There are a handful of tv shows that I count among my all time favorites. Anyone who knows me knows that #1 is "I Love Lucy." Everyone knows that show unless they grew up under a rock.
My #2 favorite is probably much less known. It aired from 1991 to 1993 on ABC and was called "Homefront." Why a Nostalgic Rambler blogpost about a show from the 1990s? "Homefront" was centered on a 1940s fictional Ohio community called River Run. The show featured authentic period sets, cars, outfits, and a musical background of pop songs of the day.
The stories were witty, sexy, funny, dramatic and endearing. The dialog was often so clever you had to laugh out loud. The editing was fascinating to watch. And the stars....well, they were cast perfectly for their roles. If I sound like I'm gushing, sorry but I really like this show!
The "Homefront" theme song was the classic "Accentuate the Positive" -- what a great tune! Click on this "Homefront" site to hear the song.
"Homefront" starred Kyle Chandler, Sammi Davis-Voss, Ken Jenkins, Mimi Kennedy, Harry O'Reilly, Wendy Phillips, Jessica Steen, Dick Anthony Williams, Hattie Winston, Tammy Lauren, Guiliana Santini, John Slattery, Sterling Macer, Jr, David Newsom, Kelly Rutherford, and Alexandra Wilson. The cast was large, the sets elaborate, and probably the show was just too expensive to produce past a second season.
Lots of "Homefront" stars have been seen in other shows since then. Their fans might not even know about "Homefront" since it hasn't really been seen on US tv since TVLand aired it in 2000. A smaller cable station did air it for a while, but that outlet didn't have much of a national coverage.
"Homefront" was a show that has developed a cult following among its fans who adore it to this day. Unfortunately Warner Brothers has not released it on dvd and probably never will. Rumors have it that the music rights would be too costly. Nonetheless there is a website trying to get the studio to release it. Click here. There are several "Homefront" websites. Click here or here for a couple. There is a Yahoo Groups Homefront group as well as one on Facebook.
I was clever enough to buy a new VCR back in 2000 and was able to get the whole series recorded over one weekend when TVLand ran it as a marathon. (No, I can't make copies for you, but if you want to come over to watch with us, maybe we can work something out!).
Luckily someone has posted the show on Youtube. I don't know if the quality is that great, but you might want to check it out. You can also find several bootleg outfits selling the series on dvd. I have heard some good and bad comments on that, so hard to tell what is actually out there. One thing is for sure, you will get hooked on the storylines and the characters. They all seem so real. Thanks Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick for creating this show.
Twenty years have gone by since "Homefront" came out. I'm sure the fans would love to see a reunion show. That will probably stay a dream, but maybe a fan reunion with some of the stars of the show could be arranged. I'm willing to help organize if there is some interest!
I stumbled across it on youtube, can you tell me the name/author of the book it's based on?
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was based on any book. It was developed for television as a series.
ReplyDeleteI put full episodes up on Youtube. A little easier to watch than the episodes that were broken into smaller segments (which youtube only allowed at the time they were updated)
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