The Wonder Years
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| The Wonder Years | |
|---|---|
 Title Card |
|
| Format | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Carol Black Neal Marlens |
| Starring | Fred Savage Dan Lauria Alley Mills Danica McKellar Olivia d'Abo Jason Hervey Josh Saviano |
| Narrated by | Daniel Stern |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 115 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | The Black-Marlens Company |
| Associate producer(s) |
New World Television |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | March 15, 1988 – May 12, 1993 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Wonder Years is an Emmy Award-winning US American television dramedy created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC, from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII.
Set in 1968-1973 (each season took place exactly twenty years before the then current year), the series tackles the social issues and historic events of that time through the eyes of main character Kevin Arnold. Kevin also deals with typical teenage social issues, including those prompted by his main love interest, Winnie Cooper, as well as typical family troubles. The story is narrated by an older, wiser Kevin (voiced by Daniel Stern), describing what is happening and what he learned from his experiences in an alternately nostalgic and ironic tone.
The show achieved a spot in the Nielsen Top Ten for two of its six seasons.[1] TV Guide named the show one of the 1980s' 20 best.[1] After only six episodes aired[1] The Wonder Years won an Emmy for best comedy series in 1988. At the age of 13 Fred Savage gained the honor of being the youngest actor ever nominated Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series. The show was awarded a George Foster Peabody Award in 1989, for achieving two seemingly contradictory effects: on the one hand, its concentration on one family evokes the tradition of American situation comedy, from Father Knows Best to The Cosby Show; on the other hand, its imaginative use of the techniques of modern television pushes the boundaries of the sit-com and points the way to new modes of storytelling.[2] In total, the series won 22 awards, and was nominated for a further 54 more.[3]
The show's theme is Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends."
In 2007 the show was repeated on the music channel TMF. In February 2008 ITV3 got the rights to air the series in the UK starting from the very beginning.[4] They have been showing two episodes a day back-to-back on weekdays at 2.40pm, repeated at 7pm, and Saturday 3.50pm, repeated Sunday 11.55am.
Contents |
[edit] Major characters
- Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage): A teenage American student, growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The voice of Kevin as an adult (and the show's narrator) is supplied by Daniel Stern.
- Jack Arnold (Dan Lauria): Kevin's father, a moody man and a Korean War veteran; he mentions having been in the US Marine Corps and he is seen in photographs wearing the uniform of a First Lieutenant. He works at NORCOM, a large electronics corporation in a middle management position he loathes. Later, he starts his own business, building and selling handcrafted furniture. The last episode reveals that he dies of a heart attack in 1975 (around the end of Kevin's freshman year of college i.e. two years after the time of the show's finale).
- Norma Arnold (Alley Mills): Kevin's stay-at-home mother. She met Jack as a college freshman. When he graduated, she moved across the country with him and didn't finish college. She eventually gets her degree late in the series, and starts working at a software startup called Micro Electronics.
- Paul Joshua Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano): Kevin's lifelong best friend, an intelligent and excellent student. He is allergic to several substances. Paul is Jewish, which is the focus of an episode where he becomes Bar Mitzvah. In the final episode it is revealed that he goes to Harvard University.
- Karen Arnold (Olivia d'Abo): Kevin's older, hippie sister. She continually clashes with her overbearing father due to her free-spirited ways and his traditional views while her mother usually acts as the mediator. She has a falling out with her father when she moves in with her boyfriend Michael (David Schwimmer) during her freshman year of college. A year later, the pair gets married in an outdoor wedding and moves to Alaska.
- Wayne Arnold (Jason Hervey): Kevin's older brother, who enjoys physically tormenting Kevin and Paul. He takes over the furniture business when his father dies. Wayne is typically portrayed as a loser when it comes to serious romantic relationships.
- Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper (Danica McKellar): Kevin's main love interest. In an episode entitled "The Accident" and in the final episode, it is stated that every important event in Kevin's life somehow involves Winnie. She lives on the same block as Kevin. Their first kiss and her older brother's death while serving as a soldier in the Vietnam War play an important part of the pilot episode. In one episode, her parents separate over their grief of the death of their son. In the epilogue of the final episode, it is revealed that Winnie goes on to study art history in Paris. Kevin and Winnie write a letter to each other every week for eight years until she returned. Despite their life-long romance, they never married and end up living seperate lives.
[edit] Minor characters
- Grandpa Albert Arnold (David Huddleston): Kevin's paternal grandfather, Jack's father. He sells his last car (and Kevin's first) - a 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass sedan - to Kevin for $1. He also gives Kevin a beagle named "Buster" (see below). Grandpa is a widower, as his wife died before the series timeline began and is only seen in flashbacks. In one episode, Grandpa takes the entire Arnold family to a funeral of a distant relative and is furious because Wayne and Kevin do not take the funeral seriously.
- Randy Mitchell (Michael Tricario): Kevin's friend, described as loyal and brave. Randy and Paul are the only characters to remain on throughout the series as Kevin's friends in both junior high and high school.
- Doug Porter (Brandon Crane): Kevin's junior high school classmate. In one episode, he briefly replaces Paul as Kevin's best friend after the two have a falling out.
- Rebecca "Becky" Slater (Crystal McKellar, real life sister of Danica McKellar): Kevin's junior high school classmate and one-time girlfriend. He dates her purely to make Winnie jealous and she punches him when she finds out he still likes Winnie. She holds a grudge against Kevin and becomes a recurring nuisance throughout junior high school. Her character is physically aggressive and hostile towards men.
- Craig Hobson (Sean Baca): Kevin's junior high school classmate and friend. He often berates Kevin and Paul over their emotional hang-ups resulting from girlfriend problems. He briefly dates Becky Slater and this allows the couples to happily co-exist. He gets sent to military school during the summer before ninth grade, dumping Becky and reviving her hatred of men.
- Carla Healy (Krista Murphy): Kevin's junior high school classmate and one-time girlfriend of Paul.
- Coach Cutlip (Robert Picardo): Kevin's gym teacher, who excels in bullying his students. Kevin describes him as having an inferiority complex. However, he is shown to be somewhat of a more sensitive person than usually indicated when he plays a department store Santa in a Christmas-related episode.
- Miss White, later Mrs. Heimer (Wendel Meldrum): Kevin's junior high school teacher, upon whom he has a crush. Her name changes to Mrs. Heimer after her marriage. She is later pregnant in an episode, causing Kevin to have to drive her to the hospital to give birth.
- Mr. Cantwell (Ben Stein): Kevin's junior high school science teacher.
- Chuck Coleman (Andy Berman): One of Kevin's high school friends, who often appears with a "nervous tick".
- Jeff Billings (Giovanni Ribisi): Plays Kevin's good friend in the later end of the series. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mom, which is why he moves in late.
- Alice Pedermeir (Lindsay Sloane): One of Kevin's classmates in high school and girlfriend of Chuck Coleman. Occasionally whines to make the person she's with feel bad to satisfy her for what she wants.
- Delores (Juliette Lewis): Wayne's girlfriend in high school.
- Dave "Wart" Shafter (Scott Menville): Wayne's best friend, who gets shipped off to the Vietnam War. After he comes back, he shows signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He frequently repeats whatever Wayne says.
- Madeline Adams (Julie Condra): Kevin's temporary flame during his final year in junior high.
- Cara (Lisa Gerber): Kevin's summer romance while vacationing with his family at a lake. He meets her before he begins high school and returns to see her after getting his driver's license.
- Debbie Pfeiffer (Torrey Anne Cook): Paul's younger sister, who has a crush on Kevin.
- Alvin Pfeiffer (Josh Moskoff): Paul's father.
- Ida Pfeiffer (Stephanie Satie): Paul's mother.
- Eric Antonio (Don Jeffcoat): Kevin's classmate in junior high.
- Young Kevin (Eric Lloyd): Seen in flashbacks in the form of family movies, such as where he is playing with a younger version of his sister or meeting his grandparents.
- Michael (David Schwimmer): Karen's live-in boyfriend and later husband. Kevin's father is happy that Michael will be a good husband to Karen and has a good job to provide for her, but is dismayed to learn he will be working on the distant Alaska pipeline.
- Mr. Collins (Steven Gilborn): Kevin's rigid but dedicated algebra teacher who he [Kevin] comes to admire at a certain level. The character unexpectedly dies of an unspecified illness which caused Kevin some grief.
- Buster "Skippy" Arnold: A beagle given to Kevin by his paternal grandfather. "Skippy" had major roles in the episode "The Powers That Be" (third season) and "Buster" (fourth season). He appeared in scenes in "She, My Friend, and I" in the third season and "Growing Up" in the fourth season. He reportedly retired after his appearances on The Wonder Years. He was adopted by Peter Tork, of The Monkees fame.
- Kirk McCraig (Michael Landes): 8th grader who dated Winnie.
- Ricky Halsenbach (Scott Nemes): Kevin's classmate. He was featured a few times during the series.
- Mr. Nestor (Charles Tyner): Kevin's slightly eccentric shop teacher. He has minor parts during the fourth season when Kevin is in ninth grade.
- Louis (John Corbett): Karen's first-season hippie boyfriend whom Kevin takes a dislike to.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Story
The story begins with Kevin, Paul, and Winnie on the verge of starting junior high school in 1968. The elder Kevin narrates that, like many schools that year, his junior high was re-named to Robert F. Kennedy. In the pilot, Winnie's older brother is killed in action in Vietnam. Kevin meets Winnie in a nearby wooded area called Harpers Woods, and they end up sharing their first kiss.
This unsaid relationship between Winnie and Kevin remains dormant for a long while. Winnie starts dating a popular 8th grader named Kirk McCray. Kevin briefly goes steady with Becky Slater, but soon breaks up with her realizing his feelings for Winnie are too strong. Becky Slater bears a grudge against Kevin for many following episodes, once attempting to run him over on her bicycle. In a humorous subplot, Becky becomes a recurring nuisance for Kevin, particularly in episodes "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" and "Election."
Kevin also has a major crush on his English teacher Miss White, who soon becomes Mrs. Heimer. Winnie eventually dumps Kirk as well. Kevin and Winnie share a second kiss at the start of the 1969 summer vacation. Winnie's parents start having differences between themselves due to the grief of their son's death. Soon Winnie's father relocates to Chicago. He comes back to visit to see Winnie in a school play. Winnie gives a very emotional performance in the performance of Our Town and eventually her father comes back to live with them.
Kevin admires his math teacher Mr. Collins, and is devastated when he dies in the episode entitled "Goodbye".
A few days before Valentine's Day 1970, Paul's girlfriend Carla breaks up with him, and to raise Paul's spirits Kevin asks Winnie to ask Paul out, since he expresses an interest in her. The plan back-fires when Paul and Winnie continue having dates and Kevin becomes extremely jealous. Winnie breaks up with Paul, telling him that she likes someone else and hints at Kevin. Kevin rushes to talk to Winnie but she gets mad at him and ends up avoiding him for a few days. She tells him that she just wanted to let Paul down easy, and that's why she said Kevin's name even though it's not true. After Kevin apologizes on Valentine's Day, Winnie admits she had told the truth to Paul and she and Kevin finally start dating each other.
Just before the summer break, Kevin finds out that Winnie and her family are moving to a house 4 miles away and as a result of the move Winnie will be transferring to a new school, Lincoln Junior High. For a while it seems Winnie will break up with Kevin, who have gotten used to seeing each other every day as they live on the same street and attend the same schools. The couple decide to remain together and maintain a successful long distance relationship. Things become complicated when a beautiful new student named Madeline Adams joins Kevin's school, who quickly catches Kevin's eye. She kisses Kevin to thank him for being nice to her on her first day at a new school. That same night, she sees him embracing Winnie at the local pizza joint. Even with most boys in the class lusting after her, Madeline continues to openly flirt with Kevin, even knowing that he has a girlfriend. Kevin is obviously interested in her, but his love for Winnie keeps him from succumbing to what he calls "raw temptation." The toll of being at separate schools and Kevin's attraction to Madeline begins to put a strain on their relationship. In an unexpected twist, it is Winnie who has met someone else, Roger, a typical jock-type at her new school, and she breaks up with Kevin. Kevin goes on to date Madeline but quickly dumps her when he realizes his feelings for her are not as strong as he thought. Winnie's relationship with Roger is brief and they break up. Winnie seems to be emotionally unstable for a while, and she is later hurt in a car accident which reunites her and Kevin.
One of the more memorable episodes was Graduation. Kevin and Paul graduate from Robert F. Kennedy Junior High in June 1971, and Winnie graduates from Lincoln Junior High. Kevin almost misses his graduation ceremony as he goes to the hospital with Mrs. Heimer after she goes into labor. Winnie is in a leg cast, recovering after the car accident in a previous episode. Kevin is dismayed when he finds out that Paul will be going to a prep school, and they end up arguing in science class. Kevin punches Paul, and the distracted teacher accidentally mixes his two reactant chemicals together causing a minor explosion, which sets off the fire alarms. That September, Kevin and Winnie both go to McKinley High and Paul goes to a prep school.
In the summer of 1971, Kevin and Paul rent neighboring cabins with their families at a lake. He meets a beautiful girl who is a local of the town and she tells him she should stay away from him because he is a "summer boy," meaning he will leave when his vacation ends. The two, however, strike up a brief but moving romance. He promises to visit after he gets his license and does return, once, to see her. During the 1971/72 academic year Kevin has brief flings with Denise "the Grease", and Wayne's then-girlfriend Sandy. Kevin's grandfather gets his driver's license revoked, and sells his car to Kevin for a dollar. When Paul's father runs into financial troubles, Paul transfers to McKinley High after his first semester at prep school. Winnie and Kevin are reunited when they go on a double date to a school dance. Although they had been arguing prior to the dance, they find themselves more attracted to each other than their respective partners.
Throughout the series, Winnie tends to be overly sensitive, which frequently leads to misunderstandings with Kevin. Whenever Kevin wants to make fun of others, like the large-nosed girl in his English class, or his new music teacher, Winnie promptly scolds him for being so immature. Winnie excels at schoolwork, and occasionally earns criticism for being "boring" or "too perfect."
In several later episodes, Kevin and Winnie kiss in Kevin's car at the local make-out point, but Winnie interrupts every time Kevin tries to go further. In fact, Kevin gets his hopes up when she goes to get something out of her purse, but it turns out to be chewing gum rather than contraception. In the episode White Lies, Kevin faces peer pressure in the boys locker room to reveal how far he's gone with Winnie. He tells the boys (truthfully) that Winnie slept over last night, and then leads them on to believe they had sex. Of course, the rumor spreads, causing Kevin and Winnie to break up for a few episodes.
In late 1972 Wayne starts working at NORCOM, and starts dating Bonnie, another employee. She is divorced and has a son, which makes the situation awkward between Wayne and his parents. Wayne and Bonnie grow serious and his parents finally begin to accept their relationship, Mrs. Arnold even visiting with the baby. Wayne offers to treat the family to a New Years Eve dinner, saying that he has an announcement to make. At the restaurant, the Arnolds and Winnie wait for hours for Bonnie and Wayne to arrive. Bonnie shows up and tells Kevin that although she loves Wayne, she ended the relationship. She had a visit that day from her former husband and couldn't deny her feelings for him, leaving Wayne heart-broken. Kevin's dad quits NORCOM, and starts up a furniture manufacturing business. Paul, Kevin, and Winnie take the SATs. Kevin gets a 650 in verbal and a 590 in math, while Winnie shines with a 725 in verbal and a 757 in math. Kevin has problems digesting this at first, but he eases up soon thereafter.
[edit] Final episode
In the finale double episode, Winnie decides to take a job for the summer of 1973 as a lifeguard at a resort. Kevin, anxious to experience a taste of adult life, plans a cross-country trip with his friends. Kevin's dad, Jack, vehemently objects to Kevin's plan and ultimately Kevin abandons his planned trip. Kevin returns to his job at his father's furniture factory and telephones Winnie, who by all accounts is distant and seems to be enjoying her time away from Kevin. Eventually, Kevin and his father have a huge fight and Kevin announces that he is leaving, reasoning that he needs to "find himself." Kevin hops in his car and heads to the resort where Winnie is working, hopeful that she can secure him a job and they can spend the rest of the summer together.
Much to Kevin's chagrin, Winnie does not appear too pleased with Kevin's arrival and maintains her distance. Kevin is finally able to secure a job at the resort's restaurant and resides in the bus boys' dorm. Feeling confused and frustrated over Winnie's behavior, Kevin searches out other activities to occupy his time. Kevin decides to play poker with the resort's in-house band members. Kevin wins big and goes searching for Winnie, anxious to share the tale of his good fortune. When Kevin finds her, Winnie is engaged in a passionate kiss with a male lifeguard.
The next day, Kevin confronts Winnie about her actions, and they have a huge fight. The fallout with Winnie leads Kevin to play another round of poker with the band. This time Kevin ends up losing everything, including his car. Desperate, Kevin confronts Winnie and her new beau at the restaurant and ends up punching him in the face. Kevin then leaves the resort on foot.
On a desolate stretch of highway, Kevin decides to begin hitchhiking. He finally gets picked up by an elderly couple and much to his surprise he finds Winnie in the backseat. Winnie was fired over the fight Kevin instigated at the resort. Kevin and Winnie begin to argue and the elderly couple get fed up and decides to drop them both off. A flash rain storm begins and Kevin and Winnie search for shelter. They find a barn and discuss how much things are changing and the prospects for the future. At first Winnie tells Kevin that she doesn't see them ending up together but quickly recants, telling Kevin "I don't want it to end." Kevin and Winnie share a passionate kiss and spend the night together. It is implied, and generally believed by fans of the show, that they make love for the first time during this moment, but it wasn't confirmed by the narrator one way or the other. [1]
They soon find their way back to their hometown and arrive hand-in-hand to a 4th of July Parade. During this parade, Kevin (Daniel Stern) describes the fate of the show's main characters. Kevin made up with his father, returned to work, graduated high school in 1974 and then left for college. Paul studies law at Harvard. Karen gives birth to a son in September 1973. Kevin's mother becomes a businesswoman and board chairman. Kevin's father dies two years later, and Wayne takes over his father's furniture business. Winnie studies art history in Paris while Kevin stays in the United States. Winnie and Kevin end up writing each other "once a week" for the next eight years. In the final epilogue, Kevin mentions how he is there, along with his wife and child, to greet Winnie when she returned to the United States in 1982.
The final sounds, voice-over and dialogue of the episode and series is that of Kevin (Daniel Stern) providing concluding narration with the sound of children playing in the background:
Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back...with wonder.
A young boy (Stern's real life son) can be heard asking his dad to come out and play during a break in the final narration. Kevin's (Daniel Stern) narrative responds, "I'll be right there" as the episode closes.
[edit] DVD releases
Unlike most long-running popular American TV sitcoms, The Wonder Years has still not yet been released on DVD as official season box sets due to the cost of securing the music rights.[5] Because of this, The Wonder Years routinely appears high on the list of TV shows in-demand for a DVD release. Officially, The Wonder Years has so far only been released as two 'best-of' DVD sets, without the original music. They are the following:
- The Best of The Wonder Years July 24, 1999 - 1 Disc
- The Christmas Wonder Years July 24, 1999 - 1 Disc
Both sets are now quite rare and exceptionally expensive. However, an unofficial box set has been made available by the web site www.poppingtags.com. It is only available in a seven disc set, that includes all six seasons. Unfortunatley, it's bootleg characteristics are quite visible in each episode since it was recorded directly from cable and contains the "ABC Family" logo at the bottom of the screen.
[edit] Audio soundtrack
The official soundtrack was released in 1988 by Atlantic/WEA and contains a total of 13 tracks, featuring Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help from My Friends," which is the show's theme song.[6]
Also, after the series' original run was over, Laserlight Digital released a 5-disc compilation box set under the title "Music from 'The Wonder Years'" in 1994. This is the same company that later released the only two DVDs for the series, "The Best of 'The Wonder Years'" and "The Christmas Wonder Years". The disc included 40 Motown favorites and 5 original songs (each is repeated twice in the set) written exclusively for the series by W.G. "Snuffy" Walden.
[edit] Trivia
"The Simpsons" episode "Three Men and a Comic Book" features "Daniel Stern" as 'Adult Bart' discussing his reaction to his first job.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c The Wonder Years from the Museum of Broadcast Communications
- ^ Peabody Award Winners Archive
- ^ Awards for The Wonder Years
- ^ www.avforums.com
- ^ Lieber, Scott (July 10, 2006). Pricey nostalgia. The Denver Post.
- ^ Amazon.com: The Wonder Years OST
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