My favorite show ever

vmartin

I adore this show. There have been no new episodes for nearly five years, and I'm still mourning its loss. One thing I loved about the show was its complex view of morality. None of the characters were exclusively "good" or exclusively "evil." (I don't recall Dr. Billy Peale having a fall from grace, but he wasn't on the show for very long. He probably would have fallen, given more time). And while Lucas Buck seemed essentially evil, there were times when we could sympathize with him and even root for him. Another thing I loved about the show was that it favored psychological maneuvers over physical violence. I'm a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I know that every episode will have at least one knock-down drag-out fight. American Gothic used verbal confrontations and mind games, which I find much more intriguing. Lucas played some brilliant mind games.

The show's ideas were often strikingly original. "American Gothic" often made my jaw drop because of its audacity and its willingness to ask tough questions without opting for easy answers. And the acting was phenomenal. I had never heard of Gary Cole before this show, but now I'm a big fan of his. He was very entertaining--and always convincing--as Lucas Buck. It makes me sad that he didn't get to spend more time in the role. The other actors are equally notable, but I'm going to run out of space if I praise each one individually.

CBS screwed this show over royally. They skipped episodes and eventually showed them out of order. They also apparently decided that we weren't entitled to know certain major plot developments (most notably Gail's discovery about her parents in "Ring of Fire"). Then Sci-Fi aired every episode in 1998, but they edited words and content that CBS didn't have a problem with. I would be forever grateful if someone, somewhere could air the entire series uncut and in order.

I often wonder where the show would have gone if it had lasted more than a season--what else we would have learned about the Temple family and about Lucas Buck. And that's all I can do--wonder what might have been. Well, that and rewatch my AG tapes, which I'm in the process of doing. I've watched them a lot.

score /10

vmartin 18 January 2001

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0352755/