The new drama American Dreams is a classic example of the overachieving freshman TV show. Each week, the creators behind Dreams present the audience with an hour's worth of conflict focused on the conservative Pryor family in 1963 Philadelphia. In each episode, all six Pryor family members are awarded a storyline of their own, and as each arc progresses through the hour, all six of the stories remain connected by a succession of golden oldies that underscore the scenes.
Thankfully, the mish-mash of melodrama and music is centered around one particular family member: the starry-eyed 15-year-old daughter Meg. She is the eye of the hurricane that is American Dreams, but like the real thing, the show can't help but be strong on action and seriously lacking in subtlety.
The obviousness is truly unfortunate because, as cheesy as a show about a girl whose life's dream is to get on American Bandstand is, the actors and performances that comprise the Pryor family are surprisingly excellent. Several critics have already pointed out that American Dreams strives way too hard for historical significance, particularly in its desire for post-Sept. 11 relevance, causing it to come off as sentimental and saccharine.
However, it is an even greater disappointment to know that if the creators of American Dreams tightened their storylines, while also allowing their talented actors to suggest the social significance of the times to the audience instead of force feeding it to them, NBC would have a worthy successor to The Wonder Years on its hands and not an overly-stylized nostalgia trip.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.