California Dreams | |
---|---|
Genre | Teen sitcom |
Created by | Brett Dewey Ronald B. Solomon |
Starring |
Brent Gore Kelly Packard William James Jones Heidi Noelle Lenhart Michael Cade Michael Cutt Gail Ramsey Ryan O'Neill Jay Anthony Franke Jennie Kwan Diana Uribe Aaron Jackson |
Theme music composer |
Guy Moon Steve Tyrell Regina Crimp |
Opening theme | "California Dreams" |
Ending theme | "California Dreams" (instrumental) |
Composer(s) | Steve Tyrell |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 78 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Peter Engel |
Producer(s) |
Franco Bario Ronald B. Solomon Brett Dewey Noah Taft (seasons 3–4) |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 22–24 minutes |
Production company(s) | Peter Engel Productions NBC Productions (1992–1996) NBC Studios (1996) |
Distributor |
NBCUniversal Television Distribution (2005-present) Rysher Entertainment (1994-1997) |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
Original release | September 12, 1992 | – December 14, 1996
NBCUniversal Television Distribution (2005-present)
California Dreams is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC from September 12, 1992 to December 14, 1996, as part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by Peter Engel, all known for their work on Saved by the Bell, the series centers on the friendships of a group of teenagers (shifting toward a multi-ethnic makeup beginning with the show's second season) who form the fictional titular band.
The show, whose plots combined real-life issues with zany adventures, centered on the lives of the California Dreams, a group originally consisting of four members – expanding to five in the second season – dealing with their attempts to make it big as musicians, as well as learning lessons about life and friendship. Several episodes of the series covered a range of topics such as fear, drug use (specifically, the use of steroids for a competitive edge), racism, falling for scams, letting greed overtake friendship, dealing with a parent dating after divorce, forgiving others for past wrongs, and other general teen social issues.
California Dreams originally was intended to be a family sitcom, mainly centering on the Garrison family, who moved to Southern California from Iowa at an undisclosed point prior to the timeline of the series. In the first season, the show's main characters were Matt Garrison (Brent Gore), the band's leader, and his younger sister Jenny (Heidi Noelle Lenhart), who is the pianist/vocalist of the group. The remainder of the Garrison family included father Richard (Michael Cutt), mother Melody (Gail Ramsey), and their youngest son, Dennis (Ryan O'Neill).
The other main characters were bass player Tiffani Smith (Kelly Packard), drummer Tony Wicks (William James Jones), and the band's teen manager, Sly Winkle (Michael Cade) – all three of which were the only characters who appeared on the show throughout its entire five-season run.