Talk:The Wonder Years

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[edit] Epilogue

I think it is ridiculous to mention the foretold events of the epilogue of the series. Yes, there is a spoiler warning, but still, I don't think that info is important enough to be putting in the main characters description. I suggest taking it out.

Speaking of the spoiler warning, I did not see a spoiler warning at the beginning of the article and I believe one is needed badly (sorry, I don't know how to add one, otherwise I would). panth0r 12:33, 29 May 2007 (UTC)
I've added a spoiler warning at the beginning of the Major characters section, just because I don't think that a section about characters would necessarily contain spoilers. However, the Story and Final episode section, from the titles, clearly will have some spoilers. —MrSomeone ( tlk • cntrb ) 02:44, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
Thank you, that's exactly where I think it was needed. panth0r 09:11, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
Just as an update, apparently most people think that the tag is unnecessary (diff) so it's gone for now. —MrSomeone ( tlk • cntrb ) 10:57, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Paul v. Milhouse

Anyone else think that Milhouse's character on the Simpsons is modelled after Paul Pfeiffer? --Jpawloski 03:19, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

The question is: who was created first Paul Pfeiffer or Milhouse? I think that Milhouse appeared on the Simpsons before the debut of The Wonder Years.KitHutch 15:35, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
I don't think so. The Tracy Ullman Simpsons Shorts did precede the Wonder Years by about a year, but Milhouse doesn't appear in any of the shorts. Milhouse was introduced in a Butterfinger commercial in 1989. scroll down a bit. Zagalejo 03:50, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
There are clear similarities, so perhaps. But Milhouse clearly isn't modelled directly after Paul, as Paul's a lot more mature than Milhouse, he's older (at the smallest age difference, Paul is 12 and Milhouse is 10, Milhouse like all other Simpsons characters retains his age infinitely throughout the series, yet Paul is 16 by the last season of The Wonder Years). Milhouse also rarely corrects Bart in the way Paul corrects Kevin, and Milhouse is far more gullable and susceptible to Bart's actions whilst Paul doesn't get involved in what Kevin is doing if he thinks it's wrong - i.e. where Kevin is contemplating using Beck Slater's school president speech and Paul refuses to get involved). I think there's a high chance that Milhouse was in part modelled after Paul, though. --J. Atkins (talk - contribs) 16:32, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Father's cause of death

I'd like some discussion on this before editing, but did the program actually state that Jack Arnold died of a heart attack? I remember the quote as being "Wayne took over the business two years later, when dad passed away".—Preceding unsigned comment added by Domszanto (talk • contribs)

  • I'm almost certain it doesn't, so I removed the bit about a heart attack being the likely cause. It could just as easily been a car crash, stroke, cancer, etc. --cholmes75 (chit chat) 16:36, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
  • As certain as you are about the father not dying due to heart attack, I recall in the final show the narrator stating the father passed away two years later. I believe that it was due to a heart attack and don't know why I would think that if it wasn't specifically stated. The reason is really irrelevant, but to state that he died due to gang violence is ridiculous and detracts from the rest of the descriptions!CPA Bob 03:25, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
Nope, no cause of death is stated in the final episode. See following quote from the transcript. —MrSomeone ( tlk • cntrb ) 05:15, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

The Wayner stayed on in furniture. Wood seemed to suit him. In fact, he took over the factory two years later... When Dad passed away. (source)

Its possible you're thinking of the dad from the Roseanne Show. He passed from a heart attack in the show —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.202.113.132 (talk) 01:20, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ratings and popular impact?

Does anyone have any information of the shows' ratings and cultural impact during the late 80's and early 90's? Darwin's Bulldog 23:16, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What the show is called in other countries

I just don't feel this is relevant or necessary. Does anyone think that it is even remotely interesting? Trivial, yes, but trivia? No. 24.57.203.238 00:13, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Didn't notice that bit, but I would remind you that wikipedia is not just a US website, and there may well be people who would find that information useful. 82.19.66.37 22:08, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

well... the German version is called "Wunderbare Jahre", which simply means "Wonderful Years" if you translate it literally 80.109.43.98 11:58, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Coach Cutlip

I remember watching the episode in which Kevin graduated from junior high and Cutlip announced that he was becoming an assistant athletic director at a junior college. He was never see again on the show. Where/when did he make an appearance as Kevin's high school gym teacher? KitHutch 14:18, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

  • There was an episode when Kevin was graduating from Jr. High where Coach Cutlip had a prolonged and emotional speech telling the kids in the gym that he was going to be teaching at the High School, so they would see him in their next school year. Cutlip was around during Kevin's High School years, he was in several episodes. Darwin's Bulldog 20:42, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
  • That emotional speech was because he was named assisted athletic director at a community college. I don't remember him in any high school episodes. There weren't any recurring high school teachers from what I remember. If you can reference a high school episode with Cutlip, I will be convinced.KitHutch 15:02, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
  • You have me at a bit of a disadvantage with a reference. The show isn't on syndication where I'm at and I have no DVD's or videos to research. I do remember thinking it was odd that Cutlip was still around for Kevin's High School years (as well as his Jr. High years) until I saw the episode I mentioned previously. Darwin's Bulldog 22:50, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
  • I watched that episode recently. Coach Cutlip said that he's going to be an assistant athletic director at a college in Indiana. He wasn't in any of the high school episodes (which is too bad, since I liked his character). Jsol5 03:53, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
  • In the episode in which Kevin first enters 9th grade, Coach Cutlip is substituting for the guidance counselor when Kevin comes in for help.

[edit] this show...

..makes me sad everytime i watch it, but it was still great...anyone know when its coming out on dvd?

They only have those crappy limited editions, though some con artists are tricking people into buying the entire season, it looks very legit, but might just wanna take the heads up, eg. www.tvaddicts.tv/movie/drama/The_Wonder_Years.html

Well, there is this[1], would this be a complete thing? Or just another best of? Help plz 08:58, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Probably the first season, as there's already two 'Best ofs'. Amazon has it listed as released on 1 January, 2020, which I can only think is a database entry error or typo - the likely hood that something is released on the first day of a given year is 1/365 (or 1/366 in a leap year). Whilst there's no reason something shouldn't be released on January 1, a release date twelve years from now (2008), and thirty two years from the first season's original airing (1988), is unlikely to get a listing on both Amazon and Play.com. I can only assume it really is 'coming soon', just that they perhaps shouldn't have added it as a product listing several years ago. I'm deeply confused by the fact that they managed to release the sound track in 1994, a year after the series ended, yet the soundtrack is the one problem cited as the obstacle preventing the series' DVD release. --J. Atkins (talk - contribs) 16:38, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Marilyn Manson

I know this might seem a strage thing to include but there was a long time misconception that Marilyn Manson appeared in The Wonder Years. Im sure I can find lots of references to it. Or is it silly to include it Graemec2 14:17, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

It is already mentioned in the article at #Trivia.
Another source: http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/marilyn.htm --MrSomeone 01:15, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

The incorrect rumor was that Paul Pfeiffer was, in fact, Marilyn Manson.Dshibshm (talk) 01:31, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Not Trivia...

The mention of The Simpsons episode is not trivia either. There is a bad habit among the Wikipedia universe that lists cultural references, spoofs and satires under trivia. This needs to change. These should be put under a different heading such as "Satires" or something like that. In contrast, the information about Danica McKellar's sister playing one of Kevin's love interests, really is trivia.


"n episode 45, Daddy's Little Girl, there are 19 candles on the birthday cake instead of 18." - People often have one extra candle, "for good luck" on birthday cakes.


I deleted the trivia mention about the term "Wonder Years Moment." While it makes sense and might be true, it really needs a cite - and being that no one added one despite the "Citation Needed" tag being up for a few weeks, it was time to take it out. Jsol5 21:05, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Paul and Winnie

I remember the last episode really vividly and I'm pretty sure (tho not absolute) that Kevin mentioned something about Winnie ending up with Paul. Anyone else recall this. I was bummed out for years behind that, lol.Scott Free 05:05, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Pretty sure that didn't happen.

All the narrator said about Winnie was that she left the next summer to study in Paris for a number of years, and that when she came back he went to meet her with his wife and recently born first son. MrSomeone 01:43, 12 April 2007 (UTC)


[edit] location of setting

Does anyone know where the storyline was supposed to take place at, like the city and state? I'm pretty sure the actual set was in southern California; I was just wondering if that is also where the story is supposed to be.Shanoman 15:44, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

It might be a kind of fictionalized Culver City. I'm not sure if they ever came out and said it, but they show part of the address on the envelope when Wayne gets his driver's license. All you can see is "ty, CA 90235". There's no such thing as 90235, but 90230 is Culver City. Kafziel Talk 16:28, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, the address on Wayne's drivers license is in CA, but from what I've read in the past, the general consensus has been that rather than take place in a specific location, it was meant to be open to the viewer to interpert—more like an Anytown, USA. There used to be countless threads over at iMDB on this topic. Briefly looking, this thread may be of some interest. —MrSomeone ( tlk • cntrb ) 19:49, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is Culver City, any more than the Simpsons' Springfield is Springfield, Illinois. It's definitely more of an "Anytown, USA". But the zip code is a Los Angeles-area fictional zip similar to Culver City (and the "ty" in the address goes along with that). I also should point out that speculation on the location should not be included in the article; I was just answering a question. Kafziel Talk 19:57, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
Yup, just wanted to clarify —MrSomeone ( tlk • cntrb ) 22:57, 22 April 2007 (UTC)
A few clues that I've picked up while watching the reruns: The Arnolds apparently don't live in or near New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Denver, or Pittsburg. At one point or another in the series, characters in the show talk about flying or taking a long road trip to each of the above cities. In fact, in the first episode of the 2-part series finale ("Summer"), Kevin's friends tell him that they're going on a summer road trip to New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. In another episode (the one where the Rolling Stones supposedly come to town), Winnie discusses a rumor where one of her friends was on a plane with the Stones on a trip to New York. Other random notes - it doesn't snow where the Arnold's live, but a nearby mountain with a ski resort is only an hour drive away (via the episode "Wayne and Bonnie"). Hmm. Does anyone think that the article should have a section about the location of the show's setting? It's an interesting aspect of the show. Jsol5 09:20, 21 June 2007 (UTC)
I just watched the "Ladies and Gentlemen... the Rolling Stone" episode and they mention a town named Hinkley being an hour away. There's a Hinkley in California that's near Barstow. I don't know if it supports the Culver City theory though -- it's about 130 miles away. Then again, Kevin's lead foot did get him into trouble earlier in the episode :) f(x)=ax2+bx+c 09:06, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] last show

sorry about changing the the male lifeguard to a female one . I must of gotten the show mix up with the OC or something —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.203.175.175 (talk) 19:05, 25 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Reruns section

Is this section really necessary? Anthony Rupert 03:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I just did some copy-edit to clean up said section, and I don't see any reason to remove it (although some parts of it may contain a little much info.) Many other TV series' pages have rerun/syndication information. —MrSomeone ( tlk • cntrb ) 23:21, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tax Evasion?

I'm a bit unsure about this entry under the "trivia" section:

"In one particular episode Kevin's dad is caught with a swiss bank account and becomes under investigation for tax evasion. This story line never pans out and we are never told of the investigations' outcome."

Which episode is this from? Not to sound like a total Wonder Years geek (which I guess I am), but I've seen every episode in this series several times (including DVRing almost all of the Ion reruns since April 07) and I never saw anything about tax evasion/Swiss bank account. I'm tempted to put a "citation needed" tag for this "trivia", but I'd feel a bit weird doing that when the entire article lacks needed citations. If whoever added this can at least provide an episode name (or a summation of the episode where this occurs), I can keep an eye out for it in future reruns. Jsol5 19:55, 23 June 2007 (UTC) g

[edit] Individual Episode Pages?

I know there's a list of episodes, but is this show important enough to make individual articles for each episode? It would take a bit of time, but might be worth doing. Thoughts?209.101.53.194 04:03, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

I think that the episodes list needs a little work, but I don't think that there should be individual episode pages yet. 70.244.107.161 14:16, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Theme Song

I think it is significant that Jimmy Page contributed to the theme song. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.182.54.93 (talk) 00:36, August 23, 2007 (UTC)

It would be significant, but it isn't true. The theme song was by Joe Cocker. f(x)=ax2+bx+c 08:55, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Its credited to Joe Cocker, but Jimmy Page did play lead guitar on it. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_cocker. Also, isn't the theme tune someone else singing in Cocker's style, rather than Cocker himself? I have the Joe Cocker track and the one used on the Wonder Years sounds slightly different..... SimonUK (talk) 17:47, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

That's because the show used a live version of that song. If I'm not mistaken, it was from Woodstock.Vicco Lizcano (talk) 16:22, 22 January 2008 (UTC) (Hey! Listen!)

[edit] Kirk McWho?

I always thought it was McCray. The list of characters has it as McCraig, while the synopsis says McCray. Which is correct? —  MusicMaker5376 19:59, 18 February 2008 (UTC)