# The Wonder Years **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101 "2019-05-17T06:29:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/1 "2019-05-17T06:29:23Z")
I haven’t seen it in a long, very long time, but just came across an episode. Holy cow. What a great show: so wonderful in so many ways; humour, reality, music, love, family, memories. But the music! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/2 "2019-05-17T10:51:01Z")
I liked the early seasons best. The characters were kids and more likeable. Kevin got a bit moody in the later seasons. There were some good episodes but there were more I didn’t want to see again. I agree the music on the show was really good. It became a legal problem for the dvd release. It was delayed for years because they couldn’t get all those artists to grant the rights. I’ve been told the dvds have some song substitutions to get around unresolved copyright issues. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/3 "2019-05-17T12:53:52Z")
I loved that show (well, didn’t everybody)? First memory: big brother Wayne busting into Kevin’s room with a vacuum cleaner…“Hamster Patrol!” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/4 "2019-05-17T13:02:07Z")
It’s the music that kept it held up for years and years. No full seasons were released for public purchase until 2016. They were able to retain 96% of the music originally used. I don’t know if they paid up all the licensing fees, which must have been collectively enormous, or they made some sort of other arrangement. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/5 "2019-05-17T14:29:27Z")
If they made it today it would be set in 1999. We’re OOOOOLLLLDDDD! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/6 "2019-05-17T17:08:28Z")
Agreed, it holds up. Even if they used obvious fake music, it would still hold up because of the quality of the scripts and the amazing performances they got out of the kid actors. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/7 "2019-05-17T17:33:03Z")
^Yeah, it’s weird to think _The Goldbergs_–set in the 80s, when I grew up–is set longer ago than _The Wonder Years_ was when it was airing. I am freakin’ old! I want to watch this again from the beginning. I was about the same age as Kevin when the show started and I related to him a lot. I never saw the last couple of seasons, though. Fred Savage (Kevin) has done less and less acting and more directing (TV, mainly). Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper) has become a regular in the Hallmark Christmas movies. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/8 "2019-05-17T17:39:08Z")
I was always impressed at the portrayal of living in the suburbs. The show reflected my childhood so well. The clothes were spot on. They did a good job. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/9 "2019-05-17T19:10:17Z")
Winnie Cooper was my girlfriend when I was a kid. At least in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/10 "2019-05-20T14:37:26Z")
It was a great show. On the same level to me is Freaks & Geeks. I miss them both. Now I’m getting my 70s fix from The Kids Are Alright. LOVE the clothes and home decor! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/11 "2019-05-20T15:40:03Z")
I dislike The Goldbergs intensely, can’t really say why. And I enjoyed the actual 80’s, myself…I do adore The Wonder Years, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/12 "2019-05-20T17:13:41Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > It was a great show. On the same level to me is Freaks & Geeks. I miss them both. > > Now I’m getting my 70s fix from The Kids Are Alright. LOVE the clothes and home decor! I also really like all three of those shows (The Wonder Years, Freaks & Geeks and The Kids Are Alright). Sadly, though, ABC cancelled The Kids Are Alright. That was, I think, my favorite new show and regularly laughed at the episodes. For those unfamiliar with it, it’s about an Irish Catholic family in early 1970s Southern California, with eight boys (along with the mom and dad, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/13 "2019-05-20T21:05:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I also really like all three of those shows (The Wonder Years, Freaks & Geeks and The Kids Are Alright). Sadly, though, ABC cancelled The Kids Are Alright. That was, I think, my favorite new show and regularly laughed at the episodes. For those unfamiliar with it, it’s about an Irish Catholic family in early 1970s Southern California, with eight boys (along with the mom and dad, of course). _The Kids Are Alright_ probably would have worked better with two or at most three kids. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/14 "2019-05-20T21:20:10Z")
Perhaps but one of the things I like is that the creator/writer managed to make each of the kids (well at least the seven older ones, not the baby) distinctive and even to feature many of them in an episode. Counting a couple of peripheral characters, we might see ten or eleven characters in one episode. I think it’s well done. Plus this is supposed to be based on real life, much as The Goldbergs is, and I assume Tim Doyle had about that many siblings. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/15 "2019-05-21T00:21:03Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I dislike The Goldbergs intensely, can’t really say why. And I enjoyed the actual 80’s, myself…I do adore The Wonder Years, though. Me too. 1. The mother is a narcissistic shrew. 2. The endless mugging is tiresome. 3. The musical production numbers are a joke. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/16 "2019-05-21T14:13:32Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I dislike The Goldbergs intensely, can’t really say why. And I enjoyed the actual 80’s, myself…I do adore The Wonder Years, though. I like The Goldbergs, but I can see why someone would dislike it. Everyone is over the top. My favorite part of every show is at the end when they show the actual Adam Goldberg family video that the episode was based on. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/17 "2019-05-21T16:47:55Z")
> [@seal\_cleaner](#): > > Me too. > > 1. The mother is a narcissistic shrew. > 2. The endless mugging is tiresome. > 3. The musical production numbers are a joke. Yes, the Goldbergs are so over the top. It’s so much of a period piece, their wigs and clothes and endless musical numbers are laughable. The Wonder Years had real heart and soul, and brought on tears as much as laughter and nostalgia. The Goldbergs are just clowns. (Just my opinion, it is still on the air and has rave reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes.) And what is it with some of the actor’s voices? Their enunciation is loud and stilted, as if English was a second language and they were being very very careful to communicate. It’s obvious in the promotion where the kid stands there blaring out information and that dam mother in the bad wig says he smells like graham crackers. :mad::eek::rolleyes::mad: ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/18 "2019-05-21T16:54:34Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I like The Goldbergs, but I can see why someone would dislike it. Everyone is over the top. My favorite part of every show is at the end when they show the actual Adam Goldberg family video that the episode was based on. I agree that part of the show is a lot of fun. I like The Goldbergs, although I liked the earlier seasons better than the later ones. And in particular, I liked the relationship between Adam and his grandfather. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/19 "2019-05-22T02:22:31Z")
Yeah, they’re all good shows, nearly as good as [Undeclared](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0273028/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1). It wasn’t a nostalgia show when it first aired (2001), but could serve that role now. It was a nice “what happened next” after Freaks and Geeks. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101/20 "2019-05-22T16:08:03Z")
My main problem with the first few episodes of The Goldbergs that I sampled is it isn’t really set in a specific year but rather just THE 80s. It would make references to things that happened years apart from each other. Maybe they fixed that as the shows went on but it bothered me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-years/834101.md?page=2)