History Series / AmericanDreams

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: At least Meg does, as evidenced by her relationship with Chris Pierce in the third season; many [[{{Shipping}} shippers]] agreed.

* BettyAndVeronica: Meg and Roxanne follow this trope so well [[DeadpanSnarker Luke]] actually {{Lampshades}} it in an early episode. It becomes even more HilariousInHindsight when Luke winds up having dated both of them in the second season.

* FamilyDrama: Arguably half the reason the show failed was because NBC [[ExecutiveMeddling insisting]] it was a TeenDrama.

* PopularHistory

* StoryArc

* Roxanne Bojarski (Vanessa Lengies): Meg's [=BFF=] and a fellow ''Bandstand'' dancer. A bit of a GoodBadGirl, she supplies Meg with some ToxicFriendInfluence.
* Jack Pryor (Tom Verica): Meg's OverprotectiveDad. Generally humorless, but has occasional Moments Of Awesome.
* Helen Pryor (Gail O'Grady): Jack's {{Housewife}} and a bit more open-minded to the changing times than he is.
* J.J. Pryor (Will Estes): Meg's older brother, who spends most of the second and part of the third seasons in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.
* Beth Mason/Pryor (Rachel Boston): J.J.'s girlfriend and later wife. A little "oops" happens as per the LawOfInverseFertility, resulting in Birth and Wedding Episodes during the third season.
* Henry Walker (Jonathan Adams): A business associate of Jack. He is black, which is a Big Deal considering this is the '60s.
* Sam Walker (Arlen Escarpeta): Son of Henry and classmate to the Pryor kids. He eventually gets a {{UST}}-filled relationship with Meg. Of course, being black is an even Bigger Deal here.
* Patty Pryor (Sarah Ramos): AnnoyingYoungerSibling to Meg[[note]](Roxanne didn't call her "Bratty Patty" for nothing)[[/note]], Patty is TheSpock, complete with SpockSpeak. Towards the end of the show, she got old enough to start getting teenage storylines.
* Will Pryor (Ethan Dampf): Youngest Pryor, who becomes the LittlestCancerPatient when he got polio.

The show is perhaps best remembered for its StuntCasting gimmick of using the ''American Bandstand'' portion of the show to have a 2000s celebrity singer dress up like a 1960s celebrity singer and sing their SignatureSong. Throughout the series, they had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll7zayruBGs&feature=related Brandy singing "Heard It Through The Grapevine" as Gladys Knight]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om8nbGgop4o&feature=related Charlotte Martin singing "Downtown" as Petula Clark]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaJuNvDJisw&feature=related Fefe Dobson singing "River Deep - Mountain High" as Tina Turner]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptVpkXAU3s&feature=related Hilary Duff singing "Leader of the Pack" as Mary Weiss]], and Kelly Clarkson as Brenda Lee ''twice'' singing "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6I9ujDPopg&feature=related Rock Around The Christmas Tree]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkm33cszmZQ&feature=related Sweet Nuthin's]]". And those are just ''some'' of the ones that are easy to find on Website/YouTube -- towards the end, they did this pretty much OncePerEpisode.

* AnachronismStew: While vaguely advancing from 1963 to 1966 over its three seasons, the show tended to mix-and-match elements from different points in the decade.
** The biggest part of this may have been the acts themselves: getting appearance dates ludicrously wrong, or even putting acts on ''Bandstand'' that never appeared on the show.

* CutShort
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Of the "non-joke, non-sexual" variety. A show that begins with a shocking national tragedy, and eventually sees the characters become in involved in a controversial war. Debuting while September 11, 2001 was still a fresh memory and airing during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
* DraftDodging: Helen use her travel agent job to help at least one boy escape to Canada and it was also implied she helped others. Had the show continued she would have been arrested for her trouble. The show also had dealt previously with Nathan a Nation of Islam follower choosing to serve jail time rather than violate his pacifist beliefs.

The show is perhaps best remembered for its StuntCasting gimmick of using the ''American Bandstand'' portion of the show to have an '00s celebrity singer dress up like a '60s celebrity singer and sing their SignatureSong. Throughout the series, they had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll7zayruBGs&feature=related Brandy singing "Heard It Through The Grapevine" as Gladys Knight]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om8nbGgop4o&feature=related Charlotte Martin singing "Downtown" as Petula Clark]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaJuNvDJisw&feature=related Fefe Dobson singing "River Deep - Mountain High" as Tina Turner]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptVpkXAU3s&feature=related Hilary Duff singing "Leader of the Pack" as Mary Weiss]], and Kelly Clarkson as Brenda Lee ''twice'' singing "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6I9ujDPopg&feature=related Rock Around The Christmas Tree]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkm33cszmZQ&feature=related Sweet Nuthin's]]". And those are just ''some'' of the ones that are easy to find on Website/YouTube -- towards the end, they did this pretty much OncePerEpisode.

* TheArtifact: The ''Series/AmericanBandstand'' portions.
** Oddly, they had a ready excuse to drop them - ''Bandstand'' moved from Philly to L.A. in the mid-60s.
*** [[spoiler: Instead, Meg moves to L.A. during the last season.]]
*** Given that one of the executive producers was Mr. ''Series/AmericanBandstand'' himself, Dick Clark, losing that part of the show was never going to happen.

* FamilyDrama: Arguably half the reason the show failed was because NBC [[ExecutiveMeddling insisting]] it was a TeenDrama. Of course it was [[IdiotBall post-Friends NBC]].

* UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy: The series begins with his assassination.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: One of the kids' uncles is a cop, and bronze-colored Philadelphia police cars feature prominently. Real Philly cop cars in the early/mid '60s were ''red'' but the producers apparently felt this would look too much like fire department cars.

* TheSixties

* StockFootage: Oh, the show ''loved'' this trope. One expects they made Jack run a TV store just so they could show as much vintage TV footage as possible.
** Not to mention the opening title sequence was full of it.

* UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar

* Meg Pryor (Creator/BrittanySnow): The ''de facto'' protagonist, Meg is a HighSchool[=-aged=] NaiveEverygirl as well as a dancer on ''AmericanBandstand''. Her ComingOfAgeStory was more-or-less the centerpiece of the show.

* TheArtifact: The ''AmericanBandstand'' portions.

*** Given that one of the executive producers was Mr. ''AmericanBandstand'' himself, Dick Clark, losing that part of the show was never going to happen.

A FamilyDrama series which ran on Creator/{{NBC}} from 2002 to 2005 and was [[{{Cancellation}} cancelled]] due to low UsefulNotes/{{ratings}}. Regrettably, it was CutShort in the middle of a StoryArc. The first of its three seasons was released on [=DVD=] in 2004.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AD_6420.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Top row: J.J., Jack, Beth, Helen, Henry, and Sam; Middle row: Roxanne, Meg, and Will; Bottom: Patty]]
Creator/{{NBC}} FamilyDrama series which ran from 2002 to 2005 and was [[{{Cancellation}} cancelled]] due to low UsefulNotes/{{ratings}}. Regrettably, it was CutShort in the middle of a StoryArc. The first of its three seasons was released on [=DVD=] in 2004.

Not to be confused with the film American Dreamz.

Creator/{{NBC}} FamilyDrama series which ran from 2002 to 2005 and was [[{{Cancellation}} cancelled]] due to low {{ratings}}. Regrettably, it was CutShort in the middle of a StoryArc. The first of its three seasons was released on [=DVD=] in 2004.

* FakeAmerican: Vanessa Lengies and Jamie Elman (Luke Foley) both grew up in Canada (although Jamie Elman was born in the US). Jamie Elman hails from Montreal and Vanessa Lengies grew up in nearby Huron Quebec. While both are less likely to let slip [[CanadianAccents Canadian Rising]] (being less pronounced in that area of the country) their "ough" endings often come out rather Quebecois.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: As noted in the opening, the first season was released on [=DVD=] while the show was still running. As of 2014, the other two seasons have never been released.
* MarketBasedTitle: In Australia the first season aired as ''Our Generation'' (it later reverted to the original title).

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Creator/{{NBC}} loved to change the show's time slot.
** In Britain this was screwed by ''two'' networks; it aired on the Hallmark Channel and Trouble, and neither channel could be bothered to show the third and final season.

* StuntCasting: Countless instances of modern-day celebrities portraying their 1960s equivalents; the most jarring example has got to be Paris Hilton as [[Series/IDreamOfJeannie Barbara Eden]].
** Er, Nick Lachey as Tom Jones? Also, Nancy Sinatra wasn't initially keen on Jennifer Love Hewitt playing her [[spoiler: - good thing she changed her mind, since JLH was one of the few guests to appear twice]].

* StuntCasting: Countless instances of modern-day celebrities portraying their 1960s equivalents; the most jarring example has got to be Paris Hilton as [[IDreamOfJeannie Barbara Eden]].

* Helen Pryor (Gail O'Grady): Jack's {{Housewife}} and a bit more open-minded to the changing times than him.

* Henry Walker (Jonathan Adams): A business associate of Jack. He is black, which is a Big Deal what with this being the '60s.
* Sam Walker (Arlen Escarpeta): Son of Henry and classmate to the Pryor kids. He eventually gets a {{UST}} filled relationship with Meg. Of course, being black is an even Bigger Deal here.

* PreviouslyOn: Running Sundays from 8-9 PM, it would run a ''mid''-episode recap, presumably for people just changing over from ''TheSimpsons''.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: An epilogue set in 1969 -- three years after the last season -- was filmed after the show was canceled. NBC didn't feel like airing it. It still hasn't been released publicly.

* Patty Pryor (Sarah Ramos): AnnoyingYoungerSibling to Meg, Patty is TheSpock, complete with SpockSpeak. Towards the end of the show, she got old enough to start getting teenage storylines.

* JohnFKennedy: The series begins with his assassination.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: As noted in the opening, the first season was released on [=DVD=] while the show was still running. As of 2012, the other two seasons have never been released.

* J.J. Pryor (Will Estes): Meg's older brother, who spends most of the second and part of the third seasons in TheVietnamWar.

* TheVietnamWar

* Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow): The ''de facto'' protagonist, Meg is a HighSchool[=-aged=] NaiveEverygirl as well as a dancer on ''AmericanBandstand''. Her ComingOfAgeStory was more-or-less the centerpiece of the show.

** So fans could ask "Where Is It Now?"

{{NBC}} FamilyDrama series which ran from 2002 to 2005 and was [[{{Cancellation}} cancelled]] due to low {{ratings}}. Regrettably, it was CutShort in the middle of a StoryArc. The first of its three seasons was released on [=DVD=] in 2004.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: {{NBC}} loved to change the show's time slot.

* YouMakeMeSic: Patty's response to going on ''American Bandstand'' and seeing TheRollingStones perform "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"? Correcting their song's grammar... ''on air''.

{{NBC}} {{FamilyDrama}} series which ran from 2002 to 2005 and was [[{{Cancellation}} cancelled]] due to low {{ratings}}. Regrettably, it was CutShort in the middle of a StoryArc. The first of its three seasons was released on [=DVD=] in 2004.

The show is perhaps best remembered for its StuntCasting gimmick of using the ''American Bandstand'' portion of the show to have an '00s celebrity singer dress up like a '60s celebrity singer and sing their SignatureSong. Throughout the series, they had [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll7zayruBGs&feature=related Brandy singing "Heard It Through The Grapevine" as Gladys Knight]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om8nbGgop4o&feature=related Charlotte Martin singing "Downtown" as Petula Clark]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaJuNvDJisw&feature=related Fefe Dobson singing "River Deep - Mountain High" as Tina Turner]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptVpkXAU3s&feature=related Hilary Duff singing "Leader of the Pack" as Mary Weiss]], and Kelly Clarkson as Brenda Lee ''twice'' singing "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6I9ujDPopg&feature=related Rock Around The Christmas Tree]]" and "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkm33cszmZQ&feature=related Sweet Nuthin's]]". And those are just ''some'' of the ones that are easy to find on YouTube -- towards the end, they did this pretty much OncePerEpisode.

* BettyAndVeronica: Meg and Roxanne follow this trope so well [[DeadpanSnarker Luke]] actually {{Lampshades}} it in an early episode. It becomes even more HilariousInHindsight when Luke winds up having dated both of them in the second season.

* DraftDodging: Helen use her travel agent job to help at least one boy escape to Canada and it was also implied she helped others. Had the show continued she would have been arrested for her trouble. The show also had dealt previously with Nathan a Nation of Islam follower choosing to serve jail time rather than violate his pacifist beliefs.

* FakeAmerican: Vanessa Lengies and Jamie Elman (Luke Foley) both grew up in Canada (although Jamie Elman was born in the US). Jamie Elman hails from Montreal and Vanessa Lengies grew up in nearby Huron Quebec. While both are less likely to let slip [[CanadianAccents Canadian Rising]] (being less pronounced in that area of the country) their "ough" endings often come out rather Quebecois.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys (at least Meg does, as evidenced by her relationship with Chris Pierce in the third season; many [[{{Shipping}} shippers]] agreed)

* AnachronismStew (while vaguely advancing from 1963 to 1966 over its three seasons, the show tended to mix-and-match elements from different points in the decade)

* TheArtifact (the ''AmericanBandstand'' portions)

* FakeAmerican: Vanessa Lengies and Jamie Elman(Luke Foley) both grew up in Canada (although Jamie Elman was born in the US). Jamie Elman hails from Montreal and Vanessa Lengies grew up in nearby Huron Quebec. While both are less likely to let slip [[CanadianAccents Canadian Rising]] ( being less pronounced in that area of the country) their "ough" endings often come out rather Quebecois.

* HappilyMarried (Jack and Helen)
* JohnFKennedy (The series begins with his assassination)
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes (As noted in the opening, the first season was released on [=DVD=] while the show was still running. As of 2010, the other two seasons have never been released.)
* NaiveEverygirl (Meg Pryor, though some might argue [[{{Flanderization}} she became a complete idiot in the third season]])
* NothingButHits (of course)

* PreviouslyOn- Running Sundays from 8-9 PM, it would run a ''mid''-episode recap, presumably for people just changing over from ''TheSimpsons''.
* {{Retraux}} (The show's '60s-styled theme song "Generation", sung by Emerson Hart)
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack- Everyone occasionally, Will especially.

* TheSpock (Patty Pryor)
* SpockSpeak (Patty constantly talks in a monotone)
* StockFootage (Oh, the show ''loved'' this trope. One expects they made Jack run a TV Store just so they could show as much vintage TV footage as possible.)
* ShotgunWedding (it's revealed in one episode that Jack and Helen got married because she was pregnant)

* StuntCasting (countless instances of modern-day celebrities portraying their 1960s equivalents; the most jarring example has got to be Paris Hilton as [[IDreamOfJeannie Barbara Eden]])

* ToxicFriendInfluence (Roxanne sometimes borders on this in her friendship with Meg. Occasionally subverted -- although she was normally the "good girl", Meg was quite capable of doing dumb and/or rebellious things all on her own.)

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue (An epilogue set in 1969 -- three years after the last season -- was filmed after the show was canceled. NBC didn't feel like airing it. It still hasn't been released publicly.)