The Wonder Years

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Image:Wonder Years.jpg The Wonder Years was a television dramedy created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1993.

The Wonder Years tackled the social issues and historic events of the 1960s and early 1970s through the eyes of main character Kevin Arnold, who also deals with teenage social issues (mainly with his best friend Paul, and his top love interest, Winnie Cooper), family trouble and other issues. While the stories unfold, the story is narrated by an older, wiser Kevin describing what is happening and what he has learned from his experiences. This popular technique was later reproduced in the sitcoms How I Met Your Mother, State of Grace and Oliver Beene. The technique was also parodied in episodes of Family Guy and The Simpsons. Also the montage technique that is used in the title scene with the theme song playing in the back, was used in an episode of 'The Simpsons' with the same theme song being played.

The show's theme tune was Joe Cocker's cover of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends". This song was featured among others on the soundtrack for the program.

1 Major characters
2 Other characters
3 Season 1 episodes
4 Season 2 episodes
5 Season 3 episodes
6 Season 4 episodes
7 Season 5 episodes
8 Season 6 episodes

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Major characters

Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) - An average junior high (and later high school) student growing up in the late 1960s/early 1970s.

Gwendolyne "Winnie" Cooper (Danica McKellar) - Kevin's main love interest. Their first kiss and her older brother's death in Vietnam play an important part of the pilot episode.

Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano) - Kevin's lifelong best friend. He is allergic to everything.

Jack Arnold (Dan Lauria) - Kevin's father, a Korean War veteran. Originally, he worked at NORCOM, a generic large corporation, in a middle management position he hated. Later, he started his own business building and selling handcrafted furniture.

Norma Arnold (Alley Mills) - Kevin's stay-at-home mother. She met Jack as a college freshmen. When he graduated, she moved across the country with him and didn't finish college.

Karen Arnold (Olivia d'Abo) - Kevin's older hippie sister. She eventually gets married and moves to Alaska. Her only appearance in the last season is in the last episode.

Wayne Arnold (Jason Hervey) - Kevin's older brother who enjoys physically tormenting Kevin and Paul.

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Other characters

Coach Cutlip (Robert Picardo)
Miss White, later Mrs. Heimer (Wendel Meldrum)
Mr. Cantwell (Ben Stein)
Becky Slater (Crystal McKellar)
Chuck Coleman (Andy Berman)
Delores (Juliette Lewis)
Bonnie Douglas (Paula Marshall)
Jeff Billings (Giovanni Ribisi)
Alice Pedermeir (Lindsay Sloane)
Joey (Dustin Diamond)
Eric Antonio (Don Jeffcoat)
Young Kevin (Eric Lloyd)
Michael (David Schwimmer)
Voice of Adult Kevin (Daniel Stern)

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Season 1 episodes

Pilot
Swingers
My Father's Office
Angel
The Phone Call
Dance With Me

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Season 2 episodes

The Heart o Darkness
Our Miss White
Christmas
Steady as She Goes
Just between Me and You and Kirk and Paul and Becky
Pottery Will Get You Nowhere
Coda
Hiroshima, Mon Frere
Loosiers
Walk Out
Nemesis
Fate
Birthday Boy
Brightwing
Square Dance
Whose Woods Are These
How I'm Spending My Summer Vacaton

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Season 3 episodes

Summer Song
Math Class
Wayne on Wheels
Mom Wars
On the Spot
Odd Man Out
The Family Car
The Pimple
Math Class Squared
Rock 'n Roll
Don't Know Anything About Women?
The Powers That Be
She, My Friend and I
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The Tree House
The Glee Club
Night Out
Faith
The Unnatural
Goodbye
Cocoa and Sympathy
Daddy's Little Girl
Moving

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Season 4 episodes

Growing Up
Ninth Grade Man
The Journey
The Cost of Living
It's a Mad, Mad, Madeline World
Little Debbie
The Ties That Bind
The Sixth Man
A Very Cutlip Christmas
The Candidate
Heartbreak
Denial
Who's Aunt Rose?
Courage
Buster
Road Trip
When World's Collide
Seperate Rooms
The Yearbook
The Accident
The House That Jack Built
Graduation
The Wonder Years

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Season 5 episodes

The Lake
Day One
The Hardward Store
Frank and Denise
Full Moon Rising
Triangle
Soccor
Dinner Out
Christmas Party
Pfeiffer's Choice
Road Test
Grandpa's Car
Kodachrome
Private Butthead
Of Mastadons and Men
Double Double Date
Hero
Lunch Stories
Carnal Knowledge
The Lost Weekend
Stormy Weather
The Wedding
Back to the Lake
Broken Hearts and Burgers

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Season 6 episodes

Homecoming
Fishing
Scenes from a Wedding
Sex and Economics
Politics as Usual
White Lies
Wayne and Bonnie
Kevin Delivers
The Test
Let Nothing You Dismay
New Years
Alice in Autoland
Ladies and Gentlemen.. The Rolling Stones
Unpacking
Hulk Arnold
Nose
Eclipse
Poker
The Little Women
Reunion
Summer (1)
Independence Day (2)

Trudginup

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Final episode

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Reflecting on how everyone eventually grows up and how childhood comes to an end, Kevin and Winnie have one last passionate day together before going their separate ways once and for all. Winnie goes to Europe to study art, while Kevin stays in the States, gets married, and has a son. The two write to each other for eight years. Kevin's father dies of a heart attack, and his brother takes over the family business. The fates of many supporting characters are resolved, and the narrator (adult Kevin) tells us: "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 other 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."

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Trivia

According to one popular urban legend, the character of Paul Pfeiffer was played by Marilyn Manson. This is incorrect; as mentioned elsewhere, Pfeiffer was played throughout by Josh Saviano.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the episode The Little Women Kevins SAT score is revealed as 650 verbal 590 math (1240 combined), and Winnie as 725 verbal 757 math (1482 combined).

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