Dream On is basically Herman’s Head with tits. Prove me wrong.
Dream On is basically Herman’s Head with tits. Prove me wrong.
This article was originally posted on my website on 1/30/23.
No one asked for it, but I did it anyway. Here’s my in-depth analysis explaining why Dream On is basically Herman’s Head with tits.
Disclaimer: this is in no way a disparaging review of either show, as I love and frequently re-watch both (hence my comprehensive knowledge of them).
The Setting
Both shows take place in New York City in the early- to mid-90s. Dream On aired from 1990 to 1996, and Herman’s Head aired from 1991 to 1994.
The Premise
Both shows use the same premise: a single guy navigates the dating world while weird stuff goes on in his head. Martin has Universal’s complete library of TV and movie clips in his head, and Herman has four people in his head who make all his decisions for him. Both shows often cut to what’s going on inside the main character’s head in response to what’s happening in the episodes. Both shows emphasize safe sex and always show the main characters either discussing or opening condoms before engaging in sex.
The Actors
The two shows shared 25 of the same actors throughout their runs. Here they are in alphabetical order:
Alaina Reed-Hall
Anastasia Barzee
Andrea Parker
Barbara Alyn Woods
Bo Sharon
Christopher Darga
Corinne Bohrer
Debra Mooney
Don McManus
Janet Gunn
Jordan Brady
Kevin Cooney
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kirsten Holmquist
Lawrence A. Mandley
Liz Vassey
Lou DiMaggio
Lynne Marie Stewart
Michael Goldfinger
Mindy Rickles
Molly Hagan
Robert Curtis Brown
Robin Curtis
Sean Masterson
Tom La Grua
Both shows also featured actors from The Simpsons. Dream On had Harry Shearer and Dan Castellaneta as guest stars, and Herman’s Head had Hank Azaria and Yeardley Smith as regular characters.
The Characters
The Main Character — Martin Tupper and Herman Brooks
Both Martin (Brian Benben) and Herman (William Ragsdale) are smart, sensitive, mildly attractive white guys who somehow manage to get tons of dates (and I mean TONS). They both work for publishers: Martin is a book editor, and Herman is a fact checker. Both want to be writers, but achieve only minimal success, and are actually kind of bad at writing.
The Best Friend — Eddie Charles and Jay Nichols
Both main characters have sleazy, promiscuous, and somehow more successful best friends: Martin has Eddie (Jeff Joseph/Dorien Wilson), who is a popular talk show host, and Herman has Jay (Hank Azaria), who is a professional writer. Both best friends are always trying to get the main characters to go on double dates with “bimbos” (aka very attractive women who are not very smart). Both besties constantly stab the main characters in the back, yet the main characters remain friends with them (probably to maintain the status quo). At one point, both best friends steal dates from the main characters, sleep with the main characters’ sisters behind their backs (more on that below), and tell women the main characters are gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
The Non-Sexualized Female Coworker — Toby Pedalbee and Louise Fitzer
Martin and Herman each have a non-sexualized, petite female coworker: Martin has Toby (Denny Dillon), his secretary, and Herman has Louise (Yeardley Smith), the assistant researcher. Both Toby and Louise begrudgingly admit that they’re virgins, but end up having sex later. Although they’re close friends, these characters are never seen as possible romantic foils for the main characters. In both shows, this is explained by the main character stating he sees the coworker as a sister.
The Kid Sister — Susan “Beano” Tupper and Susan “Suzie” Brooks
Martin and Herman each have a younger sister named Susan who comes to visit exactly twice during the series. Yes, they’re both named Susan, but Martin calls his Susan (Sydney Walsh) “Beano,” and Herman calls his Susan (Jennifer Aniston) “Suzie” (although in her first appearance, she insists on being called “Astrid”). At first, both main characters only see their sisters as the little girls they grew up with and not the attractive young women they’ve become, so they attempt to control them, but eventually they begin to see their sisters as adults who can make their own decisions and take care of themselves.
Both kid sisters sleep with the best friends: Martin’s sister confesses that she and Eddie have been sleeping together every time she visits for eight years, while Herman’s sister’s relationship with Jay only lasts one episode. Both best friends go against their character by desiring committed relationships with the kid sisters; however, both sisters don’t want committed relationships and break up with the best friends before leaving town.
The Weirdo Boss — Gibby Fiske and Mr. Crawford
Both main characters have weird, quirky, annoying bosses: Martin has Gibby (Michael McKean), and Herman has Mr. Crawford (Edward Winter). Both bosses make unreasonable demands and occasionally offer opportunities for career advancement that require ridiculous situations that go terribly awry. Although the bosses are obnoxious, rude, and creepy, the main characters always volunteer to help them out of jams.
The One Black Guy — Eddie Charles and Paul Bracken
Each show’s very white cast features only one person of color: Dream On has Eddie, and Herman’s Head has Mr. Bracken (Jason Bernard). Both black buys find themselves in situations where they feel they’re “not black enough.” Eddie has one of Martin’s writers on his show, who mocks him and accuses him of being “the whitest black guy on TV.” Mr. Bracken’s teenaged niece stays with him and perplexes him with her hip slang expressions and desire to be a Fly Girl.
The Women
Each show features a revolving cast of women who go out with (and sleep with) the main character. 99% of them only last one episode, but occasionally one will stick around for two or three or come back in later episodes.
The Tropes
Both shows use the same common sitcom tropes, often in the same or similar ways. Here are a few examples:
The main character meets a famous author he idolizes, but his hero turns out to be a drunken loser.
The main character becomes the victim of a crime (mugging; robbery), so he decides to get a gun, but when he accidentally shoots someone in a non-fatal spot (a burglar; Mr. Crawford), he’s spooked and gets rid of it.
The main character thinks he’s doing a good deed (exposing a beloved children’s show host as a pervert; saving a woman’s life with CPR), but he ends up getting sued for an astronomical amount of money.
A female friend (a writer; an old girlfriend) asks the main character to donate his sperm so she can have a baby; the main character agrees and makes a deposit at the sperm bank. Despite being told he would have nothing to do with the child, he has happy fantasies about being a loving father. The friend explains (again) that she isn’t looking for a father, just a sperm donor, so the main character changes his mind.
A female coworker (Toby; Heddy) is about to enter into a loveless sham of a marriage with a jerk for money, and the main character tries to talk her out of it.
The main character has to fire a coworker (another editor; Louise’s intern friend) and doesn’t want to do it. He tries to do it wrong, then realizes it’s not as big a deal as he thought and does it right.
The best friend steals the main character’s date and starts a committed relationship with her.
The main character moves in with a woman, but it doesn’t work out, and he’s able to move back into his old apartment.
While the main character and at least one friend (Judith; Mr. Bracken, Heddy, and Louise) are traveling through Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve, the car breaks down, and they become stranded, but they end up having a nice holiday anyway. (As a Pennsylvanian, I feel somewhat offended that they both got stranded in Pennsylvania, as if it’s a terrible place to be on Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I agree, but I’m still offended. Make fun of your own state!)
The main character feels threatened when a young family member (Jeremy; Suzie) decides to become a writer and is actually very good at it.
The main character is devastated when he learns his parents are getting divorced. Although he can’t stand being around his father, he tries to spend more time with him anyway.
The main character feels responsible for the death of an asshole senior citizen (the aforementioned pervy children’s show host; the cranky old lady who lives upstairs) when they have a heart attack after he (rightfully) yells at them.
The non-sexualized female coworker has a dream to be a performer (tap dancer; singer) and wants to put on a show, but the other characters don’t believe in her. The main character tries to talk her out of it because he thinks she’ll embarrass herself, but she does it anyway and turns out to be really good.
The main character gets knocked unconscious and remembers clips from his life.
The main character dates a famous rock star and it screws up his life.