American Gothic

One of a number of horror/sci-fi shows that came as a result of X-Files suprise success, American Gothic stood out from the back because of its exploration of themes of family, nature vs. nurture, and the nature of good and evil. The show follows Caleb Temple who recently orphaned and a potential ward of corrupt sheriff Lucas Buck(also his biological father) after his adoptive father Gage and his catatonic sister Merly are killed(both by Buck). However other characters such as Caleb's cousin Gail and ER doctor Matt also try to place Caleb under their care for various reasons. This struggle over Caleb serves as the crux of the show's narrative as Lucas Buck is shown to have powers that are dark and unnatural which he uses not only to keep control over his town of Trinity but also to tempt Caleb away from those who seek to protect him. Also involved is Merly Caleb's newly deceased sister who despite being dead appears as a ghost with her purpose being to guide Caleb toward the path of light and away from the shadowy influences of Lucas Buck. There's a really good show that could've really resonated with audiences and become as big of a cultural staple as The X-Files if not bigger.....and then CBS happened. After airing its first 3 episodes in the correct order, CBS began "tinkering" with the show by airing episodes out of order, arbitrarily switching days and time-slots, and generally making it as inconvenient as possible to find the show in your local listings. The end result was the show was cancelled and its slot was given to mid-season replacement Nash Bridges which lasted 6 seasons and now NO ONE talks about. Since American Gothics here and gone run back in 95 CBS has stuck to its two staples of conveyor belt police procedurals and sitcoms and only occasionally experimenting outside their comfort zone. Sometimes successfully(Braindead) but more often unsuccessfully(Under the Dome, Extant that OTHER American Gothic). As it stands American Gothic had a brief but very well done run of 22 episodes. If one watches American Gothic it's clear its influence can be felt in other shows, it's just a shame the show never got a chance to take off.

I first came across this series on the Sci-Fi channel last spring. I was in awe of the superb story line and excellent acting. Little did I know that this wonderful series was on network television and was canceled after one season. I thought Gary Cole's acting was incredible.

What a tragedy.

American Gothic was one of the best shows ever on TV. Stephen King took several stabs at TV with little success; American Gothic was the show he should have created but didn't.

CBS really seems to have deliberately killed this show. When I watched it I was confused by jumps from one episode to another, characters appeared and disappeared, motivations weren't explained. When the sci-fi channel showed the episodes I discovered the horrible truth: CBS had show the episodes out of order. They had left out episodes. They had taken a show with a series arc and chopped it into little pieces. They also, as I recall, moved the show around and showed it inconsistently. The sad thing is that the incompetent suit who did this is probably still working in TV, making tons of money and destroying other shows. This person should be working as a janitor somewhere.

My late husband worked on this wonderfully perverse series as production controller (I believe that's what the studio called it) - anyway, the guy who managed all the money on location in Wilmington, NC. Over the years, he worked on many productions we could barely stand to watch when they were completed. Not so "American Gothic". We were both thrilled with "AG" and bitterly disappointed at how CBS ran this unique series into the ground. I do hope Universal gets a clue and releases all the episodes on DVD, I'll be at the top of the list to get a copy. It's great to read all your comments, It's so heartening to me that so many people saw "AG" for the breakthrough series it was and still regret its demise.

Man did CBS blow it. This series was incredible and ahead of its time. I remember making a point to watch it weekly. And how disappointed I was when CBS kept tossing it around like a bastard son. The many nights when I expected it to be on, it wasn't! Sometimes it be 2-3 weeks before they'd air the next episode! Are they sadists? I'm not one of those tools who makes a point to watch shows like Friends and "Must See TV" weekly (I have a life). But American Gothic was different, it called me, and I obeyed it's call. But CBS let us all down and destroyed this wonderfully dark program.

I hope it is released on DVD very soon. Side note: The kid who played Caleb was amazing. Hardy Boy Saun Cassidy- way to go!