"1968... I was twelve years old. A lot happened that year: Dennis McLain won 31 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 way, those really were the wonder years for us there in the suburbs. It was kind of a golden age for kids." - The first lines spoken by Kevin as an adult before introducing himself to the audience.
Pilot is the first episode in the first season of The Wonder Years, making this the show's official premiere. It first aired on ABC on January 31, 1988, right after the channel's coverage of Super Bowl XXII.
Set in the summer of 1968, the episode introduces the show's protagonist, Kevin Arnold, and the situations he faces with his family, his friends Paul and Winnie, and new teachers as he prepares to enter the seventh grade at Robert F. Kennedy Junior High School. At the end of the episode, the Arnold family is devastated to learn that Brian Cooper, Winnie's older brother, was killed in action shortly after being drafted into the Vietnam War.
In 2009, TV Guide ranked this episode number 39 on its updated list of the 100 greatest episodes. This episode remains the only instance in the series where Kevin's narration wasn't provided by Daniel Stern, instead being voiced by Arye Gross during the initial airing after the Super Bowl. After The Wonder Years became a full series, the voiceover was re-recorded by Stern to keep consistency with the remainder of the series.
Episode Summary[]
The episode begins with a series of brief clips featuring significant moments from 1968: speeches by soon-to-be-assassinated civil rights leaders like Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., President-elected Richard Nixon giving his "victory" sign, police and law enforcement detaining anti-war protestors and activists, among other notable incidents from the year. A narrator is heard reminiscing about his time growing up in the suburbs and talks about how this time period was, "the golden age" for kids growing up like him.
Winnie gives Kevin back the football.
The scene cuts to a suburban neighborhood where some boys are playing a game of football. After introducing himself as Kevin Arnold, the narrator points to his younger self as a 12-year-old during the summer of '68. Kevin drops a forward pass thrown by his older brother Wayne. Winnie Cooper; a girl across the street from Kevin's house, hands him back the football, and the two have a brief conversation until Wayne calls Kevin to stop "gabbing" with his "girlfriend." Kevin retaliates by stating that Winnie isn't his girlfriend, as his adult-self mentions that at that point, they haven't hung out together since they were 9 years old, when they used to go down to Harper's Woods to catch fireflies. When Wayne continues to tease Kevin by suggesting that he should give a French kiss to Winnie, Kevin insults him by calling him a buttface.
Angered by this, Wayne pushes Kevin and proceeds to pound him repeadetly. Paul Pfeiffer, Kevin's best friend, tries to convice Wayne to let go of him, but to no avail. Suddenly, a voice from off-screen yells at Wayne, telling him to knock it off before doing the same to him. Wayne then releases Kevin out of intimidation. The voice is revealed to come from Winnie's older brother, Brian Cooper, who, at 19 years old, was considered by Kevin and many of the other kids to be the coolest neighbor on the block. Kevin then remarks how Brian would soon be drafted and sent to Vietnam that summer, but the remains of his unfinished car—a 1959 Chevrolet El Camino—still served as a reminder of his leadershi-like position in Kevin's street.
Brian Cooper looking at Kevin while smoking a cigarette.
Kevin and Paul head to the kitchen at Kevin's house. Kevin asks Norma (his mother) if Paul could join them for dinner. She allows Paul to stay, so long as his mother is aware. Paul asks what they're having for dinner that night, but when he finds out it's meatloaf and salad, he claims to be allergic to both. During dinner, Kevin asks Norma if Jack (his father) will come home from work soon. Norma says he should be arriving soon, before warning the kids to not drive him insane due to his frustration between traffic and his job. Just then, Jack arrives home, and Norma asks him how the traffic was. He simply grunts, "Traffic's traffic" before heading off the kitchen. Meanwhile, Karen, Kevin's older hippie sister, returns from a peace march, despide promising her mother that she would help her with dinner. Karen excuses herself by claiming that Norma has so much bad karma in her life (Norma being a traditional house mother) that she'd be "careful" if she were in her circumstances.
The Arnold family gets in an argument when Karen lets her father know that she wants to take birth-control pills.
Jack returns to the kitchen and sits across from the boys, before looking at Paul and greeting him. He responds awkwardly by waving his slice of bread, and a sudden silence occurs as everyone is eating dinner without talking. Here, an adult Kevin emphasizes that, despite his father's tolerance for greeting other guests, Jack still assured that by working and providing for the rest of the family during the day, he didn't want to have to deal with an intense conversation during dinner. Kevin than states that the best course of action in this case was for everyone else to simply remain silent, and hope that no one else would do or say something that would really upset him. However, just then, Karen informs her parents that she plans to get some birth-control pills, and an enraged Jack yells at her while banging the table with his fist, causing the rest of the family to argue while Kevin and Paul laugh. After this, a series of home movies from the Arnold family during that summer play in the background while Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides, Now" plays in the background.
After the sequence ends, the scene cuts to Kevin's bedroom the night before his first day of junior high school. He and Paul are looking at one of Karen's books titled "Our Bodies, Our Selves", as a way to "prepare for junior high school girls", as Kevin states. Norma enters the bedroom and tells Paul that his mother wants him to come home right away. Before Paul leaves, he asks Kevin if he knows what he'll be wearing for school. He claims that he has no idea, but Kevin retrospectively claims that he was secretly planning what to wear for six weeks. The next morning, Kevin comes out to the kicthen dressed in a shirt of green paisley and brown stripes, blue pants with a brown belt, and black boots, causing Wayne to laugh at him. Unfortunately for Kevin, Norma forces him to wear regular clothes before heading to the bus stop.
The boys see Winnie without her contacts and pigtails for the first time.
While there, Kevin reassures Paul that he's dressed "fine" (he is wearing a substandard outfit with brown striped pants, a white shirt with brown suspender-like decorations, and is carrying his books on a violin case). Paul asks Kevin if he can look at the class schedule, but Kevin refuses, insisting that they have to learn to "act mature" in front of the other boys. They try to unseccesfully join in with Wayne and his group of friends, who are sticking their tongues and measuring them with rulers. However, as Kevin looks after a pair of older girls walking by, he and Paul recognise a young, beautiful girl "in fishnet tights and go-go boots" arriving toward them. To their surprise, it turns out to be Winnie Cooper, or Gwendolyn, as she now prefered to be addressed, claiming that she no longer wanted to be called by her nickname.
The kids soon arrive at their school, which had been recently renamed Robert F. Kennedy Junior High, much like "half the schools in the country that year" according to adult Kevin. During homeroom, Kevin ends up sitting between new-lovers Eric Antonio and Gail Aslanian. After the two confess their love for each other, they proceed to kiss before Kevin interrupts, not wanting to be involved in the middle of his first "sexual experience." The homeroom teacher, Mrs. Ritvo, calls out Kevin by his full name, questioning if he is Wayne's younger brother. Kevin tries to deny it, but before he even finishes explaining, she warns Kevin that he's got a "tough row to hoe" before leaving him alone.
Kevin hands his locker combination to a bully twice his size.
After homeroom, Kevin attempts to open his brand new locker. He then considers himself lucky since his locker is only two rows down from one of the prettiest girls in his grade, Debbie Ackerman. The two exchange brief looks until a tall student with a leather jacket, whom Kevin nicknames "Charles Manson," gets in between them. "Charles" then asks Kevin for his locker combination, who politely refuses to answer until "Charles" forcefully grabs Kevin into the lockers, pressuring him to hand out his locker combo. "Charles" opens the locker and stores a sealed knife and a bag of marijuana. He warns Kevin that if anyone finds out about the items, he will immediately know who was the culprit. Kevin attempts to play a mind trick on "Charles" by asking to whom he's referring. "Charles" slowly figures it out and points out that he's referring to Kevin, which he slyly acknowledges.
Next up for Kevin is gym class, where he claims that, because he has it as the "very first class of the day", it means Kevin has to consistently wake up early in the morning, shower, get dressed, go to school, get undressed, run around, shower, and get dressed all in "around 45 minutes". The teacher, Mr. Cutlip, begins the class by firmly stating that, contrary to what most of the boys "believed", his class wasn't a normal gym class, but rather a physical education class. He then asserts his statement by declaring himself as a body educator. Then, after a half hour of discussing about "educating" bodies, Mr. Cutlip suddenly asks Kevin to answer what a jock strap is and what it can do. Imagining himself as a pilot under enemy fire, Kevin haphazardly responds with a redundant explanation. As Cutlip remains confused, Kevin hears the sound of an airplane colliding to the ground, failing the mission miserably.
Wayne teases Kevin and Winnie by making a big smooch in front of them.
Later, Kevin and Paul are searching for a place to sit down at the school cafeteria, when Kevin finds an empty table nearby. Kevin then describes how the school cafeteria contains several different groups of people who fit neatly into one category or another in order to protect themselves and to fit in with a particular group they identify with (whether it's the cool kids, smart kids, greasers, or hippies). Kevin then asks Paul to "look as if [he's] having fun", feeling concerned that other people are watching them eating alone. Meanwhile, Winnie—or Gwendolyn—arrives at the cafeteria, also looking for a place to eat. She asks the boys if she can sit with them, which Kevin immediately accepts. Just when Kevin feels satisfied, feeling their group is forming quickly on their first day, Wayne calls out his friends, after seeing that his younger brother has found his "girlfriend." Kevin again tries to reaffirm that Winnie isn't his girlfriend and that he doesn't even find her cute. After Kevin has enough of Wayne annoying him with Winnie, he storms off the table and picks up his apple, while yelling to Wayne that he doesn't even like her.
Kevin furiously throws the apple into the other side of the cafeteria.
However, as Kevin is about to leave the cafeteria, the principal of the school, Mr. Diperna, stops him and points Kevin to a sign stating that no food can be left outside of the cafeteria. Mr. Diperna then warns Kevin that he'll be asking for detention if he dares to take the apple outside. However, Kevin ignores him and tries to get away, but Mr. Diperna quickly catches up to him. After a bitter exchange between the two over the apple, Kevin feels pressured to do something to get out of the situation quickly. After thinking to himself what Brian Cooper would do in a situation like his, Kevin forcefully throws the apple to the other side of the cafeteria, causing it to hit something offscreen. Feeling guilty, Kevin tries to ask Mr. Diperna if he can get the apple back, but he instead grabs Kevin by the neck and forces him to his office, calling Kevin's parents in the process.
At Diperna's office, Norma interogates Kevin by asking what caused him to think that throwing the apple was a good idea. Kevin initially hesitates to answer, instead thinking to himself why Mr. Diperna had a brain "the size of a baby pea." After self-proclaiming that he threw the apple to achieve "world peace", Kevin finally confesses that he achieved nothing by doing so. Mr. Diperna then allows Kevin to go home with no further punishment from him, but he still assures Kevin that he'll make sure to keep an eye on him throughout the school year. Kevin then gets intimidated once Jack demands Mr. Diperna that he wants to take him home immediately, all the while cracking his knuckles directly at his son.
Kevin and his parents soon return home, with Kevin internally assuring to himself that he can deal with a potential beating from his father, by imaginin gthat he was giving it to Wayne instead. However, in a turn of events, as Jack grabs Kevin by the arm, before he has an opportunity to punish him, Wayne and Karen come out of the front door, looking mournful. Karen then reveals to the family that Brian Cooper was killed in Vietnam. Feeling shocked by the news, Norma asks her when did the army find out he died, to which Karen simply shrugs. Norma immediately decides to call Brian's parents, Evelyn and Jim, to see if there's anything she can do to help them. As she and Karen head back inside, Wayne, Kevin and Jack look at each other, feeling uncertain of what to do now.
Later in the evening, Kevin heads out for a walk to Harper's Woods, the nearby forest where he believed Winnie would be residing. Once he arrives, he sees Winnie sitting alone mournfully, holding on to herself, and not wearing a sweater despite the chilly weather. Kevin initially hesitates to approach her, but eventually joins to console her. Having no idea what to say to Winnie, he expreses his condolences for what happened to Brian and also apoligises for what he said about her at the cafeteria that day. He confesses that what he said in the cafeteria wasn't true, and Winnie simply responds, "I know." After a few moments of silence, Kevin slowly takes off his Jets jacket and places it over Winnie's shoulders. The two then hold on to each other and exchange a few glances before sharing their first kiss as Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" plays in the background.
As the camera pans out, Kevin and Winnie stop kissing and briefly look at each other again before hugging for confort as the scene shows the rest of the woods and the film fades to black and white. A grown-up Kevin simultaneously reflects on the experience, stating that, despite the fact that it was their first kiss, he and Winnie would never discuss it much afterward. However, even as many years have passed since then, Kevin assures that the events of that night still linger in his memory, and he assures that Winnie might also feel the same way.
Kevin then concludes the episode by stating that some people like him who grew up in the suburbs as part of the "TV generation" always seem to acknowledge that regardless of the fact that inside each of those "identical houses", they contained their own Dodge cars, white bread, and glowing TV sets: "There were people with stories; there were families bound together in 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."
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold (first appearance)
- Ayre Gross as the voice of Adult Kevin (later re-recorded by his successor, Daniel Stern, after the original Super Bowl XXII broadcast)
- Josh Saviano as Paul Pfeiffer (first appearance)
- Dan Lauria as Jack Arnold (first appearance)
- Alley Mills as Norma Arnold (first appearance)
- Jason Hervey as Wayne Arnold (first appearance)
- Olivia d'Abo as Karen Arnold (first appearance)
- Danica McKellar as Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper (first appearance)
Supporting Cast[]
- Bentley Mitchum as Brian Cooper (first appearance)
- Robert Picardo as Mr. Cutlip (first appearance)
- Raye Birk as Mr. Diperna (first appearance)
- Linda Hoy as Mrs. Ritvo (first appearance)
- Sean Faro as Greaser ("Charles Manson", the locker bully)
- Donnie Jeffcoat as Eric Antonio (first appearance)
- Jaqueline Square as Gail Aslanian
- Dah-ve Chodan as Locker Girl (Debbie Ackerman)
- Gregory "Mars" Martin as Steve (uncredited, first appearance)
Music[]
Licensed music[]
- Turn, Turn, Turn! by The Byrds (Plays at the beginning of the episode while clips of historical moments from 1968 play in the background and a grown-up Kevin gives his opening monologue.)
- Both Sides, Now by Joni Mitchell (Plays during the sequence of the Arnolds' home movie clips. These clips would later be used for the show's opening theme, with the music being replaced by Joe Cocker's cover of With a Little Help from My Friends)
- Crystal Blue Persuasion by Tommy James and the Shondells (Heard via the radio in Kevin's room while he and Paul are reading Our Bodies, Our Selves)
- When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge (Plays at the end of the episode when Kevin and Winnie share their first kiss at Harper's Woods.)
Original score composed by Stewart Levin and W.G. Snuffy Walden[]
- Winnie's Theme
Trivia[]
- Because this was the very first episode of The Wonder Years, several elements were still not fully realized by the time the episode premiered after Super Bowl XXII, leading to several inconsistencies between this episode and the rest of the series.
- The most notable difference comes from the original broadcast of the episode, where Kevin's voiceover narration was originally provided by Arye Gross. When the episode reran on March 15, 1988, Gross' original dialogue would be rerecorded by Daniel Stern, who would remain to do the narration of adult Kevin for the rest of the series.
- The setting of the Arnold family's kitchen has several items, such as the refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and even the entryway, in opposite positions, which would later be reversed for the second episode onward.
- Kevin's bedroom has an entirely different layout compared to the rest of the series, with the most notable aspect being that he has a room for himself instead of sharing a room with his older brother Wayne like in the first 4 seasons.
- During physical education class, the boys and Mr. Cutlip are seen wearing slightly different uniforms, with the school's mascot initially representing the Indians (Native Americans). The second episode features the class wearing updated uniforms, with the school's mascot now representing wildcats.
- Considering the fact that the episode takes place when the school was recently renamed to Robert F. Kennedy Junior high, it can be assumed that the change of the school's mascot from the Indians to the wildcats must've been a last-minute decision to renovate the school.
- In the scene where Kevin is at Mr. Diperna's office, when Kevin is thinking to himself, some of the dialogue is spoken by his actor, Fred Savage, instead of Ayre Gross providing his adult Kevin narration. This part was kept intact even after the episode reran with Daniel Stern rerecording Gross' lines. For the rest of the series, Kevin would very rarely have his thoughts spoken by his younger self, instead opting to have his adult voiceover do the job.