''American Gothic'' is an American
horror series created by
Shaun Cassidy
Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer, and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including '' American Gothic'', '' Roar'' and ''Invasion''. Cassidy currently serves as ...
. The show first aired on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
on September 22, 1995, and was cancelled after a single season on July 11, 1996. The show received positive reviews and has been regarded as a cult classic.
Plot
The story takes place in the fictional town of Trinity,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, and revolves around Caleb Temple (
Lucas Black
Lucas York Black (born November 29, 1982) is an American film and television actor. He is best known as the main character Sean Boswell in '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), of which he would later reprise the character in '' Fur ...
) and the town's corrupt sheriff, Lucas Buck (
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the T ...
). Though appearing affable and charismatic, Sheriff Buck is a murderous rapist whose power base is backed by apparent
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
powers, which he generally uses to manipulate people to "fulfill their potential" and make life-changing choices (usually for evil).
Caleb Temple is a normal child whose paternity masks a horrific secret: Lucas Buck is his biological father, having raped his mother in front of Caleb's older sister Merlyn (
Sarah Paulson
Sarah Catharine Paulson (born December 17, 1974) is an American actress. She began her acting career in New York City stage productions before starring in the short-lived television series '' American Gothic'' (1995–1996) and '' Jack & Jill' ...
). The horror of watching her mother being sexually assaulted caused Merlyn to become severely emotionally traumatized and withdrawn from the rest of the world, made even worse when her mother committed suicide after giving birth to Caleb.
During the
pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
of the series, Sheriff Buck murders Merlyn in cold blood and manipulates Caleb's "father" (
Sonny Shroyer
Otis Burt "Sonny" Shroyer Jr. (born August 28, 1935) is an American actor and singer who has appeared in various television and movie roles. He is known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate in the television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. ...
) into committing suicide in order to eliminate Caleb's family and claim his biological son for his own. The newly arrived Dr. Crower (
Jake Weber
Jake T. Weber (born 12 March 1963) is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in '' Dawn of the Dead'' and for his role as Drew in '' Meet Joe Black''. On television, he is best-known for playing Joe DuBois, the sleep-deprived ...
) begins to uncover the sheriff's role in the deaths of Merlyn and Merlyn's father and with help from Caleb's out-of-town cousin Gail Emory (
Paige Turco
Jean Paige Turco (born May 17, 1965) is an American actress, best known for her role as April O'Neil in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' and ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III''. Other notable roles include Melanie Co ...
), struggles to prevent Lucas from corrupting young Caleb. They are aided in part by Merlyn's ghost, who personally appears before Caleb throughout the series in order to try to keep him from Buck's corrupt grasp.
Cast of characters
Main cast
Recurring cast
Note: The character of Dr. Billy Peale (John Mese) was a late addition to the series, intended to be a regular character to replace Dr. Matt Crower as a more formidable adversary to Lucas Buck. He was added to the opening credits in the episode "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday", in which Dr. Crower is written out. Producer Shaun Cassidy stated in interviews that Dr. Crower would have returned had the show been renewed for a second season.
Episodes
CBS originally aired American Gothic in a differing sequence than the production order and omitted four episodes ("Potato Boy", "Ring of Fire", "Echo of Your Last Goodbye" and "Strangler") from its network broadcast. Subsequent, syndicated airings of the series included these four episodes.
Home media
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
released the complete series of American Gothic on DVD as a
Region 1 NTSC
The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
double-sided 3-disc set in the United States (October 25, 2005) and as a
Region 2 PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
single-sided 6-disc set in Europe (released March 20, 2006).
The Region 1 and Region 2 Discs have the episodes in the same order (by air date as opposed to producer's intended order). The only exception is the German boxset (released October 5, 2007 by "Koch Media Home Entertainment"), which features all episodes in the intended order on 7 DVDs.
The orders are as follows:
Award nominations
References
External links
*
''American Gothic''at
TV Guide.com
{{Renaissance Pictures
1995 American television series debuts
1996 American television series endings
1990s American drama television series
1990s American supernatural television series
1990s American horror television series
CBS original programming
English-language television shows
Television series about ghosts
Gothic television shows
Television series by Universal Television
Television shows set in South Carolina
Television shows filmed in North Carolina
Television shows filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina
Television series created by Shaun Cassidy
Cultural depictions of Albert DeSalvo