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Following year two of The Wonder Years, Neal Marlens and Carol Black elected to pull back from day to day involvement with the series in order to pursue other creative directions. Filling the gap in in the wake of their departure was Bob Brush, who had been involved with the series from its early days.
"It's always tough when you have a change at the top, because most television, especially television these days, needs to have a central clearing house at the top," explains Bob Brush. "Certainly I was concerned, because I didn't want the show to radically change and I didn't want it to slip. I can't praise Neal and Carol highly enough for their creative talents, but when they left, it was up to me to use mine. I never really compared myself. I'm here and now I've got to do it. That's the only way it can happen."
Also departing the series was supervising producer Steve Miner. "It was time to move on. How many times can you stage three kids and a locker?" he asks rhetorically. "Even though the scripts were fresh and good. Plus, Carol and Neal left for their own reasons, and I mainly did the show because I wanted to work with them. We're good friends, and I enjoy spending time with them, which is why I did the show. Series television is a real grind when you try to do it well, and I suppose it's a grind even when you do it badly. It's a man-eater for energy and time. I wasn't seeing my family as much as I wanted to, so when they left, a lot of the reasons for me to stay on the show was gone as well."
The one positive of all this is that Bob Brush managed to maintain the quality established by Marlens and Black, continuing The Wonder Years on its journey through time.
"Summer Song"
Original Airdate 10/3/89
Written by Mark B. Perry
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Holly Sampson (Teri Winchell), Juliette Lewis
(Dolores), Jodi Raye (Young Karen)
"Summer Song" begins with the feeling that the Arnold family unit is having trouble again, as Karen and Wayne really don't want to go on the annual vacation to Ocean City. Kevin doesn't really care one way or the other, as a letter from Winnie, who's living in Maine with her mother, states that she'll be coming home soon, and that she's met a guy named Chip. Moments later, the family, plus Paul, sets off for the journey, with Paul getting carsick on the way. They arrive and the bickering starts. Jack quickly gets upset at the way the prices for everything has gone up.
Kevin's fun is kind of taken down a peg as well when Paul breaks out from eating fish, and has to stay inside for a day or two. Kevin is left wondering what had happened to the vacations the family used to take, when everyone was happy. Things do improve somewhat when he meets a slightly older girl named Teri, and the two of them hit it off. This is good news, as the rest of the family still seems to be splintering apart. Through a montage of scenes, we see Kevin and Teri having a great time, riding rides, taking photos in one of those little booths and playing games. That night, they go under the boardwalk and kiss each other. Moments later, Teri drops the bombshell that she has to leave the next day, to go back home. She promises to write him, they kiss again and she departs.
By episode's end, Kevin joins up with the rest of the family, who seem to have wrapped up the trip in a much more positive way than they spent most of it. Kevin gets home from vacation and finds that Winnie has arrived at home, and he's overjoyed to see her. He asks about Chip and is told that they broke up, as it was probably "one of those summer things."
Several days later, Kevin is reading a letter Teri sent him, which describes how much she misses him, how she couldn't wait to see him again and what that night meant to her. Older Kevin informs us that it's the only letter she ever wrote to him, and he keeps it in an old shoebox with the photos they took that night.
"This was a spec script I wrote for the show which they bought," says Mark Perry. "I wrote that before I'd had a break in the business. I was thrilled and elated with the way the show came out. 'Summer Song' was a dream come true for me. To see scenes I had written with the hope the script would sell, actually being filmed and actually playing out was quite an experience."
Notes Todd Langen, "Interesting, and based on personal experience for Mark Perry. He actually met an 'older woman' like that at a beachside resort. One of the most fascinating things to me and the thing I loved about the episode-and again, I thought the ending was beautiful where he says he keeps the photo in a shoebox and it was the only letter she'd ever sent him-was that it was bittersweet in a nice, warm sort of way. Mark Perry can actually take one of the pictures out of his pocket of he and this girl in the photo booth. I think it's so great when somebody can take something that's real and personal like that, put it up on the screen and make it work in the context of different characters."
"I do all the summer shows," laughs Michael Dinner. "The thing about 'Summer Song' I remember is that kiss underneath the boardwalk. To me, that was a show about that one moment. It was also a show about the family, and the dissolution of the family, and then its coming back together at the end. I think both of those things are very powerful in that show. I think we all have recollections of that kind of thing, whether it's a girl under the boardwalk or a girl you met one summer. I think that's very powerful."
"Math Class"
Original Airdate 10/10/89
Written by Tom Gammill and Max Pross
Directed by Andy Tennant
Guest Starring: Steven Gilborn (Mr. Collins), Robert Picardo
(Coach Cutlip), Joie Magidow (Miss Martinson), Francia DiMase
(Hippie Teacher), Siera Samuel (Girl), Josh Berman (Boy), Chris
Fielder (Eager Beaver), Ian Wade (Kid)
"Math Class" turns out to be algebra for Kevin, and an instructor named Mr. Collins who dives right into the lessons and gives every indication that this is not going to be an easy course. Kevin nonetheless seems confident. Days later, Kevin gets back a pop quiz and is stunned to see that he has received a "D" grade. He tries talking to Mr. Collins about this, not understanding how his grade could be so low. Collins points out that if he's having a problem in class, there are extra help sessions available. Appalled that someone would think he needs extra help, Kevin declines.
Kevin goes home and really tries hitting the books. The next pop quiz results in another "D," while Paul is scoring "As." Time goes on and Kevin's grades aren't improving. Paranoia starts to grip him, resulting in a dinner table fantasy in which the Twilight Zone theme plays while Norma asks him algebra questions. Next day, he nearly goes into Mr. Collins' extra help session, until he sees a group of class losers there. He bumps into Collins, who suggests that he take part as there is a major test coming up, and this would be a good opportunity for him to bring up his grade. He refuses. At home, Kevin and Paul are playing basketball, with Kevin taking great delight in beating Paul, just to prove his superiority, and putting his friend down for being so "mathletic."
The following day, Kevin takes his test and finds that he really doesn't understand anything on the page. He hands in the paper, telling Mr. Collins he got an "F." Finally, he admits to the teacher that he doesn't understand math. Mr. Collins responds, "Good, now maybe you're ready to start," and he crumples up Kevin's test paper, adding that there will be another test in two weeks. Over that time period, he seeks out the help of Paul, his father and Mr. Collins, and things seem to be looking up.
"Math Class" is an important episode of The Wonder Years, in that it forces Kevin to recognize his own limitations as a human being, and teaches him that it's perfectly alright to look to others for help in life; that, in a sense, you cannot always depend on yourself for everything.
"I liked the episode very much," enthuses director Andy Tennant. "It was one of the first shows that I'd seen that had dealt with Kevin actually learning something we all- whether it's math class, English or even gym-have to: where we confront, finally, an adult who demands from us something we haven't been asked to do before. What I find remarkable about the Wonder Years is the writing. The writers somehow capture their memories and put it on paper, but they always find the little tiny nuance that makes it poetic. They're the best. I hope they can keep it up, because I think that's where the magic of the show is. I've never seen such a dedication to quality. These guys work so hard, and that kind of integrity and passion for the work reflects on the air. Everyone thinks it's such a mystery why a show takes off, but I don't think it's that big a mystery."
"Wayne on Wheels"
Original Airdate 10/24/89
Written by Mark B. Perry
Directed by Beth Hillshafer
Guest Starring: Juliette Lewis (Dolores), Jennifer Baron
(Dream Girl), Elyse Eberstein (Nerdy Girl)
Kevin's ultimate nightmare comes true in "Wayne on Wheels," as Wayne finally gets his driver's license. This coupled with the fact that he has a girlfriend is enough to scare anyone, particularly Kevin as now Wayne has to drive him places, which does not please the older boy at all. He drops Kevin and Paul off at the mall, and warns them to be ready at 6:30 or "be prepared to spend the night." At the mall, Kevin pursues a pretty girl he had seen the previous Saturday. He and Paul go into a theatre playing Romeo and Juliet and sit near the girl and her friend. After the movie, he starts to speak to her but Wayne pulls up and embarrasses the hell out of him (and you can just imagine that when they get older, Kevin is going to take a hammer to this guy's skull). When Jack finds out about Wayne's abusive behavior, all driving privileges are suspended, which don't make things any easier for Kevin.
At school, Paul tells Kevin that he spoke to the pretty girl's friend, and found out that the two of them will be at the mall that night. It's Paul's recommendation that they go to the mall, and Kevin asks his mother for a ride. Then he finds out that Wayne is allowed to drive, and has to take him to the mall. Enroute, Wayne stops the car and tells Kevin to get out, because he has a date and doesn't want to be late. Kevin refuses, a fight develops between them and Paul gets out of the car. Wayne finally agrees to take Kevin, but acts like his typical moronic self in an effort to scare him, resulting in their nearly crashing into a stalled car. By avoiding it, they crash into a corn field. The front end of the car is damaged pretty badly, and when they get home Jack is less than happy about the situation. He demands an explanation and Kevin claims there was a blowout, which probably earns him about a minute's worth of respect from Wayne. The narrator notes, "Wayne and I didn't have to be friends, but we would always be brothers."
"That turned out to be a very funny show and I was very pleased with it," says Mark Perry. "I think Wayne is such a fascinating character, it's interesting to see how he figures into Kevin's life. Getting his driver's license is a milestone in Wayne's life, and it's interesting to see how it immediately complicates Kevin's. I thought that worked very well too. Generally, as in 'Wayne on Wheels,' a funny episode comes around to being about brothers, so I felt like it had a little something to say about human relationships. There's a certain universal quality to the experience that Kevin has."
"Mom Wars"
Original Airdate 10/31/89
Written by Todd W. Langen
Directed by Daniel Stern
Guest Starring: Sean Baca (Craig), Michael Tricario (Randy),
Brandon Crane (Doug), Jim Bullock (Salesman)
"Mom Wars" represents the point where Kevin feels he has to convince his mother that he's growing up and not just a little kid anymore. We cut to the afternoon, where Kevin, Paul and their friends are playing contact football, and just enjoying being boys at play. At dinner, Wayne mentions the football game, and Norma expresses her displeasure at the fact that Kevin is playing, fearful that someone might get hurt.
After school the next day, Kevin and the guys are getting ready to play again, when Norma meets him outside school in the family station wagon, wanting to take him clothes shopping. Mortified, he goes with her but as he keeps trying on clothes, we can see that he's getting angrier. She wants to take him shopping for shoes the following afternoon, which infuriates him. To make matters worse, Norma won't let him play football with his friends that night.
The following afternoon, Kevin purposely comes home on the school bus, acting as though he was supposed to meet her at home. Then, finding no on there, he gets on his bike and rides to the park to play football. Suddenly, Norma shows up, angry that he "forgot" to meet her. She still wants to go shopping, but Kevin refuses and when she voices her disapproval over his playing football, he demands that she stop babying him. A very hurt Norma leaves. Unfortunately, Kevin does indeed get injured during the game, cutting his hand open. He walks his bike home, enters the house and starts bandaging his hand by himself, despite Norma's obvious desire to help him. She has taken him at his request, and is trying to let him grow up.
"Up to this point," details Todd Langen, "there had been a story about Kevin plus every other main character in the show, but there really hadn't been an episode yet that dealt specifically with Kevin and his mother. I remember thinking that that might be the proper approach to take. I thought, 'This is a story about Kevin having problems with his mother when he's at the age when you want to start cutting the apron strings.' That was really the kernel of the idea. We just built it from there, the whole conflict about Kevin playing football, just for the vivaciousness of slamming into other kids. Mothers are dead set against that, and this is what causes the final conflict and the explosion by Kevin in which he tells her to basically back off. Again, I thought there was a very nice moment at the end, when he's bandaging his own hand when it's hurt, and his mother has decided not to help him because he doesn't want her to. And he says, 'The funny thing is, it's hard to tie a bandage with just one hand ... but you learn.' That's the point of the episode. At some point, you do learn and the apron strings gradually fall away."
"On the Spot"
Original Airdate 1/17/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Matia Karrell
Guest Starring: Nicholas Hormann (Mr. Weber), Richard H. Greene
(Mr. Cooper), Lynn Milgrim (Mrs. Cooper), Sean Baca (Craig
Hobson), Joe Elrady (Stage Manager), Parker Jacobs (Mr. Webb),
Ryan Francis (George)
In "On the Spot," the school is doing the play Our Town, which Kevin, like the majority of the students, could care less about. Winnie wants to try out for a role, but Kevin discourages her. Paul wants to join up as well, and Kevin even decides to give it a crack when he learns that rehearsal will get him out of seventh period-gym.
While Kevin gets the position of spotlight manager, Paul is unable to be picked for a role. Winnie reads for Emily, the lead character, and gets it. She is so excited about this, but Kevin doesn't seem to share her enthusiasm. Then Paul shows up, dejected. Kevin suggests that Paul work the spotlight with him, which Paul jumps at the opportunity to do, although he does get carried away with the whole idea.
For Winnie, things are a little difficult. During rehearsal she has problems remembering her lines, and goes to Kevin with her frustration. Kevin comments that it's only a play and since it's an excuse to get out of seventh period, she shouldn't worry about it. Winnie thinks that's the most insensitive thing she's ever heard. Later, she wants to quit, but her father is flying in from Chicago just to see her performance. Since her parents haven't seen each other in two months, it's an opportunity she doesn't want to blow.
On the night of the performance, Paul is stricken with "backstage fright," and Kevin, who hasn't done any preparing because he's allowed Paul to do it all, has to run the spots. At first he is simply awful, but eventually he manages to coordinate the light, particularly after Winnie comes out on stage. In a sense, he feels that via the light he has become one with Winnie, and in his mind he would like to think that he helped her through the performance.
Our Town is a success, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper seem to be connected (indeed, we learn that a week later Mr. Cooper moved back home), and Kevin's feelings for Winnie have never been stronger.
"I thought this was a beautiful episode, and I'm surprised Matthew Carlson didn't get another Emmy nomination for it," opines Todd Langen. "Matthew actually wrote the first draft of the script with the play being Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, so they did Our Town. Of course, Our Town works equally as well, if not better. What's fascinating to me as a writer, and again it just shows how enormously talented a writer Matthew is, is that The Glass Menagerie draft he wrote is equally as good as the later draft, and of course they're two totally different metaphors that you have to integrate in terms of the humor and the action. I just thought 'On the Spot' was a beautiful concept and episode, the idea of Kevin holding her up with that spotlight, and Winnie playing out a scene that reflects her own personal situation while her estranged parents are sitting in the audience and bonding together again. It's a very well constructed, emotional piece and I thought they executed it very, very well."
"Odd Man Out"
Original Airdate 11/14/89
Written by David M. Stern
Directed by Peter Baldwin
The Kevin/Paul friendship hits hard times in "Odd Man Out." The two best friends start fighting over baseball card swapping, which leads to personal insult and a supposed severing of their bond. What follows is a pretty basic plot in which the duo set about getting new best friends, and then making the other guy jealous. Ironically, Kevin's choice of best friend, Doug Porter, is driving him crazy, and he basically tells him off, resulting in guilt-filled dreams. He tries to stop by Doug's house to apologize, but is told that he can't come to the door. As he's leaving, Kevin hears laughter from Doug's room and glances in a window, only to see Doug having a great time with Paul's supposed new best friend. Suddenly, he feels the odd man out, recognizing that Paul is his perfect counterbalance in life. By episode's end, they're buddies again.
"Odd Man Out" is probably the most linear story done in the course of the series. Very simple, it deals with one theme: boy has best friend, boy loses best friend, boy gets best friend back again.
Notes Todd Langen, "The thing that struck me about it is the character of Doug Porter, a character I supposedly created in 'Coda.' Here was a kid that I immediately recognized from my own past. The kid who is dying for love and affection, and would give you the shirt off his back and tell you how great you are, almost to a sickening degree. Everybody knows that kind of kid, but until I read it in David Stem's episode, I hadn't remembered. I would never have thought of it myself, but there it was on the page and it very much impressed me."
"The Family Car"
Original Airdate 11/21/89
Written by Debra Frank and Jack Weinstein
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Patrick Cronin (Marvin Lutz), Sean Baca (Craig
Hobson), Biff Yeager (Man), Jodi Rae (Young Karen)
As "The Family Car" begins, Jack is once again working on the station wagon, doing his damnedest to keep the vehicle running. The neighbor across the street has just gotten a new car, and Wayne suggests they get one as well. Jack refuses, despite the fact that it continually breaks down and sounds like a tank. That night, Norma brings up the subject again, and Jack reluctantly agrees to look for a new car.
The Arnolds go to a dealership. Jack wants to get another station wagon, but the family is taken by the image of a red '69 Mustang. The salesman points out that with his family is growing up and Jack probably doesn't need a station wagon as much as he thinks he does. Jack leaves in a huff, though, because he doesn't like the amount of money the salesman offers him for the station wagon. The next night, Norma suggests that perhaps the offer was not as bad as Jack. thinks it was, and he finally agrees. The entire family pitches in to clean the station wagon up before its sale; to make it look as good as it possibly can. Unfortunately, everyone who expresses interest in the car leaves laughing once they hear the price that Jack wants for it. Karen accuses him of being cheap and Jack tries to leave, but the car won't let him get out of the driveway. Norma meets him in the driveway, praises him for all he's done to keep the car going but points out that now it's time to move on. Both of them realize that what Jack is really afraid of is letting go of the past, but he recognizes that it's something he has to do.
The episode ends with Jack pulling up in a new Ford Fairlane, and the family gathers as the old station wagon is towed away.
"I just remember the image of the car going down the street," reflects Michael Dinner, "and the feeling that they were moving on to something new, but that was a piece of them going away. I think it was another family show, about the family in a state of flux. To a certain extent, that theme runs through a number of our shows. Even the treehouse show I did, which you could say was about male bonding, also dealt with a father and son really talking for the first time."
"The Pimple"
Original Airdate 11/28/89
Written by David M. Stern and Todd W. Langen
Directed by Matia Karrell
Guest Starring: Heather Green (Gina Pruitt), Ben Stein (Mr.
Cantwell), Tony Nittoll (Tony Barbella), Patricia Nickell (Claire
Pruitt)
"The Pimple" raises its ugly head at the most inopportune time for Kevin. Now going through puberty, the young Mr. Arnold is having enough problems to deal with, which he compares to a clip from I Was a Teenage Werewolf. One morning, Norma receives a letter stating that old family friends -who they haven't seen for several years- are going to be in town. Kevin is particularly excited, because the daughter of that family has aged beautifully and she is someone that he had played "Ben Casey" with.
Kevin's world collapses around him when he finds his first pimple, and it's a real beaut. He tries to convince himself that it's not that noticeable, but Norma makes a comment, as does Karen and Wayne, who takes the greatest pleasure. At the bus stop, Paul makes several observations about it, including the fact that the timing couldn't be worse because Gina, is coming to town that weekend. Things don't improve once he gets to school, when Mr. Cantwell, the science teacher, shows a film about volcanos, which Kevin compares to an erupting pimple.
When he gets home, Kevin is horrified to learn that Gina will be arriving in two days rather than a week. That night, he tries every method he can think of to get rid of the pimple, but nothing works. He stares at his reflection and remembers the transformation clip from I Was a Teenaged Werewolf. Out of desperation he goes to Wayne, who says that he should pop it, but then goes on to discuss the potential gruesome consequences. After that, Kevin is led into the bathroom where Wayne shows him his various skin care products, but then charges him a buck for its use. Humorously, when the drawer is opened, we hear the sound of a Geiger counter doing its thing.
While applying the cream, Kevin fantasizes that he and Gina are running toward each other in slow motion, and miss. Next morning, the pimple is bigger than ever and he goes to school with a bandaid covering it. He tells Winnie that he's wearing the bandaid because he got into a fight with a school bully, who gets really annoyed when he hears this story. Going home, Kevin hopes more than anything that this night will pass quickly without his coming out of his room, but Gina and her family arrive. Norma comes to get him and demands that he come out of his room. He comes face to face with Gina and is delighted to find that she has a large pimple on her forehead. The couple get along great, and Kevin realizes that in life there are going to be little .... bumps .... along the way.
"This is one of the things you hear about, a one sentence idea, and this one came from Bob Brush," explains Todd Langen. "We were sitting around the table one day and Bob said, 'Guys, we've been doing all these deep episodes. We need to break it up a little bit where something silly and recognizable happens. 'This is it. Kevin gets a pimple.' That's all we had. From that basis, we built an episode. It turns out we were starting to get pressed for time at that point in the season, so Dave Stem and I teamed up to write that episode. It was a simple story. It's just the familiar and recognizable tale of getting the first pimple at the most inopportune time you can imagine, when a pretty girl is coming to visit. That's all the episode was. No deep message. I did like the moment when Kevin opens up the drawer in the bathroom where Wayne keeps all his Clearasil, and you hear the sound of a Geiger counter going. Just silly stuff like that. We also used the classroom situation, where they're talking about a volcano ready to explode, as a metaphor for what's going on. We do that a lot on the show."
"Math Class Squared"
Original Airdate 12/12/89
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Daniel Stern
Guest Starring: Steven Gilborn (Mr. Collins), Robert Picardo
(Coach Cutlip), Chris Demetral (McCormick), Joshua Smith (Bob),
Eric Ratican (Ken), April Dawn McCaffrey (The Girl)
"Math Class Squared" is essentially a sequel to the earlier episode "Math Class." Older Kevin discusses the concept of heroes and we see photos of astronauts, John Kennedy, comic book super heroes and then his algebra book. As we dissolve to Mr. Collins' classroom, we learn that Kevin has really gotten to like the teacher, who's as hard as ever but someone that inspires Kevin to do his best.
While studying with Paul, Kevin overhears a group of kids who have gotten their hands on a teacher's edition of the algebra textbook which has all the answers. Their plan is to cheat on Collins' tests, as the man takes his exams straight from the textbook. Later, during gym class, one of the kids asks Kevin if he wants in but Kevin refuses, pointing out that they'll never get away with it, and proceeding that way will mean death at Collins' hands.
During the next test, the trio of cheaters use their crip sheets and Kevin thinks Collins is aware of this, but he fails to catch them. Kevin's frustration grows even more intense when the cheaters are affecting the grade curve, thus lowering his "C" average down to a "D." After this happens a second time, he goes to Collins and expresses his feelings about the curve, but Collins doesn't seem to understand what he's getting out.
"Thank you for your feedback," says Collins. "I would suggest that you not concern yourself with the rest of the class. Every problem contains its own solution, Mr. Arnold."
Kevin is stunned, realizing that this wasn't a hero. Mr. Collins was apparently human after all. Disillusioned, he walks out of the classroom and tells McCormick, one of the cheaters, that he wants to have the answers to the next exam. That test, Kevin gets a "B," but he feels lousy about it. Then he gets an "A," and Collins make things worse by saying he would like to put him in the honor's math class, an offer Kevin sees no choice but to accept. Needless to say, he is totally confused. During class, Collins asks Kevin a specific algebra question and he imagines that everyone is speaking to him in numbers, and then we have Paul imitating Rod Serling who is introducing an episode of The Twilight Zone.
Kevin races into the bathroom to splash water on his face, where the three cheaters come in and we learn they got an "F' on the unit test, which counts for 50% of their grade, because Collins did not take it out of the book. When he gets home, Kevin realizes that if he had just stayed put, his "C" would have become a "B" thanks to the curve.
Next day, Kevin goes to see Collins, who asks, "Had enough? Every problem contains its own solution, Mr. Arnold." Kevin moves back to his old class and starts pulling in his old grades again. Why Collins chose to pick him and provide this incredible break, he doesn't know. But one-thing Kevin is aware of is the simple fact that Collins is indeed a hero; a mentor among teachers.
"That script went through a tremendous amount of angst and agony in the formulation stages," reflects Todd Langen, "because everybody was so wary and so concerned about Kevin cheating. Would that soil the character permanently? They went through every single device they could think of that he had to cheat, he had no choice. I disagreed with that approach a little bit, in that I thought we could have been a little more realistic and gotten away with it, because our character is realistic and people would have accepted and loved him anyway. He's a great person and that's what people do. That's television, I guess."
"Rock 'n' Roll"
Original Airdate 1/2/90
Written by Bob Stevens
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Sean Baca (Craig Hobson), Joshua Miller (Larry
Beeman), Ben Slack (Mr. Ermin), Casey Ellison (Mark Bernstein),
Dana Young (Neal Rhodes), Stefanie Scott (Amy Ermin)
"Rock 'n' Roll" is the long awaited Beatles episode of The Wonder Years. The show begins with footage of the moptops on the Ed Sullivan Show, and has older Kevin detail some of the ways that rock 'n' roll had an impact on the people of the sixties.
When some of his friends start a rock and roll band, Kevin decides to take a crack at it. To this end, perhaps dreaming of Beatle-like stardom, he gets his hands on an electric guitar and decides to practice at home. Unfortunately he strums one chord and all the power is knocked out of the house. Still, he is not discouraged. No, this does not come until he and the other members start practicing and he realizes just how truly bad they are. Kevin elects to quit, even after hearing that the band has got a gig at a local party. However, when Kevin learns that the Beatles are about to break up, he realizes that he's got to go through with it-for the sake of rock 'n' roll!
This moment of fame never takes place, however, when police officers break up the party before they are able to play anything.
"That was kind of like going home for me," admits Michael Dinner. "I started a long time ago as a musician. There were two things I wanted to be when I grew up. One was Keith Richards and the other was to make movies and be John Ford or somebody like that. I actually worked as a musician and was a studio musician on a couple of albums during the early to mid-seventies, so I guess it was fate I ended up doing that show. I guess it was that image of his buying the guitar, coming home and plugging it in on an ear shattering volume that comes to mind, He hits that one powerful chord and all the lights go out in the house. I think I lived through that myself. My parents were very tolerant when I was growing up. They'd lock me in a room and let me crank up the volume to the point where they couldn't stand it anymore. I think it was a part of me that I hadn't dealt with in a long time."
"Don't You Know Anything About
Women?"
Original Airdate 1/16/90
Written by Tammy Ader
Directed by Jeff Brown Guest Starring: Maia Brewton (Linda
Sloan), Kelly Packard (Susan Fisher), Christa Murphy (Carla
Healy), Ben Stein (Mr. Cantwell), Andy Howard (Steve Padway),
Sean Wohland (Donald Wallach)
In "Don't You Know Anything About Women?" Kevin wants to ask the like of his life, Susan Fisher, to the school dance, but he realizes he hasn't got a chance. Instead, he asks his buddy, Linda Sloan, to go as friends.
On the night of the dance, Kevin stops by Linda's house to pick her up and discovers that in a dress, with her hair down, she really is a cute girl. He's impressed. At the dance itself, Linda ends up dancing with a guy named Steve (which is okay, since she and Kevin are, after all, just friends). Suddenly, Susan Fisher comes over and asks for a dance. Afterwards they have some punch and discover that they have absolutely nothing to speak about. Susan excuses herself for a minute and Linda comes over, thinking that one of the cups of punch he's holding is for her but he bluntly lets her know that one of them is Susan's, although he doesn't mean to hurt her feelings. Then Kevin sees Susan dancing with her supposed exboyfriend and at that moment, Kevin realizes just how alone he is at the moment. There is a beautiful closing shot of he and Winnie just missing each other on the dance floor.
Todd Langen points out, "Here's a case where, again, the music can make the ending. They used 'Unchained Melody,' the music that's in Ghost, to great effect, because the whole last scene is at this dance. Kevin has just lost this girl, Linda, who liked him, but he wasn't in love with her. He's sort of wandering around the dance floor, and in the last minute or so you use 'Unchained Melody,' pumping it up, pumping it up, slowly increasing it until it reaches its climax, and it has this tremendous swelling effect that you feel. And yet-here's the point-the words the narrator was speaking, in my mind, in some respects are totally false. The narrator's saying things like, 'All our young lives we look for someone to love and someone to love us back,' and I'm thinking to myself, 'But that's not true. When I was 13-years-old, I wasn't looking for someone to love me for the rest of my life. I was trying to figure out what second base was. It's interesting, because that totally gets swamped by everything else that's happening at the end: the music, the imagery, Winnie walking in ... all of it gives a tremendous emotional impact, yet what's being spoken, in some respects, is incorrect."
"The Powers That Be"
Original Airdate 1/23/90
Written by David M. Stern
Directed by Daniel Stern
Guest Starring: David Huddleston (Grandpa Arnold), Gary
Grossman (Mr. Corey), Jodi Raye (Young Karen)
Grandpa Arnold arrives in "The Powers That Be," and tensions become immediately apparent. Jack starts avoiding him, occupying himself with household chores, while grandpa greets the rest of the family. He gives Kevin a puppy, which Jack says they can't keep. Kevin promises that he'll take care of the dog, but Jack won't hear anything of it, until grandpa claims that he can't bring the dog back for a week, so therefore they're stuck with it for that amount of time.
As the episode proceeds, we see a constant stream of arguments between grandpa and Jack over some of the most mundane things imaginable. While this is going on, we're witnessing Kevin's dealing with the responsibility of the dog, which is not always a fun one. As the fights continue, however, Kevin gives the dog back to his grandfather, believing that that is the catalyst of the arguing.
The next morning, grandpa leaves before Kevin awakens. When he steps outside, Jack is walking the puppy and explains that he and grandpa had a long talk that morning. He thinks it's a good idea that Kevin keep the dog. Although Jack doesn't come out and say it, this is a symbolic way of mending the fences between he and his father; of righting disagreements of the past.
"She, My Friend and I"
Original Airdate 2/6/90
Written by Kerry Ehrin
Directed by Peter Baldwin
Guest Starring: Robert Picardo (Coach Cutlip), Juliette Lewis
(Dolores), Krista Murphy (Carla Healy)
The title "She, My Friend and l" refers to Winnie, Paul and Kevin. As the episode opens, Carla breaks up with Paul because she doesn't have enough time to spend with her friends. He's totally depressed, and Kevin tries to come to the rescue. He and Paul start to go over potential girls he could ask out, but Paul finds something to criticize in each one of them. The only one he would like to ask, but doesn't have the guts to, is Winnie. Convincing himself that he no longer has feelings for her, Kevin decides to come to the rescue and asks Winnie to ask Paul out. Reluctantly she does so, and in fact things go so well on this "date" that the two of them are going out again the coming weekend. This raises Kevin's jealousy, despite himself. Maybe his feelings aren't as deeply buried as he thinks they are.
In school a few days later, Paul is still walking on cloud nine, particularly when he catches up to Winnie in the halls. Kevin views this and is joined by Carla, who's angry at him for having arranged this in the first place. At home, Kevin's jealousy gets worse. Watching an episode of Mr. Ed, he imagines that Ed is talking about the situation between him, Winnie and Paul. From there we cut to gym where Coach Cutlip is teaching wrestling. Kevin and Paul are pitted against each other, and it turns into an actual fist fight which has to be broken apart.
That night, Kevin is riding his bike in the neighborhood when he catches sight of Winnie and Paul sitting outside her house. Moments later she goes inside, and Paul walks off. Kevin rides up to him and apologizes, expressing his concern that he and Winnie be very happy. Paul tells Kevin that she dumped him, because she likes somebody else. Paul bids him goodnight, and Kevin is suddenly filled with optimism that Winnie is very deeply in love with him. Paul won't tell him for sure, because he promised Winnie he wouldn't. Moments pass and he goes to Winnie's door, the two of them smiling brightly at each other. Kevin loudly announces, "Paul told me, Winnie. You're crazy about me!" And with that, she slams the door in his face.
Nothing like true love.
"St. Valentine's Massacre"
Original Airdate 2/13/90
Written by Mark B. Perry
Directed by Matia Karrell
Guest Starring: Wendel Meldrum (Mrs. Heimer), Crystal McKellar
(Becky Slater), Sean Baca (Craig Hobson), Ben Savage (Curtis
Hartsell), Krista Murphy (Carla Healy), Elyse Eberstein (Melissa
Bemil), Jean Palmerton (Mrs. Dougherty), Tony Nittoli (Tony
Barbella)
The "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" begins with Winnie calling Kevin rude, insensitive and smug (among other things), and Kevin desperately wanting to talk to her. He comes up with the idea of giving Winnie a valentine and has a seventh grader place it in .... the wrong locker! Kevin waits until the owner of that locker shows up, but is horrified to find that that person is Becky Slater.
At lunchtime, Becky sits down next to Kevin in the cafeteria, stating that she forgives Kevin for the pain he caused her and then kisses him. The rumor mill starts immediately, and Kevin takes off trying to head it off before it reaches the table that Winnie is sitting at. Unfortunately, the same freshman who put the valentine in the wrong locker gets in his way and trips him to the ground. Winnie stands over Kevin and announces, "I hope you and Becky Slater will be very happy."
Now finding himself trapped with Becky Slater, and afraid of telling her to take a hike for fear of getting punched out like in the past, Kevin tries to get advice from Miss White, but that does no good. In the library he tries to talk to Winnie, but Becky shows up. Facing up to facts, he tells Becky the truth, and she says she can take it gracefully. Becky gives the valentine back to Kevin and he tries handing it to Winnie, stating, again, that they could work out their problems because he knows she likes him. Winnie announces that she only told Paul that so as to not hurt his feelings too badly. Kevin is crushed as he walks out of school. Suddenly, in a great parody of The Wizard of Oz, Becky Slater tears down the street on her bike, intent on running Kevin over. That same freshman suddenly appears in her way, she swerves and ends up running over Craig Hobson. At that moment, it's instant attraction between hitter and hittee.
As Kevin walks home he sees Winnie, who calls him a jerk for embarrassing her in front of everyone. Once again he proclaims that he likes her, and this time Winnie states that she lied about saying that she lied (have you got that?) to Paul about not liking him. They hold hands and walk home.
At last! Waiting for Kevin and Winnie to get together is similar to waiting for Sam and Diane in Cheers, or Maddie and David in Moonlighting. Congratulations, Kev.
"The kitchen sink show," laughs Mark Perry. "We threw everything in there but the kitchen sink. That show was designed to be rather farcical and plot heavy. When we approached the show, we said, 'Let's do something farcical,' and as a result you're already plot heavy. You write the valentine, you give it to a kid and the kid puts it in the wrong locker, and then your old girlfriend gets it and she thinks that you still like her. It's that sort of thing, as opposed to something that started more simply, like 'The Pimple,' where Kevin gets his first pimple. It's a different starting point. But also another true-to-life experience."
"Tree House"
Original Airdate 2/20/90
Written by Matthew Carlson
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Janet Wood (Donna), Sean Baca (Craig Hobson),
Brandon Crane (Doug Porter)
Sexuality is the overall theme of "Tree House." First off, in school more and more of Kevin's friends are having the talk with their parents concerning sex. Meanwhile, back at the Arnold house, Jack is driving Norma crazy because he's on vacation and wants to play Mr. Fixit on absolutely everything. To get him out of her hair, she suggests that he and Kevin build a tree house. Kevin thinks he's too old for a tree house, while Jack states that you're never too old for a tree house.
As the days pass, they're making terrific progress on their project, bonding together as though they were more than father and son. This changes, however, when they hear a neighbor humming. Looking from the platform they constructed, they see a rather voluptuous woman watering her garden. Both men smile at the sight, until they see the other smiling and realize that they've been looking at the same thing. Abruptly they're reduced to being father and son again, both of them doing everything they can to avoid going back up there. Norma starts after them, and the boys start cutting wood again. Soon, they're climbing up the ladder to do some work. Once they reach the top, both are delighted to find that their "friend" is nowhere to be seen. They dive back into the project and things are going great, until they come back into the house and find that the neighbor, Donna, is in the kitchen with Norma, the two of them having met at the supermarket.
They go back to work and shortly thereafter, Norma climbs up to see how they're doing. Once reaching the top she takes in the view, including Donna in her garden. Norma's delight fades with a simple, "Oh," perhaps believing that Donna is the reason Jack was so happy to work on the project in the first place.
Jack and Kevin never do have "the talk," perhaps, as older Kevin notes, because some things are better left unsaid.
Michael Dinner notes, "When we finished that episode, I almost felt like it was a New Yorker type of story. There was something really goofy and charming about it. Like I said, you could say it's about two guys spying a neighbor from a tree house, but it's really about a father and son bonding, which I think is a powerful theme in a number of these episodes. I guess just the image of these two guys on a six by six platform up in a tree, with what wasn't said between them when they spotted the neighbor for the first time, really tickled me. I just found it really funny. When we're growing up, we don't even think of our parents as sexual beings. Then all of a sudden for this kid to realize that his father's been looking at what he's been looking at, and feeling something similar to what he's been feeling, is a pretty big revelation."
"A fun episode," details Todd Langen, "with a slightly different tone, dealing with sexuality and the underlying theme that, and it never got stated explicitly, both you and your father realize at some point that you're both sexual beings and males. It was a relevant, realistic episode handled in a very humorous way. In writing, you talk about, for instance, half hour shows where there are two acts and a thing called an act break, the commercial break. One of the theories is that at the act break, you should get your main character up a tree without a ladder, and that's exactly, physically, what happened at the act break, which was kind of cute."
"The kitchen sink show," laughs Mark Perry. "We threw everything in there but the kitchen sink. That show was designed to be rather farcical and plot heavy. When we approached the show, we said, 'Let's do something farcical,' and as a result you're already plot heavy. You write the valentine, you give it to a kid and the kid puts it in the wrong locker, and then your old girlfriend gets it and she thinks that you still like her. It's that sort of thing, as opposed to something that started more simply, like 'The Pimple,' where Kevin gets his first pimple. It's a different starting point. But also another true-to-life experience."
"Glee Club"
Original Airdate 2/27/90
Written by Todd W. Langen, Story by Langen and Bob Brush
Guest Starring: Andrea Walters (Miss Haycock), William Lanteau
(Mr. Frace), Brandon Crane (Doug Porter), Michael Tricario (Randy
Mitchell), Dustin Diamond (Joey Lapman), Jeffrey Baum (Warren
Butcher), Troy W. Slaten (Eric)
In "Glee Club," Kevin and his fellow students consider the class to be nothing but a time waster. They sing a few notes off-key, waste some time and basically get by. That is until a new teacher comes in and decides that she really wants them to sing their little hearts out. It falls to Kevin to tell the teacher, Miss Haycock, that they're really not interested in singing in the Spring Sing. Shockingly, she starts to cry in response, which causes the students to change their minds.
The Spring Sing, for all intents and purposes is an unmitigated disaster with Murphy's Law in full effect. The result is that Miss Haycock disappears, never to be heard from again.
"This situation happened to Bob Brush," explains Jill Gordon, "and I actually thought it was a fun, cute show. It wasn't big, emotional or dramatic. Just one of those little moments, and I love the fact that we can do a show that can move you and make you cry, and we can also do a show that's just purely fun. That's what 'Glee Club' was. I think if you can make somebody laugh and cry in a half hour, you've done really well."
States Todd Langen, "This is a story that Bob and I came up with. The thing is that we both have glee club in our background, so it seemed a natural idea. Since Kevin isn't a talented singer, we had to put him in a humorous situation, so we came up with the idea of the overzealous new teacher. The theme of the episode is that you shouldn't push kids too far to do things they shouldn't do-this was, again, a humorous episode, nothing deep. The ending got a little bit ludicrous, but you can do that now and then, even on a show like The Wonder Years."
"Night Out"
Original Airdate 3/13/90
Written by Todd W. Langen and Mark B. Perry, Story by Tammy
Ader
Directed by Dan Lauria
Guest Starring: Krista Murphy (Carla Healy), Sean Baca (Craig
Hobson), Ben Stein (Mr. Cantwell), Crystal McKellar (Becky
Slater), Greg Davis (Robbie Hudson), Richard H. Greene (Mr.
Cooper)
"Night Out" is a simple story: Kevin and Winnie are invited to a make-out party, and the pressure of said party is driving a wedge between them. Not being able to take it, Winnie runs out in the middle of the "festivities" and Kevin is thoroughly confused. Thinking his relationship is over, he goes home to sulk-a task made the more painful by Wayne's needling.
In the middle of the night, he awakens to see Winnie outside his window, hair billowing in the wind, fog filling the air. It has a definite dream-like quality to it, enhanced by the narrator's comment, "Please, God, don't let this be one of those dreams where I can't get the window open." It turns out to be real and as they walk through the streets, she explains that she hated the party because he's her boyfriend and although she wanted to kiss him, she didn't want to kiss him then. At that moment, as the narrator points out, he realized that love was going to be much more complicated and yet simple than he had planned. Winnie leans over and starts kissing Kevin. Young love is free at last.
"A difficult show," admits Mark Perry, "because it was a kind of difficult milestone in life, the whole idea of this make-out party. It was tough to bring all those elements together and make them work, but I feel like the ending of that show really pays off, with the Elton John song and the moment when they're out walking at night. It was a tough show to get to that. A lot of work went into the episode. One thing we're blessed with is incredible kids. The actors are just such a pleasure."
Todd Langen offers, "That was an interesting, pivitol episode. We had established that Kevin and Winnie had finally gotten together as boyfriend and girlfriend, and now they had to confront the inevitable: the first kiss. The entire episode is built around that, and how to make it interesting. And how, in particular, to make it so that we know Kevin and Winnie are not your typical kids. Obviously, the narrator is telling these tales from his adulthood, and Winnie is a very special person in the context of the series. We wanted to show that Winnie, being a little bit beyond her years, wants something more than just your typical make-out party sort of relationship with Kevin, and that's what the episode came from. To me, my favorite moment is after they kiss and just sort of hang out at night. The music is talking about just being friends. Winnie hits Kevin on the shoulder and they take off running, so they're still sort of kids, even after this first kiss. There was something nice about that. It's interesting, too, that the original concept of the story was about Winnie revealing something about herself, and she and Kevin sort of staying out all night and having this odyssey. They go into the park, look at the city of lights from the hill and Kevin learns that there's something more about Winnie than the pure, sweet person that everyone thinks she is. She has something more than that inside her, something special. Time considerations made us lose some of that, but I thought it worked nicely."
A humorous aspect of the episode is the aforementioned scene when Winnie shows up outside Kevin's bedroom window. There is a dream-like quality to the scene, particularly when the older Kevin narrates, "Please, God, don't let this be a dream where the window doesn't open."
Opines Jill Gordon, "You have to be careful sometimes with fantasies, especially in a half an hour show, where every moment counts and the story needs to move. Fantasy can pull you out. We use them judiciously. We've had great ideas for fantasies, but we couldn't do them because it wouldn't work. We have to be consistent with the idea: would Kevin at 34 be telling us this fantasy?"
"Faith"
Original Airdate 3/27/90
Written by Matthew Carlson, Story by Carlson and Bob Brush
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Salome Jens (Ms. Stebbins), Emily Schulman
(Susan), Mya Akerling (Christine), Josh Berman (Harold), Troy
Searcy (Martin), Yunoka Doyle (Debbie), Billy Joe Wright (Larry),
Michael Bower (Joel)
In "Faith" it's tax season, and Jack is grumbling more than ever. Meanwhile, at school Kevin is given the assignment of writing his own obituary. It's an assignment he takes lightly, which is the direct opposite of Paul's reaction. Unfortunately, when Kevin sits down that night to write up his obituary, he finds it to be the impossible assignment. Meanwhile, Jack is watching the newscast of the Apollo 13 mission while Norma starts searching for the receipts needed for tax purposes.
At school the next day, Kevin tries bluffing his way through the assignment by delivering a thinly disguised biography of George Washington. His teacher tells him to have his own life on her desk Monday morning. Back home, Kevin sees that Norma is troubled, and she admits that she has indeed misplaced all the receipts. While they're talking, a special report comes over the television announcing that there are problems aboard the Apollo mission. Now Norma has two things weighing heavily on her mind.
Later, Jack wants to start the taxes, but Norma says she has to run an errand. When his father announces that he's going to get started on his own, Kevin decides to ride his bike as far away from the house as possible. Doing so, he inadvertently sees his mother enter a church, somewhere he'd never seen her before, except for weddings and funerals. He can't believe she's lighting a candle over the tax receipts. Kevin approaches her and she's, startled to see him. They ride home in the car, talking very little. As soon as they walk in the house, Jack starts yelling for the tax receipts.
Amazingly, Kevin finds that Jack has handled the news just fine, and is stunned to watch them recreate the past year from memory. He's even more surprised to learn that her prayer at church was for the astronauts, not for the receipts. This seems to free Kevin of his writer's block, as he sits down and is finally able to write his obituary. Older Kevin says, "For the first time I understood that some things are bigger than death and taxes. Like family. Faith. I could only hope that Miss Evans could understand too."
"The main image of that episode in my mind is when Kevin sees his mother in church," says Michael Dinner, "a place he hasn't seen her before. It's an interesting show, but one more about ideas. In some ways, it's a real intelligent episode. Whether it works on an emotional level as well as the other ones I did, I'm not sure. But I like it."
Jill Gordon enthuses, "A really beautiful episode. The thing I loved most about it was the interesting perspective of Norma it provided. I just thought that was vintage Wonder Years, that twist where you thought Norma was going to pray for the tax receipts. Real interesting and very daring. I also love little hints that she and Jack are in love."
"The Unnatural"
Original Airdate 4/17/90
Written by Ian Gurvitz
In "The Unnatural" Kevin and Paul try signing up for the school baseball team. Paul doesn't make the tryout cut, while Kevin does despite the fact that he doesn't seem terribly good in comparison to the other players. In fact, he believes that the coach, whose life was saved by Jack in Korea, is merely keeping him on as a favor. Kevin asks the coach why he keeps him, and the response is that Kevin's got a lot of heart and compassion, which is the first thing he looks for. Nonetheless, Kevin has a fantasy of his father and the coach in Korea during battle, where Jack saves the coach and in return only asks that if he ever has a son and the other man handles a team, he'd like that boy to be on the team. He agrees.
Kevin's faith is shaken by these thoughts, until he sees on the coach's list has his name scratched off- he's been cut. Knowing that his father wasn't pulling strings, just pulling for him, gives Kevin the confidence he needs to make contact with the ball and send it flying. At least that's the way Kevin likes to remember, and if dreams and memories should mix together, that's the way it should be. As he points out, every kid should be a hero; every kid already is.
"Goodbye"
Original Airdate 4/24/90
Written by Bob Brush
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Steven Gilborn (Mr. Collins), Sean Baca (Craig
Hobson), Phyllis Flax (Teacher), Raye Birk (Mr. Diperna)
"Goodbye" marks the third, and final, part of the so-called "Math Arc." Kevin is starting to have trouble with algebra again, and he tries talking to Mr. Collins about the situation. Collins, who has always sensed a special something in Kevin, decides to give him private tutoring lessons, which elevates the boy's opinion of him even higher than it was before.
The lessons for the upcoming big test are going along very well, with Kevin coming to the classroom several days a week after school. Then, one day he shows up and Mr. Collins is nowhere to be seen. Kevin goes out to the teacher's parking lot, where he finds the man getting into his car. Kevin is told that he's going to have to finish the lessons on his own; that Collins has faith that he can do it. Kevin can't believe this, feeling like he's been betrayed.
"I thought you were my friend," says Kevin.
"No, Mr. Arnold," is the response. "I'm your teacher."
And with that, Collins is gone. Kevin, for his part, grows more and more furious at this, deciding that he's got to teach this supposed great man a lesson. On the day of the test, he doesn't answer any of the questions properly. His responses consist of "Who cares?", "So what?" and "What difference does it make?" He hands in the paper, glares at Collins and leaves.
That night Kevin's overcome with guilt over his attitude and what he's done. The next day he wants to speak to Collins, but is surprised to see that the assistant principal is teaching the class. As the bell rings, he asks Kevin to remain behind. After school he goes to speak to Collins and is surprised to find that the man is gone. The assistant principal catches sight of him and Kevin asks if he knows where Mr. Collins is. A beat. Then another. Finally, the man tells Kevin that Collins passed away that morning due to a heart ailment. In addition, he mentions that everyone's mid-terms have been graded, except for Kevin's. Somehow it's missing, and his choice is to take the exam again right then and there or get an "F." Naturally he chooses the former, accepting this final gift and opportunity from Mr. Collins. He sits down, takes the exam and hands it in, noting, "It's an 'A."'
As Kevin starts to walk out of the room, he glances back at the desk and sees the image of Mr. Collins sitting there, the trace of a smile on his lips. "Good job, Mr. Collins," says Kevin softly.
And there is not a dry eye left in the house. "Goodbye" is one of the most successful episodes of The Wonder Years ever produced. Fred Savage gives his best performance to date, and guest star Steven Gilborn, as he did in "Math Class" and "Math Class Squared," proves himself to be a wonderful actor. The chemistry between the two stars is electric, and it's a shame that we'll never see it again. "Goodbye" also won two Emmy Awards, one for best writer (Bob Brush) and the other for best director (Michael Dinner). This is the kind of show that elevates the medium.
"That was a story I planned to do for a year," explains Bob Brush, whose script won an Emmy Award. "When we first came up with the idea of doing the math teacher, there was the premise of a three part arc from the beginning that I wanted to do. I loved the episode, because I thought the whole arc was very poignantly about becoming a man and accepting the keys and responsibility to manhood from the teacher and the master. It was really a rite of manhood, so it was a personal story. The pleasure for me in writing that episode was the fact that I could write it very simply, because I so understood what it had to do and who the characters were. I also had two really fine actors to write for: Fred Savage and Steven Gilborn, who were both wonderful. I was as pleased as l'll ever get with that episode. It certainly meant a lot for me. It had to do with a lot of parts of my own life. The thing that I was probably proudest of about the episode was that in the long run, it was not specifically a weeper, which I never wanted it to be. I thought there was a strength in it. I thought at the end of the episode, where Kevin Arnold walks down the hallway, there was a manliness to him, which I had wanted to accomplish. I wanted an episode where he accepted being a man."
"My favorite show," says Michael Dinner, who also won the Emmy Award for this episode. "In a lot of ways, that was personally important for a lot of reasons. First of all, I think both Fred and Steve Gilborn were fantastic. I think it's a real important episode. It's not just an episode about the effect of a teacher on a student. I think it goes deeper than that. It's almost a father-son relationship on a subliminal level. To me, what was most interesting is that it was about a boy growing up, because I think at the end of it there's a lot of dignity in Kevin's character. I think there's a realization that he's been selfish, unfair and didn't realize what he had been given. He realizes it at the end, and I think that is probably a big leap for that character to make in growing up. You're fond of all the ones you do as a director, they're all your children, but that one is real personal to me, and real personal to Bob Brush. More than anything else, it's about a kid dealing with something real tough to deal with, and coming out of it a little taller. It's not just a kid dealing with death, but someone growing up and realizing his own failings. That's pretty mature. On the surface, beside all that, are two really wonderful performances. Seeing the two of them work together was great, and I think everyone in the cast and crew kind of rose to the occasion."
"We pretty much knew that would be the highlight of the season," says Todd Langen. "Back in the summertime, when we were putting together a three episode math arc, we knew that if we did it right, 'Goodbye' would be the highlight of the season."
"Cocoa and Sympathy"
Original Airdate 5/1/90
Written by Winnie Holzman
Directed by Peter Baldwin
Guest Starring: Sean Baca (Craig Hobson), Brandon Crane (Doug
Porter), Michael Tricario (Randy Mitchell)
As "Cocoa and Sympathy" begins, Norma announces to Jack that she's gotten tickets to a special concert, but Jack has other things to do and suggests one of the kids go with her.
In school, Paul's esteem is particularly low, especially after the "Lisa Berlini Poll" deems him "The Brainiest." His depression carries over to the Arnold household, where Norma tries to cheer him up and Paul takes her every compliment to heart. He jumps at the chance for some cocoa, which is slightly confusing to Kevin. This confusion grows as over the next few days. Paul continues to talk to Norma, getting to know her a little better ... in some ways, better than Kevin himself knew her.
As time goes on, it becomes obvious that Paul has developed a serious crush on her. Paul and Norma go to the concert together, and afterwards she basically sets Paul straight without being too harsh on him, pointing out that he's a very special person that will make a girl happy some day. With that, Paul, still happy, departs the house, his crush effectively ended.
Before the credits roll, Jack, having become aware of Norma's happiness at being treated like a woman rather than a housewife or mother, states that he would like to go to the next concert with her.
"A very simple, little story: Paul having a crush on Norma," says Jill Gordon. "Josh was wonderful, and I loved the jealousy between Paul land Kevin, and what was going on with Norma. The thing we were trying to do is have Kevin see his mother as a woman for the first time. When she lets down Paul, older Kevin says, 'I realized she was breaking my best friend's heart without breaking my best friend's heart.' That's a wonderful moment."
"Daddy's Little Girl"
Original Airdate 5/8/90
Written by Todd W. Langen and Mark B. Perry
Directed by Jim McBride
"Daddy's Little Girl" is growing up, as evidenced in this episode. Nearly 18, Karen is annoyed at the way Jack tries to control her life and the two of them get into another screaming match. The result: Kevin and Wayne are given all kinds of household chores to do. In school the next day, Kevin tries telling Winnie what's going on, but is surprised to find that she's on Karen's side.
As the fights continue, Jack gets angrier but works it out by taking his sons to play golf. Things go very well, with Jack actually sticking up for Karen when Wayne puts her down. When he gets home, Jack remains in a good mood, until Karen announces that she doesn't want a cake, a party or presents for her 18th birthday. Then she leaves the house in the ultimate hippie outfit, leaving Jack to say one thing: "Kevin, tomorrow I want you to mow the lawn."
A few days later, Jack takes Kevin and Wayne shopping for Karen's birthday presents, despite the fact she claimed she didn't want any. Wayne buys her a can of Raid (we're talking class here) and Kevin buys her a diary. As they get ready to leave, Jack announces to the boys that he didn't pick her up anything. As older Kevin points out, dad always bought her a special present every year...how could he not get her one this year?
Kevin dumps some garbage and finds Karen sitting against the garage. He mentions the cake that mom is baking, but she doesn't care about it. He asks her why she always has to be so hard on their father, and wonders why she won't give in this one time. After all, it's not like she'll be there next year once she goes to college. The narrator states that it was perhaps then that the two of them first realized the impact of that statement.
Karen comes into the house and is greeted by a lit birthday cake. Everyone but Jack sings "Happy Birthday" to her. A car horn honks and she's ready to go. Jack tells her she's not leaving until she opens the present from him. She opens it and finds his old kit-bag from the Corps. He was going to get her a new one, but thought she would like this one better for college, or if she goes someplace. Either way, she's got to have something for her clothes and this one got him through a lot of rough times. Tearfully she thanks him and blows out the candles before leaving.
Older Kevin observes that the night of Karen's 18th birthday, when he let her, go out, he let her go, and maybe that's how it has to be. Children leave and parents have to stay behind. Some things, he notes, are deeper than time or distance, and your father will always be your father, and he will always leave a light on for you.
As we've witnessed in the past, Jack Arnold has often had a difficult time dealing with the idea of things slipping by; of losing things that are important to him. The idea of Karen moving out of the house is more than he can deal with, and beyond words. Yet, by episode's end, he knows that it's something as inevitable as taxes and death. Very moving stuff.
"For my own tastes, a little too dramatic," admits Todd Langen. "It didn't have to get quite so heavy at the end. It's one of those episodes that's a father and daughter show, and it was the only one of the season that was really a 'parent' episode. The obvious thing is that she was turning 18, she's graduating high school, she's getting ready to go off in the world. There's the conflict of not only daddy letting go of his child, but daddy letting go of his only girl. That's what that one was built from. Perhaps we didn't spend as much time on it as we would have liked to, but it came out okay at the end."
Mark Perry adds, "With something like 'Daddy's Little Girl,' it was fun to take the basic premise of Karen's 18th birthday and her wanting to exert her independence a little, and then see how that affected the whole family. If dad's losing control over his older daughter, maybe he's going to put his thumb down a little harder on his two sons. I watched them filming the last scene at the birthday party when Jack gives Karen the duffel bag, and there was real atmosphere on the set. You could tell that people were really into what they were doing."
"Our actors always come through for us," says Jill Gordon. "That last scene is such a great moment between Jack and Karen. The evolution of that story had changed so much. At one point that was all about Karen getting married. We discovered what we were trying to say, and that it could be said simply and elegantly in the way it was done."
"Moving"
Original Airdate 5/16/90
Written by Jill Gordon and Bob Brush
Directed by Michael Dinner
Guest Starring: Krista Murphy (Carla Healy), Sean Baca (Craig
Hobson), Bob Stein (Mr. Cantwell), Richard H. Green (Mr. Cooper),
Lynn Milgrim (Mrs. Cooper), Crystal McKellar (Becky Slater),
David Byrd (Jeweler)
"Moving" begins with a narration that is quite similar in tone to the one that opened and concluded the pilot episode of the series, as Kevin describes for us what life in the suburbs was like. This is contrasted by the abrupt statement made by Jack that they ought to sell "this dump." He's found dryrot in the basement.
As summer approaches, Kevin is thrilled at the way his relationship with Winnie is going, but when he comes home he hears his father talking about selling the house again. He starts to grow concerned about the prospect of moving. That night, Kevin makes the announcement that his family is moving, but Winnie feels that they're relationship can withstand any move. Paul, on the other hand, pleads with him not to go, which is the reaction that he wanted Winnie to have.
Back home, Norma is doing Wayne's tie for his new waitering job, when Jack walks in and says that they're going to go through with it. Kevin panics, until he learns that his father's talking about fixing the dryrot-not moving. But then he drops the bombshell: the Coopers are moving. They just thought it would be better if Winnie told him. Kevin is in shock.
He runs across the street to Winnie's house to see if it's true, and finds the "for sale" sign in front of it. Winnie tells him she just found out about it, and that they're only moving four miles away. Even though she's going to be going to another school, Winnie believes that everything will be okay between them. The second punch of a combination blow is that they'll be moving in three weeks.
A couple of days later, Winnie breaks up with Kevin, after realizing that a long distance relationship between them would probably be impossible to maintain. However, the day the Coopers are moving, Kevin stops by to talk to her before heading out for Karen's graduation. Winnie explains that they're putting Brian's stuff in storage, and she believes that this move will be good for her parents in terms of finally coming to grips with the death of their son. Before Kevin takes off, Winnie gives him a ring to bind them, essentially uniting them as a couple.
We dissolve to Karen's graduation, then to the restaurant Wayne works at, with Kevin observing the changes in his family. The final image is of young Kevin getting on his bicycle and beginning the four mile oumey to Winnie's house. As the narrator notes, "Until Winnie left, everything in the world was outside my front door. Maybe the world would have to get a little bigger."
And thus the third season of The Wonder Years comes to a close. Amazingly, this is one of those rarities of television: a series that continues to improve with age.
"I loved that one for lots of reasons," admits Jill Gordon. "It's the only show I took a credit on, because Bob and I sort of babied that one through. I love what's going on with Kevin and Winnie. It's funny, because so many people have said, 'I can't believe you guys are getting rid of Winnie.' We're not getting rid of Winnie. It's just so interesting to see everyone's response to it."
"It turned out very well," says Todd Langen, "part of which had to do with the way Michael Dinner shot it. There were some nice emotional scenes in it, and I think it turned out to be one of the better episodes of the season, and a good season-ending show. The final image of Kevin fixing up his bike because he has a lot of pedalling to do was very nice. It was an upbeat at the end, a message of hope and a message of promise. A nice way to go into the summer again."
Michael Dinner interjects, "The strongest image for me is that Kevin's world is in a state of change, and it's going to get bigger. Just the last shot of that show, with Kevin riding his bicycle to see Winnie .... all of a sudden his world is not just across the street anymore. All of a sudden, there's going to be new problems and new situations, and I think that's what that show is all about.
"For me, the show has been a really great experience," he continues. "I have the ability to do material that's close to me and somehow personalize it. I think the tough thing for directors in episodic is that it's difficult to personalize a lot of the material. Not only am I able to do so on a psychic level, but I'm involved creatively with the show. My job is to come in, do every third or fourth episode and watch over the other directors. Director-producers are becoming more common these days. I think the thinking behind it is to have a consistent tone and look to the show, and to make sure the other directors do what's demanded of the material. I also serve as a sounding board for them and a resource. It's been interesting for me, because directors generally don't like authority figures, and now I'm finding myself a 'suit' on the days I'm not directing. So it becomes interesting. I feel like I'm part of the family, and hopefully we'll continue to do our job correctly."
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