The Wonder Years Quotations

The Wonder Years was an ABC television show, created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens, about a young boy as he faces rites of passage on his way to adulthood.

Pilot [1.1]

Narrator: Nineteen-sixty-eight...I was twelve years old. A lot happened that year. Dennis McLain won thirty-one games..."The Mod Squad" hit the air...And I graduated from Hillcrest Elementary, and entered junior high school. But we'll get to that. There's no pretty way to put this...I grew up in the suburbs. I guess most people think of the suburb as a place with all the disadvantages of the city, and none of the advantages of the country. And vice versa. But, in a way, those really were the wonder years for us there in the suburbs. It was kind of a golden age for kids.

Narrator: It was the first kiss for both of us. We never really talked about it afterward, but I think about the events of that day again and again, and somehow I’m sure that Winnie does too. Whenever some blowhard starts talking about the anonymity of the suburbs, or the mindlessness of the TV generation. Because we know that inside each one of those identical boxes, with its Dodge parked out front, and its white bread on the table, and its TV set glowing blue in the fallen dusk, there were people with stories. There were families bound together with the pain and the struggle of love. There were moments that made us cry with laughter. And there were moments, like that one, of sorrow and wonder.

Swingers [1.2]

Narrator: Like women all over America, my mother confronted tragedy and death with cold ham and Jello salad.

Narrator: Maybe we both realized that growing up doesn’t always have to be a straight line, but a series of advances and retreats. Maybe we just felt like swinging. But whatever it was, Winnie and I made an unspoken pact that day to stay kids for a little while longer.

My Father's Office [1.3]

Narrator: And then sometimes, you knew you shouldn't do it, but you just couldn't help yourself. You gave him lip. I guess we really didn't understand why he was so hard on us sometimes. Because sometimes, and I remember these times so distinctly, my dad could be great. He could be so much fun. You never wanted that feeling to end.

Narrator: When my father had a bad day at work, he'd just sit in the dark by himself and watch TV. We learned early on that this was a danger signal and we adapted our behavior accordingly.

Angel [1.4]

Louis: Don't accept all this death and then justify it. It is wrong! Your friends should be alive... they should be enjoying dinner, and arguing with their kids, just like you are.

Jack: What do you know about it? Who the hell are you to say that?

Louis: You see this, man? This is my draft notice. In two weeks, I can go to jail, I can go to Canada or, I can go get shot, full of holes, like your friend Brian Cooper. You keep thinking the way you do, Mr. Arnold, and these two [points to Kevin and Wayne] will be next. And I just hope that's what they want.

The Phone Call [1.5]

Narrator: There are very few things in life as purely terrifying as calling a twelve-year-old girl on the telephone. Especially a really cute twelve-year-old girl.

Dance With Me [1.6]

Narrator: And so Winnie and I had our one slow dance after all. But things wouldn't be the same between us. We were getting older. And whether we wanted it or not, the Lisa Berlinis and the Kirk McCrays were changing us by the minute. All we could do was close our eyes and wish that the slow song would never end.

Our Miss White [2.2]

Narrator: It was a strange and passionate time. Some of our dreams dissolved into thin air. They almost seem comical now. But some of our dreams are lasting and real.

Christmas [2.3]

Wayne: [About their black and white TV] Hey, I wonder if I shut my eyes almost all the way, and pull my Santa hat over them, I'll see everything in color. [Pulls the hat down] Hey, I think it's actually working a little!

Karen: You guys have a lot to learn. Don't you know anything about psychology?

Narrator: This from a woman who read the CliffNotes for Kahlil Gilbran.

Just Between Me and You and Kirk and Paul and Carla and Becky [2.5]

Kevin: [to Kirk, about Winnie] She's not mad at you. She likes you. She's not sure if she likes you likes you, but she likes you. When she first liked you, she liked you liked you...unless she just thought she liked you when she really just liked you. But she likes you.

Kirk: I knew it...I'm a dead man.

Winnie: Knock, Knock.

Kevin: Who's there?

Winnie: Sam and Janet.

Kevin: Sam and Janet who?

Winnie: Some enchanted evening...

Pottery Will Get You Nowhere [2.6]

Narrator: I could tell my mother was waiting for something. Although she wasn't going to come right out and ask it. She wanted my father to say he liked the bowl. And I'm sure he knew she wanted him to say he liked the bowl. But for some reason, that I don't think any of us understood...he wasn't saying it.

Norma: [to Jack] So what do you think, honey?

Narrator: A direct question. This was a bold and unexpected move.

Jack: Smells great. Let's eat.

Coda [2.7]

Narrator: When you are a little kid, you are better bit of everything - artist, scientist, athlete, scholar. Sometimes, it seems is like a process of giving those things up, one by one. I guess we all have one thing we regret giving up. One thing we really miss. And we gave up because we were too lazy. We couldn't stick it out. Or because we were afraid.

Hiroshima, Mon Frere [2.8]

Kevin: I'm gonna kill him. Smash his brains out. Rip them to pieces. Rip his eyeballs out and roll them down the sewers!

Kevin: No one likes you, Wayne! You're pathetic. [Atomic bomb sound]

Brightwing [2.14]

Karen: I hate to pop your bubble little one, but mom and dad are not the sun and the moon. They are people like you and me.

Narrator: Wrongo, they were mom and dad.

Square Dance [2.15]

Narrator: Some people pass through your life and you never think about them again. Some you think about and wonder what ever happened to them. Some you wonder if they ever wonder what happened to you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do.

Narrator: In 7th grade, who you are is what other 7th graders say you are. The funny thing is it’s hard to remember the names of kids you spent so much time trying to impress.

Whose Woods Are These? [2.16]

Narrator: Maybe every human soul deals with loss and grief in its own way. Some curse the darkness. Some play hide and seek. That night Paul and Winnie and I found something we almost lost. We found our spirit. The spirit of children. The bond of memory. And the next day they tore down Harper’s Woods.

How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation [2.17]

Narrator: She wasn't helping her parents, she wasn't doing anything, she was just standing there. OK, enough was enough, the game was over, let's lay out the cards. And then, for the first time that night, I looked around. The music was playing. Couples were dancing, holding each other tight. But not everybody. And suddenly I began to understand. I wanted to tell Winnie I understood what was happening to her family. I wanted to say something that would give her comfort, something incredibly wise...

Kevin: Sorry.

Winnie: Will you write to me when I'm away?

Narrator: That summer, kids everywhere swam, water-skied, and sailed, while Winnie Cooper struggled to keep her head above water, in a family torn apart by anger, and grief.

Narrator: It was amazing. It was our first kiss since that day last fall in Harper's Woods, the day Winnie's brother Brian died. I'd been waiting to kiss her again all year. And now that it had happened, I felt as confused as ever. There was only one thing I was sure of... I was a man on fire.

Summer Song [3.1]

Narrator: I knew at that moment, that life was not fair. Sure… I'd write to [Teri], and maybe she'd write me - then what? Could we really wait for each other for the next ten or twelve years? It was hopeless. I'd never felt pain like this before in my entire life. It felt…wonderful.

Narrator: When you're thirteen, it's a long way to Albuquerque. Teri told me about getting her learner's permit, and taking her first drive with a stick-shift. She wrote of our night at the beach. She told me she missed me so much that she cried herself to sleep at night. And she promised to write to me, until we saw each other again. I keep that letter in an old shoebox. It was the only letter she ever wrote me.

Math Class [3.2]

Narrator: The transition from summer to fall is a tricky one. Like astronauts returning from space. We had to re-enter the atmosphere of school carefully, so the sudden change in pressure wouldn't kill us.

Narrator: There are times in life when you think you’re lost. When every turn you take seems wrong. Then just for a moment, you see a light. And so I began that long climb into the light. Only this time I wasn’t alone.

Mom Wars [3.4]

Narrator: When you're a little boy, you don't have to go very far to find the center of your universe. Mom. She's always there. It's a pretty good arrangement - when you're five. But around age thirteen, there starts to be... a problem. The problem is...she's always there. And I mean always. Now a mom has to be a mom, but a guy's gotta be a guy. And when an irresistible force meets an immovable object... Sooner or later - something's gotta give.

Narrator: It's a tough time in life, when you are struggling for manhood, and your mother out-weighs you by 50 pounds.

On the Spot [3.5]

Narrator: It was humiliating. I wanted to just walk away. But then, then I realized I couldn't walk away. She looked beautiful. And terrified. And I knew she needed me. Those next few minutes seemed to last a thousand years. Every moment was potential disaster. We were both struggling. And then, a weird thing happened. I was holding the light on Winnie, when everything got very quiet. And I felt something. I don't know what it was. I felt like I was holding her up with that light. That we were connected by the light. And I wouldn't let her fall. No matter what - I wouldn't let her fall. That night I learned something. About courage… And maybe about love.

Narrator: I couldn't exactly say we made theater history that autumn evening… maybe we weren't even very good. The thing is, it didn't matter. We made it though. And the critics were kind. And a week later… Mr. Cooper moved back in with his family.

The Pimple [3.8]

Narrator: I was 13 years old. Being self conscious was a full time job.

Math Class Squared [3.9]

Narrator: Well, I'd learned one thing in advanced math class. I'd learned I was going to fail. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow - but soon, and for the rest of my life.

Narrator: Every kid needs a hero - everybody knows that. They teach us about courage, about ideals… about life. Sometimes heroes are easy to spot. But sometimes… they turn up in unlikely places.

Don't You Know Anything About Women? [3.11]

Narrator: All our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope. All the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect, who might be searching for us.

The Powers That Be [3.12]

Narrator: I wanted them to tell me why they were fighting. Why they kept hurting each other like this. Why it was that the two men who meant the whole world to me...had to act like - children. But most of all, I just wanted them to stop.

Narrator: And for some reason, maybe the way he said it, I began to understand. He wasn't giving me an order. My dad, was asking me for help. That morning, as I stood with the man who was my father... The son of my grandfather, the man who would one day be the grandfather of my sons...I realized something. That not all gifts are simple. That some battles are fought out of love.

She, My Friend and I [3.13]

Narrator: Around the end of 1969 a funny thing happened: 1970. Not that anyone was paying much attention. Still, with a new decade on the books, maybe it was time to heal old wounds, get over old hurts. It was possible. After all. I'd gotten over Winnie Cooper. Yep, Winnie and I were friends now. That incredible smile, the way she tossed her hair, the heart-stopping lilt of her perfume... I was over that.

Narrator: I'd never felt so lost in my life. I tried to make sense of what had happened. I wanted to believe Paul had lied to me. Winnie, too. But somehow, I knew better. I'd been lying to myself. The funny thing is, now that I was sure about my feelings for Winnie... There they were: my best friend and my best girl. I'd brought them together. And now I had no right to interfere.

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre [3.14]

Narrator: Oh, yeah...Love. Once upon a time, it was...simple. If you liked somebody, you let 'em know. And if you didn't, you let 'em know. One way or another, you knew where you stood. But as you get older, communication gets more...complicated.

Narrator: There was only one thing more to say. The simple thing, the brave thing, the thing that was in both our hearts.

Kevin: Wanna…study for our history test?

Winnie: Sure.

Narrator: Face it. We were a long way from kindergarten. And maybe we were learning that speaking from the heart isn't always easy. That afternoon, Winnie and I chose to leave those words hanging warm and unspoken in the winter air between us. But I think we both knew they were there… And we would get to them someday. The thing is, we just didn't have to hurry anymore.

The Tree House [3.15]

Doug: I actually had to hear my dad say genitals.

Narrator: My father and I never had "the talk", and we never finished the treehouse. I guess some things between fathers and sons are left unspoken, and unfinished.

Night Out [3.17]

Winnie: I did want to kiss you. Just not then.

Kevin: Well then when?!

Narrator: I guess maybe that's when I first realized...that love was gonna be much more complicated. And much... more simple...[as they kiss] than I'd ever dreamed.

Faith [3.18]

Wayne: [in reference to Kevin's assignment to write his own obituary] Born a butthead, lived a butthead's life, died a butthead.

Jack: I wake up, I fight traffic, I go to work, I bust my hump all day, I fight traffic again, I come home, and then I pay my taxes. The end.

The Unnatural [3.19]

Narrator: I'm not sure how I did it. My memory begins with the crack of the bat, and the sight of the ball rising. Maybe that's not exactly the way it happened. But that's the way it should have happened, and that's the way I like to remember it. And if dreams and memories sometimes get confused well... that's as it should be. Because every kid deserves to be a hero... every kid already is.

Goodbye [3.20]

Kevin: I thought you were my friend.

Mr. Collins: Not your friend, Mr. Arnold. Your teacher.

Narrator: Teachers never die. They live in your memory forever. They were there when you arrived, they were there when you left. Like fixtures. Once in a while they taught you something. But not that often. And, you never really knew them, any more than they knew you. Still, for awhile, you believed in them. And, if you were lucky, maybe there was one who believed in you.

Daddy's Little Girl [3.22]

Narrator: That night of my sister's 18th birthday, a lot of things happened. Maybe more than she knew. Because that night, when my father let Karen go out, he let Karen go. Maybe that's how it had to be. Children leave. And parents stay behind. Still, some things are deeper than time and distance, and your father will always be your father. And he will always leave a light on for you.

Moving [3.23]

Narrator: There was a time when the world was enormous...Spanning the vast, almost infinite boundaries of your neighborhood. The place where you grew up. Where you didn't think twice about playing on someone else's lawn. And the street was your territory .that occasionally got invaded by a passing car. It was where you didn't get called home until after it was dark. And all the people, and all the houses that surrounded you were as familiar as the things in your own room. And you knew they would never change.

Narrator: Thirteen is a crazy age. You're too young to vote, and too old not to be in love. You live in a house someone else owns...But your dreams are already somewhere else. You face the future armed with nothing but the money you've earned from mowing lawns, and a nine-dollar ring with a purple stone. And you hope against hope...that'll be enough.

Growing Up [4.1]

Narrator: The thing is, we didn't have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves for growing up.

Ninth Grade Man [4.2]

Narrator: It's funny. I remember the time when I knew who I was. But that was eight hours ago. Suddenly I felt on the outside, looking in, looking for... Winnie.

Narrator: Ninth grade man. Noble, upright, virtuous. I went into my last year of Junior High thinking I knew all the answers. And suddenly all I had was questions. Plus a dislocated thumb.

The Journey [4.3]

Narrator: After all if growing up is war, then those friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect. The ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder in a time when nothing is certain when all life lay ahead and every road led home.

The Cost of Living [4.4]

Narrator: Uh-oh! I'd just broken the cardinal rule of child-parent negotiations. Never compare them to their peers.

Narrator: That day... I realized something from this man that I was trying so hard not to be like. He understood the value of money. And the cost of it.

Kevin: Hey - it's too bad about that putt.

Jack: A putt's a putt.

Kevin: Coulda made it, Dad!

Jack: Maybe.

Narrator: I guess Dad knew he could lose a game, and still not lose his manhood. His pride didn't hinge on a stupid shot. Or some shiny new clubs. And I suddenly knew exactly what I wanted to use my money for.

Kevin: Dad! Can I buy you lunch?

Jack: Whatever you say, Kev.

Narrator: It was the first time I ever really said thank you to the man for all he'd given me.

It's a Mad, Mad, Madeline World [4.5]

Narrator: You start out life with a clean slate. Then you begin to make your mark. You face decisions, make choices. You keep moving forward. But sooner or later there comes a time where you look back over where you have been... and wonder who you really are.

Narrator: Life is a series of twists and turns. Things don't always turn out the way you expected. Still, that night I knew I'd turned a corner. As for the future,well, I wasn't worried. I had my girl, had my good name back and would keep it locked on...forever.

A Very Cutlip Christmas [4.9]

Narrator: I stood there, helpless, outnumbered. And that's when it happened. Doug Porter looked first, directly into the eyes of the man who had taught him gym for three long years. Then Tommy Kisling looked, too, and Randy Mitchell. Those three skeptics gazed straight at that white beard, dead into the eyes of Coach Cutlip not thirty feet away. But all that they saw... was Santa Claus. It was a miracle. He stood there like some patron saint of all the lonely people holidays sometimes forget. And for that brief moment of Christmas magic, Ed Cutlip got his chance to be what he always wanted. And I never gave him away.

Narrator: When you're a kid, it's simple. Christmas is magic. It's a time of miracles, when reindeer can fly, and Frosty never melts. Then you get older. Somehow, things change. The magic begins to fade. Until something happens that reminds you, at Christmas time... miracles still can be found. Sometimes in the most unexpected places.

Heartbreak [4.11]

Narrator: Young love is really pretty simple. It's about sharing little inside jokes when the teacher isn't looking. It's about passing notes in the hallway between classes. It's about all the really stupid things you share. It's about going through it, together. Winnie Cooper and I had been through it all. The good times, bad times, the ups and downs. And we were still together. We'd known each other since we were kids. And to me she was still the girl next door - even though she didn't live next door anymore.

Narrator: Back there on our seat... the ride home in the dark seat... there it was- the ring I gave to Winnie; the one she was giving back to me. I looked for her on the other bus but I couldn't find her, she was already lost in the crowd. I knew then that the girl next door was gone. And my life would never be the same again.

Denial [4.12]

Narrator: Love makes you do funny things. It makes you proud. It makes you sorry. That night we talked. About life. About our times together. Maybe we weren't the same two kids we had once been. But some things never change. Some things last. And even though I didn't know what was going to happen to us, or where we were going. I just knew I couldn't let her out of my life.

Who's Aunt Rose? [4.13]

Narrator: I grew up in a neighborhood that was a lot like other neighborhoods. Where the boxes we lived in were distinguished only by the names on the mailboxes, and the cars in the driveways. It was a place where hard-working Americans circled their wagons to protect themselves from the outside world. Our lives were made up of little moments, all delicately intertwined.

Albert: I guess, uh... I guess my cousin, Rose, liked family gatherings more than anyone I've ever known. Even after she had trouble gettin' around, she always loved to have a chance to see the folks. As she liked to call us. Course, lately it seems like the only time we get together is, uh... when there's a wedding, or... or when somebody leaves us.

Narrator: As I stood there, listening to Grandpa's words, a lot of things began to become real for me. Aunt Rose. The loss Gramps was feeling. And why coming here was so important, for all of us.

Albert: But, I can tell you one thing, Rose is not gone from us. She never will be. She will always be a part of us, as long as we remain a family. Part of... the folks. Part of who we are. Even for those who really didn't know her very well.

Narrator: I guess that's when I understood what my grandfather had been trying to explain to me. That my life was bigger than the little neighborhood I lived in. And that these strangers who surrounded me, weren't just relatives, they were my family. And the death of one affected each of us in some way.

Courage [4.14]

Narrator: Over the course of the average lifetime you meet a lot of people. Some of them stick with you through thick and thin. Some weave their way through your life and disappear forever. But once in a while someone comes along who earns a permanent place in your heart.

Narrator: [At] fourteen true heroism has less to do with actual logic and more to do with pure stupidity.

Buster [4.15]

Narrator: Every American family has its own unique blend of personalities, my family was no exception. Within our four suburban walls we ranged the full spectrum of types. From the flamboyant, to the demure. From the repellant, to the ideal. Somehow, we managed to fit together in a kind of fragile alliance. One for all, and all for one. With one exception: Buster - the family dog.

Narrator: And over the years, through good times and bad... through seasons of hope and change, he stood by us all. A silent partner. The first one to greet me at the door when I came home from my senior prom. The one who stared out our front window, on the day I left for college. And my mom said he stayed there for hours.

Road Trip [4.16]

Narrator: The biggest thing in a young boy's world is his dad. You do what he says. You do what he does. He's your guide through the mysteries of manhood - your confidant. Your pal. Until the day comes when, for some reason, things change. Your confidant becomes... that guy on the other end of the couch.

Narrator: We didn't talk any more on the way home than we did on the way out. But, maybe we listened a little bit more... To what was being said inside us.

When Worlds Collide [4.17]

Narrator: There were no two ways about it. When I was fourteen… I was a pretty cool kid. Not in the ninety-ninth-percentile of coolness, maybe, but definitely top third of my class. I knew the walk. I knew the talk. I had my own kinda... style. But, like a lot of cool kids my age, I did have one tragic flaw. One terrible secret that threatened the very fabric of my fragile image. I, Kevin Arnold, had a mom.

Narrator: She poured my milk, she sewed my buttons... Face it. The woman loved me. She knew me better than anyone in the world. Which, of course, was the problem. She knew...too much.

The Yearbook [4.19]

Narrator: In junior high school image is everything. A dance with masks. A fight to fit in. Maybe it's a struggle that lasts a lifetime. For most of us, anyway.

The Accident [4.20]

Narrator: There are things about your childhood you hold onto... because they were so much a part of you. The places you went, the people you knew. Somewhere, in every memory I had, was Winnie Cooper. I knew everything about her. What I didn't know was that she was falling apart.

Narrator: And I guess that's when I finally understood. I'd been part of Winnie's past, a past she wanted to forget. And now... there was nothing to do... but go. Only I didn't. I couldn't. There are things in a life that matter, things in a past which can't be denied. Winnie Cooper was part of me, and I was part of her. And no matter what, for as long as we lived, I knew I could never let her go.

The House That Jack Built [4.21]

Narrator: Men came home from a just, and noble war. It was a place where peace-of-mind came by the square foot. Where the space between every linoleum floor, and shingled roof... was to be filled with children. And dreams. And where, into every inch of concrete, hard working men poured their values. My father was one of those men. His values were simple. As solid as the walls of the house he took care of. And he trusted the preservation of those four walls to nothing less than his own two hands. With maybe a little help from my two hands.

The Lake [5.1]

Narrator: I wanted to stay there, in that night... more than anything I wanted before. But I knew I couldn't. I was fifteen. I slept under a roof my father owned, in a bed my father bought. Nothing was mine, except my heart, and my fears. And my growing knowledge that not every road was going to lead home anymore.

Day One [5.2]

Mr. Botner: Now, Botner's rules for study hall. Numero uno -

Kevin: Ah man.

Mr. Botner: Arnold! Do you have a problem?

Kevin: No....I....ah

Mr. Botner: Oh come on, Arnold. I'm sure whatever you have to say is very important. After all, we can wait here as long as it takes. Even if it's all evening.

Narrator: That first week of high school, as I watched our class band together. I realized something about these strangers I'd just met. Strangers I hardly knew. Strangers who were just like me. We were all sharing the same feelings. The same fears, the same loneliness. We were just starting out, and there was only one direction to go. So we went - together.

Frank and Denise [5.4]

Narrator: Poets say love comes and goes in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, in high school, it goes more than it comes.....And then from somewhere, I don't know - it just came to me.

Kevin: Love is a river, flowing where we know not. The wound is deep, yet the river is wide.

Denise: That's beautiful.

Narrator: Maybe it was a dream. Or maybe I was crazy. Maybe Denise "The Grease" only knew one way to kiss. Or maybe, the most voluptuous girl at McKinley high, had just fallen for Kevin Arnold.

Road Test [5.11]

Narrator: That night my dad taught me a lot. How to parallel park. Why you put away the lawnmower. And, in some small way, what it takes to grow up. That Monday, he took the afternoon off, and we went and got my license. He was so proud. Then, he took it away...and grounded me for a month.

Grandpa's Car [5.12]

Narrator: Every culture has its own rites of passage. Ways of marking that leap from childhood to manhood. Complex rituals, weird dances, acts of courage and survival. It's a tradition as old as civilization. Or, as recent as crabgrass. Fact. In the suburbs, a boy's first steps towards manhood start behind a lawnmower. Still, for me, at sixteen, lawn care had given way to something much, much, more important. The driver's license. The thing that separates the boys from the men. And so on, and so forth...

Private Butthead [5.14]

Narrator: Love is never simple. Not for fathers and sons. We spend our lives full of hope and expectations. And most of the time we are bound to fail. But that afternoon as I watched my father sheltering his son against a future that was so unsure, all I knew was they didn’t want to let each other down anymore.

Double Double Date [5.16]

Narrator: And then I kissed her, on the eye, and then she kissed me, on the eye.

Narrator: But the thing is, that was all we did. Maybe it was happening too fast. Maybe we wanted to hold on to what we had. Or maybe we both knew there were other things we had to find before we found each other. All we really knew for sure was, as we sat there, looking out over the lights of the town where we had grown up together, it all felt right. It all felt...perfect.

Hero [5.17]

Narrator: I guess magic doesn’t last forever no matter how much you wish it would. Destiny can turn on a dime and cut like a knife.

Narrator: Some heroes pass through your life and disappear in a flash. You get over it. But the good ones. The real ones. The ones who count….stay with you for the long haul. The thing is after all these years I couldn’t tell you the score of the game. What I remember is sitting in that diner, up late being young. Drinking coffee with the only real hero I ever knew. My Dad, Jack Arnold. Number 1.

Lunch Stories [5.18]

Narrator: When it came to inferiority complexes, this guy had them all.

Carnal Knowledge [5.19]

Narrator: If there’s one thing every kid needs growing up, it’s a best friend. Someone you trust. Someone who trusts you. Someone you measure yourself against. You go through everything together. Important things. Stupid things. Things that matter. Things that don’t.

Back to the Lake [5.23]

Cara: Hey! Send me a Christmas card?

Kevin: I will.

Narrator: But, I didn't. After all, when you're sixteen, eight months is a lifetime. And time had moved on. For both of us.

Broken Hearts and Burgers [5.24]

Narrator: When you’re 16, passions run high. A simple misunderstanding becomes a matter of life or death. You live from moment to moment. And sometimes, when you’re 16, the only way to get your love back is to take it.

Homecoming [6.1]

Narrator: They say men are children. But sometimes children are men. Maybe that’s where the confusion lies. All I knew was, that night the world seemed suddenly very big. And I felt very small.

Narrator: 1972 was a crazy time. Kids played football, drove cars, went to school, celebrated life. While soldiers, heroes, their brothers struggled to find their way home from war. And young boys watched and grew wiser in their dreams.

Fishing [6.2]

Narrator: The hardest part of growing up is having the ones you've always turned to, turn to you.

White Lies [6.6]

Narrator: They say hindsight's twenty-twenty, and I guess it's true. Because as I stood outside Winnie's house that night, I suddenly saw it all so clearly. I'd sold both of us short, by taking something that most people never have and throwing it away for something less. I'd been in such a hurry to impress people that didn't matter, I'd torn apart the only ones who did...us.

The Test [6.9]

Narrator: If there’s one thing every kid learns growing up, it’s that life is a series of risks. It’s a cause and effect relationship. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Still, with the proper guidance we learn to deal with the risks. Pretty soon we set out into the world, sure in our options, confident in our choices.

Narrator: Like some kind of biblical curse, the SATs had descended on our class, reducing even the most intelligent among us to a state of flop sweats.

Hulk Arnold [6.15]

Narrator: At some point in your teenage years, if you're lucky, you make a discovery. You find out you're actually good at something. It's that critical juncture, where talent becomes...expertise - kinda. It's your chance to start or, end up flat on your face.

Coach: Why'd you let him pin you like that?

Narrator: Course, looking back, I probably just should have promised to do better. But instead -

Kevin: Yeah, well...you know, these shorts are really hard to wrestle in.

Narrator: ...I made excuses.

The Little Women [6.19]

Kevin: By the way, congratulations on your SAT scores.

Winnie: Thanks.

Narrator: I mean, no sense being pigheaded. The way I saw it - the world was big enough for all of us. And besides, so what if women could influence government, take over big business, alter domestic policy, dominate education, make the world a better place. In one important respect, we had still a lot to teach them. Yep, when it came to being jerks, they still had a lot to learn.

Narrator: And why not? After all, she was my girl. And I knew that she understood that in some small way my achievements were her achievements.

Independence Day [6.22]

Narrator: Once upon a time there was a girl I knew that lived across the street. Brown hair, brown eyes. When she smiled, I smiled. When she cried, I cried. Every single thing that happened to me that mattered, in some way, had to do with her. That day Winnie and I promised each other that no matter what, we'd always be together. It was a promise full of passion and truth and wisdom. It was the kind of promise that could only come from the hearts of the very young.

Narrator: Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house like a lot of other houses, a yard like a lot of other yards, on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back, with wonder.

Cast

Fred Savage - Kevin Arnold
Danica McKellar - Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper
Daniel Stern - Narrator/Adult Kevin
Olivia d'Abo - Karen Arnold
Josh Saviano - Paul Pfeiffer
Alley Mills - Norma Arnold
Jason Hervey - Wayne Arnold
Dan Lauria - Jack Arnold