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"Heart of Darkness"
Original Airdate 11/30/88
Written by Carol Black and Neal Marlens
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Breckin Meyer (Gary), Shantel Cropper (Girl),
Donnie Jeffcoat (Kirk's Friend), Michael Landes (Kirk), Linda Hoy
(Mrs. Ritvo)
"Heart of Darkness" has Kevin haunted by mysterious dreams of a dark cavern, where he is joined by Paul and Winnie. At school, once awakened, Winnie meets up with Kevin and acts friendly, but Kevin is still hurt that Winnie chose Kirk McCray over him, and gives her the cold shoulder.
When Kevin allows cool kid Gary Cosay to cheat off his test paper, over Paul's protests, the three boys end up in detention. That night, Kevin has another nightmare in the cavem, and, within the dream, he appears in a classroom wearing nothing but his underwear. Next day, Gary convinces Kevin and Paul to join him on an all night camping trip that Friday. The night before the campout, Kevin dreams he's back in the cave, carrying Winnie, who appears to have a broken leg. Suddenly he's back in the schoolroom, carrying a large stuffed rabbit.
The night of the big campout. Kevin and Paul have brought a variety of snacks, while Gary has brought beer and cigarettes. Kevin tries to fit in with Gary while Paul resists, although he does end up drinking some beer and getting toasted. Paul voices his desire to do "something," and Gary leads them to a cave - actually a storm drain - he knows of, which of course sends Kevin into a panic, as it reminds him of his dream. As the boys make their way through the dank drain pipe, Gary starts telling them of someone who was killed in these pipes. He fills them with terror. In fear, Paul trips and hurts his leg. Gary's only response is to make fun of their fear, and in disgust Kevin helps Paul get out of the pipe, their friendship with the cool kid severed. They come back to the Arnold household to sleep. Next morning, after we've learned that Kevin did not have the cave dream, Winnie greets he and Paul in the street, and finally the cold shoulder warms, friendships reestablished.
In every junior high school there's a kid like Gary Cosay; the cool kid who is, for all intents and purposes, without friends or any kind of family to speak of. In retaliation, they strike out against everyone, seeking companionship while spuming it at the same time. Kevin and Paul basically give him every break they possibly can, allowing themselves to enter his world of rebellion, while he seems to go out of his way to prevent entrance into theirs.
"An interesting episode," notes story editor Todd W. Langen. "Very dark in certain respects and it had a dream-like element to it. I think it was a good attempt at doing something different, something very tonal and different in terms of atmosphere. I guess the episode worked for the most part, but it didn't bowl me over. I think they tried to push the envelope on things, which is admirable. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I think this episode worked, but it wasn't quite what I expected. Maybe what I'm talking about is the expectations. The first six episodes, particularly the first three, were so brilliant. I watched the pilot and said, 'This is fantastic, but there's no way they'll be able to keep this kind of quality up.' Then the second episode aired and I said, 'God, they did it again. No way they'll do it a third time. It's impossible.' But they did it again, and continued to do so."
Director Steve Miner adds, "The network bleeped out the word fart, twice, and I think it was kind of silly. The producers took a stand not to listen to the network, but the bleeping ruins a couple of jokes in there and, for me, I can't watch that show because it makes me crazy. They sell laxatives in between the acts, but you can't say fart on the air. It's kind of bizarre. The kid's mouth is moving but you don't hear anything. As far as the episode goes, we all knew kids like Gary in junior high. It was a fun episode, and I enjoyed doing it."
"Our Miss White"
Original Airdate 12/7/88
Written by Carol Black and Neal Marlens
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Wendel Meldrum (Miss White), E'Lon (Young Martin
Luther King), Krista Murphy (Carla Healy), Shea Farrell (Steven)
"Our Miss White" chronicles Kevin's crush on his English teacher. In school, Kevin and his classmates are watching film footage of the recently assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr., and it's obvious that everyone is moved by what they're watching, including Miss White. As the lights come up, we instantly become aware of Kevin's crush.
Class ends and she reminds the students that there's still time for them to try out for the school play. No takers, but as the children depart, she asks Kevin if he would consider taking a role in the political drama she's written, because he would be perfect as Robert F. Kennedy. The older Kevin informs us that he hated every aspect of plays, but the boy says, "Sure." At home, Jack doesn't unterstand why Kevin would want to be in a play, but he does agree to pick him up at school after rehearsal each day.
Rehearsal. Kevin does the cutest little "Kennedy accent" you can imagine. Afterwards, using Karen's words to him the previous night, Kevin tries to impress Miss White with the statement that "plays like this can raise people's consciousness about racial oppression." She's pleased to hear his comments, and his feelings for her swell. The "moment" is interrupted by the arrival of Jack. Next day, Jack shows up at the same time and Kevin gets the feeling that Miss White is interested in his father, which falls him with jealousy.
The following afternoon, Kevin calls his father at work and tells him that he's got a ride home. Then he mopes about not having a ride until Miss White offers to give him one. Once they reach his house, Kevin fantasizes that she reaches over and massages the inside of his leg. Undoubtedly the fantasy probably would have gone further, but one can imagine the letters ABC would have received. Then, abruptly, Kevin considers the image of he and Miss White together, and realizes how ridiculous the idea is.
Night of the play. Kevin is moved to tears by everything he's been through emotionally, and yet this propels him to perform his Kennedy speech perfectly. Afterwards, Kevin walks offstage and it looks like Miss White is about to give him a hug, when her boyfriend steps in front of Kevin and the couple embrace. Kevin and the other actors go on stage for a curtain call, and Jack - the proud father - leads a standing ovation.
This potentially sappy story of a first crush is surprisingly fresh in the capable hands of the production team. It is handled with tenderness and a sense of vitality that elevates it above what could have been a cliche.
Todd Langen explains, "We talked some times about that episode. The ending isn't necessarily linked strongly to a lot of the other things that happened in the story. In some respects, the ending sort of comes from a different place than the rest of the episode. Yet the ending, because it's so visually powerful, works, even though it's not necessarily born of the story. You wouldn't necessarily think it would work, but it's visually so interesting with the audience, the applause, the cheers and stuff like that. I learned something from that episode. Sometimes imagery and using the right music or words, even if they're not quite correct in terms of context, can still make the ending have an emotional impact."
"Christmas"
Original Airdate 12/14/88
Written by Bob Brush
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Liz Torres (Mrs. Gambino), Mary Gregory
(Woman), Tyde Kierney (TV Salesman), Michael Landes (Kirk
McCray), Gary McGurk (Tree Man), Robina Suwol (Perfume Lady)
"Christmas" with the Arnolds. Jack is buying a tree - and arguing with the salesman over the price - while the rest of the family is mesmerized by the department store's color TVs, something they have not really seen much of before. This opening scene can't help but raise a smile, particularly for the MTV Generation, which probably can't imagine television without color.
While Jack is tying a tree to the car, the boys ask him if they can get a color TV, to which he replies that color TVs cost money and money doesn't grow on trees. In school the next day, Kevin stares at the clock which (humorously) is ticking backwards as the students await dismissal for the Christmas holiday. He meets Winnie in the hall, and she gives him a present. Lying, he says he has something for her and will bring it over to her house. Back at home, Jack is putting together the Christmas tree, growing grumpier by the moment, although Norma's recollections of Kevin's performance in a school play does its share in cheering him up. Leave it to Wayne, though, to ruin the moment by bringing up the color TV again and again. Jack finally discusses the subject, saying that he would probably like a color TV more than any of them, but they simply cannot afford it. That night, Kevin overhears his mother trying to convince Jack to buy the TV because it would make him feel good, and the kids so very happy.
Next night, the Arnolds go Christmas shopping. Kevin and Paul go off on their own to buy Winnie a present. He ultimately chooses a snow shaker housing a ballerina. On Christmas Eve, Kevih wraps his present for Winnie, while Wayne continues to make comments about their black and white television set. Things are rather tense, but Norma does her best to keep things light. As the older Kevin comments, maybe each family is only given so much Christmas cheer, and this year his family had run out.
Kevin heads over to Winnie's house, and fantasizes that she embraces him passionately. Upon arriving, though, he's told by a housesitter that the Coopers suddenly decided to spend the holidays away, mostly due to feelings over Brian's not being there to celebrate with them. He leaves the present with the woman. On his way back home, Kevin sees the rest of his family singing carols with the neighbors and joins them Then it starts pouring and everyone but the Arnolds run off, Jack deciding to stand there. They break out laughing and head back home, where the celebratory mood continues.
Alone, Kevin opens up his present from Winnie, only to find a four-leafed clover. He contemplates this for a moment and smiles, the older Kevin noting that sometimes maybe the best you can do is wish someone a Merry Christmas ... and good luck.
"A tough show," admits Steve Miner. "We had restricted time and hours that you could shoot the kids, and we had a lot of night exterior with rain. We had like eight cameras on that one scene. We had technical problems on that show, but I liked the fantasy when Winnie opens the door. I think that's great, as was the whole idea of the color TV."
Enthuses Todd Langen, "I thought the ending was brilliant. The whole thing setting up the package with Winnie ... you knew it had to be special when it was opened, because it was built up throughout the episode, and the words and the way it was shot and the whole feel at the end of the episode where the narrator is talking about the fact that at Christmas, the best we can do in life, basically, is wish eachother luck. Then he opens the box and there is a four-leafed clover in there. I still get goose bumps when I think of it. I think it was such a beautiful image and a beautiful way to end the episode. It turns out that there was an entire end narration where the camera comes out through the window, shows the Christmas tree glowing and the other houses. It was beautifully written and very poetic. It was about our lives being in black and white and our memories in color, relating to the fact that the episode was about the color TV. It was beautiful. I'm not quite sure why they took it out. Maybe they thought the four-leafed clover was a stronger ending. I have to tell you that I was very impressed with Bob Brush, whose approach was to make the mundane poetic at the ending. That was basically our goal in a lot of episodes, and that came from Neal and Carol as well."
"Steady As She Goes"
Original Airdate 11/1/89
Written by David M. Stern
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: William Lanteau (Mr. Frace), Crystal McKellar
(Becky Slater), Michael Landes (Kirk McCray), Krista Murphy
(Carla Healy), Robin Thicke (Boy), Melissa Clayton (Girl),
Michael Tricario (Kid), Jason Miyashiro (2nd Kid), Jeremy Vecs
(Kid in Line), Karin Woodward (Waitress)
"Steady As She Goes" provides a rather unique look at the wonderful junior high school Tradition of going steady. In the school cafeteria, Becky Slater informs Paul that Carla Healey is interested in him, and will be at the skating rink that night. Paul feigns disinterest, but mentions to Kevin that they should do something that night ... why not go skating?
That night, Kevin is feeling kind of lonely as Paul skates with Carla, and he sees Winnie dating with Kirk. Then Winnie blurts out that Becky Slater wants to skate with him. Not quite sure why he does it, Kevin skates over to Becky and asks her to go steady. Almost as soon as he does so, he regrets it. The feeling intensifies over the next few days as Becky's feelings for him start to grow. Acting selfishly, he starts using Becky to make Winnie jealous, and then learns from Paul and Carla that Becky is going to break up with him. Carla points out that he certainly can't blame Becky, because it's obvious that he still likes Winnie.
Outside, he finds a tearful Becky and tells her that he doesn't like Winnie, but at the same time he doesn't really know Becky well enough to like her. Then, she wonders, why did he ask her to go steady in the first place? Kevin doesn't have an answer. They do walk home together, leaving the status of their relationship ambiguous for the moment.
This is an episode that demonstrates that our hero, Kevin Arnold, is not always such a nice guy, as he clearly does take advantage of Becky's feelings for him to, hopefully, manipulate Winnie's. The end result is that he doesn't get Winnie back, and hurts Becky's feelings in the process.
Steve Miner enthuses, "I really think that's one of my favorite shows. I'm crazy about Danica. Personally, I like her and what she did with that show. I just like certain moments, like when Kevin skates over to Becky Slater and says, 'Let's skate!' Fred plays those moments really well. Then there's the whole ice-skating rink...it's hard to do stuff like that in half hour television, because you have very little time to do it. I just think this was a really funny show.
"Just Between You and Me .... and Kirk
and Paul and Carla and Becky"
Original Airdate 11/8/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Peter Baldwin
Guest Starring: Donnie Jeffcoat (Eric Antonio), Michael Landes
(Kirk McCray), Crystal McKellar (Becky Slater), Krista Murphy
(Carla Healy)
"Just Between You and Me .... And Kirk and Paul and Carla and Becky" begins with Kevin and Becky, and Paul and Carla in the Arnold basement, watching a first-run episode of Star Trek and making out. Next day at school, Kirk McCray asks Kevin to speak to Winnie to make sure she still likes him. He barely manages to get the question out, and Winnie responds that she likes Kirk, she just doesn't know if she likes him. Eventually she does break up with Kirk, which gets Kevin's hopes up that she still likes him. He asks Paul to find out whether or not she does.
Then, Kevin is surprised to see Winnie making out with Kirk, and learns that she's going skating with yet another guy that night. Kevin is interrupted by Carla, who wants to know if he's mad at Becky. Kevin catches up with Becky and breaks up with her, claiming that he still likes Winnie Cooper. In response, Becky punches his lights out, which leads to a Star Trek fantasy in which Paul as Mr. Spock tells Kevin as Captain Kirk that they're on a planet of mysterious beings known as women, a race they cannot possibly hope to understand. With that, the women, led by a strangely garbed Winnie and Becky, use a device to stun them. Fantasy over, Kevin goes home to dwell in self-pity.
That night, he meets up with Winnie and learns that she's confused by what she's feeling. Kevin comes right out and asks if she likes him, to which she responds that she really doesn't know. They do joke around with each other, and the episode ends with Kevin looking hopefully to the future.
"Pottery Will Get You Nowhere"
Original Airdate 2/1/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Daniel Stern
Guest Starring: Ben Stein (Mr. Cantwell)
At the outset of "Pottery Will Get You Nowhere," Kevin's narration discusses the relationship between his parents, noting that they never yelled at each other in front of the kids. He never really thought of his parents being in love, knowing that it was always there, like the ground you walk on.
As the episode proceeds, we learn that Norma has begun a pottery class and is making bowls, ashtrays, etc., and the only one in the family showing any support whatsoever is Karen, although Kevin does his best. Things grow a little tense when Jack can't find his favorite cup. He eventually does, but learns that Norma has made him a new one, which he uses despite the fact that it's obvious he doesn't care to make a change. A few moments later, Jack accidentally knocks Norma's cup to the floor, where it shatters. Norma is terribly hurt by this, feeling as though he did it on purpose. Things grow even tenser between his parents, a completely new experience for Kevin.
Next day, the argument from the night before turns into a full-fledged screaming match between Norma and Jack, in which we get the feeling that Jack simply doesn't want his wife doing anything but stay home and take care of the family. A moment later, she accidentally burns her hand and breaks down, crying. Jack takes her into his arms and they hug each other, effectively making up. The kids watch, witnessing this open expression of love for one of the first times.
Incredibly moving. That's the only way to describe "Pottery Will Get You Nowhere." Although through Kevin's eyes, we see other cast members really getting the opportunity to shine. Alley Mills and Dan Lauria deserve a great deal of the credit for breathing such life into these characters.
Observes Todd Langen, "One of the finest episodes in that first complete season, and it was the script that got Matthew Carlson nominated for everything in the book, including the Emmy. What was interesting from a series perspective in terms of the mechanics and the way the series works, is that Kevin was not a main protagonist in the story. It was a departure. It was a case where Kevin was more an observer to what was happening in his family, rather than directly involved in the story. There were times in the season that followed where we tried to adhere to the main rule that Kevin has to be the main man all the time, and we ended up forcing things a bit. I wish we could have done a couple of more episodes like 'Pottery' where it was freer and he could just be an observer.
"Television," he adds, "tends to be very much filled with exposition and people talking. The old saying is that for television you can close your eyes for half an hour and still get the main story. In a movie, if you close your eyes you don't get it, because movies are a much more visual medium. Here was a case in a half hour television show where they used the visual at the end, where Jack and Norma have this final reunion after Norma burns her hand. It was a very subtle, non spoken sequence where he takes her and hugs her, and you understand it somehow without there being words to cover. I like that."
"Coda"
Original Airdate 2/8/89
Written by Todd W. Langen
Directed by Beth Hillshafer
Guest Starring: Maxine Stuart (Mrs. Carples), Joseph Dammann
(Ronald Hershmuller), Brandon Crane (Doug), Alexis Fish (Recital
Student), Jake Jundeff (Recital Student), Michael Weiner (Recital
Student)
"Coda" begins with Kevin at his weekly piano lesson, the older Kevin informing us that the student there before him, Ronald Hershmuller, is great at the instrument, a fact the boy's mother makes sure everyone knows. The instructor, Mrs. Carples, tells Kevin that he could be a good piano player, if he would give more time to practice. She asks Kevin if he's ready for the recital, but he doesn't want to play, because he can't be as good as Ronald.
With a little "encouragement" from Jack, who's paying the bills, Kevin practices piano more steadily, although his older self says that it was pointless, because there would always be a Ronald Hershmuller in his way. He relates this to Mrs. Carples, who says that Ronald is a machine, while Kevin has a feel for music, which can be developed and enhanced. She gets him to play a number on the piano, and it goes so well it builds his confidence. In the following weeks, he practices like he never has before, his playing improving constantly. He finally decides to play in the recital at Mrs. Carples' house.
At the dress rehearsal, Kevin is stunned to learn that Ronald is playing the same piece that he is. Ronald goes first and does very well, which serves to shake Kevin's confidence. When Kevin begins to play, he starts screwing up and can't stop. This results in his deciding not to play in the recital after all, and giving up the piano. The next day, after hanging out with Paul, he rides his bike by Mrs. Carples' house and through the window sees Ronald playing the piano.
As older Kevin notes, "I never did forget that night. I remember the light glowing from Miss Carples' window, and I remember the darkness falling as I sat out there listening. Now, more than 20 years later, I still remember every note of music that wandered out into the still night air. The only thing is, I can't remember how to play it anymore."
The Wonder Years serves up another winner, this time a bittersweet tale of unfulfilled dreams and untapped potential.
"This was from the first group of ideas I pitched to them," relates Todd Langen. "I used to play the trumpet back in high school and college, and I pitched this story about Kevin being in band class, playing the trumpet and about the troubles he has playing in a band recital, how he freezes up and can't play. The idea got turned around in 'Coda,' an episode about Kevin taking piano lessons. Neal and Carol felt the piano was a bit more recognizable, that more people had taken piano lessons than trumpet lessons. It sort of comes a little from personal experience in that Kevin has this big failure during his piano recital, and it's about giving up the instrument for the wrong reason after that.
"One of the nicest things about 'Coda' is the way it resonates with the audience, especially at the end where Kevin says he gave up music. I think it hits people, because it's about giving up something for the wrong reasons; having something that you thought yon might have been good at as a kid, but were afraid to find out and just kind of left it. I think that, more than any other episode, touched a chord with the audience. A great experience all around. There was, however, originally a fantasy sequence in that episode that got cut. Kevin imagined himself playing in this recital. He ends up on stage in this tuxedo and there's a grand piano up there with him, and he's playing before a crowd. We were going to do all these cute little inserts, like crowd scenes in Carnegie Hall and shots of Queen Elizabeth and Nixon applauding like crazy. Then he was going to get up, this beautiful girl was going to give him flowers and kiss him, and as he walked off stage he was going to pass the janitor, who turned out to be Ronald Hershmuller. It got filmed, but cut. I don't know how it happened, but 'Coda' ended up almost 10 minutes too long in the rough cut. That's just an incredible amount of time in a half hour show. So they ended up cutting out a lot of the humor."
"Hiroshima, Mon Frere"
Original Airdate 2/15/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Ben Stein (Mr. Cantwell), Laura Mooney (Girl
in Science Class), Sarah Jo Martin (Angela), Ian Fried (Doug),
Erin Reed (Angela's Friend), Addie Friedman (Kevin-as an Old
Man), Sam Bernstein (Wayne as an Old Man)
At the outset of "Hiroshima, Mon Frere," the narrator details the history of the relationship between he and his brother Wayne, in which his older brother is constantly beating him up, probably because Kevin was born in the first place.
In school, Kevin and Paul try to come up with an idea for their science experiment. Paul's thought is to use the school's hamster in some way, and Kevin gives in to him. On the bus, Paul takes the hamster out of its cage and talks to it, when Wayne pulls the rodent out of his hand and threatens to hurt it if Kevin and Paul don't back off. 'Men he uses it to make breast jokes about one of the girls on the bus. That night, Kevin and Paul are doing their experiment in the Arnold household. Jack and Norma are going out to the movies, and Wayne, who thinks a girl named Angela is coming over, wants them out of the kitchen. After the parental units leave, Wayne pulls the hamster out of the cage and threatens to drop it down the garbage disposal, unless Kevin agrees to move the experiment into his bedroom.
Two hours pass. Kevin goes downstairs to get some water, and he sees Wayne on the phone basically begging Angela to come over, and pretty depressed that she won't. Making sure he isn't seen, Kevin sneaks back upstairs, wanting to spare his brother any embarrassment. A moment later, however, Wayne bursts in, "armed" with a vacuum cleaner. The noise startles Paul, who lets the hamster loose. Being as obnoxious as ever, Wayne turns the vacuum on, jokes around and accidentally sucks the hamster up, killing it. All of Kevin's anger swells up, and he confronts Wayne, the narrator informing us that he didn't hate his brother's gut .... he hated his brother!
"You know why Angela didn't come over, Wayne?" asks Kevin. "Because she doesn't like you. She doesn't. Nobody does. You may be bigger than me and stronger than me, but I have friends. Nobody likes you, Wayne. You're just mean to everybody all of the time, because nobody likes you. You're pathetic!" Then we get the image of an atomic explosion, and Wayne is reduced to near tears.
Next day, Kevin and Paul bury the hamster. Several days later, Kevin and Wayne finally talk about the situation. Wayne gives his best attempt at an apology, noting that he hopes Kevin doesn't think he meant to do it. Kevin accepts this, the older version informing us from that day forward the two brothers knew that their relationship would never be the same, because, now, Kevin had the means to hurt Wayne.
"The first big Kevin/Wayne episode," says Todd Langen. "It was a great idea and great execution. The entire script had originally been presented as a 'March of Time' old newsreel where the narrator is sot of in and out, doing this whole thing, so the entire metaphor of the episode was about war. It was really clever and well done, but for some reason they backed away from that a little bit. You still have the metaphor of war, but it's interesting to see how things evolve sometimes. What is interesting in the metaphoric message is that Kevin, who is beleaguered by his older brother and set upon all the time, gains a weapon in his arsenal that he can use it to hurt Wayne - 'Nobody likes you, Wayne!' Yet what happens is that he learns that having that weapon can be an awesome and dangerous thing, and it alters the relationship. He sort of disarms a little bit at the end and goes back to conventional warfare, which is like belting each other and rolling around in the park. I like that metaphoric relationship. In fact, some of the episodes that work best are when there is a metaphoric relationship between what is happening on the surface in the episode and what's really happening beneath. More than any other episode, 'Hiroshima, Mon Frere' got more negative mail than any other because of the sucking up of the hamster. You can do anything you want to the people, but, man, you hurt a pet, watch out!"
Adds Steve Miner, "The thing about that show is that it kind of pissed off a lot of people, because we killed a hamster. We didn't really, but some people thought we did and accused us of being barbaric. I think it was kind of daring to do that kind of story at 8:30 at night. I thought Jason was real good as Wayne, there was some funny stuff in it and the hamster was a real pain in the ass. You can't tell a rat what to do. You did see just a touch of humanity in Wayne, but there's a lot more in Kevin than there is in him. I think it has some interesting cinematic moments in it. I'm an older brother, so I'm sure my brother felt the same way about me. It brought back some memories and made me feel guilty about some of the things I did to my brother. The show definitely brings all that kind of stuff back."
"Loosiers"
Original Airdate 2/28/89
Written by David M. Stern
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Robert Picardo (Coach Cutlip), Dustin Diamond
(Joey Harris), Salim Grant (Patkus), Johnny Green (Stetson), Art
Hoffman (Grimly), Adam Jeffries (Simeonee), Matt Norero (O'Hara),
Marshall Raduziner (Norklen), Larenz Tate (Basketball Player),
Kyle Thompson (Rygot)
Kevin gets his ire up in "Loosiers," first when Coach Cutlip takes all of the fun out of basketball by insisting on doing a wide variety of diagrams on the blackboard, which serves to all but put his students to sleep. Then he chooses four captains to pick players, and Paul is the next to last to be chosen. He performs poorly on the floor. This continues for several weeks, and his confidence is completely shaken. Kevin complains about the "system" to Cutlip who, in response to having his method called unfair, decides to make Kevin a captain.
Kevin's first choice of player is Paul, which causes the other students to laugh. From there he starts picking all of the supposed "losers" of the class; the ones that everyone saves for last choice. Naturally this results in a disastrous score for Kevin's team, but at least he got the chance to make his statement, and things don't turn out too badly when Paul throws a ball that hits Cutlip on the head, sending him out of the gym. Suddenly, the game becomes fun again as everyone shares a laugh.
We cut to Kevin's backyard, where he and Paul play a game of one-on-one, and then there's a dissolve to the two of the in silhouette-as adults, playing the same game. The friendship, despite its occasional humps, will last.
"I shot more film for that show than anyone has probably ever shot for half hour television," laughs Steve Miner. "I had three cameras going at high speed on all the basketball stuff, so I shot about a feature's worth of film on that. Everyday the studio was saying, 'What the hell's he doing?' We had the kids playing basketball, tried to stage those sequences to look right, shot it in slow motion and got coverage at the same time so it would all match. Bob Picardo was also so good in that show as the coach. When the ball hits him on the head, you're watching it at regular speed and it looked like it was going to be great, but to see it in slow motion in the screening room, you see how funny it really was."
Explains Todd Langen, "A very interesting idea, that sometimes you have to go back to just having fun when things get too serious. Using basketball and the whole gym experience to show how things can go wrong and how your friendships can be upset by that, was a clever idea. It was a fun episode to examine the friendship between Kevin and Paul. One of the best images was the ending, and the final shot of Kevin and Paul playing one-on-one basketball as adults, silhouetted against a great sunset. That was one of the most beautiful images that ever ended an episode, and it's great to see that they're still going to be friends."
"Walk Out"
Original Airdate 3/7/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Denis Arndt (Mr. Tyler), Linda Hoy (Mrs. Ritvo),
Raye Birk (Mr. Diperna), Michael Manasseri (Mark Hooper), Paul
Harkins (Rusty), Melissa Clayton (Karen), Linsay Price (Lori),
David Brian Markus (Student Body President), Kyle Thompson (1st
Boy), Brandon Crane (2nd Boy), Robin Thicke (3rd Boy), Sean
DeVertich (4th Boy), Tanya Fenmore (1st Girl), Misty McCoy (2nd
Girl), Sheila Pinkham (Strange Woman)
As "Walk Out" begins, older Kevin observes that by 1969, the population was getting Vietnam for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In a sense, they were becoming immune to the images projected on the TV screen.
Paul and Kevin (involuntarily) become their respective homeroom representatives for the Student Council. Most of the council is worried about things like ice cream and a jukebox in the Cafeteria but one kid suggests they be a part of the national protest to walk out during class - which is the aspect that gains unanimous support.
At an ensuing meeting on this subject, the assistant principal addresses the council, stating that all the students who walk out will get suspended and it will go on their permanent record (incidentally, just what the heck is the fabled permanent record that school authority figures always talk about?). Afterwards, this leads to a discussion of why they should protest Vietnam (which happens to awaken Kevin's desire to understand the subject a little better), and leads them to gather over 400 signatures in support of a walk out. The assistant principal doesn't care, as he makes clear to them. He then talks to Mr. Tyler, who cautions the students that if they go through with this, there could be consequences.
That night, Kevin remembers the principal's words, and fantasizes that he is an Astronaut about to get on a rocket, but is pulled off at the last second because of what's on his seventh grade permanent record. He nonetheless decides to go through with the walk out, but Mr. Tyler doesn't come in that day, which is a shocking blow. At the appointed time, however, Kevin walks out of the classroom, and he races into the bathroom where he thinks he'll be ill. However, other students who have seen him start to walk out of their classroom, and it's only a short matter of time before all 800 students go out to the football field, singing John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."
An effective episode, but what really happened to Mr. Tyler? Was he sick? Fearful of losing his job? Or perhaps he was letting the students make the decision regarding the walk out on their own. There is no mention of this whatsoever, and there should be.
"Fun to do, but I don't remember a lot about it," admits Steve Miner, "except that we did a lot of location work for it. I do wish I'd gotten to do the last shot over again. That shot with all the kids walking out .... no matter how many years you're doing this stuff, you can always learn something new every day you're on the set. I just would have staged it differently."
Concurs Todd Langen, "I had a little bit of a problem with the ending of the episode. Just the idea of an entire school walking out like that, I had a bit of trouble buying. But I did like the idea of the episode. I did like the idea of Kevin's being picked for a committee, like a juke box committee and all these different ones, and his saying, 'Let's go to the Vietnam committee, because the line is shorter.' I like that, because it's true to life."
"Nemesis"
Original Airdate 3/14/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Daniel Stern
Guest Starring: Wendel Meldrum (Miss White), Crystal McKellar
(Becky Slater), Krista Murphy (Carla Healy), Michael Landes (Kirk
McCray), B.J. Barie (Huge Kid), Skip O'Brien (Bus Driver), Sean
DeVeritch (Bobby), Laura Mooney (Donna)
In the beginning of "Nemesis," we are reminded that love has no fury like a woman scorned. At the same time, Kevin shares meaningful glances with Winnie in class. Suddenly we see Becky Slater, and it's obvious that she is not happy about being dumped. A flashback shows that Kevin had done his impressions of just about everyone, and she takes great pleasure in making his life hell by sharing these little revelations with all those concerned. The timing for this couldn't be worse, because things are really moving between he and Winnie, particularly since she's been sick and he's been taking care of her. Upset that he would talk about other people in such a bad way, she suggests he apologize to everyone.
Kevin begins by apologizing to Paul, who "pays him back" by letting loose with a wide stream of insults. From there he meets Becky outside the school, with the theme for Clint Eastwood's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly playing on the soundtrack. They approach each other like gunslingers, sagebrush actually blowing by the camera. Kevin asks why she's doing this, and apologizes yet again for hurting her. She has not gotten over the pain of being used to get to Winnie. Kevin tries to tell her he did like her, but the words don't mean anything. It turns out that she didn't tell Winnie how Kevin had made fun of her, because she didn't want her to be hurt. She does, however, list the people she did tell, and Kevin feels sick.
Next day, Kevin tells his mother what happened and she tries to provide him with some encouraging words. Then, Winnie shows up and when they're alone in his room, she yells at him, obviously having been told by someone of his comments. She storms out of the house, leaving Kevin convinced that she truly does love him, although the audience believes otherwise.
"My favorite beat," Todd Langen smiles, "is when they're facing each other, doing the whole Clint Eastwood thing, and the sagebrush blows by. That's fun. When you can do a surrealistic thing like that, it gives you a lot of latitude in a series and that's fun stuff to do."
"Fate"
Original Airdate 3/28/89
Written by Bob Brush
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Bobby Jacoby (Eddie Pinetti), Nat Bernstein
(Mr. Skenk), Raye Birk (Mr. Diperna), Krista Murphy (Carla
Healy), Matt Levin (2nd Henchman), Justin Whalin (1st Henchman),
Ryan Rushton (Kid), Erica Gayle (Girl)
Two elements are immediately introduced in "Fate": the school bully, Eddie Pinetti, is pushing kids around, and Winnie is still furious with Kevin over the events of "Nemesis."
In class, Kevin is asked to describe what war is, and he gives a thinly veiled analogy of the fight between he and Winnie. In the hallway, he catches sight of Pinetti in Winnie's locker. Kevin tries to stop him and is about to be punched out, when he's "saved" by the assistant principal. There's no doubt that Pinetti is going to want revenge. To make matters worse, Kevin learns that Winnie has been dating the bully for the past week.
Kevin tries to make amends, but Eddie punches him in the face and sends him sprawling to the ground. The bullying continues over the next few days, which Kevin accepts until he sees Pinetti and his friends teasing Winnie in a very nasty way. He comes up to Eddie and delivers a slow motion punch that .... misses its target, striking Eddie's shoulder. As a result, Kevin is knocked down to the ground yet again and pummeled. When Eddie departs, Winnie comes over to see if he's okay, and at that moment it seems that she has finally forgiven him.
"What's really great about the show," relates Steve Miner, "is that those moments that are TV moments, we tend not to do. In bullshit TV, Kevin would deck the guy and get the girl. I think what The Wonder Years did so well was play those moments the way they'd really happen to you, and make them touching and funny."
"Birthday Boy"
Original Airdate 4/11/89
Written by David M. Stern
Directed by Steve Miner
Guest Starring: Philip Sterling (Grandpa Pfeiffer), John C.
Moskoff (Mr. Pfeiffer), Stephanie Satie (Ida Pfeiffer), Torrey
Ann Cook (Debbie Pfeiffer), Gregory "Mars" Martin
(Steve), Roger Nolan (Car Salesman), Zachary Benjamin (Young
Kevin), Benjamin Diskin (Young Paul)
In "Birthday Boy" Paul's Barmitzvah is coming, and from Kevin's reaction we can see that he's a little jealous, particularly after Paul mentions that he'll be getting over a hundred presents, and probably a thousand dollars.
One night, Kevin has dinner with the Pfeiffers and during the meal Paul's grandfather tells tales of the family's background and says that he has a gift for Paul. Kevin is thinking that it may be money or the keys to a car, but it turns out to be the prayer book of his grandfather's, which has been handed down from generation to generation.
Next day, Kevin tries to get a feel for his family's heritage, but Jack is more concerned about the expenses of getting a new car or fixing the old one. Norma does her best to piece together the family background for Kevin, with somewhat embarrassing results.
At school, Paul gives Kevin his invitation for the Barmitzvah, and Kevin is startled to find that it falls on his birthday. In a truly selfish (albeit normal for an adolescent) moment, Kevin states that he won't be able to come, which obviously cuts Paul deeply, particularly after he's told that Kevin won't even be there for the ceremony. Kevin walks off in anger. Later, he's helping his father fix the family car. He tells his mother he doesn't want to talk to Paul when told that Paul is on the phone, and then tries to get some sympathy from his father regarding this whole Barmitzvah thing. But, again, Jack is too wrapped up in the task at hand to really listen to him. Changing the subject, and desperate to find some sort of family tradition, Kevin asks his father how he learned to fix cars ("Just something I picked up along the way," he responds) and whether or not grandpa was good at cars, which he was. Jack then starts teaching Kevin how to do some of the repairs. Older Kevin lets us know that all he had been looking for was someone to acknowledge that he was growing up, moving towards manhood.
Kevin's birthday. The family gathers in the living room, where Norma serves the cake as they await Jack's arrival in the newly repaired car. Karen gives Kevin a rather depressing poem and leaves, and Kevin opens his other presents, which include a turtle neck, bathrobe, wallet and a thesaurus. Going up to his room, we can see - and older Kevin informs us - that he's very disappointed in his birthday as a whole.
We cut to Paul's Barmitzvah, where he's reciting his prayers in front of family and friends. In the middle of this, Kevin shows up and a smile crosses Paul's face. After the ceremony the two friends greet each other and join the others in celebration. The narrator lets us know that in a sense this felt like it was his Barmitzvah as well, as he gets swept up in the moment, gaining a fuller understanding of the concept of Tradition. The ending is absolutely beautiful, everyone dancing in slow motion and the moment being frozen as if in a variety of photographs.
"'Birthday Boy' changed more than any of the others as far as the structure and the elimination of scenes," says Steve Miner. "It's funny, but that and 'Loosiers' are my favorites. The scenes cut weren't critical, but it went through some transformations. Neal and Carol both spent a lot of time in the editing room on that one, and did a good job. I had to do that show really fast, because we had run over on the previous show, and I only had four and a half days. When you have to rush to finish a show, you do compromise more than you would normally like to do. That's a problem with doing episodic television. But a great show. When I read the script I knew it would be a great show, if I didn't screw it up. I think it turned out to be a legitimately touching episode."
Adds Todd Langen, "What was particularly interesting for me about that episode is what you didn't see as much as what you did see. Paul is having his Barmitzvah, which signals his manhood, and Kevin is looking for something like that too. What happens is that there's the scene where Jack is working on the car with Kevin and Wayne and he won't let Kevin start the engine. At the end, there was supposed to be a scene after the Barmitzvah where dad pulls up in a new car and he takes Kevin out to a little parking lot and lets him drive the car. That becomes sort of Kevin's Barmitzvah, because his father is letting him drive the new car. I thought that was really nice. For my money, this ending was more expectable than the ending I just described. We tried not to do the status quo."
"Brightwing"
Original Airdate 4/18/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Daniel Stern
Guest Starring: Darren Powell (George), Kyra Stempel (Julie),
Devon Pierce (Sandy), Jodi Rae (Young Karen), Trevor Owen (1st
Guy at the Rock)
"Brightwing" is a Karen episode, beginning with the Arnold daughter decked out in her hippie clothes, and Kevin wondering why the two of them live in such different worlds. The narrator lets us know that it wasn't always this way; that there was a time when brother and sister were very close and used to enjoy spending time with each other. Those days, it would seem, are gone forever.
A couple of days later, Karen and her friends pick Paul and Kevin up on their way to school and ask Kevin to stop by their high school and place some notes in a certain locker for them. Then the girls drop the kids off at school and everything seems fine. That evening Kevin thinks that he and Karen have struck a chord, but is disappointed to learn that everything is exactly the same as it was.
A week passes, and Kevin reluctantly agrees to do the same favor again. Only this time he reads the note he's dropping off, and finds out about a place called "The Hill." After school, Kevin goes to this place, where he finds Karen and a group of her hippie friends playing guitar, painting, etc. Amazingly, Karen seems delighted to see him. The note placing continues, and Kevin is continually welcomed to this special place, where he basically immerses himself in Karen's lifestyle. For the first time, we're seeing some genuine affection between brother and sister.
Things do seem to be getting overwhelming as he lies to his parents and Paul about his whereabouts. One night, perhaps plagued by guilt, Kevin has a nightmare in which his parents are cops who come to his house to arrest him from his hippie existence. His fears aren't put to rest, however, when Norma gets a call from Karen's guidance counselor. He starts to panic, but Karen assures him that everything will be alright. In the middle of the night, he discovers that she lied to him, as a note states she's gone to San Francisco with her friends. Hours later, however, she shows up at home again, crying to her parents. Kevin's narration explains that in 1969 people often tried to find themselves, and got lost along the way.
"I never understood what was going on," smiles a perplexed Todd Langen. "Why did Kevin have to drop these notes off in the locker? What does that have to do with anything? I did like the ending where we didn't use a lot of words, and you have that scene where Kevin is in the kitchen, with Jack and Norma standing on either side of him. As he walks out, she gives him this little bit of a smile. In that moment, everything sort of wraps up without a lot of dialogue. I like that. Bob Brush's idea was that we should set everything up earlier, so that the endings sort of play by themselves without being doused in exposition."
"Square Dance"
Original Airdate 5/2/89
Written by Todd W. Langen
Directed by Tom Moore
Guest Starring: Robert Picardo (Coach Cutlip), Lindsay Fisher
(Margaret Farquhar), Michael Tricario (Randy), Johnny Green
(Mike), Ashlie Walker (Heidi), Wendy Bowers (Miss Bruntley)
Coach Cutlip announces to his class that they will begin learning the art of the square dance in the episode entitled "Square Dance." Girls enter the gym, with the coaches assigning partners. Kevin is upset at getting paired up with the most unpopular girl in school, Margaret Farquhar. As the narrator notes, "Margaret Farquhar could get on the nerves of any teacher. Even Gandhi."
Later, in the halls, a bunch of kids start giving Kevin a hard time about being paired up with Margaret. He gets home, only to have Wayne give him the same treatment. Kevin's ready to dump her as his partner, until Norma guilts him out of the decision. In gym the next day, Kevin's unhappiness is apparent on his face. He walks through the halls and Margaret stops him, asking him all sorts of bizarre questions ("Do you go to the bathroom a lot?" "Do you like bats?"), and then shocks Kevin by plopping down on the seat next to him in the cafeteria, which mortifies him. He tries to get her to take off, but she just keeps on talking, ignoring his protests. The iceing on his cake is when a group of girls asks him if he and Margaret are going steady. The only way out of the situation, in his mind, is to snub Margaret, not talking to her, refusing to touch her, etc. It seems to work, until that afternoon when Margaret shows up at Kevin's house, bringing her bat named Mortimer in a box. Kevin wants to get rid of her, but Norma, being a good person by nature, asks Margaret to stay a little while, but she, too, makes a quick retreat when she learns that Margaret's brought her bat.
They spend an hour together in the Arnold house, and Kevin becomes fascinated by her quirkiness, and touched by the fact that she has spent most of her life moving from army base to army base and has never had any real ties. This is interrupted by the realization that Wayne will be home at any moment, and Kevin is abruptly rushing her out the backdoor. The only way he can truly get rid of her, though, is to agree to come over her house later that evening to see her tarantula, Isabelle. He keeps his promise and gets to the front door, paranoid that someone will see him. He slips into another fantasy, in which his friends are all there laughing at him, spotlights shine down and a helicopter flies overhead, alerting the neighborhood to the fact that he's over Margaret's house. Fantasy ended, he runs away just as Margaret answers the door.
Next day, Kevin sees Margaret and, because of peer pressure, tells her that he can't talk to her anymore or be seen with her. They can be secret friends, which, he claims, is even better. As weird as she is, Margaret is not stupid. She starts to yell at him and all the kids gather around, starting to taunt both of them. Kevin doesn't defend her. She says, "I thought you were different," and walks off in tears. The last day of square dancing, Kevin dances alone, Margaret not acknowledging his existence.
Older Kevin informs us that in seventh grade you are what other seventh graders think you are. Ironically, it's difficult to remember the names of the kids you spent so much time trying to impress, but you don't forget someone like Margaret Farquar, "professor of biology, mother of six .... friend to bats."
"This one was based much more on personal experience," says Todd Langen. "I used to have to take square dancing in elementary school and junior high school, and I pretty much hated it. So that was one aspect of the story that I wanted to inject. The other thing was that Kevin sort of rejects this little girl, the butt of everyone's jokes because she's different. I was sort of in a similar situation in elementary school. I used to tease rather mercilessly this little girl and I guess this is sort of my way of doing penance for that. Again, it's the sort of story that everyone could recognize because it's about someone who was not afraid to be an individual and ended up being an outcast because of that. More importantly, it's about Kevin giving up on someone because of peer pressure; someone who could have been a friend and could have been an interesting sort of acquaintance for him. Even when Kevin begins to like her, he can't bring himself to like her in public. Again, because of this sort of sad, realistic ending it touched the audience more than your standard, happy sitcom ending approach. Generally, with the exception of when it was going out for humor all the way, The Wonder Years tried to round out the ending and make it touch people somehow."
"Whose Woods Are These?"
Original Airdate 5/9/89
Written by Bob Brush
Directed by Peter Horton
Guest Starring: Madison Mason (Foreman), Matthew Faison (City
Hall Official), Raye Birk (Mr. Diperna), Angela Paton (Woman at
City Hall), Charles Kahlenberg (2nd Man at City Hall), Jeremy
Yablan (Young Kevin), Daniel Lee (Young Paul), Jenny Drugan
(Young Winnie)
In "Whose Woods Are These?" Kevin and Winnie take a walk to their old stomping grounds, Harper's Woods, the place they shared their first kiss. They're interrupted by Paul, who informs them that Harper's Woods is going to be torn down to make way for a shopping center. The trio are horrified. After all, it was their woods, right? Kevin races home and confronts his family with the news, but they aren't concerned at all. How can this be? seems to be the look on his face.
Karen suggests that they go to the Planning Board meeting Sunday night and state their case; demand to be heard; fight for what's important and take action. On Sunday, the three kids arrive and wait for an opportunity to speak. First, Kevin fantasizes that he addresses the crowd and they listen in rapt attention to his every word, giving him a standing ovation and ripping up the construction blueprints. In reality, the kids never even get a chance to speak. In school, they come up with radical approaches, Winnie suggesting they pour sand in the gas tanks of the bulldozers, Paul recommending they hijack the vehicles. Everyone starts fighting with each other.
Late at night, Kevin sneaks out to the construction sight and is joined by Winnie and Paul, each of them having come on their own. With flashlights they lock on to the tree trunk and read all their initials carved there. Paul offers a few more radical ideas, but Kevin makes them face the fact that Harper's Woods will be a memory in a couple of years. Winnie tries to instigate a game of hide and seek, and Kevin reluctantly joins in on the game being played out one last time. The final image of the episode flashes forward to the time when the shopping center is complete and there, carved in the cement, are the initials of Kevin, Winnie and Paul. The final result is another terrific episode, looking at the loss of youth and our attempts even in adolescence - to hold on to it a little bit longer.
Todd Langen points out, "Here was a wonderful ending, about giving up a little bit of your childhood. That last dissolve made between the woods and the initials in the cement, I thought was a very well conceived moment on Bob's part and was touching. We tried to keep the fantasies down to only one per episode, if that much."
"How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation"
Original Airdate 5/16/89
Written by Jane Anderson
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Lynn Milgrim (Mrs. Cooper), Richard H. Greene
(Mr. Cooper), Raye Birk (Mr. Diperna), Ben Slack (Mr. Ermin), Ben
Stein (Mr. Cantwell), Brandon Crane (Doug), Ian Fried (Nerd),
Risa Littman (Girl), Danny McMurphy (Greaser), Bentley Mitchum
(Brian Cooper), Robert Picardo (Coach Cutlip)
"How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation" begins with the end of school, and Kevin's enthusiasm regarding the coming summer. In his mind he's developing big plans, but the forces of nature and those around him seem to be conspiring to ruin it for him. The disappointment sets in when he learns that Paul is going to be spending the summer on vacation with his family. At least, he considers, he's got Winnie, whose yearbook he fills a page of, concluding with the words, 'l love you.' More disappointment follows when Winnie signs his book, "have a neat summer." Kevin doesn't understand this, and is truly hurt.
Meanwhile, the Coopers are planning a barbecue, which Kevin no longer wants to attend, but his parents force him to. There he finds Winnie to be extremely distant from him, and acting as a go-between for her parents. Finally she and Kevin get the opportunity to talk, and she announces that she's going away with- her mother for the summer. Again, Kevin is stunned, and he starts complaining about the way his summer is shaping up, until he realizes that Winnie's parents are separating, and she can't handle it. Finally, he tries to console her in the best way that he possibly can. Despite all this, his summer isn't half bad.
Director Michael Dinner says, "My recollection of that show is the scene at the end between Kevin and Winnie. He kind of figures out that her parents are getting divorced and she says, 'I miss my brother.' that, to me, is the moment we were going for. Seeing these two people together at the end, I found very emotional."
"We've been talking about endings," notes Todd Langen, "and that is absolutely one of my favorites. I guess one of the things the show does so well is the use of period music to accentuate the show and, especially, the ending. You can't go wrong with a piece like 'Scarborough Fair.' There's just something so nice about the way it was filmed, the whole way it was put together at the end where the camera cranes up from Winnie's house at night. Kevin's got his arm around her because he can't do anything else but be there for her, and then you dissolve to the next day. The camera comes down through these beautiful trees and sunlight, past these billowing sheets on the clothesline. In one continuous movement, the camera travels underneath Kevin's hammock to his side, where he is swinging back and forth. There's that wonderful narration, 'I guess I had a pretty good summer after all. I mowed Mr. Erman's lawn, dad and I went fishing, a man stepped on the moon.' He's got an Archie comic over his face and he's just swinging, saying, 'I guess, all in all, it wasn't a bad summer.' Meaning that after all his complaints that Paul and Winnie wouldn't be there, he learns that he has not had it so bad. Just the way it was filmed, the music 'Scarborough Fair,' and the narration .... everything worked so well in conjunction with that episode. I watched the ending over and over and over again. Every time I watched it, I would get goose bumps. The first time I ever met Michael Dinner was at the Emmy Awards. I congratulated him for the episode, because it was the perfect ending for the season."
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