The Wonder Years

In the late 1980s, Channel 4 in the UK bought a show from the US which became incredibly important to me. The Wonder Years was the story of Kevin Arnold, whose family lived in the suburbs near a large city that was never identified. His family, parents Jack and Norma, siblings Karen and Wayne and his best friend Paul were the people who I got to know as well as any TV characters ever. His story was a story of growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, but above all, it was the story of his love for Winnie Cooper. She was the girl, not quite next door but near enough, who became the object of his youthful affection.

Why do I want to see this series again as if for the first time? It was the series that helped me to understand my Dad and one over which we bonded more than any other. The programme was shown on a Sunday evening and directly after it was finished we would talk about it on the phone. Many times we would just discuss the programme we had just watched. Occasionally we would talk about something else, but the show itself was the catalyst for us to discuss the Arnold family and, by extension, our own relationship. I grew to understand my Dad through that programme in a way that would have been impossible otherwise and I think, although he never said it anymore than I did, that he grew to understand me better.

I would love to watch it again for the first time, but with a caveat that my Dad was also around to watch it with me.