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March 6, 2011

#7 American Gothic (1995 - 1996)

Notes: Since this is the last of these posts I thought I'd make a note as to order and why I chose these shows. First off there are other shows I like more that aren't on the list like Firefly and Farscape and a few others but I just felt like doing these shows, also they aren't addressed in any order of preference. In fact, some (like Forever Knight and some episodes/seasons of Highlander) are, at very best, barely tolerable guilty pleasures. :) 

 I like this show for a few reasons, one, I don't think it had a chance to find it's footing but was well on its way to being an early sorta X-Files and not at all boring, two, it's the demonic in the deep south WIN, three, it does a decent job of driving home the point that not every freaking person with a southern accent is a racist or an idiot, and four it's just plain fun.

The plot revolves around a young boy whose father murders his sister in a fit of rage and is then killed by the local sheriff. Except that the Sheriff is so not what he seems and has his fingers in all aspects of the town's going ons. The boy is taken in by a distant relative that recently moved back to town thwarting the sheriff's plans to raise the boy as his own. The boy's allies are his guardian and the local ER doc. Of course things get nuts and the true dark nature of his lordship the sheriff is revealed along with his somewhat nefarious and oddly benevolent interest in the boy.

 This show was not given a fair shot, much like the way Fox mishandled and bungled Firefly American Gothic was similarly abused via airing episodes out of order and truncating the season once it's cancellation was announced. It's possible to get the full series on DVD but apparently Universal jacked up the episode order and went with the broadcast order rather than the actual order. 

Unlike some of the other shows I've been babbling about this week AG actually stands up to the passage of time reasonably well. Unlike the Pretender it isn't a tech heavy show so the lack of advancement there doesn't automatically date and deaden it. The acting isn't over the top or highly dramatic nor are the musical, lighting etc choices like in Forever Knight. It's solid and while some of the effects are pretty awkward by today's standards the feel and drive of the show is held up and maintained by the performances and the writing more than any effects so even there the impact of time is minimal.

All in all this is a fun little gem and a nice way to while away a weekend. Maybe in midwinter just after Halloween with something warm and alcoholic at home.





Netflix - Yes, disc only

Hulu - Yes

Amazon - Yes clickable pic below
American Gothic - Complete Series

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