‘Wonder Years’ Ends Sept. 27

“A rare TV phenomenon”

Across 4-Discs, Fans Will Find All 22 Complete Episodes, Over Two Hours of Specially-Produced Bonus Features and More Than Two Dozen Songs as Featured in the Original Broadcasts, Including Classics By Bachman-Turner Overdrive, The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan and Many Others!

One of the most critically lauded sitcoms of the late 80s and early 90s, The Wonder Years captured the angst of growing up in suburban middle-class America in the late ’60s, as seen through the life and times of Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage).  Audiences eagerly followed his evolution as a typical teenager who remembered every moment of his transition from childhood with excruciating detail and remarkable hindsight.  And, now, after six Emmy Award®-winning seasons, The Wonder Years comes to a close as Kevin, Paul, and Winnie enter 11th grade and are growing up – dealing with sex, lies, and the lure of rock and roll.

The final DVD installment in the series, THE WONDER YEARS: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON contains all 22 episodes from Season 6 (September 23, 1992-May 12, 1993) in their original broadcast versions.  Season 6 finds Kevin and his friends coping with the challenges of high school.  He joins the wrestling team, gets conned by the goof-offs he hires to paint his teacher’s house, and preps for the SAT with Paul (Josh Saviano) and Winnie (Danica McKellar).  In the Arnold household, the men endure their annual fishing trip, Norma (Alley Mills) gets a high-paying job, Jack (Dan Lauria) is frustrated by a lukewarm evaluation at work and tries to start his own business, and Wayne (Jason Hervey) has a new girlfriend – who’s 23, divorced, and has a baby.  Kevin’s delivery job leaves him no time to spend with Winnie, an enthusiastic volunteer with the McGovern campaign.  He sneaks out in his father’s new car to try and take her to a Rolling Stones show, frets over what to give her for Christmas and gets in trouble for calling her perfect.  The regular poker game reveals big problems among the guys, but more seriously, after an innocent mistake, Kevin lets everyone believe that he and Winnie spent the night together.  When she leaves to take a lifeguard job at a summer resort, Kevin follows, and while making their way home they take refuge in a barn and spend a very special Independence Day together in the final memorable episode.

This new-to-retail 4 DVD set includes more than two hours of specially-produced bonus features, which includes the one-hour ABC broadcast of the series finale, featurettes and more.  Also included are more than two dozen songs as they were featured in the original broadcast with classics by The Association, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, The Beach Boys, Canned Heat, The Champs, Eddie Cochran, Joe Cocker, Nat King Cole, The Everley Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Lesley Gore, Grateful Dead, Ben E. King, The Miracles, The O’Jays, Helen Reddy, Johnny Rivers, The Rolling Stones, Sam & Dave, Frank Sinatra, Stealers Wheel, Steely Dan, Hank Williams, Tammy Wynette, and many others.

The Wonder Years debuted in 1988 following ABC’s broadcast of Super Bowl XXII, and the affectionate look at growing up in the late ’60s and early ’70s in suburban America was unlike anything else on television.  It was 1968 — the year of Nixon and space walks and Mod Squad and Vietnam.  Enter Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage), a sixth grader at Kennedy Junior High School.  Set against the suburban backdrop of Anytown, USA, Kevin sought to minimize his teenage angst while dealing with an older, noogie-happy brother Wayne (Jason Hervey), a rebellious sister, Karen (Olivia d’Abo), distant, workaholic father, Jack (Dan Lauria) and doting housewife mother, Norma (Alley Mills).  Add to the mix Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano), his nerdy, allergy-riddled best friend, a potential love interest in winsome girl-next-door Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar) and narration by an older, wiser, wittier Kevin (voiced by Daniel Stern) to add perspective to the nostalgia, and you have the perfect recipe for TV greatness.  And, for the next six seasons, America tuned in to follow Kevin’s exploits, as he navigated adolescence in the most memorable of ways.  From 1988 to 1993, The Wonder Years was one of the most popular shows on TV, achieving a spot in the Nielsen Top 30 for four of its six seasons.  And the critical accolades and awards would follow: after only a scant six episodes, the show captured an Emmy® for “Best Comedy Series;” and, at the age of 13, Fred Savage, would become the youngest actor ever nominated as “Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series.”  The series would also go on to win 24 awards (and be nominated for 70 more), including multiple Emmy® Awards, a Golden Globe® and, in 1989, a Peabody® Award for pushing the boundaries of the sitcom format and using new modes of storytelling.  Additionally, in 1997, “My Father’s Office” was ranked #29 on TV Guide‘s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time” and in the 2009 list, the pilot episode was ranked #43.

Format: DVD (4 Discs)

Running Time: 638 minutes

Genre:  TV/Comedy

Aspect Ratio: 16×9 (1.78.1)

Audio: 5.1 Surround Sound

Language: English with Closed Captioning