#TheWonderYearsRemix - A Thread

Episode 1:

- I am shaken that Joe Cocker isn’t singing the opening. #licensing

- WAYNE. Right?

- The apple scene resonated with me.

- Not a lot happens but the end is perf. Winnie’s bro dies, first kiss, the woods, now we’re clicking with sweet drama.

#TheWonderYearsRemix

Episode 2:

- I don’t think that ice cube trick works on Jell-o.

- “most of the girls our age didn’t have 2nd bases” is prime dialogue

- the twist with the book was

- the balance of love and death warms me

Episode 3:*

- Um...I think I’m Kevin’s dad: doesn’t like talking about his day, enjoys dark rooms, hates bikes.

- It just dawned on me that every scene has Kevin in it because he’s telling *the story he remembers*.

- There are way more Karens now than the 60s.

*perfect ep

Episode 4:

- I am officially skipping over this Joe Cocker knock-off .

- There’s a weird bro/sis sex vibe in this ep. “I watched my sister make out for 20 min.”

- They’re having the same convo in the 80s about the 60s as we’re having in 2020 about now.

Episode 5:

- I gave the Joe Cocker knock-off intro another chance. It was a mistake.

- This captured the horrors of liking a girl flawlessly.

- I don’t understand how Kevin got Lisa’s number. The 60s were magic.

- We’ll never see Lisa again.

Episode 6:

- I was wrong...teen crush Lisa’s in the first 3 seconds of the next episode. I have underestimated everything.

- The fucking Winnie theme gets me every time.

- HE GOT SHAFTED BY [name redacted] Lisa made the right choice tho.

- Teen love is difficult.

SEASON 1 SUMMARY

6 ep order... I don’t know the history of how the series got picked up but that’s interesting. The paradigm of how to set up a show. Accomplished more in 3 hours than some shows do in a season.

BEST EP:

My Father’s Office

FAVORITE CHARACTER:

Jack Arnold

S2 | Episode 1:

- The cinematography in this episode is prime.

- Curious how Paul sobered up so quick.

- It took me til the end of the episode to realize why the rebellious kid looked familiar.

- I want Winnie and Paul and Kevin’s friendship injected into my arteries.

S2 | Episode 2:

- Hearing Kevin say “negroes” is oddly uncomfortable. So was his Kennedy accent.

- Captures that “crush on teacher” vibe .

- It was never appropriate to drive students home.

- Another example of how much character development you can cram into 23 minutes.

S2 | Episode 3:

- The first Christmas episode and I rea—OMG THE WINNIE COOPER THEME SHHHHH .

- $434 for a TV? Isn’t that a lot?

- A poignant Brian Cooper tie-in.

- I don’t know how I feel about Dan Lauria’s laugh.

S2 | Episode 4:

- Is the stigma around “Beckys” from this episode? Because I think I’ve traced the earliest known origin.

- I’m starting to think Kevin Arnold is kind of a jerkstore...

- I thought Becky was a nice girl and Kevin should have given it a shot.

S2 | Episode 5:

- Becky punching Kevin in the face has to be in the top 10 of all-time TV punches.

- An oddly fluid Star Trek tie-in.

- Awkward, but—I haven’t seen chemistry between two 13yos like this in TV history. The 2nd half of this ep is wonderful.

- No Wayne: bonus.

S2 | Episode 6:*

- Never underestimate the TV directing prowess of Daniel Stern.

- Has one of the few quotable lines I still remember: “TOnight...in your SLEEP...” #YouNeedContext

- The most layered and uniquely complex episode yet. Contender for season’s best.

S2 | Episode 7:

- This feels like a good bottle episode. Can bottle episodes exist in the sitcom world?

- They should show this to every child athlete and artist.

- I had to see if this was nom’d for an Emmy (and it was). Flawlessly written. Tho not terribly exciting.

S2 | Episode 8:

- 1/4 of the way in and I remember this episode vividly. I don’t know if it gets the * designation but one scene does.

- The sound of your parents leaving the house—high heels clicking—is a nice detail.

- The Hiroshima (thematic?) comparison is odd...

S2 | Episode 9:

- The PE teacher’s name is Mr. Cutlip. Just a heads up.

- 1st appearance of Dustin Diamond?

- There’s a commentary here on socialism or communism when Kevin’s picking teams for basketball but there’s really not enough space in this tweet to go into depth abou

S2 | Episode 10:

- A nice POV on the Vietnam War.... And, to an extent, the horrors of one’s “permanent record” in school.

- “Why do you want to protest___?” is the big modern takeaway. The ep. offers no concrete answers. TWY may not be my future bible.

- Karen’s oddly absent.

S2 | Episode 11:

- They could have made a spinoff show starring Becky Slater but I guess it’s too late for that now.

- Kevin taking care of a sick Winnie is another nugget of the 60s lost in the new era.

- HE’S NEVER BEEN TO A JETS GAME?

- Tied for best relationship ep.

S2 | Episode 12:

- The best Kevin and Winnie dynamic is when one of them’s pissed at the other. As this ep. proves.

- One of the better twists of the season. Even if it’s short-lived.

- Laying a foundation for future poor choices by Winnie?

S2 | Episode 13:

- There’s something comforting about Paul’s parents and my only sadness comes from the fact we haven’t met them til now.

- The best part: Paul’s sister’s look to Kevin. I’m not saying the rest of the ep. is lame but nothing beat it.

- I dunno. Plotting is off.

S2 | Episode 14:

- They followed up two mediocre eps with a . The best of TWY is when they limit the story to Kevin and ___. One other person. Seems more “complete.”

- A proper sister/brother study.

- Also a proper study, I’d imagine, of 1969 late teen mentality.

S2 | Episode 15:

- I assumed this would be a blah one and was incorrect. A welcome and necessary piece in the Kevin Arnold arc. Dark horse for best of season.

- Margaret was also on Roseanne. Voice gave it away.

- This was a punch in the face and I have nothing else to say.

S2 | Episode 16:

- “She smelled like mist” might not fly in 2020 but it’s A+.

- Multiple lols. It has the feel of a grounded Simpsons episode.

- The woods is a metaphor for growing up! But it totally works. A fine penultimate closer to S2.

S2 | Episode 17:

- That kiss with the goggles on his head: iconic.

- I feel like not enough was done here. For a season finale.... It was the “have a nice summer” of finales. Though the Cooper bombshell was a nice lead-in to S3.

SEASON 2 SUMMARY

I’d venture to say there are no “bad” TWY episodes. Only 2 that were ho-hum. I don’t remember the show being this poignant in its character work....

BEST EP:

6 - Pottery Will Get You Nowhere

FAVORITE CHARACTER:

Norma Arnold and Becky Slater (tie)

S3 | Episode 1:

- The beach girl Terri became a pornstar. Holly Sampson. Just stating facts.

- Apparently Tiger Woods messed with her.

- Which means technically Tiger Woods is one degree of separation from hooking up with Fred Savage...

- Good episode tho.

S3 | Episode 2:

- Props to the writers for making a math episode interesting.

- This resonated because I was also bad in math until I found an inspiring teacher. No...no, that never happened.

- The actor playing the teacher is aces. He died in Chatham NY, cc: @jeannevb.

S3 | Episode 3:

- I’m not sure why Wayne would ever be allowed to drive the family car, so #plothole.

- A nice dynamic between brothers and getting rides to the mall.

- The deeper I get the more I think Kevin Arnold is a bit of a skeeze tbh. Even for a 13yo.

S3 | Episode 4:

- A whole movie can be made about a boy buying pants with his mother. I don’t know the genre.

- This episode is a gif machine.

- And more lols than any ep. in a while.

- Another Norma tour de force.

S3 | Episode 5:

- Winnie needed to be an actress to deal with the death of her brother and get her parents back together and it worked. Hardcore.

- “I was holding her up with the light”?? Line of the season.

- That Winnie Cooper is a good actress she should pursue this in S6.

S3 | Episode 6:

- “The McCovey is off the table” should be a quotable.

- “At least I don’t have a crush on Winnie Cooper” isn’t a rag. Fail, Paul.

- The first (?) friendlationship (no, that’s a term) episode. Kevin’s fault. That baseball card trade was never gonna happen.

S3 | Episode 7:

- Why has buying a car always been a horrible thing?

- I’ve said it before: Dan Lauria laughing is unsettling.

- This one sneaks in as an unexpectedly touching episode. A “selling the family car” storyline is universal.

- I wonder what $ he was asking.

S3 | Episode 8:

- “Maybe you can show her a good time,” said Norma.

- Jack admiring a pic of a 13yo girl wouldn’t fly in 2020 and for good reason.

- Decent zit prosthetic work from the sfx team.

- Weakest of the season but watchable.

S3 | Episode 9:

- The audacity to say “we should we do a math class episode” and then say “LET’S DO ANOTHER.” And fuck me it’s perfect.

- The actor who played Mr. Collins is so good. Did I say this before?

- Dude cheated and still got a B.

- Better than Good Will Hunting?

S4 | Episode 10:

- I’m convinced Kevin Arnold is getting younger as this series moves forward.

- I lol’d at the groupies.

- “Is that your sister’s shirt?” is a top 5 Winnie Cooper burn.