Meanwhile, just after World War 2 in a place called River Run, Ohio...
During the early/mid-nineties, a prime-time soap opera aired that I began watching due to the period it reflected (post-WW2 middle America). What was surprising to me were the almost-taboo topics that it not merely discussed, but dramatized and used as story- and character arcs. A two-season show called Homefront.
Yes, all members of the cast are Beautiful People, but getting past that, it turned out the series was soulful, thought-provoking and moving. Race-relations, unions (and union-busting) were obvious go-to dramatic arcs, but it also dealt with Rosie the Riveters getting displaced from the factory floor when the males return from the war. Some of the females (esp. the older, more traditional mother-figure) accept this transition as a fait-accompli and the natural order of things. Yet one younger woman in particular, enjoyed her job, was good at it and fights tooth and nail to keep her position. She's one of the major characters, and really chews up the scenes she's in, and by the end of the series run, she's become the show's de-facto hero.
For mid-nineties network television, this one was pushing some limits I didn't recognize as limits at the time, but having been recently re-introduced to it, I'm really surprised by the plot lines the writers used in place of what we usually expect from prime-time soaps. It can be light-hearted at times, heavy handed other times but all in all, very entertaining.
It's never been on DVD (I think the period songs used quite often during its run may have something to do with that-- copyright issues or some-such), but some enterprising individual who used their VCR to record it during its run digitally transferred it, and both seasons are available on YouTube (the premier ep being listed below). So, just in case you're looking for something to occupy your brain, or enjoy the WW2 era, or would like to watch a series that hits on points most war movies never touch, give it a go.
(and the musical scores composed by W.G. Snuffy Walden is, well... beautiful in and of itself)
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