American Chronicles

American Chronicles is a documentary television program that was broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company as part of its 1990 fall lineup.

American Chronicles
American Chronicles title card
Genre	Documentary
Created by	Mark Frost
Narrated by	Richard Dreyfuss
Composer	Billy Barber
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (1 unaired)
Production
Executive producer	Mark Frost
Running time	30 min.
Production company	Lynch/Frost Productions
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	September 8 (1990-09-08) – December 15, 1990 (1990-12-15)

American Chronicles was produced by Mark Frost through Lynch/Frost Productions, the company that he founded with David Lynch. Featured many of the same quirky camera angles, unusual music, and a focus on violence and sexuality that were hallmarks of their ABC series Twin Peaks. The half-hour weekly program was narrated by Richard Dreyfuss.

This program had a relatively brief run, being cancelled just over three months after its premiere, after ranking last out of 98 shows with an average household rating of 3.07.

Episodes

1. "Farewell to the Flesh" (pilot episode; writer/director: Mark Frost; airdate: 9/8/1990)
2. "The Eye of the Beholder" (airdate: 9/15/1990)
3. "Manhattan After Dark" (writer/producer: Robin L. Sestero; airdate: 9/22/1990)
4. "Auto-Obsession" (airdate: 9/29/1990)
5. "Biker Nation" (writer/producer: Ruben Norte; airdate: 10/6/1990)
6. "Semper Fidelis" (writer/producer: Robin L. Sestero; airdate: 10/13/1990)
7. "This Gun's for Hire / Defender of the Faith" (writer/producer: Chappy Hardy; airdate: 10/27/1990)
8. "After a Fashion / An American Camelot" (airdate: 11/3/1990)
9. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow / Truck Stop" (writer/producer: Robin L. Sestero; airdate: 10/6/1990)
10. "Once Upon a Time" (about Hugh Hefner) (writers: Gary H. Grossman, Michael Gross, Robert Heath; directed by Robert Heath; airdate: 11/17/1990)
11. "The Class of '65" (airdate: 12/8/1990)
12. "Diamonds Are Forever (Last Day at Comiskey Park) / The Future That Never Was" (writer/producer: David H. Jones; airdate: 12/15/1990)
13. "Champions" (unaired in U.S.; first aired in UK 6/21/92)

International broadcasts

American Chronicles was aired in the United Kingdom by Channel 4 (1992), in Australia by SBS (1993), in New Zealand by TV3 (1992), in France by Planète (1992) and in Spain by TVE (1992).

References

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, Ballantine Books, p. 46.
• Miller, Craig and Thorne, John (eds.). Wrapped in Plastic, Vol. 1, No. 9, p. 9–13. Win-Mill Productions, February 1994.
• Miller, Craig and Thorne, John (eds.). Wrapped in Plastic, Vol. 1, No. 13, p. 30. Win-Mill Productions, October 1994.
• Weinstein, Steve. The Lynch / Frost View of America. Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1990.
• Rochlin, Margy. The Unblinking Eye: David Lynch and Mark Frost Chronicle America. Documentary Magazine, October 1, 1990.

External links

• American Chronicles at IMDb
• American Chronicles at TV Guide
• American Chronicles at TV Tango
• American Chronicles at Hollywood.com