The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years
File:Wonder Years.jpg (L to R) Hervey, d'Abo, Savage, Lauria, Mills, Saviano, McKellar.
Created by	Neal Marlens Carol Black
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 episodes	115 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	The Black-Marlens Company
Running time	22 minutes
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 15, 1988 – May 12, 1993

The Wonder Years is an Emmy Award-winning American television dramedy created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for five seasons on ABC, from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII.

The Wonder Years, set in 1968-1973 (each season took place exactly twenty years before the then current year) 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. TV Guide named the show one of the 1980s' 20 best. After only six episodes aired The Wonder Years won an Emmy for best comedy series in 1988. Fred Savage would also gain the honor of being the youngest actor ever nominated at the age of 13 for Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series through this show. It 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. At the same time, its imaginative use of the techniques of modern television push the boundaries of the sit-com and point the way to new modes of storytelling.

The show's theme is Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends".

Major characters

• Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage): An American teenage student, growing up in the late 1960s/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 sullen man and a Korean War veteran. He worked at NORCOM, a large corporation in a middle management position he hated. Later, he starts his own business, building and selling handcrafted furniture. The last episode reveals that he died in 1975 (around the end of Kevin's freshman year of college i.e. two years after the time line of the show finishes).
• 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 finishes college 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 in an episode where he becomes Bar Mitzvah. In the final episode it is revealed that he went to Harvard for college.
• Karen Arnold (Olivia d'Abo): Kevin's older hippie sister. She continually butts heads with her overbearing father due to her free-spirited ways and his traditional views while mom plays 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.
• 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 involved 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 become separated over their grief of the death of their son. In the epilogue of the final episode, we learn Winnie studies art history in Paris. Kevin and Winnie write one letter to each other every week for eight years until her return. Despite their life-long romance, they never marry.

Minor characters

• Grandpa Albert Arnold (David Huddleston: Kevin's paternal grandfather, Jack's father. Sells his last car (and Kevin's first) - a 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass sedan - to Kevin for $1. 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 reacts furiously because Wayne and Kevin are not taking the funeral seriously.
• Randy Mitchell (Michael Tricario): Kevin's friend described as loyal and brave. Randy, besides Paul, is the only character to remain on throughout the series as one of 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): 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 for several episodes and becomes a recurring nuisance. Her character is physically aggressive and hateful 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 his best friend Paul.
• Coach Cutlip (Robert Picardo): Kevin's gym teacher who excels in bullying his students. Kevin describes him as having an inferiority complex.
• Miss White, later Mrs. Heimer (Wendel Meldrum): Kevin's junior high school teacher, upon whom he has a crush. Her name is changed 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.
• 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.
• 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 showns signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• 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 his job will be to work on the Alaska pipeline.
• Mr. Collins (Steven Gilborn): Kevin's rigid algebra teacher. Kevin admires him at some level.
• Buster "Skippy" Arnold: A beagle given to Kevin by his paternal grandfather.
• Kirk McCraig (Michael Landes): 8th grader dated by Winnie.

Episodes

• Main article: List of The Wonder Years episodes

Story

The story begins with Kevin (Fred Savage), Paul (Josh Saviano) and Winnie (Danica Mae McKellar) on the verge of starting junior high school in 1968. In the pilot, Winnie's elder 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 their summer break. 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, 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's 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 everyday as they live on the same street and attended 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 the eye of Kevin. 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, 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. The next year, Kevin and Winnie both attend McKinley High and Paul goes to a prep school.

In the summer before high school, 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. The following 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 the final year of the series, 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 visit 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 775 in math. Kevin has problems digesting this at first, but he eases up soon thereafter.

The Final episode

In the finale double episode, Winnie decides to take a summer job 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 that Winnie is working at, 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 ranch. Kevin and Winnie begin to argue and the elderly couple gets 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 alluded, and generally believed by fans of the show, that they have sex for the first time during this moment, but it wasn't confirmed by the narrator. [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, finished high school and then left for college. Paul studies law at Harvard. Karen gives birth to a son that following September. 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 to greet Winnie when she returned to the United States - with his wife and recently born son.

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. 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 (Daniel Stern) narrative responds, "I'll be right there" as the episode closes.

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. Officially, The Wonder Years has so far only been released as two 'best-of' DVD sets. They are the following:

• The Best of The Wonder Years July 24, 1999 : 1 Disc
• The Christmas Wonder Years July 24, 1999 : 1 Disc

External links

• The Wonder Years at Internet Movie Database