Hometown (TV Series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Hometown


caption =
format = Dramedy
camera =
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audio_format =
runtime = 60 minutes
creator =
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producer =
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starring = Jane Kaczmarek
Franc Luz
Andrew Rubin
Margaret Whitton
Christine Estabrook
John Bedford-Lloyd
Daniel Stern
Erin Leigh Peck
Donna Vivino
Mikey Viso
narrated =
opentheme = "Sounds From My Hometown"
endtheme =
country = USA
language = English
network = CBS
first_aired = August 22, 1985
last_aired = October 15, 1985
num_episodes =
chronology =
preceded_by =
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website =
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"Hometown" was an hour-long dramedy series than ran on CBS for 9 episodes, premiering on a head-start to the 1985-86 fall season on August 22, 1985, and running until October 15, 1985. The series was a direct adaptation of the smash hit 1983 movie "The Big Chill", and centered around the same premise as the film: a group of friends all in their 30s, who had reunited after traveling separate paths following their college days in the 1960s, and who remained an integral part of each others' lives in the 1980s. Barnet Kellman directed the series, and it was produced by Kingette Productions in association with Paramount Television.

ynopsis

Presumably set in the same South Carolina suburb as "The Big Chill", as evidenced by the exteriors of historical 19th century landmarks around the "hometown" in the show's title sequence, "Hometown" opened with the reunion of the seven former college friends, that took place at the wedding of two of them, the longtime couple of Mary Newell (Jane Kaczmarek) and Ben Abbott (Franc Luz). Amid all the nostaligia of radical times and the reminiscing of their youth, the group found their unwaivering network of support was more important than ever, as they faced a more conservative, Reaganized America of the 1980s. Prior to the wedding, Mary and Ben had been living together for 13 years, had started a family of their own out of wedlock, and now were a modern yuppie couple raising young daughters Jennifer (Erin Leigh Peck) and Tess (Donna Vivino). Ben was a successful businessman, running a local bookstore in the city square, and Mary was on the heels of relaunching her long-abandoned dancing career.

All other series principals besides the Newell/Abbott family had now either re-established their ties with the town they all attended college in, or had remained there since college and had not seen their other friends in years. The most internationally known member of the group was Christopher Springer (Andrew Rubin), the wealthy rock star who had a troubled personal life. Chris decided to come back to his old hometown to regain the support from his old friends and to repair his problems, while intermittently going back on the road with his band. Then there was Peter Kincaid (John Bedford-Lloyd), a quirky college professor; elegant, recent divorcee Barbara Donnelly (Margaret Whitton), who currently lived off her vast settlements yet was insecure about moving on with her life and reentering the dating world; Jane Parnell (Christine Estabrook), also a college professor, but in addition serving as a Presidential advisor to the White House; and Joey Nathan (Daniel Stern), who was more disheveled and less successful than his materialistic friends. In the intervening years he had settled into the job of a fry cook, and always proved to the gang that he was quite happy with his modest means. Joey was a single parent, raising young son Dylan (Mikey Viso), and at one point his paternity was even in question when Dylan's mother and Joey's ex-girlfriend showed up with a DNA test. Joey's ex wanted to know who Dylan's father really was, so that if the results proved that someone else was in the picture, that she could give her son a more suitable upbringing than what Joey could provide. In the ninth episode, Ben began his lobbying to run for city council, but nothing more of this development was explored, along with other plot twists, as "Hometown" was pulled from the CBS schedule permanently after that telecast.

cheduling

In an attempt to ensure that the show would find an audience, CBS premiered "Hometown" just under a month before the official start of the 1985-86 TV season. They immediately ran it in the time slot it was slated to have on the official fall schedule, Thursdays at 10/9c. However, by the time of CBS' Premiere Week in mid-September, the show's ratings were unsatisfactory, so "Hometown" was suddenly switched to Tuesdays at 8/7c as of September 24th; thus the show had already failed in its fall schedule slot before the season itself had already begun. The new night and earlier hour for "Hometown" did little to boost the ratings, so by mid-October, CBS pulled the plug. All nine completed episodes aired on the network before cancellation.

Connections to Bruce Springsteen

In more ways than one, there was a certain Bruce Springsteen influence in "Hometown". For one, the show's title, as well as the theme song, partially borrowed a title from Springsteen's then-current popular song "My Hometown", off of his "Born in the U.S.A." album. The track subsequently ranked high on the Billboard charts in November 1985, a month after "Hometown" was cancelled. The series' theme song, a soft-rock track titled "Sounds From My Hometown", had male vocals that were very similar to the style of Springsteen's (however, the theme was in no way a variation of Springsteen's "My Hometown"). Also, Andrew Rubin's role on the series as Christopher Springer was obviously modeled after Springsteen, a rocker and teen idol of sorts.

References

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows"