Premiering after the Super Bowl XXII in 1988, The Wonder Years was unlike anything on television at the time. A single camera series, equal parts comedy and drama, it was set twenty years earlier, unfolding in real-time as Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) attempts to navigate the transition from adolescence through teenage years in the midst of the Vietnam War and a time of radical societal change.

Kevin and his family are firmly rooted in middle class suburbia. Football games in the street are the norm, fear of serious crime, minimal. Kevin’s best friend is the nerdy but dependable Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano) and the girl who initially lives next door; Gwendolyn “Winnie” Cooper (Danica McKellar) is Kevin’s crush-turned-girlfriend. His mother Norma (Alley Mills) is a housewife, who initially seems quite content taking care of things at home, while her husband Jack (Dan Lauria) a stern but caring man, spends his days “pushing paper” at NORCOM, a defense contractor. Then there’s Wayne (Jason Hervey), Kevin’s boorish older brother and pretty, rebellious older sister Karen (Olivia d’Abo).

Daniel Stern’s (Home Alone) narration (offering Kevin’s reflections as a man in his mid-30’s), seem to give everything a deeper emotional meaning: cue Stern’s voice, and whatever he had to say, made you laugh or cry. The series pilot set the tone for the show: After being picked on at lunch, Kevin tries to leave to leave the lunchroom with an apple as the Principal stands guard. As the Principal confronts Kevin about it, he throws the apple back into the lunchroom. After his parents are called and must take him home early, he fully expects to be punished. However, that all changes when they arrive home to the news that Winnie’s older brother Brian, just 19, has been killed in Vietnam. One minute you’re laughing, the next minute an emotional punch in the gut; something that would become a familiar theme for fans of The Wonder Years. While you didn’t always know what was coming, it was realistic.

Though the first season was only six episodes, it won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and made Fred Savage, then 13, the youngest person ever to be nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series. Over its six season run, The Wonder Years was nominated for 28 Emmy Awards and won four.

In hindsight, it’s easy to see why The Wonder Years hit a chord with viewers from the start. Kids born in the late seventies, early eighties grew up alongside Kevin Arnold; their parents, perhaps like Daniel Stern’s narrator, long to remember their own youth, twenty years earlier. Almost anyone who grew up in middle class suburbia can identify with Kevin’s desire to carve out a niche for himself in a society that preached uniformity. It’s a credit to the series producers and writers that while the show covered Kevin’s life from 1968 to 1973, ages 12 to 17, nothing feels particularly dated. Because the show was stylistically ahead of its time, the universal themes of breaking up and making up, school elections, lust for a new girl, etc. seem just as fresh today as when they first aired. Kevin, Paul, Winnie, Wayne, Karen, and so on, all remind us of someone we have known in the past or the present, and there’s some comfort in that. And we all, like Winnie and Kevin, have (or will) experience the ups and downs of first love.

The entire cast of The Wonder Years is superb. However, it’s the work of Fred Savage that truly made the show the classic that it is. A surprisingly nuanced actor at a very young age, he handles the Pilot’s surprisingly emotional twist with a quiet confidence that would reappear throughout the series run. Unlike a lot of young actors, he never seemed to overplay a scene.

For many years, The Wonder Years remained unreleased on any official DVD largely due to music rights issues. As anyone familiar with the series knows, music is an integral part of things, indicating time and place, setting the mood, explaining motivations, etc. Legendary artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan, Carole King and many more are all part of the musical tapestry that helped to make The Wonder Years the show that it is.

With this release, StarVista/Time-Life has been able to secure most of the music rights, with just 15 exceptions, listed here: On the episode “Phone Call”, Romeo & Juliet’s love theme was replaced with Star Crossed Lovers. On “Dance With Me”, The Letter by Joe Cocker was replaced with the Box Tops version of the song and Herman’s Hermits’ version of There’s A Kind Of Hush was replaced with a rerecording by the Craggy Blue Project. “Heart Of Darkness” had two replacements. Riders On The Storm by the Doors was replaced with Children Of The Night. Beatles song Here Comes The Sun recorded by Richie Havens was replaced by a Train To Nowhere by the Replacements. On “Who’s Woods Is It Anyway” Blood, Sweat, and Tears recording of the Theme by Erik Satie was replaced with Le Suenne Fite.

The episode “How I Am Spending My Summer Vacation” replaced the Doors’ Light My Fire with Love’s On Fire while the episode “Summer Song” replaced Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ Spinning Wheel with a rerecording by David Clayton Thomas. On “Family Car”, Neil Young’s Long May You Run was replaced with Keep Your Motor Running. On “Wayne on Wheels”, Romeo & Juliet Theme was again replaced by Star Cross Lovers. On the episode “Treehouse”, Doris Day’s Whatever Will Be Will Be was replaced with Call The Whole Thing Off. On the episode “Little Debbie”, Tammy by Liberace was replaced with a song called Sammy. Clip Show, had the scene from “Heart of Darkness” with Here Comes The Sun replaced with “Train To Nowhere” again. The episode “Kevin Delivers” dropped Blood Sweat, and Tears’ You’ve Made Me So Very Happy with a rerecording by David Clayton Thomas. On the episode “Alice In Autoland”, Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together was replaced with a rerecording by him. On the final episode “Independence Day”, the song Mission was replaced with Pastorale. All other music is intact and over 100 episodes are completely unaffected.

Feature all 115 episodes, this 26 DVD set is presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. It was a bit disappointing to find the pilot in pretty rough shape. The colors are noticeably washed out and lines appear frequently throughout the broadcast. Thankfully, things improve markedly from there on in, while there isn’t much in the way of detail, everything is perfectly watchable and colors are much brighter. As you might expect, the quality gets better as the seasons go on, but it will never be mistaken for a present day show. One would have hoped for a full remastering job, but that clearly didn’t happen here. Having waited years for this series, this is likely as good as it will ever be.

The English 2.0 Dolby Digital track isn’t particularly special, but it’s loud and clear throughout. There are a few balancing issues here and there, when it comes to voices with music, but it shouldn’t affect overall enjoyment. There is some light distortion here and there as well, but all and all, it’s a very listenable track. Dialogue is clear and concise.

There are no subtitles included.

The extras are impressive:

The 26 DVDs are packaged in two separate binder-like books. Each binder contains an episode guide featuring a description of each episode and several interesting pieces of trivia. There is also a yearbook that contains numerous photos and provides information on each cast member. There is also a sheet of magnets (they can also be used as stickers if preferred), that can be adhered to The Wonder Years locker everything comes in.

The discs themselves are loaded:

Season 1: Disc 2:

  • Highlights From The Wonder Years Cast Reunion – May 28, 2014 (SD, 20:24) Fred Savage, Danica McKellar, Alley Mills, Olivia d’Abo, Josh Saviano and Jason Hervey sit together and reminisce for the first time in 16 years.  At one point, the setting changes to a mock up of the old Arnold family kitchen. Dan Lauria joins in, and as their characters, they have an Arnold family chat.
  • With A Little Help From My Friends: The Early Days Of The Wonder Years (SD, 24:36) A retrospective on the origins of the show, and casting the main characters.  Features interviews with creators, cast, production designers and more.
  • Interviews With – Full interviews from the sessions used in the “Early Days’ featurette”
    • Creators Neal Marlens & Carol Black (SD, 33;55)
    • Fred Savage: Kevin Arnold (SD, 29:26)
    • Danica McKellar: Winnie Cooper (SD, 12:18)
    • Josh Saviano: Paul Pfeiffer (SD, 21:35)

Season 2: Disc 4

  • School Days: Roundtable With Danica McKellar, Fred Savage and Josh Saviano (SD, 7:52)The three discuss the school sets for the show, and their make-shift high school education during the shooting of the show.
  • The Times They Are A-Chaingin’: The Era (SD, 28:47) A retrospective focusing on the era, the characters/actors growing up in and how it affected some of the narratives on the show.
  • Interviews:
    • Daniel Stern: Narrator (SD, 31:00)
    • Dan Lauria: Jack Arnold (SD, 20:45)
    • Alley Mills: Norma Arnold (SD, 33:36)

Season 3: Disc 4

  • Hall Pass: Roundtable With Danica McKellar, Fred Savage And Josh Saviano (SD, 7:54) More from this roundtable that began on Season 2: Disc 4.  This time they discuss the magic of the show and why it’s resonated with people for so long.  They also discuss the episode “Carnal Knowledge” and how happy they are that the show is finally on DVD.
  • A Family Affair: At Home With The Arnolds (SD, 26:35) A featurette concerning the family dynamic on the show and the genuine chemistry between the cast.
  • Interviews:
    • Olivia d’Abo: Karen Arnold (SD, 33:36)
    • Jason Hervey: Wayne Arnold (SD, 23:32)
    • Danica McKellar: Winnie Cooper (SD, 16:00)
    • Crystal McKellar Becky Slater (SD, 20:55)

Bonus Disc 1

  • 16 Years Later: The Wonder Years Cast Reunion, May 28, 2014, In Los Angeles, California (SD, 51:56) Footage from the recent reunion, featuring Fred Savage, Danica McKellar, Olivia d’Abo, Alley Mills, Jason Hervey and Paul Saviano.
  • Pilot Episode Outtakes: The First Kiss – With Commentary by Danica McKellar & Fred Savage (SD, 19:44) McKellar & Savage provide commentary over dailies of the first kiss scene.
  • When A Man Loves A Woman: Kevin & Winnie Forever (SD, 29:55) Cast and crew discuss the ups and downs of the Kevin and Winnie relationship throughout the series.
  • Interviews:
    • Neal Marlens And Carol Black, Creators (SD, 30:37)
    • Dan Lauria: Jack Arnold (SD, 22:18)
    • Alley Mills: Norma Arnold (SD, 23:31)

Season 4: Disc 4

  • ABC: Teachers That Made A Difference (SD, 36:22) A discussion of the teachers on the show and the actors that played them. How they interacted with, and impacted the other characters on the show is explored.
  • Interviews:
    • Fred Savage: Kevin Arnold (SD, 21:22)
    • Robert Picardo: Coach Cutlip (SD, 37:39)
    • Ben Stein: Cantwell (SD, 15:10)
    • Wendel Meldrum: Miss White/Mrs. Heimer (SD, 12:39)

Season 5: Disc 4

  • That’s A Wrap!: Mark B. Perry’s Farewell Set Tour Season 5 (SD, 3:56) Home video from writer/producer Mark B. Perry’s last day on the show wandering through the sets.  He also provides commentary for the footage.
  • Will You Love Me Tomorrow: The Wonder Years’ Love Stories (SD, 26:05) Cast and crew discuss the various romantic relationships throughout the series.
  • Interviews:
    • Olivia d’Abo: Karen Arnold (SD, 35:38)
    • David Schwimmer (SD, 40:09)

Season 6: Disc 4

  • One-Hour ABC Broadcast Of The Series Finale (SD, 47:52) It’s a real plus that this set includes both the one-hour episode that aired on ABC and the two-part syndicated version.
  • At Last: The Final Episode (SD, 16:20) A discussion about the final episode of the series. The cast didn’t know for sure if it would be the series finale, Daniel Stern’s voiceover was recorded for both options.
  • Interview:
    • Bob Brush, Executive Producer (SD, 54:53)
  • From The Vault: Alley Mills and Bob Brush Letters (SD, 4:41) The actress reads a letter she wrote the Executive Producer after she watched the final episode.

Bonus Disc 2

  • Have A Neat Summer: The Wonder Years Cast Reunion, May 28, 2014, In Los Angeles, California (SD, 18:27) More reunion footage, this time the cast shares some anecdotes about the show and catch up with each other.
  • My Generation: The Kids Grow Up (SD, 29:47) A discussion of some of the better known actors who guest starred on the series in their early years. The older members of the cast and crew also discuss their efforts to provide guidance to younger members.
  • Interviews:
    • Josh Saviano: Paul Pfeiffer (SD, 49:19)
    • Jason Hervey: Wayne Arnold (SD, 26:38)
    • Daniel M. Stern, Writer/Producer (SD, 36:03)
    • Bruce Nachbar, Producer (SD, 30:06)

Bonus Disc 3

  • Bookends: Kevin & Paul (SD, 14:14) A look at the friendship of Kevin and Paul throughout the series.
  • Both Sides Now: The Music That Made The Moments (SD, 17:58) A look at the great music that helped make the show.
  • Interviews:
    • Seth Green: Jimmy Donnelly (SD, 9:37)
    • Ken Topolsky, Producer (SD, 32:46)
    • G. “Snuffy” Walden, Composer (SD, 18:05)
    • David Bianculli, TV Critic (SD, 28:37)
    • Michael Dinner, Director (SD, 34:36)

Bonus Disc 4

  • I Love You for Sentimental Reasons: Fan-Favorite Episodes (SD, 22:08) A look at some of the more popular episodes among the fans.
  • Interviews:
    • Daniel Stern: Narrator (SD, 26:43)
    • Mahaila McKellar, Danica And Crystal’s Mom (SD, 9:27)
    • Skip Cook, Key Grip (SD, 23:32)
    • Alicia Alexander, Location Manager (SD, 11:51)
    • Mark B. Perry, Writer/Producer (SD, 52:06)

The entire series set is currently available to order from timelife.com/wonderyears. StarVista has also made Season One available in on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time with plans for additional seasons later this year and next.

WY Box Set