THEME = TV songs: “The Wonder Years” & “The Torklesons”
This week’s edition features a huge hit & a not-so-huge series….
#1 “The Wonder Years” | ABC | 01/31/1988 – 05/12/1993
You’ve most-likely heard the full version of “With A Little Help From My Friends”. Written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, the song was originally a hit for The Beatles in 1967. Joe Cocker’s cover (used for this show’s theme) was released October 1968 & was a radical re-arrangement of the original.
FYI: writers Neal Marlens & Carol Black conceived the show & left after Season 1. After just 6 episodes, the series won the Outstanding Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award in 1988 & Fred Savage became the youngest actor ever nominated as Comedy Series Outstanding Lead Actor. While elements of the show came from Marlens’ native Huntington, Long Island, NY, & Black’s childhood Silver Spring MD, ABC insisted the location remain nonspecific, presumably to reach a wider audience. The series depicts the social & family life of a typical boy in Suburban middle-class America, 1968-1973, with each year of the series taking place 20 years before its airing. Part of the reason for cancellation was the conflict between producers & ABC executives; producers wanted to delve into the main character’s coming-of-age, while ABC did not want those elements shown on a family show at the early primetime slot. When the show ended, many viewers were disappointed to discover Kevin & Winnie did not end up together, but writers wanted to show it is OK for life to move on & forge a different path than expected. The final words of the series, spoken by narrator Daniel Stern, are poignant: “Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you’re in diapers, the next day you’re gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back… with wonder.” The cast includes Fred Savage, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, Olivia d’Abo, Jason Hervey, Josh Saviano & Danica McKellar.
#2 “The Torkelsons” | 09/21/1991 – 06/13/1992
1 of the last songs performed by The Judds, mother-daughter duo Naomi & Wynonna, is this show’s theme, “A New Day Promises”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isbgKNd0biA
Technically, this show had 1 season; however, it was retooled & renamed for Season 2, “Almost Home”, with a new theme, performed by Jennifer Warnes & Joey Scarbury:
FYI: Walt Disney TV produced the original series, set in Pyramid Corners, a fictional suburb of Vinita OK; Touchtone TV produced Season 2, renamed & set in Seattle WA. The cast includes Connie Ray, Olivia Burnette, Rachel Duncan, Lee Norris, Aaron Michael Metchik, William Schallert, Anna Slotky, Perry King, Jason Marsden, Brittany Murphy, Paige Gosney, Michael Landes, Ronnie Claire Edwards, Alyson Kiperman, Peter Van Norden & Alyson Hannigan. The series also featured notable guest stars: Drew Carey (his 1st appearance in a TV sitcom), Patty Duke (who had played Schallert’s daughter in “The Patty Duke Show”, 1963-1966), Joey Lawrence, Erin Gray, Ben Affleck, Jared Leto & Donal Logue.