Dream On (TV series)

Premise

The show centered on Martin Tupper's (Brian Benben) life in an apartment in New York City with his teenaged son, and relating to his ex-wife, while trying to date other women and succeed as an editor for a small book publisher with Toby, his brassy secretary. Judith, his ex-wife, went on to marry Dr. Richard Stone - the never-seen (until the end of the series), most impossibly successful man on the planet (astronaut, brain surgeon, the fifth Beatle and consultant to the Pope); despite Martin's undying love for Judith, he could never compete with the legendary Dr. Stone. The opening indicates Martin's mother was "friendly", and always parked him in front of the TV, hence the association of sex with his memories. The show was notable for its frequent use of clips from old movies and TV shows to express Martin's inner life and feelings, which lent it much of its quirky appeal, reminding viewers about the impact of TV on their consciousness. The show was also significant for being one of the first American sitcoms to use uncensored profanity and nudity.

Dream On first aired July 1990 on HBO, and was cancelled by HBO in March 1996. One season of the show, with language and nudity edited for broadcast, aired in prime time on the Fox Network in 1995: Sunday at 9:30-10:00 pm from January to April and Monday at 9:00-10:00 pm from June to July. This bowdlerized version was later made available in syndication.

Cast

Critical reception

Time magazine called the show "engaging", noting that its use of old clips was "a clever gimmick [that] perks up familiar material" and later called the second season of the "decidedly adult sitcom...better than ever."

The New York Times had mixed opinions about the show. In their first-season review, John J. O'Connor said Dream On was not "different from ordinary network fare...except for, as might be expected, the more freewheeling language and treatments of sex"; by the season's third episode, the show's protagonist is "already becoming just another nice bachelor father, not all that different from the one John Forsythe played on television several decades ago." About a year later, O'Connor said, while the show "has its weak spots, most notably in a pointless tendency to be smarmy" with "clips... that are sometimes less witty than painfully obvious. But Dream On takes unusual chances and has a habit of turning out to be refreshingly original."

Syndication

The edited version of the series aired in syndication on Comedy Central in the United States.

International airings

In Canada, Dream On aired on the cable movie station Superchannel, in late-night timeslots on CBC Television, and later on SexTV: The Channel, The Comedy Network, and with French subtitles on Télé-Québec.

In New Zealand, the edited version screened on TV2, while the unedited version appeared on SKY 1.

The show aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom (for the first two series, before the remainder was shown on Sky1 – the majority of the Sky episodes were later shown on ITV4 in a late-night slot around 2006–07), in France, the show aired on Canal Jimmy, in Switzerland on TSR, in Germany on RTL2, in Norway on TV3 and on Raisat Cinema, Canale 5, and Rai 4 in Italy. It was also broadcast by Canal + in Poland as one of its first shows.

In Israel, the entire show aired on Bip; it is still aired on a regular basis, usually at night as it managed to retain its popularity.

DVD releases

Seasons one and two are currently available on DVD for both regions 1 and 2; seasons three through six have not been released.