American Gothic is an American horror series created by
Shaun CassidyShaun Paul Cassidy is an American actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is the eldest son of Academy Award winning actress Shirley Jones, and the second son of Tony award-winning actor Jack Cassidy...
and executive produced by
Sam RaimiSamuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
. The show first aired on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on September 22, 1995, and was cancelled after a single season on July 11, 1996.
American Gothic is an American horror series created by
Shaun CassidyShaun Paul Cassidy is an American actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is the eldest son of Academy Award winning actress Shirley Jones, and the second son of Tony award-winning actor Jack Cassidy...
and executive produced by
Sam RaimiSamuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
. The show first aired on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on September 22, 1995, and was cancelled after a single season on July 11, 1996.
Plot
The story takes place in the fictional town of Trinity,
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, and revolves around Caleb Temple (
Lucas BlackLucas York Black is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the CBS television series American Gothic as well as roles in films such as Sling Blade, Jarhead, Friday Night Lights, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Legion, Get Low, and All the Pretty Horses.-Personal...
) and the town's corrupt sheriff, Lucas Buck (
Gary ColeGary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
). Though appearing affable and charismatic, Sheriff Buck is a murderous rapist whose powerbase is backed by apparent
supernaturalThe supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
powers, which he generally uses to manipulate people to "fulfill their potential" and make life-changing choices (usually for evil).
Caleb Temple is a normal child whose paternity masks a horrific secret: Lucas Buck is his biological father, having raped his mother in front of Caleb's older sister Merlyn (
Sarah Paulson-Career:She was a series regular on the cult television show American Gothic and the WB series Jack & Jill , playing the character "Elisa Cronkite"...
). The horror of watching her mother being sexually assaulted caused Merlyn to become severely emotionally traumatized and withdrawn from the rest of the world, made even worse when her mother committed suicide after giving birth to Caleb.
During the pilot episode of the series, Sheriff Buck murders Merlyn in cold blood and manipulates Caleb's "father" (
Sonny ShroyerOtis Burt "Sonny" Shroyer, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in various television and movie roles. He is best known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He also starred in a spin-off called Enos based on his Dukes of Hazzard character...
) into committing suicide in order to eliminate Caleb's family and claim his biological son for his own. However, the newly arrived Dr. Crower (
Jake WeberJake Weber is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in Dawn of the Dead and for his role as Drew in Meet Joe Black...
) begins to uncover the sheriff's role in the death of Merlyn and Merlyn's father and with help from Caleb's out-of-town cousin Gail Emory (
Paige TurcoJean Paige Turco is an American actress. She is known for playing April O'Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.-Early life:...
), struggle to prevent Lucas from corrupting young Caleb. They are aided in part by Merlyn's ghost, who personally appears before Caleb throughout the series in order to try to keep him from Buck's corrupt grasp.
Main cast
| Actor/Actress |
Character |
Information |
Episodes |
Gary ColeGary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
|
Sheriff Lucas Buck |
Lucas is the local Sheriff, he holds fear over the town of Trinity. He wants to adopt Caleb and raise him in his image. |
All 22 episodes |
| Lucas Black Lucas York Black is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the CBS television series American Gothic as well as roles in films such as Sling Blade, Jarhead, Friday Night Lights, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Legion, Get Low, and All the Pretty Horses.-Personal...
|
Caleb Temple |
Caleb is an orphan and is often tempted by Lucas, his biological father, to join him but with help from the ghost of his sister, Merlyn, he usually does the right thing. |
All 22 episodes |
| Paige Turco Jean Paige Turco is an American actress. She is known for playing April O'Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.-Early life:...
|
Gail Emory |
A reporter from the city who lived in Trinity as a child. Her parents died in a mysterious fire in the Trinity news paper editing room. Came to Trinity to take care of her cousin Caleb and to uncover the truth about her parents. Near the end of the series she is seduced by Lucas and becomes pregnant with his child. |
All episodes, except "Potato Boy", "Resurrector" and "Inhumanitas" |
| Brenda Bakke Brenda Jean Bakke is an American actress better known for her roles as Lana Turner in L.A. Confidential, Michelle Rodham Huddleston in Hot Shots! Part Deux, where she plays a spoof on Sharon Stone's character from Basic Instinct, Cordelia the prostitute in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and...
|
Selena Coombs |
The local school teacher who likes to sleep around. She occasionally dates Lucas. She usually helps Lucas in his plans to gain custody of Caleb and to keep the town under control. |
All episodes, except "Strong Arm of the Law", "The Beast Within", and "Strangler" |
Sarah Paulson-Career:She was a series regular on the cult television show American Gothic and the WB series Jack & Jill , playing the character "Elisa Cronkite"...
|
Merlyn Temple |
Caleb's sister. She is killed by the Sheriff, but occasionally appears to Caleb in the form of a ghost, to guide him in the right direction and away from Lucas Buck. |
All episodes, except "Strong Arm of the Law", "The Beast Within", "Ring of Fire" and "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday" |
Jake WeberJake Weber is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in Dawn of the Dead and for his role as Drew in Meet Joe Black...
|
Dr. Matt Crower |
Doctor at the hospital. Matt has a slightly shady past and came to Trinity to start a new life, but can not escape his past. He takes Caleb in after the death of Caleb's father. |
All episodes, except "Inhumanitas", "Learning to Crawl", "Echo of Your Last Goodbye", "Strangler", "Triangle", "The Buck Stops Here" and "Requiem" |
Nick SearcyNick Searcy is an American actor who currently portrays Chief DeputyUnited States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's Justified. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks produced miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as Deke Slayton....
|
Deputy Ben Healy |
He is Lucas's deputy. He lives in fear of Buck, so much so that he covers up the murder of Merlyn Temple. |
All episodes, except "Damned If You Don't", "Meet the Beetles", "To Hell and Back" and "Rebirth" |
Recurring guest cast
| Actor/Actress |
Character |
Episodes |
| Chris Fennell |
Boone Mackenzie |
"Eye of the Beholder", "Dead to the World", "Damned If You Don't", "Potato Boy", "Meet the Beetles", "Strong Arm of the Law", "To Hell and Back", "Resurrector", "Echo of Your Last Goodbye" |
| John Mese |
Dr. Billy Peale |
"The Plague Sower", "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday", "Learning to Crawl", "Echo of Your Last Goodbye", "Triangle", "The Buck Stops Here" and "Requiem" |
| Alex Van |
Deputy Floyd |
"Dead to the World", "Meet the Beetles", "Learning to Crawl", "Echo of Your Last Goodbye", "Strangler", "The Buck Stops Here" and "Requiem" |
| Lynda Clark |
Rita Barber |
"Pilot", "The Beast Within", "Resurrector", "The Buck Stops Here" and "Requiem" |
| Tina Lifford |
Loris Holt |
"Eye of the Beholder", "Potato Boy", "Resurrector" and "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday" |
| Michael Burgess |
Dr. Daniel Truelane |
"Pilot", "A Tree Grows in Trinity", "Eye of the Beholder" and "To Hell and Back" |
| Robin Mullins |
Nurse Stacie Erichfreund |
"The Plague Sower", "Echo of Your Last Goodbye" and "Triangle" |
| Amy Dawn Anderson |
Nurse |
"The Plague Sower", "Learning to Crawl" and "Triangle" |
| Sarah Lynn Moore |
Mrs. Carol Russell |
"Potato Boy", "Strong Arm of the Law" and "Rebirth" |
| Troy Simmons |
Josh Davenport |
"Pilot", "Damned If You Don't" and "Dead to the World" |
Evan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel Wood is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again...
|
Rose Russell |
"Eye of the Beholder", "Potato Boy" and "To Hell and Back" |
DVD release
Universal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
released the complete series of American Gothic on DVD as a
Region 1DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
NTSCNTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
double-sided 3-disc set in the United States (October 25, 2005) and as a
Region 2DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
PALPAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
single-sided 6-disc set in Europe (released March 20, 2006).
The Region 1 and Region 2 Discs have the episodes in the same order (by air date as opposed to producer's intended order). The only exception is the German boxset (to be released October 5, 2007 by "Koch Media Home Entertainment"), which features all episodes in the intended order on 7 DVDs. The order is as follows:
| Region 1 Release |
Region 2 Release |
Episodes |
| Disc 1, Side A |
Disc 1 |
- "Pilot" (46:48) # *
- "A Tree Grows in Trinity" (46:37)
- "Eye of the Beholder" (46:54)
- "Damned If You Don't" (45:58)
|
| Disc 1, Side B |
Disc 2 |
"Dead to the World" (45:17)
"Meet the Beetles" (45:53)
"Strong Arm of the Law" (44:17)
"Rebirth" (46:13) |
| Disc 2, Side A |
Disc 3 |
"Resurrector" (46:06)
"Inhumanitas" (44:12)
"The Plague Sower" (45:56)
"Doctor Death Takes a Holiday" (45:32) * |
| Disc 2, Side B |
Disc 4 |
"The Beast Within" (44:35)
"To Hell and Back" (44:33) *
"Learning to Crawl" (45:48) *
"Triangle" (45:59) * |
| Disc 3, Side A |
Disc 5 |
"The Buck Stops Here" (44:26) *
"Requiem" (45:15) *
"Potato Boy" (44:55) |
| Disc 3, Side B |
Disc 6 |
"Ring of Fire" (46:02) *
"Echo of Your Last Goodbye" (46:03) *
"Strangler" (44:11) |
| # Bonus Materials include optional Audio Commentary for this episode. |
| * Bonus Materials include non-integrated deleted and/or extended scene(s) for this episode. |
The intended viewing order (
Note - this list was corrected based on an actual hands-on viewing of the Region 1 box set; no corrections have as yet been made to the list above; Region 1, Disk 1 contains only 7 episodes, not 8 as delineated above; Disc 2 is still 8; Disc 3 has 7):
| Region 1 Release |
Region 2 Release |
Episode |
| Disc 1, Side A |
Disc 1 |
1. "Pilot" |
| Disc 1, Side A |
Disc 1 |
2. "A Tree Grows in Trinity" |
| Disc 1, Side A |
Disc 1 |
3. "Eye of the Beholder" |
| Disc 1, Side B |
Disc 1 |
4. "Damned if You Don't" |
| Disc 3, Side A |
Disc 5 |
4. "Potato Boy" |
| Disc 1, Side B |
Disc 2 |
1. "Dead to the World" |
| Disc 1, Side B |
Disc 2 |
2. "Meet the Beetles" |
| Disc 1, Side B |
Disc 2 |
3. "Strong Arm of the Law" |
| Disc 2, Side B |
Disc 4 |
3. "To Hell and Back" |
| Disc 2, Side B |
Disc 4 |
2. "The Beast Within" |
| Disc 2, Side A |
Disc 2 |
1. "Rebirth" |
| Disc 3, Side B |
Disc 6 |
1. "Ring of Fire" |
| Disc 2, Side A |
Disc 3 |
2. "Resurrector" |
| Disc 2, Side A |
Disc 3 |
3. "Inhumanitas" |
| Disc 2, Side A |
Disc 3 |
4. "The Plague Sower" |
| Disc 2, Side B |
Disc 3 |
1. "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday" |
| Disc 2, Side B |
Disc 4 |
4. "Learning to Crawl" |
| Disc 3, Side B |
Disc 6 |
2. "Echo of Your Last Goodbye" |
| Disc 3, Side B |
Disc 6 |
3. "Strangler" |
| Disc 3, Side A |
Disc 4 |
1. "Triangle" |
| Disc 3, Side A |
Disc 5 |
2. "The Buck Stops Here" |
| Disc 3, Side A |
Disc 5 |
3. "Requiem" |
Award nominations
| Year |
Award |
Result |
Category |
Recipient |
| 1996 |
Saturn Award The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
|
Nominated |
Best Genre Television Series |
– |
| Artios Award |
Nominated |
Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot |
Marc Hirschfeld, Michael A. Katcher, and Meg Liberman |
| Cinema Audio Society Awards Cinema Audio Society Awards or The C.A.S. Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing. The awards are presented by the Cinema Audio Society and began in 1994.It hands out awards for three categories:*Feature films...
|
Nominated |
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series |
John Asman, Sam Black, David E. Fluhr, and Richard Van Dyke (For episode "Damned If You Don't") |
| Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
|
Nominated |
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Drama Series |
John Asman, Sam Black, David E. Fluhr, and Richard Van Dyke (For episode "Damned If You Don't") |
| 1997 |
YoungStar Awards |
Nominated |
Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama TV Series |
Lucas Black |
External links
- American Gothic at TV Guide.com
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...