What happened on "American Dreams" tonight?

[bluestateguy]

I missed it tonight?

[Lindsey]

1. I saw it tonight for the first time and now I know why everyone

raves about it. I don't know the names but the teenage girl who's in (I guess) the main family got in trouble for protesting the war. JJ (I guess the son) was reported MIA and the family of course was devastated. The most beautiful version of "Yesterday" played during the last scene after the family had just found out. Now I have two shows to replace my "Six Feet Under" withdrawals. This one and "Desperate Housewives." Hope my description helped a little.

[murielm99]

2. Meg and her wild boyfriend painted a peace sign on the

side of the school and got suspended for two weeks.

Beth quit her job, because she was getting attracted to the singer, and is, of course, pregnant with JJ's baby.

Mom and Dad went away for their anniversary, and it was not all that successful a trip.

Nathan, Henry's nephew, who just got out of jail for being a conscientous objector, is doing alternative service at a VA hospital. It is tough going, but he is getting good at his job.

The biggest jolt was JJ's MIA.

[AbbeyRoad]

3. I can tell you partially what happened

I programmed my VCR to tape the show, because I went to see Barack Obama at a local Dem rally tonight at around the same time. Unfortunately, it started recording near the end of the tape and it ran out before the show was over, which kinda pissed me off. So, I can tell you what happened up until the point it got cut off.

Because of Meg's play, all extracurricular activities were put on hold at the school, and she's getting ostracized by a lot of the kids for it. She gets a creepy anonymous phone call from someone who calls her a commie and tells her that they know where she lives. Jack and Helen take a trip to the Poconos alone to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They drink beer, play strip gin, and discuss the passage of time. Meg and some of her friends, including the new boy, decide that they need to continue protesting and meet at her house to brainstorm. They think painting a peace sign on the side of their school would get attention. During their meeting, someone throws a brick through their window. Meg is shaken up and thinks maybe she should stop causing trouble. Chris plans on going through with the peace symbol plan.

Nathan gets out of prison and begins a job as an orderly at a VA hospital. He gets hassled by an old WWII vet for being a conscientious objector, and explains why he made the choice he did to a younger and more forgiving Vietnam vet who seems to be having a hard time coping with his injury and readjusting to being back.

Meg decides to join Chris in painting the peace symbol. She asks him why he's become motivated, and he says it's because of her. They kiss. They're caught by the night watchman and suspended for two weeks. Meg and Chris know they won't be able to see each other anymore and agree to meet secretly.

Roxanne talks to Luke about the crowded living situation at the Pryor's and he suggests she move in with him. When she brings her stuff over to his place he's talking on the phone to his girlfriend and calls Roxanne his buddy. She decides to make him jealous by bringing over a really obnoxious boy from Bandstand and kissing him in front of Luke. It seemed to have worked a bit.

JJ learns that you can booby trap a marked gun magazine so that it will explode after shooting a few rounds. They are captured and interrogated. They notice that one of their interrogators has the booby trapped magazine in his gun and think that that could be the key to their escape.

That's all I know. I didn't see probably the last 10-15 minutes.