More Americans were children of the ‘60s—or children in the ‘60s—than at any other time. Little wonder that 20 years on, one of the most successful television programs was focused on growing up in those years. “The Wonder Years” (1988-1993) has been released in one of the most over the top DVD sets ever: all six seasons, plus a hardcover picture book and a sheet of era-appropriate stickers (dig that peace symbol!) are packaged in a metal canister resembling the school lockers where Kevin Arnold (played by Frank Savage) kept his books and things as the show progressed from junior through senior high.
Conceived by Neal Marlens and Carol Black (with what looks like genuine inspiration from their youth), “The Wonder Years” had many things going for it: humor, even moments of wit and irony; an acute awareness of many aspects of being 12 (or 13-17), including bodies changing rapidly in a time of rapid social change. News from Vietnam was the white noise in the background. The neighborhood cool dude (glimpsed in episode one) was drafted (and dead by episode two). Liberal use was made of period music (which, for a change, struck many of the right notes in the soundtrack).
The protagonist, Kevin, was more attuned to baseball scores and his own rising interest in girls than in war, protest and politics. Mom was the archetypal middle-class housewife of the period, an intermediary between the kids and her husband, who trudged home from the office Monday-Friday in an irritable daze, ready for dinner and a stiff drink. Mouthing readymade clichés, Kevin’s older hippie sister was the closest character to a caricature; then again, some hippies were caricatures.
Although the persistent use of voice-over narration to tell the story from the benefit of hindsight became a tiresome device, and sweetness sometimes turned cloying, “The Wonder Years” was innovative TV in its day. It deserved the shelf of awards it won.
