Alicia
I love this movie so much
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
scott7680
(cue the movie trailer voice guy>) In a world where Breaking Bad and The Wire (both incredible shows) both score 9.4 and The Wonder Years only scores 8.2. (end the movie trailer voice guy)...Seriously though...this is a travesty. I honestly couldn't believe that The Wonder Years didn't score higher. Granted that this is a deeply personal show for me...but judging from the other reviews, it seems to be a deeply personal show for a lot of people. What is amazing about The Wonder Years is its ability to relate cross generations. I'm not going to talk specifically about any one episode because there are too many and no one here wants to read about my life story, but bear with me. I was born in 1980...so when I started watching The Wonder Years I was 8 and it ended when I was 13.....pretty much my formative years as a child. Watching the show during this time even as a child it was important to me. As a child, I could relate to Kevin or at least some of the other characters on a level where the understanding to me had everything to do with his experiences as a child and not a whole lot for the generation in which he lived his life. It worked for my parents because the show both created nostalgia to the time period in which they grew up as well and holding nostalgic memories of experiences that they may have had in common with the characters. Watching this show later in life only further showed me how great a show this truly was. Viewing this show 20+ years later you are able to see the show in a completely different light. While I'm not able to share in the nostalgia of the time period...as my parents...I am able to better relate to teenage Kevin....and his parents, grandparents, and dare I even say his jackass of a brother Wayne. If I wrote this review at another time I might be able to write a better one, but I am writing this on pure emotion and I can honestly tell you that this was one of the best shows ever made for television. The creators and the writers knew exactly what they were doing and it showed. Perhaps the Wonder Years was a little too far ahead of its time...or maybe America is all the stupider. I just feel bad for the kids of today that have no clue of this show. It is a damn shame that they won't either until licensing fees are worked out and and they can actually get this show on DVD. They need to do it right though. They can't leave out or replace the music because in blended in and complimented the show to a point that to leave it out would be to savagely diminish the quality....(sigh) Until then I'll have to rely on my bootleg copies and keep reminding the world that The Wonder Years even existed in the first place.
hnt_dnl
Retrospectively, I believe THE WONDER YEARS (premiered in 1987) to be a top 10 all time show. The great thing about this show is that it has something for everyone. It evokes memories for two generations of viewers (1) Since it premiered in the late 80s (and carried over into the early 90s), it reminds those of us who were lucky enough to see all the popular shows of the time. For me, some of my favorite shows came out during this era. And (2) Since it's set in the late 60s/early 70s, it vividly evokes a time and place for viewers that lived during that era.The true genius of The Wonder Years is that regardless of the fact that it was an "80s/90s" show and set in the "60s/70s", it truthfully presented growing pains of it's central character Kevin Arnold (brilliantly played be series star Fred Savage, who was nominated for a Best Actor Emmy for his work). At the time of the show's run, I really overlooked how difficult it must have been for this young actor to carry such a well-written, conceived show. Savage was so good, he should have taken home at least ONE Emmy for his work! The show itself actually took home the Emmy for Best Comedy Series after only it's first SIX episodes! It's like the Emmys actually had foresight and knew this show was going to be special. Too bad they now don't have hindsight and either award the wrong shows are over-award certain shows and actors to the detriment of other great shows and actors.Savage was just so good in this role, as good or better than many adult actors. Another brilliant stroke of genius that made this show work was the narration by an unseen-only heard Daniel Stern (voice of the adult Kevin). When I first watched the show, I thought the narration was a bit much at times, but in re-watching old eps, the narration is a huge reason that many scenes and moments worked. The intermingling of the narrator dialogue (Kevin's future inner voice) with Kevin's situation at the time was perfectly done, with just the right doses of humor, sarcasm, wit, and gravitas.Savage was working with a great supporting cast: Dan Lauria and Alley Mills (as Kevin's parents Jack and Norma Arnold), Jason Hervey (as Kevin's butthead of a big brother Wayne!), Olivia D'abo (as Kevin's flower-child sister Karen, the oldest of the siblings), Josh Saviano (as Kevin's nerdy best friend Paul), and Danica McKellar (as Kevin's eternal youthful infatuation and first love Winnie Cooper). These actors played well off of Savage and the show did a masterful job of always telling the story from Kevin's point of view, with the other characters reactionary, but at the same time, giving us glimpses into their personalities.The Wonder Years touched upon pretty much every big theme of a pre-teen/teenager's life: puberty, Kevin's crushes on girls and one of his teachers, the sibling rivalry between Kevin and Wayne, Kevin's being bullied (ironically mostly from a girl, the recurring character Becky!), summer camp, first date, Kevin running for class president, Kevin's perspective on his parents, etc., but also issues of the time like the Vietnam War. The main thing is that Kevin was always portrayed as a normal kid with normal kid issues, flaws, thoughts, behavior, but it was always presented in a poignant, humorous, heartwarming manner. After all these years, the show doesn't even look dated at all! Capturing the essence of the era that it's set in, coming out at a time when television entertainment was at it's apex, and excellently fusing these two qualities together, The Wonder Years is an all time show!
JJ Fuentes
I was born in 1980, so by 1988 I was still a little young (8yrs old) and not interested in TV other than cartoons. When I started watching this amazing show in the mid 90s (when the series was officially over but had reruns going nonstop) I was so taken by it. Not because it made me reflect on my childhood (because I was right smack in the middle of it) but because I had a big crush on Winnie and it was funny. It also gave me a little insight to suburb life which intrigued me because I was born & raised in Harlem, NYC.Fast forward 20yrs to present day. I'm now 31yrs old (OK OK, so I'm not an old man yet) and I find that Netflix has FINALLY released this fabulous series on Instant streaming. Understand that I had been looking for this series on DVD or other wise for some time (I don't have cable so I can't catch the reruns on TV), so I was overjoyed when I added it to my queue and started watching it a couple of days ago. It was every bit as great as I remembered it, PLUS MORE!!! NOW I was able to enjoy it because of how it cause me to reflect on my childhood. After moving from NYC to the suburbs in my early youth, I could relate to a lot of what Kevin Arnold went through and how the narrator (old Kevin Arnold) saw things through his own eyes. Let me tell you, this show made me cry when I was young because I was such a fan of the Winnie & Kevin relationship.... now this show made me cry again!! I'm only on season 3 right now, but every single episode has plucked on my heart strings and played a tune of love, laughter, loss, rebellion, reflection, failure and victory. I wasn't born and raised in the 60s, but this show makes me wish I was.I HIGHLY recommend this series to those raised in the pre-digital age, those who witnessed the birth of the digital age, and all those poor unlucky saps who were raised in the 80s and have not had the chance to watch it yet!!! Bonus: If you're a big movie & TV buff like me, you're gonna see a LOT of familiar faces when they were young! I've already seen a young Screech & Zack Morris from Saved By The Bell, a young Larenz Tate, and a couple of actors from some Christian videos I used to see when I was young (anyone remember Mcgee & Me??).
efrainerodriguez
Having grown up in the 80's, The Wonder Years easily became my favorite show. I was 13 when it debuted, and it was amazing how I related to it (I think everybody could). I had a nerdy best friend (like Paul - even looked like him!) who I usually ended up sticking up for (I remember giving more than one beat down to people who picked on him when he wasn't watching). I even had a female close friend for all my high school and college years who I was madly in love with, but alas, to her I was never more than just a really good friend. But putting all that aside, the show itself was entertaining and educating. It helped me mature - which is something no TV show does nowadays (I'm so fed up with reality TV, I don't even watch network TV anymore).To this day, the finale is bittersweet, and for a very insensitive guy, it brings me to tears. To think that after everything they went through, while Winnie became his "first," they did not end up together - just broke my heart(no matter how real that was). The fate of Kevin's dad was sad too, though it seems everything else turned out fine.The Wonder Years isn't just 80's gold - it's TV gold. Not to sound like an old man, but they don't make TV that good anymore... A modern day reunion would be better than anything on TV nowadays. As for me - I lost touch with my female friend for many years - she lives in the states but went to Europe for awhile. We've gotten back in touch, and ironically enough, when she returns, I plan to greet her and introducing her to my 8 year old son and wife. One more lesson I learned from The Wonder Years - never underestimate the value of a good friend... And if being a really good friend to someone is as far as a relationship takes you - appreciate what you've got.
