The Wonder Years is a television series which ran on ABC from 1988 to 1993. Combining elements of situation comedy with light drama, it was the coming of age story of Kevin Cooper, covering his adolescence from 1968 to 1973, as narrated in voice-over by his adult self. A reboot of the series premiered on ABC on September 22, 2021.
Muppet Mentions[]
- The third season premiere "Summer Song" (1989) opened with a montage while the adult Kevin narrated about the changes which had happened by the end of the summer of 1969. Footage of Big Bird is used to acknowledge the premiere of Sesame Street (which happened that fall), albeit a 1980s clip from "Wheels on My Feet." Other clips acknowledge the moon landing, Woodstock, and Richard Nixon.
Notes[]
Two Wonder Years regulars had indirect contact with the Muppets:
- Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper) wrote the book Goodnight, Numbers, which Bob read to Elmo in a 2018 YouTube video.
- Dan Lauria (father Jack Arnold) narrated the PBS documentary Stories of the American Puppet (including segments on Jim Henson).
Connections[]
- Pat Crawford Brown played Mrs. Ruebner in "The Test" and "Private Butthead" (1992)
- Don Cheadle narrates as the adult Dean Williams in the 2021 series
- Paul Dooley played Pops in "Soccer" (1991)
- Debra Frank co-wrote "The Family Car" (1989)
- Soleil Moon Frye played Mimi Detweiler in "Growing Up" (199)
- Steven Gilborn played Mr. Collins (3 episodes, 1989-1990)
- Seth Green played Jimmy Donnelly in "Lunch Stories" and "Sex and Economics" (1992)
- Dulé Hill plays Bill Williams in the 2021 series
- Paula Marshall played Bonnie Douglas (3 episodes, 1992-1993)
- Robert Picardo played Coach Cutlip
- Paul B. Price played Mr. Katz in "The Phone Call" and "Dance With Me" (1988)
- Ben Stein played Mr. Cantwell (1989-1991)