California Dreams Information

California Dreams is an American teen-oriented sitcom that aired from 1992 to 1996 on Saturday mornings during NBC's TNBC programming block. It was 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.

Synopsis

California Dreams is about a multi-ethnic group of teens and their band. The show's plots combined real-life issues with zany adventures. It covered a range of topics such as fear, using drugs for a competitive edge, racism, falling for scams, letting greed overtake friendship, accepting a divorced parent dating, forgiving others for past wrongs, and dealing with general teen social problems.

Original format and character history

California Dreams was originally intended to be a family sitcom, mainly centering on the Garrison family. In the first season, the main characters of the show were the teenage son and leader of the band, Matt Garrison (Brent Gore) and the vocalist/pianist in the band who was also Matt's younger sister Jenny Garrison (Heidi Lenhart). The rest of the Garrison family included dad Richard (Michael Cutt), mom Melody (Gail Ramsey), and the youngest son, Dennis (Ryan O'Neill).

The other three main characters would be the only three characters to have appeared throughout the show's entirety. They are bass player Tiffani Smith (Kelly Packard), drummer Tony Wicks (William James Jones) and the teen manager of the band, Sly Winkle (Michael Cade).

Season 2

NBC executives, however, did not like the show's original format. By Season 2, the focus of the show changed from the Garrison family to the teens who formed the California Dreams band.

In Season 2, a fifth member of the California Dreams band was introduced. Jake Sommers (Jay Anthony Franke) became the band's second guitarist. Jenny's character was the first to leave the show very early into Season 2 (for a music school opportunity in Italy). In the following episode, the show brought in its first replacement character, Samantha "Sam" Woo (Jennie Kwan), a foreign exchange student from Hong Kong whom the Garrisons take into their home. When Sam's singing voice is noticed by the band she becomes the band's new vocalist in Jenny's old place.

Season 3

By Season 3, the band (and the show's) original premise ended when Matt left the show (signaling the idea that the entire Garrison family left the show). In Matt's place in the band was Mark Winkle (Aaron Jackson), Sly's shy cousin from Chicago. Another character added to the cast was Lorena Costa (Diana Uribe), a band groupie from a rich family who takes Sam into their home after the Garrisons' departure.

Series finale

The series finale found the band on the verge on embarking on new crossroads in life. As high school ends, Tiffani is planning on attending school in Hawaii to study marine biology, Sam is moving to England to study physics, Tony is off to study acting at an undisclosed location, Mark is moving back home to New York where he originally lives to study at Juilliard, while Sly and Lorena are to attend Pacific University. All of the members are excited and looking forward to starting the new stages with their lives, except for Jake, who wants to keep the band together. When a music producer offers Jake a record contract, he initially refuses, because the rest of the band are not given one themselves. Tiffani convinces Jake that she and the rest of the band have moved past the Dreams and want to discover the new phase of their lives, rather than continue on as a band. The episode ends with the California Dreams playing one last gig, and their tearful goodbyes to one another.

Cast reunited

Seven members of the cast (Brent Gore, William James Jones, Jennie Kwan, Jay Anthony Franke, Kelly Packard, Michael Cade, and Heidi Noelle Lenhart) were reunited on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 4, 2010, where they performed the theme song from the show after being briefly interviewed by host Jimmy Fallon. This segment of the show also featured actor Dennis Haskins, who had attempted to help Fallon organize a reunion for his similar teen comedy, Saved by the Bell, in 2009.

Cast

• Brent Gore .... Matt Garrison (1992–1994) - The original rhythm keyboardist of the group.
• Heidi Noelle Lenhart.... Jenny Garrison (1992–1993) - The original guitarist of the group and younger sister of Matt. She left in Season 2 to study in Italy.
• Kelly Packard .... Tiffani Smith - The bass player of the band and loves surfing. She`s had an on-off relationship with Jake.
• William James Jones .... Antoine "Tony" Wicks - The drummer of the band and boyfriend of Sam.
• Michael Cade .... Sylvester "Sly" Winkle - The band manager who is always looking to make easy money one way or another.
• Jay Anthony Franke .... Jake Sommers (1993–1996) - The lead guitarist and 'bad boy' of the group. He has dated Tiffani & Lorena.
• Jennie Kwan .... Samantha "Sam" Woo (1993–1996) - The lead singer of the group and girlfriend of Tony.
• Aaron Jackson .... Mark Winkle (1994–1996) - The keyboardist of the group and cousin of Sly. It was revealed in Season 3 episode 1 that he has stage fright.
• Diana Uribe .... Lorena Costa (1994–1996) - Girlfriend of Jake and filthy rich
• Burke Bryant .... Keith Del (1996)
• Michael Cutt .... Richard Garrison (1992–1993)
• Gail Ramsey .... Melody Garrison (1992–1993)
• Ryan O'Neill .... Dennis Garrison (1992–1993)
• Barry Coffing .... Singing voice for Jay Anthony Franke
• Zachary Throne .... Singing voice for Aaron Jackson

Character pairings

When Jake is first introduced at the beginning of Season 2, there was a mild flirtation between him and Jenny. The romance never came to fruition because Jenny was written out of the series soon after. Later into Season 2, Jake and Tiffani began dating. In the Season 2 season finale however, Jake refuses to attend the prom with Tiffani and after a misunderstanding, Jake breaks off the relationship.

With Lorena introduced in Season 3, the pairings and romantic situations become more complex. It begins with Sly's attempts to win Lorena's affections. A few episodes later, Sam and Tony became a couple and remained together throughout the show's entirety. Late into this season, Jake and Lorena begin dating. In the Season 4 premiere, Jake and Lorena break up and then it is discovered that both Lorena and Tiffani still had feelings for Jake (creating the first love triangle). Jake chooses to get back with Tiffani for the rest of the series. Sly then renewed his attentions towards Lorena, making his character much less obnoxious and more charming than he'd previous been portrayed as, and by the midpoint of Season 4 they became a couple and remained one for the rest of the series.

Seasons

Season	Number of Episodes	Season Length
1	13	September 12, 1992 – December 5, 1992
2	18	September 11, 1993 – February 5, 1994
3	17	September 10, 1994 – January 7, 1995
4	15	September 9, 1995 – April 16, 1996
5	15	September 7, 1996 – December 14, 1996

DVD releases

Shout! Factory has released the first four seasons of California Dreams on DVD in Region 1. Season 4 was released on January 18, 2011 as a Shout! Factory select title, available exclusively through their online store.

Mill Creek Entertainment released a 10-episode best-of set entitled The Best of California Dreams on July 19, 2011. The single-disc set features episodes from the first 3 seasons.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
Seasons 1 & 2	31	March 31, 2009
Season 3?	17	May 18, 2010
Season 4?	15	January 18, 2011

? - Shout! Factory select title, sold exclusively through Shout's online store

Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1996	NCLR Bravo Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Program for Children or Youth	–
1993	Young Artist Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Youth Series or Variety Show	Michael Cade, Brent Gore, William James Jones, Heidi Lenhart and Kelly Packard
			Best Young Actress in a New Television Series	Heidi Lenhart
			Best Young Actor in an Off-Primetime Series	Ryan O'Neill
1994		Nominated	Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Cable or Off Primetime Series	Michael Cade, Jay Anthony Franke, Brent Gore, William James Jones, Kelly Packard, and Ryan O'Neill