‘American Dreams’ Season 3 review

“American Dreams” Season 3 (2004-05, NBC), episodes 1-5 – Like the new show “Jack & Bobby,” “American Dreams” conjures up better days, but it looks to the past instead of the future. It lionizes the 1960s with an “American Bandstand” soundtrack and contemporizes the period by having modern pop stars play dress-up while covering classics

‘American Dreams’ Season 1 review

“American Dreams” Season 1 (2002-03, NBC) – OK, I’m not going so far as to say this series is actually good, but the “American Bandstand” segments and pre-Vietnam innocence are charming enough that I’ll continue taping it while watching “The Simpsons.” And don’t be fooled by the obnoxious NBC ads — the show itself has

Ron Swanson: TV’s greatest libertarian character ever? (Commentary)

Since I’m venturing into politics with this post (which will eventually be about television), I’ll admit my bias up front: I’ll be voting for the Libertarian Party ticket of Johnson-Gray in November. But I think anyone who’s been paying attention knows that the growing distrust of Big Government, Big Spending and Big War is the noteworthy political

Happy (day after) Mother’s Day from ‘Gossip Girl’: Brittany Snow returns to TV (Commentary)

It’s appropriate that Brittany Snow spells her name the normal way, rather than “Britney,” “Brittani” or “Britni.” The actress strikes me as an old-fashioned girl, because I first saw her as Meg Pryor in the 1960s-set “American Dreams,” that 2002-05 NBC series where Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” played in the background during every episode.