American Gothic

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CBS (ended 1996)

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8.7
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American Gothic

Show Summary

American Gothic is set in the heart of South Carolina in a small town called Trinity. In Trinity, everything is not as it seems and the towns folk look to town sheriff Lucas Buck for help and guidance, often making a devil's bargain with disastrous results.

Sheriff Buck's son, Caleb Temple, was brought up by another family and was lead to believe that a man called Gage was his father. When Gage dies, Caleb becomes the center of a custody war. Sheriff Buck wants to raise his son in his own image, teaching him everything he knows. Caleb's cousin Gail Emory comes to town to protect him, but may need some protection of her own. The local doctor, Matt Crower, gets curious when suddenly the Sheriff wants everything to do with Caleb, and vows to keep Buck away from Caleb. Meanwhile Caleb has one more protector, that of his dead sister-turned angel Merlyn, who knows more about Sheriff Lucas Buck than anyone.

American Gothic was produced by Renaissance Pictures and distributed by Universal TV.moreless

Episode Guide

S 1 :  Ep 22 Aired 7/11/96
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S 1 :  Ep 22
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S 1 :  Ep 21 Aired 7/10/96
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S 1 :  Ep 21
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S 1 :  Ep 20
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Cast & Crew

Paige Turco

Paige Turco

Gail Emory
Nick Searcy

Nick Searcy

Ben Healy
Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson

Merlyn Temple
Jake Weber

Jake Weber

Dr. Matt Crower
Gary Cole

Gary Cole

Lucas Buck
Brenda Bakke

Brenda Bakke

Selena Coombs
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American Gothic Listings

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Fan Reviews (24)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • the classic tale of good vs evil. set in the small southern town of trinity. the forces of good is represented by young caleb temple. evil sheriff lucas buck runs the town w/an iron fist, dealing for souls evey chance he gets.moreless

    9.0
    By buffyangel4evr_, Sep 11, 2011
    this show ended way too early, it was definately ahead of it's time. predecessor to shows like buffy the vampire slayer, angel and supernatural. the classic tale of good vs evil, god vs the devil, etc. in the case of american gothic, the battle between god and the devil is more literal. sheriff lucas black rules the small town of trinity s carolina with an iron fist. most of the residents have sold their souls to the sheriff years ago. they are at his beck and call, sheriff buck gets what he wants when he wants. he sets his sights on young caleb temple, who we find out is the sheriff's son. caleb knows lucas is evil and wants nothing to do with him. the sheriff destroyed his family, he killed his mother and sister. trinity's doctor and caleb's cousin try to protect caleb, but they eventually get sucked in by lucas. terrific acting by all. gary cole as usual brings a great character to life, his sheriff buck is truly evil and despicable. lucas black steals the show however. he plays caleb temple, the young boy caught smack dab in the middle of the battle between good and evil. lucas' perfomance is well beyond his age, absolutely brilliant. and it's not just the dailog, his expressiveness really seals the deal. the show is worth watching just to experiance the genius of lucas black's perfomance.moreless

  • I truly believe this show was ahead of its time. It was much better than Twin Peaks in my opinion.

    10
    By Svanehjerte, Sep 11, 2011
    It was just too good for TV when it came on, lol. It was way underappreciated and it is still underrated. The acting was good, the episodes were fun, plenty of black humor, great lines (which I still use from time to time) etc.



    I like the whole feel of the show. How it is filmed, the music, the characters. It was quite sentimental with the angel, but even that was cool. The cast fitted so well, especially the guy who plays the sheriff. He is one of my favorite bad-guys ever. It is still one of my favorite shows today. I wish it had lasted longer. It went by the name "Sheriffen av Trinity" here.moreless

  • I came into this show late...

    9.5
    By feobr1, Sep 11, 2011
    Here's the thing. I'm used to shows being taken off the air now. Television has got to that stage where if a show doesn't 'rate' in the first few episodes it is considered a failure. 'American Gothic' is the second show I have come on to late, after it had been cut (the other was Firefly), so I knew going in that there was only a limited amount of episodes. This is probably a good thing, cause if I had been watching it when it was on telly I would have probably had a really hard time getting over the fact that it was cancelled. The thing is, like Firefly, I got halfway through the season and just knew that I was going to be annoyed, cause there was absolutely no way that they were going to be able to wrap everything up without leaving me with that feeling that I was missing out on something.



    The story line of American Gothic seems like the kind of show that was more popular when Buffy and Angel had their run (Unless I am wrong and they came out around the same time). The sort of complicated, character driven, supernatural based shows which gained a storng cult following, but (Buffy aside) were never really allowed to hit their stride. I don't know if people are going to be annoyed with me comparing these shows, but they definitely had a certain something that is missing in today's television shows who only seem to involve medicine or crime. Maybe Supernatural will have better luck, but I honestly believe that American Gothic was just as brilliant if not better than these other similar genere shows.



    Okay, now I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. Basically, I thought this show was excellent. I loved the relationship between Selene and Lucas (seriously twisted). But my favourite thing was the incredible quality of acting from the main cast. I was absolutely amazed at how brilliant it was. Which is why, if I was given the choice, I don't think I would want them to bring it back. If the actors were different (and obviously they would have to be) I honestly think a lot of the character of the show would be lost. So while I don't know if it should be brought back, I know for sure that it should never have been taken off the air.moreless

  • the local sheriff lukus buck has an evil dark side that should not be messed with.

    10
    By seaqueastdsv, Sep 11, 2011
    when i first saw american gothic i could'nt wait untill the next episode each week. i found the town sheriff lukus buck evil but i also found him very charming. i found that i was always rooting for him. and calab his son who with the most interasting accent tried very hard not to have anything to do with his father. it seem the only person lukus was scared of was calab sister. if you crossed lukus look out because he would make you pay for it. i loved the series and i just found them on dvd. its great to watch them again.moreless

  • I hated the way they just took it off the air without even trying to keep it running. They don't mind pushing a lot of other junk shows. This was one of the best shows. Sorry it was taken off.moreless

    9.7
    By Kagawong, Sep 11, 2011
    I loved everything about this show. Best thriller I have watched on TV. Nothing then or now can even compare. This show kept you on the edge of your seat. I loved the southern accents as they added to the show. It is to bad so many years have gone by as you can't restart the show now. I would like to know why it was dumped after one season. Was it ahead of its time? So many unanswered questions. Maybe you can make a movie. Mind you how could you replace Lucas or Calab as they were the best.moreless
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    Categories

    Action & Adventure, Drama, Suspense

    Themes

    back from the dead, bloody and violent, children in adult situations, corruption, dead parents

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