Search - California Dreams - Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD

If you think the actors had fun, shoulda seen the writers ro

Tony Soltis | Studio City, CA United States | 04/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's interesting to see how much people liked the later seasons more than the first two, but speaking as a writer who worked on every episode along with Ron Solomon and Brett Dewey, it was the last few shows of the second season when Dreams hit its stride, finding its bizarre, broad tone. I'm not sure any episode is better than the second season's western musical. Admittedly, it's only after the Garrisons depart that we get to see Gary Beach sell used cars or that PCH's transie principal and monomaniacal vice principal appear. I loved the actors, I loved their characters, and the shows are a reflection of the writers room's tomato fights, water guns, and barefoot dance contests late-night atop Hollywood's Gower Studios. There were a lot of NBC-Peter Engel sitcoms going on at the time, but we were the only ones sticking Kick Me tags on Peter Engel's back at run-thrus."

At Long Last the sister series of Saved by the Bell

Kenith Anthony Gulick | Rising Sun, MD United States | 01/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Its been a long time coming for this series mostly because of musical rights issues. And guessing Shout Factorys record we can only pray that this is put out in its original form. If you are looking for that same comedy as Saved by the Bell this is basically the same thing (in my opinion not as great as bell though), a 90s teen series in a tropical setting. The first two seasons were pretty formulaic ending with a song from the band and having the parents more involved with the kids hijinks. But as later seasons progressed it hit is stride with teen romance abound that only Peter Engel could dream up. Here's hoping Shout Factory follows the formula and puts out seasons 3, 4, and 5 out with in a reasonable time frame. I am very greatful they took the effort to release this series.
JUST TO LET EVERYONE KNOW, SEASON 3 IS AVALIABLE FROM THE SHOUT FACTORY WEBSITE. SO ORDER NOW SO THE REMAINING TWO SEASONS WILL BE RELEASED!"

Great show but not its best seasons

Milhouse | United States | 02/25/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a HUGE FAN the California Dreams but seasons 1-2 are not its best material. Don't get me wrong, this 90's style high school sitcom formula is still great to watch, and the songs which this show eventually became known for were always an amazing complement to the emotions of an episode. But I really didn't enjoy anyone in the Garrison family, who were the initial focus of the show in seasons 1-2. In addition to not really relating to the parents or the little brother, I didn't particularly enjoy Matt or Jenny's singing voices either. I went on to grow fondest of the show in the seasons 3-5 when the Garrisons were written out and replaced by Lorena, Mark, and Sam, and the focus of the show was more on the band itself.

The "California Dreams Reunited" bonus feature sounds nice on paper but turns out to be a big dud, only "reuniting" Brent Gore (Matt), Jennie Kwon (Sam), Kelly Packard (Tiffani), and Michael Cade (Sly). I appreciate the effort though. These kinds of special features are really lacking from a lot of DVD's of cancelled TV shows."

Shout Factory does it again!

Fremont | East Coast | 05/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bucking the trend for cheaply made, poorly sourced, musically replaced, or even incomplete ("Smother's Brothers") treatments of TV series, Shout Factory has an umitigated winner here.

All the Season 1-2 episodes are present and they look great. Thanks to Steve Tyrell, all the original music appears as well. No rights issues here as the music was composed for and one supposes owned by the show.

Extras are sparse - outside of the ability to jump directly to the songs and a winning cast reunion - sans Jay Anthony Franke, Heidi Noelle Lenhart and William James Jones. They are missed, especially since Ms. Lenhart and Mr. Franke are referred to more than once as having conflicts with those present. Given the close relationship between the "Tiffani" and "Jake" characters, it would have been interesting to hear Mr. Franke's take on the relationship - both onscreen and off.

Given challenging economic times, this is one expenditure that is well worth dipping into whatever disposable income fans of the show have left. One can't help but hope sales are brisk enough for Shout Factory to release the remaining 3 seasons.

Speaking of - here's a pre-emptive request for Shout Factory. If season 5 is released - cast commentaries from the principals for the final episode are a must!

As for content - I tend to disagree with most here. I believe the introduction of the romance of the "Jake" and "Tiffani" characters midway through season 2 really propelled the show, though it curiously disappeared for episodes 16 and 17 - the "Jake" character openly chasing after other girls while the "Tiffani" character watched with disinterest - only to reappear in the Season 2 ending cliffhanger (NBC clearly originally aired these epsiodes out of order). There can be no denying, however, that Mr. Franke and Ms. Packard brought considerable chemistry to the compelling romantic escapades of these two characters.

I believe the loss of the "Jenny" character was significant, as I found Ms. Lenhart to be the most talented singer of the group, evidenced by her performance on Mr. Tyrell's compelling pop efforts, "Castles on Quicksand" and "This Time". Her performance as a "head banging mosh pit reject" was hysterical. As for the "Mark Winkle" and "Lorena Costa" characters - I thought Aaron Jackson was an unfortunate choice to replace Brent Gore in the vocal mix, and that their characters never really achieved the magical on-screen dynamic of the others.

THANKS to Tony Soltis - one the show's principal writers - for visiting with us here and affording us a brief snapshot into the writer's room. While one must always listen with skepticism as all those associated with a project rant on, predictably proclaiming "this is best thing I've ever worked on!", it does appear that those involved here are actually speaking from the heart!
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