''Dreams'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

from October 3 to October 31, 1984. It follows the story of a fictional rock band in Philadelphia that tries to get a recording contract, starring

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the ...

in the lead as Gino Manelli, a 22-year-old welder who plays guitar for rock band Dreams outside his regular job.

Jami Gertz Jami Beth Gertz ( ; born October 28, 1965) is an American actress. Gertz had roles in the films '' Crossroads'', '' Quicksilver'' (both 1986), '' Less than Zero'', '' The Lost Boys'' (both 1987), and the 1980s TV series '' Square Pegs'' and 1996 ...

co-stars as lead singer Martha Spino. Inspired by the growing popularity of music videos in the early 1980s, the show incorporated music video aesthetics in each episode, with executive producer

Jon Peters John H. Peters (born June 2, 1945) is an American film producer and former hairdresser. Early life Peters was born on June 2, 1945, in Van Nuys, California. Peters is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent. While growing up in a ro ...

previously having produced ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer, Alex Owens, who aspires to become a professional ballerina, alongside Michael Nouri, who plays her ...

''. However, the show was negatively reviewed by critics and was canceled after five episodes. Stamos and Gertz would go on to success in later work, and one song performed in the show, " Alone", would become a number-one hit in 1987 for rock group

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

Premise

Gino Manelli, a 22-year-old welder in Philadelphia, performs as a guitarist with rock band Dreams when not at his regular job. The show "combin dsituation comedy with the flourishing popularity of music videos." Additionally, ''Dreams'' was the first U.S. network television show to broadcast in

stereo sound Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

. Executive producer

previously produced ''

'', a 1983 film that incorporated music video editing with the story.

Broadcast

CBS scheduled ''Dreams'' on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. beginning October 3, 1984. However, due to poor ratings, CBS removed ''Dreams'' after the October 31 episode.

Cast

as Gino Minnelli (guitar) *

as Martha Spino (vocals) * Cain Devore as Phil Taylor (bass) *

Albert Macklin Albert Macklin (born 1958) is an American film and stage actor. Filmography Film * '' David & Layla'' (2005) * ''Cradle Will Rock'' (1999) * ''Daylight'' (1996) * ''Date with an Angel'' (1987) Television Stage * '' The Torch-Bearers'' ...

as Morris Weiner (drums) * Valerie Stevenson as Lisa Copley (vocals/piano) * Sandy Freeman as Louise Franconi *

Ron Karabatsos Ronald Christ Karabatsos (1933–2012) was an American character actor, who prior to his acting career worked as a Union City police detective. Early life Karabatsos was born on April 22, 1933, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA, to Constantine and ...

as Frank Franconi

Episodes

Soundtrack

Reception

''Dreams'' encountered negative critical reception. In the summer of 1984, ad agency

Dancer Fitzgerald Sample Dancer Fitzgerald Sample (DFS and later DFS-Dorland) was a Madison Avenue advertising agency during the 20th century. It was founded in Chicago in 1923, and was acquired and merged into the Saatchi & Saatchi network in the 1980s. History The age ...

ranked the show among the least likely to succeed in the upcoming television season, believing the show to be childish ("exclusively kidvid"). For ''The New York Times'', John J. O'Connor found similarities between ''Dreams'' and ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'', regarding Stamos's character of Gino as a "straightforward resurrection" of

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...

Fonzie Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lea ...

"in the ''

'' mode". However, O'Connor was critical of Gino's character development: "...without a nice-guy

Richie Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name * Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame * Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Aust ...

for a foil, Gino comes across less irresistible than obnoxious." O'Connor also called the show "a kind of extended music-video punctuated with dopey dialogue."

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (November 3, 1944 – January 13, 2024) was an American writer and television critic. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1 ...

of ''The Washington Post'' called ''Dreams'' a "weak and creaky sitcom". However,

David Bianculli David Bianculli (born 1953 or 1954)Wilk, Tom ''New Jersey Monthly'', (July 12, 2010) is an American TV critic, columnist, radio personality, non-fiction author and university professor. Bianculli has served as the television critic for NPR's ra ...

of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' had a more mixed review: "The pilot works, barely, but later episodes will tell if this is a cult item or a commercial cop-out." Later in the show's run, Bianculli pointed out the sanitized nature of ''Dreams'' on CBS in contrast to the group's music videos on MTV: "The paradox here is that rock music, by definition, is supposed to be uninhibited and loose, while network television has censors on its payroll. If ''Dreams'' were afforded a little more freedom, the show would be a lot more fun to watch."

Legacy

In 2016, Bob Leszczak called ''Dreams'' "an expensive and ambitious flop". The two lead cast members would find success in other ventures after the short run of ''Dreams''. Stamos played Jesse Katsopolis on sitcom ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...

'' from 1988 to 1995. on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. ''Full House'' was a popular show on ABC's '' TGIF'' lineup, reaching the top ten of Nielsen ratings in 1991–92. From 2002 to 2006, Gertz portrayed Judy Miller on the CBS sitcom '' Still Standing''. In 2015, Gertz and husband

Tony Ressler Antony P. Ressler (born October 12, 1960) is an American businessman. He co-founded the private equity firms Apollo Global Management in 1990, and Ares Management in 1997. Ressler is also owner of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team, acquiring them ...

became majority owners of the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

basketball team. In 1987, rock group

recorded a cover version of " Alone", previously performed by Stamos and Stevenson for ''Dreams''. Heart's version became a number-one hit in 1987 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and was ranked no. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 of 1987.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0086701 1984 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings 1980s American musical comedy television series 1980s American sitcoms Television shows set in Philadelphia Television series created by Andy Borowitz CBS sitcoms