California Dreams Explained

Genre:Teen sitcom
Opentheme:"California Dreams"
Endtheme:"California Dreams" (instrumental)
Composer:Steve Tyrell
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:5
Num Episodes:78
List Episodes:List of California Dreams episodes
Executive Producer:Peter Engel
Camera:Multi-camera
Runtime:22–24 minutes
Network:NBC

California Dreams is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC. It was part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC, premiering on September 12, 1992. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by Peter Engel, all known for their work on Saved by the Bell,[1] the series centers on the friendships of a group of teenagers (shifting toward a multi-ethnic makeup beginning with the show's second season) who form the fictional titular band. The series ran five seasons, airing its final episode on December 14, 1996. The series featured 40 original songs performed by the band throughout the show's run, primarily written by Steve Tyrell.

Episodes

See main article: List of California Dreams episodes.

Cast

Syndication

Reruns of California Dreams briefly aired on TBS in the late 1990s.

The show aired on The Children's Channel and later Trouble in the UK in the 1990s.

Home media

Shout! Factory released the first four seasons of California Dreams on DVD in Region 1 between 2009 and 2011. Seasons 3 and 4 were released as Shout! Factory Exclusives titles, available exclusively through their online store. As of 2016, Seasons 1-4 and The Best of... DVDs can be purchased on Amazon. It is unknown if season 5 will be released.

On July 19, 2011, Mill Creek Entertainment released a ten-episode best-of set, The Best of California Dreams, a single-disc set that features episodes from the first three seasons.[3]

DVD Name Ep #Release Date
Seasons 1 & 231March 31, 2009[4]
Season 3♦17May 18, 2010[5]
Season 4♦15January 18, 2011[6]

♦ - Shout! Factory Exclusives title, sold exclusively through Shout's online store

Reception

Critical response

California Dreams was not well received critically. Rebecca Ascher-Walsh of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a grade of "F", and stated that "California Dreams can be accused of a lot of things, but originality isn’t one of them", and added that "California Dreams producer Franco E. Bario (who is also behind Saved by the Bell) may have good intentions, but it’s hard to imagine what they were."[7] Los Angeles Times reviewer Lynne Heffley considered the show nothing more than "a Saved by the Bell clone set in an upscale beach town".[8]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardResultCategoryRecipient
1993 Nominated Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Youth Series or Variety Show Michael Cade, Brent Gore, William James Jones, Heidi Lenhart and Kelly Packard
Best Young Actress in a New Television Series Heidi Lenhart
Best Young Actor in an Off-Primetime Series Ryan O'Neill
1994 Nominated Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Cable or Off Primetime Series Michael Cade, Jay Anthony Franke, Brent Gore, William James Jones, Kelly Packard, and Ryan O'Neill
1996 NCLR Bravo Awards Nominated Outstanding Program for Children or Youth California Dreams

Cast reunion

The main cast members from the first two seasons of California Dreams reunited on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 4, 2010, and played the show's theme song. The version they sang was a unique mash-up that featured both Heidi Noelle Lenhart and Jennie Kwan, who replaced Lenhart in Season 2. While present, Jay Anthony Franke was not a featured vocalist in the performance, given that he did not perform the singing voice of Jake Sommers. Aaron Jackson and Diana Uribe were not present.[9]

Notes and References

  1. News: 'Bell' Hearing the Sounds of Success : Television: With a TV movie, foreign broadcasts, syndicated reruns and a plethora of merchandise, 'Saved by the Bell' intends to be noticed. Greg Braxton. Los Angeles Times. November 27, 1992. May 18, 2021.
  2. News: Beat It, Bad Guys. Brenda You. Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. June 28, 1994. October 18, 2010.
  3. Web site: Best of California Dreams. Amazon.com. July 19, 2011.
  4. Web site: California Dreams: Season Three. Shout! Factory. March 31, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150419032155/https://www.shoutfactory.com/tv/comedy/california-dreams-seasons-1-2. April 19, 2015.
  5. Web site: California Dreams: Season Three. Shout! Factory. May 18, 2010. 2015-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20150419033533/https://www.shoutfactory.com/tv/comedy/california-dreams-season-three. 2015-04-19. dead.
  6. Web site: California Dreams: Season Three. Shout! Factory. January 18, 2011. 2015-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20150419040028/https://www.shoutfactory.com/tv/comedy/california-dreams-season-four. 2015-04-19. dead.
  7. Rebecca Ascher-Walsh . California Dreams . . October 2, 1992 . February 5, 2016.
  8. News: Lynne Heffley . TV Reviews Cartoon-Free Lineup No Improvement . . F9 . September 12, 1992 . subscription .
  9. Tanner Stransky . 'California Dreams' on 'Jimmy Fallon': Who needs 'Saved by the Bell' anyway... . Entertainment Weekly . March 5, 2010 . March 18, 2016.