American Gothic (1995 TV series)


American Gothic is an American horror series created by Shaun Cassidy and starring Gary Cole, Lucas Black, Paige Turco, Brenda Bakke, Sarah Paulson, Jake Weber, and Nick Searcy. It focuses on a small South Carolina town ruled by a sheriff who uses demonic powers to control residents. The series features a number of recurring and non-recurring guest stars, including Bruce Campbell, Amy Steel, Pat Hingle, Evan Rachel Wood, Veronica Cartwright, and Danny Masterson.
Executive-produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, the series first aired on CBS on September 22, 1995, and was cancelled after a single season on July 11, 1996. The series received positive reviews and has been regarded as a cult classic.
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Plot

The story takes place in the fictional town of Trinity, South Carolina, and revolves around Caleb Temple and the town's corrupt sheriff, Lucas Buck. Though appearing affable and charismatic, Sheriff Buck is a murderous rapist whose power base is backed by apparent supernatural powers, which he generally uses to manipulate people to "fulfill their potential" and make life-changing choices.
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. The horror of watching her mother being sexually assaulted caused Merlyn to become severely emotionally traumatized and withdrawn from the rest of the world, made even worse when her mother committed suicide after giving birth to Caleb.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" into committing suicide in order to eliminate Caleb's family and claim his biological son for his own. The newly arrived Dr. Crower begins to uncover the sheriff's role in the deaths of Merlyn and Merlyn's father and with help from Caleb's out-of-town cousin Gail Emory, struggles 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.

Cast of characters

Main cast

  • Gary Cole as Lucas Buck, the local sheriff who holds fear over the town of Trinity and uses occult forces to manipulate residents. He seeks to adopt Caleb, his biological son, and raise him in his image. Cole appears in all 22 episodes.
  • Lucas Black as Caleb Temple, an orphan 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. Black appears in all 22 episodes.
  • Paige Turco as Gail Emory, a journalist who was raised in Trinity. Her parents died in a mysterious fire in the Trinity newspaper editing room. She returns to Trinity to take care of her cousin Caleb and to uncover the truth about her parents' deaths. Near the end of the series, she is seduced by Lucas and becomes pregnant with his child. Turco appears in all episodes except "Potato Boy", "Resurrector", and "Inhumanitas".
  • Brenda Bakke as Selena Coombs, a promiscuous local schoolteacher who dates Lucas, and who assists him in his endeavours. Bakke appears in all episodes, except "Strong Arm of the Law", "The Beast Within", and "Strangler".
  • Sarah Paulson as Merlyn Temple, Caleb's sister who is murdered by Lucas, but occasionally appears to Caleb in the form of a ghost to guide him in the right direction and away from Lucas Buck. Paulson appears in all episodes, except "Strong Arm of the Law", "The Beast Within", "Ring of Fire", and "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday".
  • Jake Weber as Matt Crower, a Harvard-trained doctor and outsider to Trinity with a shady past. He takes Caleb in after the death of Caleb's father. Weber appears in all episodes except "Inhumanitas", "Learning to Crawl", "Echo of Your Last Goodbye", "Strangler", "Triangle", "The Buck Stops Here", and "Requiem".
  • Nick Searcy as Ben Healy, Lucas's subservient deputy who is fearful of his superior. Searcy appears in all episodes, except "Damned If You Don't", "Meet the Beetles", "To Hell and Back", and "Rebirth".

Recurring cast

Note: The character of Dr. Billy Peale was a late addition to the series, intended to be a regular character to replace Dr. Matt Crower as a more formidable adversary to Lucas Buck. He was added to the opening credits in the episode "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday", in which Dr. Crower is written out. Producer Shaun Cassidy stated in interviews that Dr. Crower would have returned had the show been renewed for a second season.

Episodes

CBS originally aired American Gothic in a differing sequence than the production order and omitted four episodes from its network broadcast. Subsequent, syndicated airings of the series reinstated these four episodes.

Home media

Universal Studios released the complete series of American Gothic on DVD as a Region 1 NTSC double-sided 3-disc set in the United States on October 25, 2005. A Region 2 PAL single-sided 6-disc set in Europe was released March 20, 2006.
The Region 1 and Region 2 DVD sets have the episodes in the same order. The only exception is the German boxset, which features all episodes in the intended order on seven DVDs. The orders are as follows:

Reception

Critical response

American Gothic received mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release, with some declaring it one of the best new series of 1995, while others derided it for its violent content and "uneven" storylines.

Ratings

Over the course of the series' first three episodes, American Gothic was watched by approximately 8 million viewers in the United States. Between September 18 and October 8, 1995, it ranked as the fifth most-viewed CBS series on television.
Beginning December 8, 1995, the series was shelved from its Friday night slot following a decline in ratings. The series returned to CBS as part of their Wednesday night programming on January 3, 1996.