\u201cWe played around with writing a screenplay that used narration as a device,\u201d series co-creator Carol Black\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0New York\u00a0<\/em>magazine in 1989. \u201cWe just started to think that there was a lot of potential fun in that \u2018cause you can really play with the contrast between the narrator\u2019s point of view and what the characters are doing. And you can go inside their head and expose what they\u2019re really thinking when they\u2019re saying something different \u2026 And then we just sort of jumped from there to thinking that effect is accentuated when you have an adult narrator looking back on childhood.\u201d Black created the series with her husband, Neal Marlens; the couple had previously worked on\u00a0Growing Pains.<\/em><\/p>\n From the coming-of-age theme to the use of narration,\u00a0A Christmas Story<\/em><\/a>\u00a0inspired the spirit of\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>. Peter \u201cRalphie\u201d Billingsley even\u00a0appeared<\/a>\u00a0in the series’s final two episodes as one of Kevin\u2019s roommates.<\/p>\n The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0set itself apart from other shows of its time, production-wise, with its single camera setup, use of a narrator, and complete lack of laugh track. \u201cThe Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0[showed the television industry] that it\u2019s OK to create a show like that\u2014to take out the laugh track, to try different camera styles\u2014to take a risk,\u201d Josh Saviano, who played Paul Pfeiffer,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Salon in 2013.<\/p>\n Casting kids is never an easy task. To help them in finding their lead actor, Marlens and Black interviewed five casting directors for recommendations. All five of them suggested Fred Savage, who at that point was best known for his role in\u00a0The Princess Bride<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time we actually settled on a casting director, we had already resolved that we should see Fred,\u201d Marlens told\u00a0The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>\u00a0in 1988. \u201cKnowing nothing about him, we arranged to screen some unedited footage of a film he was making at the time,\u00a0Vice Versa\u00a0<\/em>\u2026 [We saw] a marvelous actor with a natural quality, which essentially means he has no quality at all except being a kid. It sounds funny, but it\u2019s a rare thing to find in a child actor. It\u2019s the same thing we looked for and discovered in Josh Saviano and Danica McKellar.\u201d<\/p>\n Though no specific location is ever given for Kevin Arnold\u2019s hometown, that\u2019s not the doing of the series\u2019s creators. Neal Marlens wanted to set\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0in Huntington, Long Island\u2014his hometown\u2014and additional elements were also pulled from Black\u2019s hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland. But it was at ABC\u2019s insistence that no city or state was ever mentioned. Still, many eagle-eyed watchers have combed through the series for clues\u2014like Jack Arnold\u2019s license plate and Wayne\u2019s driver\u2019s license\u2014that place the show in California, where it was filmed.<\/p>\n After more than 80 million viewers tuned in to see the Washington Redskins crush the Denver Broncos (final score: 42 to 10) on January 31, 1988, they were treated to the series\u2019s premiere\u2014which Marlens called \u201ca bit of Americana after the quintessential example of Americana.\u201d<\/p>\n Though it wasn\u2019t an immediate ratings bonanza,\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0was a critical smash from the get-go. On August 28\u2014with only six episodes screened\u2014Marlens and Black took home the 1988 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.<\/p>\n In 1989, at the age of 13, Savage became the youngest actor to be nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category. He was nominated again in 1990.<\/p>\n When it came down to casting the role of dream girl Winnie Cooper, there were two final contenders: Danica McKellar and her sister, Crystal. \u201cIt was practically a tossup,\u201d casting director Mary Buck\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u00a0in 1990. After choosing Danica for the role, Crystal was hired for the recurring role of Becky Slater, Winnie\u2019s one-time rival for Kevin\u2019s affections.<\/p>\n In the series\u2019s premiere episode, Kevin and Winnie share an awkward first kiss, a coming-of-age ritual neither of the young actors had yet to engage in in real life. \u201cThe one good thing about getting your first kiss on camera is that you know for sure it\u2019s going to happen,\u201d McKellar\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in 2014. For his part, Savage called it terrifying. \u201cWe were both really scared and nervous and\u2014and\u2014didn’t know what was going to happen or \u2026 if we were going to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n Though they swear the relationship eventually morphed into a brother-sister sort of bond, both Savage and McKellar admitted to having mutual crushes in\u00a0People<\/em>. \u201cI was in love with her for the same reasons every other boy fell in love with her,\u201d Savage\u00a0said<\/a>. \u201cYou won’t meet a sweeter, nicer girl\u2014and she’s gorgeous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn the beginning we had a mutual crush,\u201d added McKellar. \u201cThen things went into the teasing stuff and then into a more comfortable, brother-sister thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI really didn\u2019t contribute that much, but the one thing I did contribute to the character is that when we were shooting the pilot I said to Neal, \u2018Look, I\u2019m a vet. I\u2019m a Vietnam veteran and a Marine, and I think if the story is that I\u2019m a vet, that\u2019d fit the character,\u2019\u201d Dan Lauria\u00a0recalled<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Paste<\/em>. \u201cBefore we even finish the pilot, he said, \u2018Well, if we go, Dan, we\u2019re going to make you a Korean War vet to fit the frame.\u2019 And so they did, and it paid off. There were a number of episodes where it was mentioned that I was a veteran and when my daughter left for college I gave her my old duffle bag from the service. We always had the Vietnam War in the background on the TV at the dinner table. So there were actual news clips.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKevin and Winnie\u2019s relationship was, in some ways, defined by my friendship with Fred and some of the things that we would say,\u201d McKellar\u00a0told Collider<\/a>. \u201cThe writers would actually take lines from things that we were saying to each other, off camera, and put it into the script. There was this whole episode dedicated to, \u2018Do you like him, or do you\u00a0like<\/em>\u00a0him, like him?\u2019 That was an expression that he and I used when we were talking about some guy that I had a crush on, in real life. And then, it showed up in a script, a few weeks later. There were a lot of blurred lines.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin and Winnie\u2019s on-again, off-again romance was one of the series\u2019s key storylines. But on at least one occasion\u2014between the show\u2019s third and fourth seasons\u2014the breakup was more of a practical decision when a\u00a0growth spurt<\/a>\u00a0saw McKellar standing much taller than her sub-five-foot onscreen beau. The couple was kept apart just long enough for Savage to catch up to his co-star\u2019s height.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were so many things that I borrowed from our real life experiences,\u201d Hervey\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Uproxx of his brother, Scott. \u201cI\u2019ll give you an example: Juliette Lewis was my girlfriend on the show at the time, and it was the driver\u2019s license episode. We took Fred\u2014I mean, Kevin\u2014to the mall because my mom made us, and I dropped him off at the absolute, absolute furthest end of the mall parking lot and I said to him, \u2018Well, technically, this is the mall.\u2019 And when I picked him up, of course, he was already flirting with this girl, and sure enough Wayne pulls up and I tell him to get in the car, and then every time he went to reach for the door, I kept jerking it forward. And obviously, the first day of 7th grade, my brother did that to me in real life, and just embarrassed the hell out of me.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0was a show about growing up, which is partially what led to its wrapping production after six seasons. \u201cThere has always been a question of just how long the wonder years last,\u201d executive producer Bob Brush\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u00a0in 1993, following the series\u2019s finale. \u201cAs the kids were developing and getting older, there were of course new stories to tell, but the tension and constraints of the deadline of the concept of the wonder years were beginning to press on us \u2026 When [Fred Savage] became 16 and 17, there were really things he needed to get to that we couldn\u2019t do at 8 p.m., especially with the kind of venerable cachet that the show had obtained with its audience. We would get notes from the network saying, \u2018You could do this on any show besides\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>.’\u201d<\/p>\n In an effort to breathe a more mature life into the series, producer Ken Topolsky commissioned\u00a0Sopranos<\/em>\u00a0creator David Chase to write a script. \u201cWhen it\u2019s a suburban kid who has a pretty good life and he\u2019s complaining about mom not letting him do something, you just want to smack him,\u201d Topolowsky\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0The Wall Street Journal.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s when we felt that Kevin\u2019s wonder years were over.\u201d Though he calls Chase\u2019s script \u201cphenomenal\u201d and \u201cone of the best,\u201d its storyline\u2014which included hard drug use\u2014would have been too big a leap for the family-friendly series.<\/p>\n2.\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0was inspired by\u00a0A Christmas Story.<\/em><\/h2>\n
3.\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u2019s lack of laugh track and single camera setup were revolutionary.<\/h2>\n
4. Fred Savage was the obvious choice to play\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u2019s Kevin Arnold.<\/h2>\n
![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Ffred-844f9ee43c095f478b01b3138fcd326b.jpg "\\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n5.\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0is set in Anytown, USA.<\/h2>\n
6.\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0premiered after the Super Bowl.<\/h2>\n
7.\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0won its first Emmy after just six episodes.<\/h2>\n
8. Fred Savage became the youngest Lead Actor Emmy nominee.<\/h2>\n
![\"20th](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F59286-wonder-years-abc-fa9747a45c37c4c29bc16c79d1208d31.jpg "\\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n9. Danica McKellar\u2019s toughest competition for Winnie Cooper was her sister.<\/h2>\n
10. Kevin and Winnie\u2019s first kiss was the real thing.<\/h2>\n
11. A mutual crush between Fred Savage and Danica McKellar was inevitable.<\/h2>\n
12. It was Dan Lauria\u2019s suggestion that\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u2019s Jack Arnold be a veteran.<\/h2>\n
![\"20th](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F59286-wonder-years-fox-4802fd3cf2dda2e73056de1a7d9780c6.jpg "\\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n13. Some of Kevin and Winnie\u2019s dialogue in\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0was lifted from real life.<\/h2>\n
14. A growth spurt caused Winnie and Kevin\u2019s breakup on\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>.<\/h2>\n
15. Jason Hervey\u2019s brother was the real Wayne Arnold.<\/h2>\n
![\"20th](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fwayne-7ee80d22580bafc3a5c57f1ce12819f8.jpg "\\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n16. Growing up was part of\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u2019s demise.<\/h2>\n
17.\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u00a0enlisted\u00a0The Sopranos<\/em>\u00a0creator David Chase\u2019s help.<\/h2>\n
18. Daniel Stern wasn\u2019t\u00a0The Wonder Years<\/em>\u2019s original narrator.<\/h2>\n