Reaching waaaay back and pulling out..."Homefront"

I won't lie...I have always been fascinated by the 1940s. Despite the war, it has always seemed (and made to be seen) as one of America's most romantic periods in history. So it was no surprise to me that I became completely hooked on "Homefront" which first aired on ABC in 1991. It centered around three families, and a few others that interacted with them. There was the Sloans, the wealthy family who seemed to own everything in town, but most notably the factory which employed nearly everyone. Their son, Michael, is killed in the war and they are none to thrilled when an Italian-Jewish woman shows up and declares herself Michael's wife (pregnant nonetheless).

There is also the Metcalfs, who were really the center of the show. Anne was the widowed mother, her eldest Hank had just returned from the war, her daughter Linda was able to work in the Sloans' factory while the men were away, and her youngest son Jeff wanted to be a ballplayer but was sidelined with an injury.

The third family was the Davises, the african-americans who were employed in domesticity by the Sloans.

All of the families interacted on a regular basis, and the show never ran short of drama. While Jeff and his former brother's girlfriend, Ginger were the couple everyone routed for, I was always intrigued by Anne Metcalf's story line. She fell for union reveler Al, who was Jewish, and ended up pregnant.

Despite having great actors and story lines, it never had enough ratings to keep it going. So, while the show had an "ending" (the producers knew that most likely there wouldn't be a continuation, they did hold out a little hope and left somethings unresolved) there is some speculation as to what would have happened for season 3.

"If ABC renews Homefront, the series will include Cleveland's 1948 World Series victory" (John Kiesewetter "Homefront Role Easy for Chandler to Play" Cincinnati Enquirer Mar. 29, 1993).

"If ABC had granted Homefront a third season, [Tammy] Lauren ("Ginger") said, the plot would have found the wealthy Sloan family buying the town's television station, with Jeff and Ginger becoming TV stars in the vein of George Burns and Gracie Allen" (Rob Owen "Tammy Lauren Plays an Innocent...Again" Times-Dispatch July 31, 1993).

Sam Behrens (Phil Havel) told Soap Opera Digest that "he was very disappointed about Homefront not being picked up because he had been signed on as a regular cast member for the third season" and that he "had a great storyline" (Melinda Salsburey Homefront egroup Aug. 28, 2000).

"During a Prodigy chat after the end of the second season, the creators said that they were going to have Caroline's [first] husband from England come to River Run (apparently she was a bigamist)" (Alen Homefront egroup Apr. 10, 1999).

According to Lynn Marie Latham, "If there had been a third season, Anne and Al would never have left in the first place. But Hank would not have come back no matter what" (Homefront egroup Apr. 19, 2003).


Would Caroline turn out not to have divorced Charlie after all?: "Did we ever see Caroline's divorce decree? I don't think so. I think we just saw her en route to Reno. Did anybody else in town know about the 2-year rule? Maybe not. Maybe - just maybe - Caroline knew her first husband was alive and she was bigamously married to Charlie, so she didn't have to get divorced. She just had to pretend she had and if anybody from the I.N.S. showed up at her doorstep, she was still 'legally' married to Charlie" (Bethany Rutledge Homefront egroup Mar. 31, 2003).


Thanks to the Ultimate Homefront Episode guide for posting and collecting the season three speculations and teasers!!!

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