was waiting to see how you would write about the two
month old baby drinking from a bottle.
One other thing I noticed, though. Wasn't anyone looking for Meg when
Beth suddenly had to go to the hospital? Seems she escaped the wrath
of Dad once more going AWOL with Chris.
pepsi
EvieC123
goofups and other televised malfeasance, I go to work. My name's Miller. I
carry a keyboard.
ROFL!!! Oh, too good, Chuck!
>Wow, isn't it JJ's luck that he apparently escapes from all the VC, and finds
the one person who can save his life - a French expatriate poppy farmer
It boggles the mind to even believe he could have escaped that mess of 2 weeks
ago. Come on.
>I will give Fantasia credit for a halfway decent mimicking of Aretha Franklin,
Hmmm...Although I love Fantasia, she was just a little too happy to be
believeable as Aretha; wish I had some old footage; I don't recall Urethra ever
having that much fun. <eg>
but she couldn't resist sneaking in a few "yeah-yeahs" at the end of the song
(at least four, you owe me Evie).
YIKES! Foiled again! Checked the tape, and she really did manage to sneak 4
in. What do I owe ya?
>By the fifth season, will (baby JJJ) he be dancing on Bandstand?
We should be so lucky...I'm ever so concerned that this will be the last
season, due to ratings. :(
>Dum-da-dum-dum
>
>Dum-da-dum-dum-daaaaaa....
You are so good...why you're not writing this show I'll never understand. :)
*~Evie~*
Jorabi
Chuck, do you like AD or would you like to see it cancelled?
I bet there are some casual viewers who are turned off to the
show after reading your hypercritical reviews. Reviews with
nothing I care about, BTW. I like the show for what it is.
So in the end, you will have contributed to its demise. If
that's your intention, by all means continue.
Deb
Personally I really really like this show. I hate when they do have
someone singing on bandstand and the gals are talking otherwise I
really like the show
SoHillsGuy
someone singing on bandstand and the gals are talking otherwise I
Yes, but let's give the show a little credit for last night's episode, where we
actually got to see Meg and Roxanne shutting up for once and enjoying the AB
act. That was a refreshing change.
Speaking of the show's lack of historical accuracy, has anyone mentioned how
this has carried over to the DVD set, too? In the section where they try to
provide some connection to the news of 1963, they list Pete Rose as the
National League MVP. In fact, he was only the NL Rookie of the Year in 1963,
not winning the MVP award until 1973.
Farrell22
>>I will give Fantasia credit for a halfway decent mimicking of Aretha
>Franklin,
>
>Hmmm...Although I love Fantasia, she was just a little too happy to be
>believeable as Aretha; wish I had some old footage; I don't recall Urethra
>ever
>having that much fun. <eg>
This singer was one of my least favorites.
On the other hand, Chuck, you outdid yourself with this week's review. These
are as much a part of the show as the show itself. Thanks so much for taking
the time.
Arctos
> I guess being an American Idol champion means that you get a longer
> performance on stage than other artists, and I will give Fantasia
> credit for a halfway decent mimicking of Aretha Franklin, ....
I don't. I'm supposed to accept that squeaky little voice as that of
the mighty Aretha? No chance. They would've been better off having
Fantasia lip-sync to Kelly Clarkson's version.
> And this plotline with the Organization is just so ecch. I'm going to
> reserve judgment on why they got rid of one drummer and replaced him
> with a guy who has about as much rhythm as wind chimes in a tornado,
> but apparently it's for no other reason than to prove that Luke wanted
> Roxanne back, Luke came back from California with that Mike Stivic
> beard of his, just to prove to himself that he still loved Roxanne and
> wanted to stay a couple.
I never thought I'd see the day when Roxanne was the LESS-conniving
half of a couple. OK, Vanessa, your word for this week is
"passive-aggressive".
Gideon
helping to prevent the demise of this enjoyable program. The impact from a
very small number of people who follow these threads on rec.arts.tv AND decide
to never watch the program based upon our critiques is probably negligible.
The chance that some of the American Dreams staff will scan these threads and
might consider making some program adjustments before the show gets cancelled
are much greater. Keep up the great work, Chuck!
Jorabi wrote in message <5J4md.9615$zk7....@twister.nyroc.rr.com>...
Jorabi
"Gideon" wrote ...
>
> Jorabi wrote ...
>
> > Chuck, do you like AD or would you like to see it cancelled?
> >
> > I bet there are some casual viewers who are turned off to the
> > show after reading your hypercritical reviews. Reviews with
> > nothing I care about, BTW. I like the show for what it is.
> >
> > So in the end, you will have contributed to its demise. If
> > that's your intention, by all means continue.
>
> perhaps Chuck is helping to prevent the demise of this enjoyable
> program. The impact from a very small number of people who follow
> these threads on rec.arts.tv AND decide to never watch the
> program based upon our critiques is probably negligible. The
> chance that some of the American Dreams staff will scan these
> threads and might consider making some program adjustments before
> the show gets cancelled are much greater. Keep up the great work,
> Chuck!
But he hardly ever says anything good about the show. And his reviews
are available elsewhere. If someone were to read his reviews without
seeing the show, they would conclude that it is horrible. There are
almost no AD threads other than Chuck's.
His credibilty with the producers would also suffer, since it looks
like he has nothing positive to say and would be written-off as a
whiner.
I trust the producers to make the best show they can, and base it in
the period of the 60s. If they see fit to vary from the historical
record for dramatic and continuity purposes, that's fine with me,
because they are succeeding. Do you think the ratings would increase
if every single fact about the show were historically accurate? I
seriously doubt it.
Farrell22
>I trust the producers to make the best show they can, and base it in
>the period of the 60s. If they see fit to vary from the historical
>record for dramatic and continuity purposes, that's fine with me,
>because they are succeeding. Do you think the ratings would increase
>if every single fact about the show were historically accurate? I
>seriously doubt it.
>
Historical accuracy is its own reward.
I've come to terms with the fact that they get it as right as they can, but it
wouldn't take that much more effort to put someone like Chuck on staff to make
it really, truly accurate. It would be worth it to me.
It mightn't boost the ratings, but it would boost credibility. I'll bet most
people who watch are people old enough to remember when those songs were new,
when Vietnam was what we saw on TV every night, and so on, and for that viewer,
would it really hurt to get it right? I think not.
Anthony Cerrato
Anthony Cerrato
I like historical accuracy as much as anyone--when it
doesn't interfere with the quality of the drama. It always
will hurt to get it precisely right in today's mercenary
capitalist world! Even if it takes time to research the fine
points, or fit the history exactly into the plotline, it all
takes extra time and effort, things which writers,
producers, etc do not have to spare these days--thus it
would eventually sacrifice the show to the network
accountants and nay-sayers. "The play's the thing!" I am
more practically usually concerned with maintaining the
internal writing
consistency of a show, i.e., compliance with established
canon in the drama. That AD has done very well! And at
least it has successfully remained on the air up until now.
...tonyC
pepsi
>>From: evie...@aol.comnojunk (EvieC123)
>
>>>I will give Fantasia credit for a halfway decent mimicking of Aretha
>>Franklin,
>
>>
>>Hmmm...Although I love Fantasia, she was just a little too happy to be
>>believeable as Aretha; wish I had some old footage; I don't recall Urethra
>>ever
>>having that much fun. <eg>
>
>This singer was one of my least favorites.
I can't stand Fantasia, but I think she did a good Aretha. Hope she
got a chance to see herself with hair, it's a better look for her.
pepsi
Farrell22
WHo the hell is she? The black Brittany Spears?
pepsi
I disagree. I love the show and I love the reviews. They give me a
chance, not only to review what I might have missed while watching the
episode, they show the light side of a show that tries to hard to be
serious. Whether you agree with it or not, the show has some
inaccuracies and they aren't anyone's fault but the writers.
I don't think Chuck's reviews placed in a newsgroup of devoted viewers
of the show will have too much impact on people that probably aren't
really involved in viewing the show in the first place.
Chuck, you may disagree with me, but I don't consider you a critic,
just a very good observer.
pepsi
Farrell22
>out! Get her in an elevator NOW!!!
>From: pepsi
I don't agree with Pepsi about much, but on this, she and I agree. I think
Chuck is so critical because he loves the show, and sees how it could be even
better -- perfect? -- with just a bit of tweaking.
pepsi
He writes a humorous review of a serious drama. You're reading way
too much into it, and I have to say, if it weren't for Chuck's
reviews, there wouldn't be any posts about this show in rec.arts.tv.
I don't see any other discussions about the show. Maybe that's your
"show demise." Personally, I wouldn't want to see this show get
cancelled. There aren't a whole lot of TV shows out there that
interest me these days.
pepsi
Philip Busch
As for the blackout, Chuck just about hit it right as far as the part
about Beth giving birth on that very night, except that the
contractions started at the Pryor house and Jack drove her to the
hospital in more than enough time with no incidents along the way.
It's just as well that the entire birthing process was completely
normal with most of the Pryor family on hand in order to setup for
next week's big episode of JJ's homecoming.
I was very young at the time of the 1965 NE Blackout, but if I'm not
mistaken, didn't it last from late afternoon to well past midnight? In
the AD universe it seemed like it lasted maybe two or three hours and
the lights were back on just in time for "primetime tv" (at the time)
7:30 p.m...ok, maybe not THAT early but I'll bet it was still before
Will's bedtime.
Phil
Jorabi
"Farrell22" wrote ...
> I don't agree with Pepsi about much, but on this, she and I
> agree. I think Chuck is so critical because he loves the show,
Then why can't he say so once in a while?
Chuck Miller
That's a loaded question. It assumes that if I don't "like" the show, I would
want to see it cancelled. There's a lot of shows I don't like (I only need one
CSI in my life, for example), but I haven't gone on any "put this show out of
its misery" campaign (except maybe for Clubhouse).
>I bet there are some casual viewers who are turned off to the
>show after reading your hypercritical reviews. Reviews with
>nothing I care about, BTW. I like the show for what it is.
I hope that isn't an "American Dreams, Love it or Leave it" position. Went
through that malarkey during the show's first season. Loving a show does not
mean that you only speak positive of it and never acknowledge the areas for
improvement. And if you've noticed, I at least start every one of my reviews
with some positives about the show.
>
>So in the end, you will have contributed to its demise. If
>that's your intention, by all means continue.
Now that statement's a crock. Do you honestly believe that if the show gets
cancelled, it's because of my Usenet reviews? Boy, if I had THAT kind of
power, According to Jim would have never made it to a second episode, and we'd
be celebrating Max Headroom's 18th season on the air.
Here's the reasons why AD's ratings are floundering. Look at the time slot.
It's up against Cold Case, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and the Simpsons -
all three very popular shows. And moving the series to another time period
isn't going to improve the ratings - what, are you going to move it to
Wednesdays at 8, where it can get massacred by Lost? Or Tuesdays at 8, where
it might survive until American Idol kicks in?
Another thing - this show could benefit from some serious repurposing, having
reruns appear on VH1 or Bravo or INHD or HDNet or something. As it is, the
show hasn't appeared in reruns since the summer of its first season, and there
hasn't been any special rebroadcasts on other nights to hopefully drum up a
channel-surfing audience.
And another thing - if the story lines are so gripping and definitive, why
doesn't the show promote those - instead of the silly stunt casting gimmicks?
Who gives a flying fart if Fantasia Barrino gets three minutes to fulfill her
fantasy of singing like Aretha Franklin, when those three minutes could have
been used for plot development of other characters?
In other words, blaming me for the show's poor ratings is almost like blaming a
meteorologist because it's raining.
Chuck
Chuck Miller
>Chuck is so critical because he loves the show, and sees how it could be even
>better -- perfect? -- with just a bit of tweaking.
Thank you, that's been my position from the show's first episode. American
Dreams is a good show, and it can be a fantastic show if the writers and
producers would avoid the stunt casting and lazy writing and Megface sightings
and Folk Beatles and historic flubitis that permeates the show.
Chuck
Marcia Rovins
Chuck Miller wrote:
> >Chuck, do you like AD or would you like to see it cancelled?
>
> That's a loaded question. It assumes that if I don't "like" the show, I would
> want to see it cancelled. There's a lot of shows I don't like (I only need one
> CSI in my life, for example), but I haven't gone on any "put this show out of
> its misery" campaign (except maybe for Clubhouse).
>
> >I bet there are some casual viewers who are turned off to the
> >show after reading your hypercritical reviews. Reviews with
> >nothing I care about, BTW. I like the show for what it is.
>
> I hope that isn't an "American Dreams, Love it or Leave it" position. Went
> through that malarkey during the show's first season. Loving a show does not
> mean that you only speak positive of it and never acknowledge the areas for
> improvement. And if you've noticed, I at least start every one of my reviews
> with some positives about the show.
> >
> >So in the end, you will have contributed to its demise. If
> >that's your intention, by all means continue.
>
> Now that statement's a crock. Do you honestly believe that if the show gets
> cancelled, it's because of my Usenet reviews? Boy, if I had THAT kind of
> power, According to Jim would have never made it to a second episode, and we'd
> be celebrating Max Headroom's 18th season on the air.
May I add that I started watching AD again because of Chuck's reviews. The first
season, there was a lot of music and I had a really hard time following the
dialogue. I gave up, because I really didn't care all that much. It was when I
found Chuck's reviews that I started watching again, because I knew I could find
out what I missed. I don't think it's my imagination that the music has been cut
back quite a bit, and now I really like the show, so score one viewer in the plus
column for Chuck.
Marcia
KenM47
I like the "Folk Beatles."
Ken
Farrell22
>"Farrell22" wrote ...
>> I don't agree with Pepsi about much, but on this, she and I
>> agree. I think Chuck is so critical because he loves the show,
>
>Then why can't he say so once in a while?
Do you really think he bothers to write the equivalent of a column every week
because he *doesn't* love the show? It's there in every review, maybe a little
too subtext-y for you.
Farrell22
>out! Get her in an elevator NOW!!!
>From: pepsi
>He writes a humorous review of a serious drama. You're reading way
>too much into it, and I have to say, if it weren't for Chuck's
>reviews, there wouldn't be any posts about this show in rec.arts.tv.
>I don't see any other discussions about the show. Maybe that's your
>"show demise." Personally, I wouldn't want to see this show get
>cancelled. There aren't a whole lot of TV shows out there that
>interest me these days.
>pepsi
>
Chuck's reviews of AD are the best thing you can find about any television show
on Usenet. How can anyone think this is less than a labor of love?
Gideon
critique of the show doesn't necessarily imply distain for the show.
Any producers of any TV program who do not have somebody monitoring
mainstream reviews and some Internet discussions of their programs
deserve the poor ratings which may result. Every comment posted here
about American Dreams should be treated by their producers as valuable
and free market research.
I still don't believe that many potential viewers read this newsgroup first
and then decide not to try American Dreams. Without exception, I read
threads in this newsgroup only after I've become addicted to a program
and want to discuss it with other junkies.
In my opinion, the historical accuracy can be improved in such a manner
as to draw or hold more viewers without alienating and losing current viewers.
It is important to remember that the historical accuracy is not that difficult,
it is inexpensive and it would not limit the development & production of
episodes. If you can make a better product with very little increased effort,
why do otherwise?
Gideon
Jorabi wrote in message ...
Gideon
Jorabi wrote in message ...
>"Farrell22" wrote ...
>> I don't agree with Pepsi about much, but on this, she and I
>> agree. I think Chuck is so critical because he loves the show,
>Then why can't he say so once in a while?
Perhaps he assumes that we've all got reasonable cognitive skills?
Michael Alden
I was 8 and I remember it hitting sometime in late afternoon, maybe
around 5? And I don't recall the lights coming on anytime before I
went to bed for the night.
Zane
remember back to the summer of 2002 and seeing the very first promo
for the show. My first thought was, finally, a new drama that's not a
Law and Order clone and doesn't seem all sickly sweet like 7th Heaven.
And about the musical mistakes, I'm only 28, so every one of them go
right over my head. So why do I like the show so much when I wasn't
even born then? I guess I'm just a big fan of nostalgia. I liked
watching The Wonder Years when I was growing up but I don't remember
too much about the music in that one.
I like reading Chuck's reviews because it helps me understand the
finer points of the show. 8:50 Jack, Megface, and Dance-yak are terms
I never could have thought of on my own.
I hope that if NBC pulls the plug after this season, then VH-1 will
continue the show. It can't be that expensive to make, there's only 2
"name" actors in the cast, Gail and Will. And for some real
nostalgia, yes that is the same Will Estes (Nipper) that was in Lassie
back in 1990 (another show I watched when I was a kid, LoL).
-
pepsi
>I don't agree with Pepsi about much, but on this, she and I agree. I think
>Chuck is so critical because he loves the show, and sees how it could be even
>better -- perfect? -- with just a bit of tweaking.
Thanks, Farrell...I think.
pepsi
pepsi
wrote:
American Dreams is perceived to be in real time, with each new episode
being the week after the previous one. Given that and the need to put
an entire era's dramatic events into the show, it would be nearly
impossible, not to mention boring, to keep it in 1965 "realtime." But
from a music standpoint, which is how the show got it's premise in the
first place, we should expect it to be more accurate than it is.
However, it is after all, a television show and purely out there for
entertainment and I think the average viewer is willing to overlook
the inaccuracies, if they notice them at all.
pepsi
pepsi
I watch the Food Network and there is a show called Semi-Homemade that
someone in this newsgroup writes similar reviews on. They are
hilarious and add so much to what, in that case, is a really crappy
cooking show. The whole purpose of this newsgroup is for television
viewers to share the experience with others. I look forward to coming
here and reading what others have to say about what I've just seen or
heard on television. For lack of a better word, I'd call show reviews
such as Chuck and the one I mentioned "enhancements."
pepsi
Farrell22
>Date: 11/16/2004 8:58 AM
Any time.
Farrell22
>I watch the Food Network and there is a show called Semi-Homemade that
>someone in this newsgroup writes similar reviews on. They are
>hilarious and add so much to what, in that case, is a really crappy
>cooking show. The whole purpose of this newsgroup is for television
>viewers to share the experience with others. I look forward to coming
>here and reading what others have to say about what I've just seen or
>heard on television. For lack of a better word, I'd call show reviews
>such as Chuck and the one I mentioned "enhancements."
>pepsi
>
Enhancements: excellent choice of words (agreeing with Pepsi, once again).
EvieC123
forward to them and the subsequent discussion as much as I look forward to
Sunday night at 8 p.m.
*~Evie~*
kenm47
Here's one of the sites that discuss it (Do a Google for more). Some
people had power back pretty quickly. Some did not.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Northeast%20Blackout%20of%201965
Ken
Ryan
Chuck, I watched the first 2 seasons this summer and I almost got burned out
but after reading your archived commentaries I decided to keep watching.
And I'm very glad I did. It's quickly become my favorite show. So, thanks.
--
Ryan
Farrell22
Maryilee
>
>Try thinking a bit outside the box and consider the fact that perhaps Chuck
>is
>helping to prevent the demise of this enjoyable program. The impact from a
>very small number of people who follow these threads on rec.arts.tv AND
>decide
>to never watch the program based upon our critiques is probably negligible.
>The chance that some of the American Dreams staff will scan these threads and
>might consider making some program adjustments before the show gets cancelled
>are much greater. Keep up the great work, Chuck!
ITA! My dh and I don't ever miss AD and bought the 1st season dvd's, and I
would hate for it to be canceled. However, I would also hate to see the
reveiws stop. The reviews are truthful, but not too harsh and certainly don't
spoil the show for me.
Maryilee
Jorabi
"Chuck Miller" wrote ...
>
> Jorabi wrote ...
>
>> So in the end, you will have contributed to its demise. If
>> that's your intention, by all means continue.
>
> Now that statement's a crock. Do you honestly believe that if
> the show gets cancelled, it's because of my Usenet reviews?
I said "contribute", NOT "because of"!
But I am officially backing down. The outpouring of love for you
and your reviews makes it clear. Nitpick away!!
Jorabi
<pepsi> wrote ...
>
>>"Gideon" wrote ...
>>>
>>> Jorabi wrote ...
>>>
Before this thread it was hard to find people saying positive things
about the show. That bothered me. So looking at it that way, I
succeeded!
pepsi
The show almost lost ME the first season and I was one of the ones
that started watching from episode 1. The show was pretty close to my
own life as a Catholic kid with an older brother and sister. (only one
of each, though). Anyway, I couldn't wait for the first episode of AD
to start, but it soon became boring. It has greatly improved since
then, in my opinion, and I'm back to looking forward to it.
pepsi
pepsi
You did. We're all acting like we're defending our child. hahaha
pepsi
Yeechang Lee
> And at that point, it dawned on Helen - time to go see a mental
> health specialist, or in the 1960's jargon, a psychiatrist. And
> that only lasted for about a couple of seconds.
The show described accurately the acute discomfort many in this era
felt about the idea of seeking counseling help.
> And now, we come to the pivotal moment of tonight's episode. Okay
> true believers, work with me on this one. For the past few months,
> I predicted that the East Coast blackout of November 9 1965 would
> hit Philadelphia, and that Beth would be trapped in a powerless
> elevator and would give birth, like every other cliched emergency
> birth (if it's not in an elevator, it's in a taxicab or somewhere
> non-hospital related). So while Meg and Chris are taking in a
> rooftop view of Philadelphia after dark, the East Coast Blackout
> hits Philadelphia. At least four weeks after the rest of the
> country got it.
As I've previously noted, in real life Philadelphia wasn't hit by the
1965 blackout at all, regardless of timing.
I did notice, however, how the episode treated--or better, did not
treat--the blackout. Normally, _American Dreams_ goes out of its way
to draw attention to real-life events occurring within its
boundaries. This time, it did not; heck, I'm not sure the word
blackout was ever used. The brief radio clip made no mention of a
"massive power outage on the East coast" or anything like that. The
blackout itself only seems to have lasted for a few hours.
My guess is that, given the timeline and location anomalies involved,
the script was edited to characterize the blackout as vaguely as
possible, so as to get the "impact" of the 1965 blackout without
saying so.
--
Read my Deep Thoughts @ <URL:http://www.ylee.org/blog/> PERTH ----> *
Cpu(s): 18.9% us, 3.9% sy, 76.7% ni, 0.3% id, 0.0% wa, 0.1% hi, 0.0% si
Mem: 516036k total, 512008k used, 4028k free, 3436k buffers
Swap: 2101032k total, 313964k used, 1787068k free, 185568k cached
Yeechang Lee
> American Dreams is perceived to be in real time, with each new episode
> being the week after the previous one.
Not so; many episodes take place several weeks (or, conversely, the
dame day or the following day) after the previous one. _American
Dreams_ has never pretended to move in precise realtime; for example,
the pilot debuted in September 2002 depicting late November 1963; now,
in November 2004, the show is up to November-December 1965. So if
anything, the show traverses time ever so slightly slower than in real
life.
--
Read my Deep Thoughts @ <URL:http://www.ylee.org/blog/> PERTH ----> *
Cpu(s): 18.9% us, 3.9% sy, 76.7% ni, 0.3% id, 0.0% wa, 0.1% hi, 0.0% si
Mem: 516036k total, 512896k used, 3140k free, 5256k buffers
Swap: 2101032k total, 314100k used, 1786932k free, 184304k cached
Chuck Miller
>> being the week after the previous one.
>
>Not so; many episodes take place several weeks (or, conversely, the
>dame day or the following day) after the previous one. _American
>Dreams_ has never pretended to move in precise realtime; for example,
>the pilot debuted in September 2002 depicting late November 1963; now,
>in November 2004, the show is up to November-December 1965. So if
>anything, the show traverses time ever so slightly slower than in real
>life.
>
Actually, I seem to recall the show's first season taking ten episodes to cover
a four-week period between the Kennedy Assassination and Christmas. Then it
jumped a whole month so that the Beatles could appear on Ed Sullivan.
It's almost as if the timeline has ebbs and flows and eddys, slowing down for
important events in history and speeding up whenever necessary. It seems the
last episode of the second season and the third season premiere only spanned
about a week in the ADniverse.
Chuck
pepsi
>pepsi wrote:
>> American Dreams is perceived to be in real time, with each new episode
>> being the week after the previous one.
>
>Not so; many episodes take place several weeks (or, conversely, the
>dame day or the following day) after the previous one. _American
>Dreams_ has never pretended to move in precise realtime; for example,
>the pilot debuted in September 2002 depicting late November 1963; now,
>in November 2004, the show is up to November-December 1965. So if
>anything, the show traverses time ever so slightly slower than in real
>life.
I was talking about the present season. I'm fully aware that we have
now jumped 2 years since the premiere.
pepsi
Tony Calguire
>
> Chuck, do you like AD or would you like to see it cancelled?
>
> I bet there are some casual viewers who are turned off to the
> show after reading your hypercritical reviews. Reviews with
> nothing I care about, BTW. I like the show for what it is.
>
You really consider it "hypercritical" to expect people to understand
that a human baby takes nine months to come to term, not FIVE?
A. Joseph Ross
> Hey Luke - I hope you're going to pay Roxanne's tuition at
> East Catholic, cause I don't see anybody else paying for it.
I would think that her tuition for the year has already been paid.
And this is her senior year, isn't it?
> And now, we come to the pivotal moment of tonight's episode. Okay
> true believers, work with me on this one. For the past few months, I
> predicted that the East Coast blackout of November 9 1965 would hit
> Philadelphia, and that Beth would be trapped in a powerless elevator
> and would give birth, like every other cliched emergency birth (if
> it's not in an elevator, it's in a taxicab or somewhere non-hospital
> related). So while Meg and Chris are taking in a rooftop view of
> Philadelphia after dark, the East Coast Blackout hits Philadelphia.
> At least four weeks after the rest of the country got it.
Did they ever say that this was THE East Coast Blackout? Couldn't it
have been some localized blackout?
> Hey, why stop there? Let's put the Monkees on Bandstand a year before
> their show ever premieres on NBC! Let's get Patty or Will hooked on
> Star Trek, even though the show was a flop in its original network
> run!
And it didn't premiere until fall 1966.
> Anyways, next week JJ limps home. He sees little JJJ. He thinks
> about proposing to Beth (give him about four more episodes or so).
> And since this episode is presented with limited commercial
> interruptions by Ford, how much you wanna bet there's a Ford in some
> Pryor member's future?
And at this point, having seen that episode, we know the answer.
A. Joseph Ross
> On 15 Nov 2004 03:10:37 GMT, board...@aol.computerone (Chuck Miller)
> wrote:
> Thanks, Chuck. I was waiting to see how you would write about the two
> month old baby drinking from a bottle.
Actually, this may be more correct than Chuck realized. I think that
breast feeding wasn't very popular in those days. I seem to remember
that it became more popular starting sometime in the 70s.
A. Joseph Ross
> I was very young at the time of the 1965 NE Blackout, but if I'm not
> mistaken, didn't it last from late afternoon to well past midnight? In
> the AD universe it seemed like it lasted maybe two or three hours and
> the lights were back on just in time for "primetime tv" (at the time)
> 7:30 p.m...ok, maybe not THAT early but I'll bet it was still before
> Will's bedtime.
I was in college at the time, and I remember it starting sometime in
late afternoon -- after 4:00 I believe -- and I believe that power was
back sometime in the evening, well before midnight. But, as I said in
another post, who says this was the Great Northeast Blackout? I could
be wrong, but I don't think the Great Northeast Blackout reached
Philadelphia. Was there anything said on the show to exclude this
from being a mere local blackout?