American Dreams Update

NBC tells Jonathan Prince not to strike the sets!

Network executives, advocacy groups and ordinary viewers all say often -- and loudly -- that they want more family shows on television.

But here's the funny thing: When good family-focused dramas and comedies actually do surface, they more often than not vanish within months. The closer the show gets to real life, and the more willing it is to deal with substantial issues, the more likely it is to evaporate quickly.[...]

But this season, Dreams has been cut down to 18 episodes (most network dramas do 22) with its season ending early, on March 30.

Moreover, it has been yanked out of its 8 p.m. Sunday spot -- where it was getting hammered by CBS's Cold Case and, in particular, ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The final four episodes will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m., starting this week.

The competition on Wednesdays? Lost, the ABC juggernaut, and the Fox Wednesday lineup that includes The Simple Life and something called American Idol. And the WB's Smallville draws young women who form an important part of the Dreams audience.[...]

The network is playing up the Wednesday move as an attempt to put together two top American dramas -- Dreams and The West Wing. In addition, says Prince, NBC executives have told him not to strike the sets and to begin lease negotiations for another year at the studio where the show is filmed.

"Every bit of behavior indicates they want us to continue production," says Prince. "Might they still pull the plug? In a heartbeat."

That, folks, would be too bad.[...]

And viewers: Give Dreams a chance this month and tune in. Wednesday's episode, which includes Meg Pryor's graduation from high school in 1966, is particularly good, and Lost is airing a repeat, as it will for much of March. The only way to really help this show is to prove it still has an audience.

"If you like American Dreams," says Prince, "this is the time to say so. This is the time when it would help."

Save American Dreams! This show cannot get cancelled.