Critic Reviews

Without a doubt, the season's best new show.

This look back at the America of 1963 breathtakingly captures the dying roars of an old culture and the triumphant cries of the new one. It may be the closest thing to time travel we'll ever experience. [29 Sep 2002, p.M8]

American Dreams, although set in the supposedly kindler, gentler days of 1963, manages not wrap itself in a “things were so much better then” haze. In so doing, it encourages viewers to think about the issues it tentatively raises, and to make connections between the lives it portrays and the lives we live now.

At least the ambitious pilot makes it clear that the show has a vitality and passion sadly lacking in a lot of other fall offerings.

The show looks slick, the attention to detail is painstaking and the music inspires toe tapping.

Fueled by the rock 'n' roll music of the '60s and using "American Bandstand" as a story component, American Dreams is unabashedly hopeful in spite of enough personal crises to spawn a Party of Five revival.

The new series' production values are impeccable, its cast is solid, and there are occasional moments of fresh, specific detail that suggest the show could transcend the overstuffed pilot episode. [27 Sep 2002]

This show tries to deal with the major cultural shifts during this time by showing an American family going through them. The season première is promising. Let's hope it doesn't devolve into mere melodrama.

This is a drama about a family — the Pryors of Philadelphia — that's actually interesting for viewers' entire families.

American Dreams is a complex, poignant look at a family finding its way as the '60s rock their world. All that, and the best soundtrack on TV.