A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: So we were reminded by by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston, who wrote the song for the 1950 Walt Disney film Cinderella. We should never stop dreaming, these three American Jews tell us.
The Hebrew Bible tells us of the power of dreams. Jacob dreams of angels ascending and descending a Stairway to Heaven. Joseph uses his super-power to interpret dreams for Pharaoh's butler; Pharaoh's baker; and, finally, for Pharaoh himself.
Still, as we all know -
There are good dreams, and there are bad dreams.
As we American survivors start to heal and, hopefully, find unity in our ongoing endeavor, Abq Jew would like to pause and look back at three of the most famous dreams in our ... culture.
1. Tevye's Dream (1964)
We all know this one. Fiddler on the Roof!
In bed with Golde, Tevye pretends to be waking from a nightmare. Golde offers to interpret his dream, and Tevye "describes" it ("Tevye's Dream"). Golde's grandmother Tzeitel returns from the grave to bless the marriage of her namesake, but to Motel, not to Lazar Wolf.
Lazar's formidable late wife, Fruma-Sarah, rises from her grave to warn, in graphic terms, of severe retribution if Tzeitel marries Lazar. The superstitious Golde is terrified, and she quickly counsels that Tzeitel must marry Motel.
2. Pam Ewing's Dream (1986)
Well, all of us of a certain age know this one. Dallas! Some background:
Dallas is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolves around an affluent and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who own the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork.
The series originally focused on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes, whose families were sworn enemies with each other. As the series progressed, Bobby's older brother, oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, became the show's breakout character, whose schemes and dirty business became the show's trademark.
The show was prominent for its cliffhangers, including the "Who shot J.R.?" mystery. The show also featured a "Dream Season," in which the entirety of season 9 was revealed to have been a dream of Pam Ewing's.
Bobby Ewing's death in the season 8 finale [May 17, 1985], alongside his subsequent absence during the following season, was explained away at the beginning of season 10 as having been dreamed by Pamela, thus erasing everything that had happened during season 9.
So what actually happened ? You know - like, In Real Life?
Actor Patrick Duffy had left the series to pursue other opportunities, but due to declining ratings, he was convinced to return to the series by production company Lorimar as well as series star Larry Hagman.
3. Bob Hartley's Dream (May 21, 1990)
It has recently come to Abq Jew's attention that some people - even people of a certain age - have no remembrance of this dream at all. You need a background in sit-com history to fully appreciate this. So here goes.
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978.
The show centers on Robert "Bob" Hartley, Ph.D. (Newhart), a Chicago psychologist. Most activity occurs between his work and home life, with his supportive, although occasionally sarcastic, wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), and their friendly but pesty neighbor, airline navigator Howard Borden (Bill Daily).
The medical building where Bob's psychology practice is located also houses Jerry Robinson, D.D.S. (Peter Bonerz), an orthodontist whose office is on the same floor, and their receptionist, Carol Kester (Marcia Wallace), as well as a number of other somewhat eccentric doctors who appear occasionally.
Newhart
Newhart is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990.
The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, respectively, who own and operate an inn in a small, rural Vermont town that is home to many eccentric characters.
TV Guide, TV Land, and A&E named the Newhart series finale as one of the most memorable in television history.
Newhart Series Finale
The series finale of Newhart, titled "The Last Newhart", has been described as one of the most memorable in television history.
The entire town is purchased by a visiting Japanese tycoon, who turns the hamlet into an enormous golf course and recreation resort. Dick and Joanna are the only townspeople who refuse to leave. The others accept million-dollar payoffs and leave in a farewell scene that parodies Fiddler on the Roof.
Five years later, Dick and Joanna continue to run the Stratford Inn, which is now located in the middle of the golf course. The other townspeople, now richer and older, unexpectedly return for a reunion.
The Darryl brothers also speak for the first time on screen, loudly yelling "Quiet!" at their wives in unison. Dick gets frustrated with the increasingly chaotic scene, and storms out shouting "You're all crazy!", only to be knocked out by an errantly struck golf ball.
The Last Scene
The setting of the last scene is nighttime, in the bedroom of Dr. Bob Hartley (The Bob Newhart Show; see above) and his wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette).
Bob awakens, upset, and he wakes Emily to tell her about the very strange dream he has just had: that he was an innkeeper in a small Vermont town filled with eccentric characters and married to a beautiful blonde.
Emily (slightly upset about hearing Bob's dream dalliance with "a beautiful blonde") tells him "that settles it—no more Japanese food before bed."
Here is the long (10:32) version of that Finale.
but everyone else is chatting in the kitchen
so you can go to Kiddush already.
who has collected many of these captions on his Facebook page.
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