Hi, all. I'm new to the forums (and I'm wondering if I'm the oldest of the group: I'm 34, but a big fan of the series. I guess you're never too old to appreciate quality TV, eh?). I got the DVD set as a gift over the holidays from my husband, and watched the entire set over the course of a weekend; however, I could not find where they had cast interviews, outtakes (didn't it say these existed?), etc? In which DVD(s) are they located? It's rather laborious looking through each DVD (I started but gave up), but I thought I'd ask here in case someone could give me a quick answer. Am I "dreaming" (pardon the pun), or are these features supposed to exist? I did see the Brian Williams special, but that's it. Thanks all.

I hope "American Dreams" is picked up for a fourth season. This is the best show I've seen in years. It deserves more recognition than it's gotten (I mean, "Joey"? Come on!).

Peace. :wave:

Valarie

I've been wondering the same thing... I've gone through all seven discs and I can't find these extras either.

Maybe I should send an email to NBC. What's up w/ that? :confused:

From NBC.com:

Loaded with hundreds of unforgettable rock ‘n’ roll hits exploding in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, this 7-disc collection also contains hours of bonus features that include documentaries about music legends and superstars, hilarious behind-the-scenes footage and revealing audio commentaries that take you beyond this extraordinary TV series.

I sent an email to shopnbc.com; if I get any kind of response, I'll post it hear. According to their description, the DVD(s)..."also contains hours of bonus features that include documentaries about music legends and superstars, hilarious behind-the-scenes footage and revealing audio commentaries that take you beyond this extraordinary TV series."

Behind the scenese footage? Audio commentaries? Where?

This is from TVShowsOnDVD.com:

Time Capsule
Each episode includes "Time Capsules" - 2 screens with bits of historical information about events in the 60s.

Back to Bandstand Highlights (47:23)
Video pieces from American Bandstand, many of which come from the real episodes that appear on the episode. This is television history, and a great addition to the set.
EP 1 - 4:01, EP 2 - 1:25, EP 3 - 1:50, EP 4 - 1:17, EP 5 - 3:02, EP 6 - 2:32, EP 7 - 1:01, EP 8 - 0:37, EP 9 - 2:51, EP 10 - 1:00, EP 11 - 1:09, EP 12 - 1:08, EP 13 - 1:16, EP 14 - 1:17, EP 15 - 2:54, EP 16 - 0:44, EP 17 - 1:41, EP 18 - 1:54, EP 19 - 6:16, EP 20 - 2:54, EP 21 - 1:30, EP 22 - 0:40, EP 23 - 1:35, EP 24 - 0:55, EP 25 - 1:54.

Commentary Tracks
There are 3 commentary tracks on the Pilot, and the season finale. These are very good, and worth listening to. I found Dick Clark's commentaries especially entertaining because the show revists a lot of the events he was directly involved in.
-Dick Clark (executive producer) and Jonathan Prince (executive producer/creator)
-Rachel Boston, Ethan Dampf, Will Estes, Gail O'Grady, Sarah Ramos and Tom Verica
-Vanessa Lengies and Brittany Snow

My Boyfriend's Back Music Video by Stacie Orrico, Brittany Snow and Vanessa Lengies (2:57)
Pretty self-explanatory; it's a music video.

NBC News Time Capsule with Brian Williams (30:35)
NBC News anchor, Brian Williams, hosts this look back at the 60s. The audio gets messed up part way through, and Williams' voice can only be heard from the left speaker. This is a very entertaining featurette.

Not sure if it helps much, but it does say where the commentaries are. I suppose you could e-mail someone at TVShowsOnDVD and ask them.

I had assumed that the "behind the scenes footage" would be from American Dreams, but after thinking about it maybe they meant the old footage from American Bandstand?
I've listened to all the commentaries and found them all to be worth listening to. (i.e. interesting) You can get to them by selecting "Commentaries" in the individual episode menus for the first and last episodes in the set, or by pressing the audio button on your remote.

Even though my husband didn't buy the DVDs from Shop NBC, I thought I'd give it a shot by emailing them since they're advertising the DVDs on there. Here's the email and their reply (looks like they didn't even pay attention to the question!?):

I received this item as a gift over the holidays. According to the
description, "...this 7-disc collection also contains hours of bonus
features that include documentaries about music legends and superstars,
hilarious behind-the-scenes footage and revealing audio commentaries that
take you beyond this extraordinary TV series..."
I viewed the entire 7 discs, and could not locate ANY behind the scenes
footage or audio commentaries. Can you help me? I'm either missing something from the DVDs, or this is false advertising. Thank you.

Their reply:

Thank you for informing us of the situation. We apologize if there is any
missing material with your purchase or item number N60454. Item number
N60454 includes seven discs total. If you are missing one of the discs
please contact us with your order number or customer number, and we will be happy to assist you further.

Thank you for contacting ShopNBC. Please feel free to contact us with any
further questions or concerns.

I replied back (probably in not the nicest way (all caps, but I was a bit frustrated; if I don't hear back, I guess I won't be surprised?!):

I HAVE ALL SEVEN DISCS.

I'VE CHECKED ALL SEVEN DISCS AND FROM WHAT I CAN TELL, I CANNOT FIND 'BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE AND AUDIO COMMENTARIES.' IN FACT, I'VE DISCUSSED THIS FACT WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE THIS DVD ON AN AMERICAN DREAMS FAN WEBSITE AND THEY'RE EXPRESSED THE SAME CONCERN/ISSUE. THIS BEARS FURTHER INVESTIGATION
BY SHOPNBC.

YOUR ASSISTANCE WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

THANK YOU. :o

go check it out. :happyface :wave:

The special features are there, I promise, you just have to know where to look. On disc one or seven, when the first menu appears, the one that plays the theme song continuosly & has "Play All," "Episode Index," and "Languages" at the bottom, select "Episode Index." You should then see a new screen with all the titles of that disc's episodes with a picture above it. From here, select "Pilot" or "City on Fire." These are the only two episodes with audio commentaries. You should then come to the chosen epiode's main page which has a picture from the episode, the episode summary and a list of the special features. Select "Commentaries." A new screen with a list of three different commentaries should appear. Choose which one you want to hear by selecting "On" under the preferred commentary. This then brings you back to the episode's main page. From here, click "Play" and the episode will begin. About 30 seconds in, the actors will start the voice-over by introducing themselves. You can turn the commentaries on or off by accessing the commentary main page, whether you are in the middle of the episode or starting it from the beginning. I hope this helps.

but there are no ''hilarious behind-the-scenes footage ''right?
BTW I asked my friend who is in US right now to buy the DVD for me...I talked to him last week and he said that next week he'll send me the DVD!YAY!

but there are no ''hilarious behind-the-scenes footage ''right?


Right. I wish it was there also, but it's ok that it's not (for me, anyway).