American Dreams Season 3 thread (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Just a heads up for fans of American Dreams as it returns tonight for its 3rd season.

Let's see:

Sam and Meg were hauled off for sitting in an anti-war protest at the college.

Beth moves in with the Pryors.

JJ's status is unknown.

Jack considers running for a council spot.

Helen, Patty, Will, and Rox: I forgot.

 

[Thomas H G]

Wow that's tonight? I don't think I've seen any previews for it yet, but I'll be ready.

Last season ended so good. Your recap is about what I remember.

 

[Karl_Luph]

Thanks for the reminder Patrick, this is definitely one of my top 3 favorite shows to watch. For those folks who have never checked this series out, try it, you may enjoy the fast pace and fine cast, plus musical guest stars.

 

[WadeB]

Returning to this show is like visiting with family you've not seen for a while, a real trainwreck of a family.


Don't know if I need spoilers on but they are ahead:




Glad to see JJ made it out of there alive, but I wanted more details about what happened, and what is up with the State Department guy creeping around like cancer man. JJ and Beth's telephone scene was wrenching and the Vietnamese girl was very good in her small role

It was a fun twist having the handsome priest bring the big stick in the school as far as the rules go and I enjoyed seeing him one up Patty.

The smoking nun was very predictable and the mini-skirt protest was a bit silly. Now that she split with both boyfriends, they need to give Roxanne a lot more to do than just be Meg's protest partner. She's too good a character.

Previews for next week are enticing. I'm guessing stripper for the new neighbor, but if they keep using every episode to introduce some "new" change in social mores, it will get old. Yes, the times were a changing, but the strength of the show is that it has built up good characters and we want to see them grow, not just react to cultural shocks.

I'm most interested in the JJ/Beth/vietnam and Meg storylines. Glad this is back. Odd not having Alias to follow it up with.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Amazing how long you can grow hair in a week.

Overall, a good episode to get us back into the swing of things.

So Meg continues on her activist ways, with Rox as her sidekick.

JJ and Beth are still in limbo.

Jack's more than determined to beat his opponent in the city council election after his opponent uses Meg's recent sit-in at Penn to attach Jack.

Will and the power of prayer: funny stuff.

 

[Rob P S]

I forgot how much I missed this show and I'm glad it's back. A very good episode, with some touching moments.

Is it just me, or does anyone think Gavin Degraw tries way too hard?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Gavin should stick to doing only his own material. What he did at the end was just a tad distracting given the montage at the end.

 

[Tony_La]

Agreed. Anyone catch her name?

 

[Terry H]

I don't know who he is for sure but if he was the guy attempting to perforn Tracks of my Tears I think you're being overly kind. He may be a fine artist with his own material but the performance was completely wrong for the era and material. I suppose it was intended to enhance the montage and it failed miserably. IMO he was simply the wrong artist for this song. I guess that is more the producer's fault than his.
OTOH his style reminded me strongly of Jose Feliciano and if he were tapped to do one of his songs it might just be great... but Smokey Robinson he ain't.

 

[Marty M]

Great use of original music in the episode with the inclusion of April, Come She Will during the JJ & Beth phone conversation scene.

I think Tony is on the right track to where things might go in the near future with the State Dept guy. He was probably impressed by the fact that JJ and the other guy were the only survivors from his squad.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Oh, poor JJ. I can see them being secretive about what he will be doing, but I think they blew it by not giving him a field promotion. If he got that first, he'd be more willing to take on a new assignment.

Glenn

 

[Patrick Sun]

Milo Ventimiglia shows up as the bad boy next door, much to Meg's surprise, though Rox is more than okay with it. Having Daphne Zuniga as the mother of the bad boy and new neighbor makes me feel old, though it was over a decade since her Melrose Place days. Milo has to be in his mid/late 20's by now, still playing a teenager...

The new principal starts integrating the boys and girls at Meg's school. Hormones will be flying.

Meg tries to wear her peace buttons on the AB show, but Dick Clark shoots down that idea. Then she plans to have the girls wear them at school, but no one will, and the buttons are discovered in her locker. Her punishment is to direct the Henry V school play (since it involves a war as its backdrop).

Helen is reticent about Patty interacting with her gay co-worker (on the Campbell Soup "American Dreams" contest), but finally puts aside her prejudices.

Jack decides to go door-to-door in seeking out the women vote. That wasn't going well, so his brother suggests the black vote is another viable alternative. Dom isn't on board, so he jumps off the Jack train, as does the barber. Henry bites his tongue. Jack used money saved for the summer trip for his campaign, and Helen was upset because she thought he should have at least talked about it. They argue, but get through it (they WILL be going on their summer trip, though).

JJ gets new orders, probably some special ops assignment. The missions appear to be targetted for Cambodia. I would suspect that the Vietnamese girl will help him learn the language because he'll need to learn it for his missions, but refused her help before he knew of his new orders.

Sam catches the eye of the pretty basketball team tutor, which makes him want to make the team even more, though Henry was concerned about taking on too much too soon in college.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I thought from the very beginning, that she would be the new (or rival) love interest. The balance to the musician back in the States. I meant to post this after the very first episode, but forgot—but every additional scene seems to point in that direction.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Yeah, wouldn't it be a hoot if JJ showed up in Philly with his new Vietnamese bride, and have to deal with that situation and a pregnant (ex) girlfriend. Let's hope JJ is smart enough to keep JJ Jr. from exploring some strange.

 

[Natalie F]

In the first episode I thought I saw something between JJ and the Vietnamese chick, but then he started reading that letter from Beth and they talked about his ex being pregnant and I though it was all over (before it even started). But then in this episode, IMO it is so on.

That racist dude saying all that crap around Henry (or at all, really) pissed me off. Go Jack for booting his ass to the curb.

 

[Patrick Sun]

10/10/04

Well, it looks like something might be brewing between JJ and the Vietnamese gal. JJ had to talk down one of his fellow soldiers who got a "Dear John" letter and he didn't take it so well, even lying about the acceptance of his marriage proposal.

Meg breaks into the school records with the bad boy next door in return for him getting boys to attend her casting pitch for the Henry V play she's directing. Meg decides to go with updating the story to current day and the situation in Vietnam.

Sam's sister sees a stabbing in broad daylight, and has a hard time dealing with it. Sam has to cancel his date with the tutor girl, and she is sympathetic with the sitaution.

Jack, after his cop brother begs him not to go talk with Henry's church for support in his campaign, decides to talk to the church. Jack even turns his back on the police chief after some shadiness kept some cops out of being held responsible for some unrest in the black community.

Patty's insistence that Donald be invited to dinner at the Pryors has Donald showing Helen more of his mechanisms for coping with keeping up the charade of courting a female friend as his girlfriend so his family and acquaintances don't give him a hard time for his sexual orientation. Helen finally sees some of the hardships society's expectations places on Donald's life.

Beth seems to be getting closer to the bar's singer.

So many subplots, don't know how they manage to squeeze them all in an episode each week.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I am beginning to wonder about this whole show. If JJ is supposed to be going to Cambodia, what is he still doing in (whatever) town?

I also don't think that a nun would approve anyone revising Henry V back then, but I could be wrong about that. I got the icky feeling while watching this that the producers are using this to further their current political views.

Glenn

 

[Lew Crippen]

I don’t know the motiviation of the producers. However to not show the effects of Vietnam and the differing viewpoints would not accurately reflect the tenor of the times. Don’t forget that there is plenty of the storyline showing the troops and their loyalty to each other and the hardships that they endure.

I’d also observe that to not show that many students (at least the vocal ones) were not opposed to the war and had various ways of protesting would be a disservice to what really happened.

Those who wish to draw parallels between Vietnam and current conflicts may do so—but that does not invalidate what was happening in the 60s.

 

[Don Black]

I'm guessing that this will be the last season. It's getting killed in the ratings by Cold Case. Ah well...

 

[Rob P S]

Daphne Z. is fine, but Milo V. adds nothing to the show for me.

I hope not, but then I'm glad that it's even lasted this long.