Homefront (American TV series)

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Homefront
Genre Drama
Created by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Theme music composer <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Opening theme "Accentuate the Positive" performed by Jack Sheldon
Composer(s) Stewart Levin
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 42 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Producer(s) Christopher Chulack
Production company(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Release
Original network ABC
Original release September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24) –
April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Homefront is an American television drama series created by former Knots Landing producers Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick in association with Lorimar Television. The show is set in the late 1940s in the fictional city of River Run, Ohio, and aired on ABC from September 24, 1991, to April 26, 1993.[1] The show's theme song, "Accentuate the Positive", was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and performed by Jack Sheldon.[2]

Series overview

Homefront begins in September 1945 and focuses on three families from different backgrounds, the Sloan, Metcalf and Davis families. The Sloans, Mike Sr. and Ruth (Ken Jenkins and Mimi Kennedy), own a steel manufacturing factory initially responsible for making tank parts in the war. They are coming to grips with the death of their only son, Mike Jr., a soldier, and the arrival of his Italian war bride, Gina (Giuliana Santini), a Jewish Holocaust survivor. The Metcalfs include widow Anne (Wendy Phillips), and her three children, Hank (David Newsom), Linda (Jessica Steen) and Jeff (Kyle Chandler). Anne and Linda are dealing with being displaced from their job at the plant for returning GIs, while Hank, a returning soldier, and Jeff, a baseball player for the Cleveland Indians, are involved in a love triangle with college student Sarah Brewer (Alexandra Wilson). Meanwhile, Linda's friend, Ginger Szabo (Tammy Lauren) is shocked when her boyfriend Charlie Hailey (Harry O'Reilly) returns from the war with a British war-bride, Caroline (Sammi Davis).

Abe (Dick Anthony Williams) and Gloria Davis (Hattie Winston) are descendants from slaves and work for the Sloans as a chauffeur and housekeeper respectively. Their son Robert (Sterling Macer, Jr.) is a decorated veteran who served in Europe with the 761st Armored Battalion. He lands a job at Sloan Industries but is isolated and belittled by his racist co-workers. In the second season, he is joined by Perrette (Perrey Reeves), his white French war bride. Later cast members include Al Kahn (John Slattery), a Jewish union organiser and possible former Communist sympathiser who seduces Anne, and Judy Owens (Kelly Rutherford), a widow working as a bartender who has an affair with Mike Sr.

While the show received critical praise, it struggled in the ratings and was close to being cancelled after its first season. An April 11, 1992 issue of TV Guide ran a S.O.S (Save Our Shows) campaign to save five series from cancellation, which included Homefront, and two other period pieces (set in the 1950s), Brooklyn Bridge on CBS and I'll Fly Away on NBC. Of the five, Homefront received the most votes – 99,591 – and was subsequently renewed. Abigail Van Buren of Dear Abby also dedicated a column to the show, urging fans to write into the network to save it.[3] However ratings did not improve in its second season, and after being moved around the schedule numerous times, the show was cancelled.

Cast and characters

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 24 September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24) April 15, 1992 (1992-04-15)
2 18 September 17, 1992 (1992-09-17) April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26)

Season 1 (1991–92)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
Viewers
(millions)
1 1 "S.N.A.F.U." Ron Lagomarsino[4] Lynn Marie Latham & Bernard Lechowick September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24) 447151[4] 12.2[5]
2 2 "Take My Hand" Lorraine Senna Ferrara Bernard Lechowick July 13, 1992 (1992-07-13)[lower-alpha 1] 447152 8.5
3 3 "Bedsprings" David Carson Lynn Marie Latham October 1, 1991 (1991-10-01) 447153 11.5
4 4 "So All Alone" Lorraine Senna Ferrara Bernard Lechowick October 8, 1991 (1991-10-08) 447154 11.5
5 5 "Patriots" Nicholas Sgarro Bernard Lechowick October 15, 1991 (1991-10-15) 447155 10.2
6 6 "Holier Than Thou, Too" Bruce Seth Green Bernard Lechowick October 29, 1991 (1991-10-29) 447156 10.7
7 7 "Toledo" Nicholas Sgarro Lynn Marie Latham November 12, 1991 (1991-11-12) 447157 12.2
8 8 "Kids" Bruce Seth Green Diane Messina Stanley November 19, 1991 (1991-11-19) 447158 9.1
9 9 "Man, This Joint is Jumping" Félix Enríquez Alcalá Lynn Marie Latham November 26, 1991 (1991-11-26) 447159 10.9
10 10 "Splitting Hairs" Bruce Seth Green Bernard Lechowick December 3, 1991 (1991-12-03) 447160 11.0
11 11 "Szabo's Travels" Félix Enríquez Alcalá Lynn Marie Latham December 10, 1991 (1991-12-10) 447161 9.4
12 12 "Sinners Reconciled" Lorraine Senna Ferrara Bernard Lechowick December 17, 1991 (1991-12-17) 447162 10.8
13 13 "All Theses Things Will I Give to Thee" David Carson Lynn Marie Latham January 7, 1992 (1992-01-07) 447163 10.4
14 14 "When It Rains, It Pours" Bruce Seth Green Bernard Lechowick January 14, 1992 (1992-01-14) 447164 10.9
15 15 "That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles" Anita Addison Lynn Marie Latham January 28, 1992 (1992-01-28) 447165 8.8
16 16 "Bad Connection" Lorraine Senna Ferrara Bernard Lechowick February 4, 1992 (1992-02-04) 447166 11.0
17 17 "Getting to First Base" Bruce Seth Green Lynn Marie Latham & Bernard Lechowick February 18, 1992 (1992-02-18) 447167 11.6
18 18 "No Man Loyal and Neutral" David Carson David Assael March 4, 1992 (1992-03-04) 447168 10.3
19 19 "First Sign of Spring" Lorraine Senna Ferrara Bernard Lechowick March 11, 1992 (1992-03-11) 447169 9.5
20 20 "At Your Age" David Carson Bernard Lechowick March 18, 1992 (1992-03-18) 447170 10.7
21 21 "Obstinacy or Constancy?" Joseph L. Scanlan Bernard Lechowick March 25, 1992 (1992-03-25) 447171 9.0
22 22 "If You Want it Done Right..." Lorraine Senna Ferrara Bernard Lechowick April 1, 1992 (1992-04-01) 447172 10.3
23 23 "Spanish Moss" Joseph L. Scanlan Lynn Marie Latham & James Stanley April 8, 1992 (1992-04-08) 447173 9.3
24 24 "Songs Unsung Are Sweetest" Nicholas Sgarro Bernard Lechowick April 15, 1992 (1992-04-15) 447174 11.1
Note
  1. This episode aired out-of-order after the show's initial run, as ABC felt it was "too depressing" for new viewers.

Season 2 (1992–93)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
Viewers
(millions)
25 1 "By Popular Demand" Joseph L. Scanlan Bernard Lechowick September 17, 1992 (1992-09-17) 447701 9.2
26 2 "The Lemo Tomato Juice Hour" Sharron Miller Lynn Marie Latham September 24, 1992 (1992-09-24) 447702 8.3
27 3 "Can't Say No" Roy Campanella II Diane Messina Stanley October 1, 1992 (1992-10-01) 447703 8.7
28 4 "Appleknocker to Wed Tomatohawker" Joseph L. Scanlan Bernard Lechowick October 8, 1992 (1992-10-08) 447704 9.8
29 5 "A Nickel Plate Romance" Mike Vejar Lynn Marie Latham October 22, 1992 (1992-10-22) 447705 8.1
30 6 "When the Stars Begin to Fall" Sharron Miller Bernard Lechowick October 29, 1992 (1992-10-29) 447706 8.7
31 7 "The Traveling Lemo All-Stars" Lorraine Senna Ferrara Lynn Marie Latham November 11, 1992 (1992-11-11) 447707 8.1
32 8 "First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage" Sharron Miller Bernard Lechowick December 3, 1992 (1992-12-03) 447708 7.7
33 9 "Life Is Short" Mike Vejar Bernard Lechowick December 17, 1992 (1992-12-17) 447709 7.2
34 10 "Signed, Crazy in Love" Christopher Chulack James Stanley March 9, 1993 (1993-03-09) 447710 9.6
35 11 "On the Rebound" Mike Vejar Bernard Lechowick April 23, 2000 (2000-04-23)[lower-alpha 1] 447711 unaired
36 12 "Like Being There When You're Not" Mike Vejar Bernard Lechowick March 16, 1993 (1993-03-16) 447713 9.4
37 13 "Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How" Sharron Miller Lynn Marie Latham March 23, 1993 (1993-03-23) 447714 11.0
38 14 "Garfield Slept Here" Mike Vejar Lynn Marie Latham March 30, 1993 (1993-03-30) 447715 10.0
39 15 "By Word or Act" Sharron Miller Bernard Lechowick April 6, 1993 (1993-04-06) 447716 9.0
40 16 "The Lacemakers" Sharron Miller Bernard Lechowick April 13, 1993 (1993-04-13) 447712 10.6
41 17 "Shabbat Shalom" Mike Vejar Diane Messina Stanley & James Stanley April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26) 447717 8.8
42 18 "All Good Things" Sharron Miller Bernard Lechowick April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26) 447718 8.8
Note
  1. This episode was never aired by ABC during its initial run, and premiered on April 23, 2000 as part of a Homefront marathon on TV Land.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
1992 American Cinema Editors' Eddie Award Best Edited Episode from a Television Series Michael B. Hoggan and William B. Stich (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Nominated
Casting Society of America's Artios Award Best Casting for TV, Pilot Irene Mariano Nominated
Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Episodic Irene Mariano Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Sammi Davis Nominated
People's Choice Awards Favorite New TV Dramatic Series Homefront Won
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Made for Television Movie Christopher Chulack, David Jacobs, Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Nominated
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special Ron Lagomarsino (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Nominated
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series Jerry Gugliemotto and Barbara Ronci (For episode "Man, This Joint Is Jumping") Won
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special Jerry Gugliemotto and Georgina Williams (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Nominated
Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single-Camera Production Michael B. Hoggan and William B. Stich (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Nominated
Outstanding Costuming for a Series Chic Gennarelli and Lyn Paolo (For episode "At Your Age") Won
Outstanding Costuming for a Miniseries or a Special Nanrose Buchman, Chic Gennarelli and Lyn Paolo (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Nominated
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special Anne D. McCulley and Dean E. Mitzner (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Nominated
Television Critics Association Award Outstanding Achievement in Drama Homefront Nominated
1993 American Television Awards[6] Best Dramatic Series Homefront Nominated
Best Supporting Actress, Dramatic Series Mimi Kennedy Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Television Series – Drama Homefront Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Drama Series Lynn Marie Latham, Bernard Lechowick, David Jacobs, Diane Messina Stanley, James Stanley and Christopher Chulack Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Bernard Lechowick (For episode "The Lacemakeres") Nominated
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series Jerry Gugliemotto and Georgina Williams (For episode "Life Is Short") Nominated
Outstanding Costuming for a Series Chic Gennarelli and Lyn Paolo (For episode "Like Being There When You're Not") Won
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special Dean E. Mitzner and Tom Pedigo (For episode "The Traveling Lemo All-Stars") Won
Television Critics Association Award Outstanding Achievement in Drama Homefront Nominated
Viewers for Quality Television Award Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series Mimi Kennedy Nominated
Founder's Award Lynn Marie Latham, Bernard Lechowick, David Jacobs, Diane Messina Stanley, James Stanley and Christopher Chulack Won
Writers Guild of America Award Original Long Form Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.") Won

References

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  5. Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.
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External links