Title Notes
These are just notes, not all necessarily related to the episode.
(Ep 2 - "Swingers")
Obviously derived from the swing-set at the park. Also, ironic use of slang term "swinger" (a person who routinely swaps (sexual) partners). Of course, Kevin wishes...:-)
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(Ep 4 - "Angel")
This is a common nickname a father calls his daughter.
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(Ep 6 - "Dance With Me")
From either "Will you go to the dance with me?" or as I like to think, Kevin's "one-more thing" question to Winnie that we don't hear - "Will you dance with me?"
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(Ep 7 - "Heart of Darkness")
"Heart of Darkness" was a complex novel written by Joseph Conrad (Born Teodor Jozef Konrad Korneniowski, December 3, 1857 - Died from heart attack in August 1924 in Canterbury England. His father was sent to prison camp when Joseph was five, and his mother died when he was eight. He had a fairly unpleasant childhood, which set the tone in many of his stories and novels. He also wrote "Lord Jim", among other books. He declined a British knighthood.)
Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" takes place in what was then called the Congo, the stereotypical deep dark Africa. The antagonist, Kurtz, is the largest ivory merchant in the area, and starts out as a decent enough guy. He is treated almost as a god by the natives, which he encourages. He eventually commands great power with the local population, and results in murder and mayhem. The protagonist is named Marlow, and is the narrator of the story. Marlow makes a journey to some ivory stations, and is appalled by the waste and chaos, which gets worse the closer he gets to Kurtz's station. When they finally meet, Kurtz is very ill, and not the picture of a "god". Marlow tries to get Kurtz to medical help, but Kurtz escapes to participate in a "devil ceremony" with the natives. Marlow finally finds Kurtz, but Kurtz dies a few days later, with the words "The horror, the horror." Marlow delivers some of Kurtz's personal papers to his "fiancee", who only remembers (or knows) the good Kurtz. Marlow decides not to tell her Kurtz's final words. (That's about the best I can do from "Cliff Notes".:-) Apparently, much of the novel is based on Conrad's actual experiences in Africa and some of the people he met.
Also the basis of the movie "Apocalypse, Now". Marlon Brando is Kurtz, Martin Sheen is Marlow, and Robert Duvall has the great line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like...victory." The location is changed from Africa to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war.
Kevin's nightmares of the tunnel and storms, and he and Paul making fun of Winnie, are indeed, the "dark side" of his character. And in a manner of speaking, he wants Winnie to worship him as a god. :-)
In Episode 82 "Kodachrome", Miss Shaw reads some of the ending to the class, and asks Kevin for his analysis of the meaning of "the horror, the horror".
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(Ep 8 - "Our Miss White")
From the title of a TV comedy "Our Miss Brooks", (1952-56). Miss Brooks teaches English at Madison High, rents a room from Mrs. Davis, gets rides to school with student Walter, fights with Principal Conklin, and tries to snag shy biology teacher Boynton. In the last year she switches to Mrs. Nestor's private school. Also the basis of the 1956 movie of the same name.
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(Ep 10 - "Steady as She Goes")
Webster's:
- "Steady" adjective 7. Keeping almost upright, as in a rough sea, or staying headed in the same direction: said of a ship.
- "Steady" noun (colloq.) A person whom one dates frequently and exclusively; sweetheart.
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(Ep 11 - "Just Between You and Me...and Kirk and Paul and Carla and Becky")
Based on the phrase "Just between you and me and ****". The "****" can really be any object, but "piano" and "lamp post" are common. Used in a mock-conspiratorial fashion, to indicate that the information should remain confidential. Of course, not much is confidential in this episode :-)
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(Ep 12 - "Pottery Will Get You Nowhere")
Based on the saying "Flattery will get you nowhere". This is ironic, because Jack doesn't compliment Norma about her pottery, or notice her "new hair".
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(Ep 13 - "Coda")
Coda is a musical term denoting a passage formally ending a composition or section. Typically, the music will play through all the verses, repeat the initial ones, then skip the middle ones and go to the coda. This is about the same way Kevin approached music. He played it all (practice and dress-rehearsal), then skipped to the end - giving up.
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(Ep 14 - "Hiroshima, Mon Frere")
Take off on the 1959 movie "Hiroshima, Mon Amour". Leonard Maltin's review: "Resnais' first feature is a thoughtful, complex study of a French film actress and Japanese architect, each with a troubled past, who have a brief affair in postwar Hiroshima."
Of course, the relevence to TWY is that Kevin nukes Wayne's World.
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(Ep 15 - "Loosiers")
"Hoosiers" is the nickname given to people from Indiana, and of the teams at Indiana State University. Also a fact-based film starring Gene Hackman as the coach of an underdog basketball team that wins the championship.
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(Ep 17 - "Nemesis")
Webster's: "Nemesis" - Greek mythology. The goddess of retributive justice. Becky, in a nutshell. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!"
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(Ep 20 - "Brightwing")
Name of the guitar player at "The Rock".
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(Ep 21 - "Square Dance")
Well, duh, obviously they square dance. However, Kevin is also being a "square" about Margaret.
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(Ep 22 - "Whose Woods Are These?")
Based on the first line of the Robert Frost poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening":
"Whose woods these are I think I know"
A man pauses in his travel, for a short peaceful rest at some woods, before he continues his long journey. Of course, Harper's Woods are torn down, and Kevin, Winnie, and Paul must make another step in their life journey. They do leave a permanent reminder of their childhood - KA, WC, and PP scratched in the cement at the mall :-).
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(Ep 23 - "How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation")
This is a typical school writing assignment.
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(Ep 24 - "Summer Song")
This is the title of a Chad and Jeremy song. Originally, Mark. B. Perry, the writer of this episode, wanted to use this song in the episode, but the producers decided it didn't quite "work". (It was #36 in 1964.) Here it is...
Trees swayin' in the summer breeze
Showin' off their silver leaves
As we walked by
Soft kisses on a summer's day
Laughing all our cares away
Just you and I
Sweet sleepy warmth of summer nights
Gazing at the distant lights
In the starry sky
They say that all good things must end some day
Autumn leaves must fall
But don't you know that it hurts me so
To say goodbye to you
Wish you didn't have to go, no no no no
And when the rain
Beats against my window pane
I'll think of summer days again
And dream of you
They say that all good things must end some day
Autumn leaves must fall
But don't you know that it hurts me so
To say goodbye to you
Wish you didn't have to go, no no no no
And when the rain
Beats against my window pane
I'll think of summer days again
And dream of you
And dream of you
Mark posted this on 9/19/01, about the chatroom theories as to the location...
"Interesting that you mention Myrtle Beach, SC, Albert, as that was the original inspiration for Summer Song and "Ocean City." My family used to
vacation there during the 60s and early 70s, and it was in fact where my parents spent their honeymoon in the 50s. As to the Ocean City in TWY, it was meant to be just a generic anywhere USA seaside resort. Could be Maryland, could be Jersey, could be California, could be the Pacific Northwest."
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(Ep 26 - "Wayne on Wheels")
"Hell on (wheels)" is a nickname applied to someone who is an aggressive terror at some activity - in this case, driving.
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(Ep 27 - "Mom Wars")
"Star Wars" is the title of the widely popular 1977 movie - and the nickname applied to President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which calls for Earth-orbiting lasers capable of shooting down missiles.
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(Ep 28 - "On the Spot")
1. Kevin is "on the spot (light)".
2. Winnie is "on the spot" to perform well in a play, for her family.
3. Paul feels the pressure of being the "spot light operator".
4. Kevin is again under pressure to actually operate "the spot (light)", particularly because he believes he can support Winnie with it.
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(Ep 37 - "St. Valentine's Day Massacre")
Webster's:
- "Valentine" - 1. Masculine name 2. Saint, 3rd century AD; Christian martyr of Rome; his day is February 14.
- "valentine" - 2a. a greeting card or note sent to a real or pretended sweeheart on this day, and containing lines of sentimental love.
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was a historical event in the "gangster" history, when a warehouse was "raided" and the victims were gunned down execution style. Thanks Jeff :-)
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(Ep 42 - "The Unnatural")
From the 1984 movie "The Natural", starring Robert Redford as an over-age baseball player who apparently comes out of nowhere to be a great player. Alan Fudge, who played "Ken Stein" in "Cost of Living", is in it as well.
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(Ep 44 - "Cocoa and Sympathy")
From the 1956 movie "Tea and Sympathy". The tagline for it was "Where does a woman's sympathy leave off - and her indiscretion begin?" Here is the summary written by Ron Kerrigan for the IMDB...
Tom Lee is a sensitive boy of 17 whose lack of interest in the "manly" pursuits of sports, mountain climbing and girls labels him "sissy-boy" at the college he is attending. Head master Bill Reynold's wife Laura sees Tom's suffering at the hands of his school mates (and her husband), and tries to help him find himself.
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(Ep 48 - "Ninth-Grade Man")
Take off of "Peking" man, or any similar anthropological specimen. The episode used evolution as the metaphor, reinforced by music from "2001's" ape scene, and Barbella being a "gorilla".
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(Ep 51 - "It's a Mad, Mad, Madeline World")
Zany comedy movie of 1963 "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". The "plot" was a bunch of characters (mostly famous comedians from the time) go on a cross-country race to find a treasure buried under the "Big W". Spoiler --> (The "W" turns out to be palm trees :-)
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(Ep 52- "Little Debbie")
This is a brand-name of bakery products, similar to "Dolly Madison" and "Sarah Lee".
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(Ep 58 - "Denial")
First of five stages of death (as developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychologist, in the 1969 book "On Death and Dying".)
1. Denial: No, not me!
2. Anger: Why me?!
3. Bargaining: Yes, me, but...
4. Depression: Yes, me.
5. Acceptance: OK, me.
Paul: "Kevin. Maybe you should just...accept it."
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(Ep 63 - "When Worlds Collide")
This is a 1951 sci-fi movie. From an old review at defunct http://ds.dial.pipex.com.
"Forget 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon' - the original planetary disaster movie was 'When Worlds Collide', an offspring of the 1950's sci-fi revolution which spawned other great classics such as 'Forbidden Planet' and 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. By scripting the plot from a scientific standpoint, the film gains much credibility in the approach it takes to saving mankind from an impending collision with Bellus, a planet headed straight for Earth. The film begins with Dr. Cole trying to convince a disbelieving U.N. council that his predictions for the collision are correct, but his calculations are dismissed as a hoax. However, a couple of wealthy industrialists believe him and finance the construction of a spaceship to escape the doomed Earth. Cole's daughter has fallen in love with an ace pilot, much to the chagrin of her ex-fiancé, and the tension between the three builds as the countdown to destruction progresses. A final boost of cash comes from wheelchair-bound millionaire, who buys a place on the rocket while younger, more eligible candidates are filtered out by drawing lots. As the day of reckoning approaches, the workers who didn't get places on the rocket mount an attack and try to storm the vessel by force. The climax comes when the rocket launches just seconds before Bellus impacts, and Cole sacrificing both himself and Stanton to conserve fuel. After a short journey, the rocket lands on Zyra and the colonists emerge onto their new home planet and witness the first dawn. The special effects are achieved by a combination of clever matte paintings and models, neither of which look particularly realistic but then that's partly the appeal. You wouldn't buy this movie for the plot or the effects, but simply for the nostalgia of watching it. The 50's were a real sci-fi lovers' period, and 'When Worlds Collide' was one of the better movies from this time. Using special effects and matting techniques which are still in use today, this film was one a new breed of 'believable' space travel movies. If you're into disaster stories of epic proportions, then they don't come any bigger than this."
Well, golly!
Kyle's Note: Although the acting is decent and the story is OK, it is really silly in the technical aspects. A few examples...when the rocket takes off, the passengers do not show any signs of "G" force, but just slowly pass out for a few minutes...the dials and switches on the ship are really huge... the seats they sit in are almost lawn-chair quality....they all wear a sort of military poncho and knit cap for a space suit...the 400 foot-long ship slides to a stop on a snow-covered valley, yet in the near distance is a lake, some cactus-like flowers, rugged rock formations, and green grass...the "air" on the new planet is "the best" one guy ever tasted, and the gravity seems (hmmm) identical to Earth's...finally, the earthquakes and tidal waves caused by the approaching planet before take-off come on all of a sudden, like 1:00 PM, as predicted months earlier. Sheesh! Still, a fun movie.
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(Ep 67 - "The House That Jack Built")
From the phrase "the house that Ruth built". The "house" is Yankee stadium, as well as the great team in general. "Ruth" is George Herman "Babe" Ruth, the baseball great. He acquired his nickname when a talent scout, notorious for finding young players, brought him to the field and a player quipped "Well, here's Jack's newest babe." Ruth started playing in 1914. After being traded to the Yankees in 1920, the formerly pennantless team won the World Series in 1921, '22, '23, '27 (sweep), '28 (sweep), '32, and '33. He retired in 1935, and was one of the original five inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1946. He wore his jersey (#3) for the last time in July, 1948, when it was retired during the 25th anniversary of Yankee stadium. He died August 16, 1948, never attaining his dream of managing a big-league team. Stats: 2503 games, 8399 at-bats. Lifetime batting average: .342 with 714 homeruns. 12-time homerun leader. Lifetime ERA: 2.28 (Pitched 163 games).
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(Ep 79 - "Pfeiffer's Fortune")
During an online chat that included writer Mark Perry answering some fan questions, I asked about the title for this episode. Mark replied:
Hi Kyle,
Just dropped in again and saw this post, my interest piqued because this was one of my episodes and... the official title of the episode, the title that appeared on all the scripts, schedules, and post production documents, was "Pfeiffer's Fortune." In the first draft, I actually titled it "Pfeiffer's Pfortune" but some folks thought it looked like a typo. (Hey, it made me laugh.) As to "Pfeiffer's Choice" as a title, not sure who made the initial mistake here and also not sure what the "choice" would refer to in context of the story. It was Jack's choice not to invest in the land deal that set off the conflict in the episode. At any rate, the official title is "Pfeiffer's Fortune," which I prefer, as it has a nice alliteration to it.
Hope this helps.
Mark
So, that is from the horses mouth :-) However, in the Star Vista 2014 release interview with Josh Saviano, Josh calls it "Pfeiffer's Choice", and it is so listed on IMDB. Fittingly, however, the title on the StarVista 2014 release is "Pfeiffer's Pfortune", with the "Pf".
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(Ep 82 - "Kodachrome")
Although Kodachrome is the trademark for a line of Kodak slide films, in this instance it refers to the Paul Simon song of the same name, the opening line of which is "When I look back at all the crap I learned in high school..."
Full lyrics.
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(Ep 84 - "Of Mastodons and Men")
Based on the poem by Robert Burns (1759-1796) called "To A Mouse". Sorry, I can't translate the Scottish :-) Here is the verse containing the line.
But Mousie, thou art no thy lane
In proving foresight may be vain
The best-laid schemes o mice an men
Gang aft agley
An lea'e us nought but grief an pain
For promis'd joy!
"Of Mice and Men" is also the title of a John Steinbeck book.
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(Ep 88 - "Carnal Knowledge")
Websters ("carnal"): In or of the flesh; bodily; material or worldly, not spiritual. 2. having to do with or preoccupied with bodily or sexual pleasures; sensual or sexual.
Title of a 1971 movie. (Written by Jules Feiffer :-). A line that Feiffer removed from the script was, "Boys begin life not liking girls, later they don't change, they just get horny." :-)
This summary is from www.buybuddy.com
The bitter experiences of two middle-class, American males chronicle the changes in America's sexual mores over the course of the three decades. Nicholson, the cruel but charismatic misogynist, and Garfunkel, the bland idealist, meet as college roommates at a small New England college in the 1940s. As their friendship progresses through the '50s and '60s, their search for the ideal woman leads to failed marriages, bad relationships and emotional emptiness. Director Nichols seems particularly adept at negotiating this kind of psychological minefield. Nicholson is fascinating to watch, but the supporting women, including Bergen and especially Ann-Margret, supply the soul. (Carol) Kane's screen debut.
Ann-Margret was nominated for 1971 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.
Starring:
Ann-Margret
Art Garfunkel
Candice Bergen
Carol Kane
Cynthia O'Neal
Jack Nicholson
Rita Moreno
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(Ep 89 - "The Lost Weekend")
1945 movie. Leonard Maltin's review: "Unrelenting drama of alcoholism - and a landmark of adult filmmaking in Hollywood. Milland's powerful performance won him an Oscar; there's fine support from bartender da Silva, sanitarium aide Faylen. Won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay." It was one of the first movies to portray alcoholism is a realistic way.
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(Ep 90 - "Stormy Weather")
"Stormy weather" typically denotes tense or strained relationships between people. The title of a 1933 song - at the end of the episode of M*A*S*H entitled "Ain't Love Grand", Klinger is drunkenly singing it, after being dumped. Charles, who had been trying to give a local "working girl" some culture, also drunkenly joins in, and they both sing off-key.
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(Ep 94 - "Homecoming")
This relates to both the homecoming game, and Wart returning from Vietnam.
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(Ep 96 - "Scenes from a Wedding")
1991 movie "Scenes from a Mall" with Bette Midler and Woody Allen as a married couple who want to get divorced after learning of each others affairs.
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(Ep 99 - "White Lies")
Webster's: "A lie concerning a trivial matter, often one told to spare someone's feelings". Well, it backfired this time.
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(Ep 103 - "Let Nothing You Dismay")
A line from the Christmas carol "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen", which begins...
God rest you merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
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(Ep 105 - "Alice in Autoland")
From the Lewis Carroll book title "Alice in Wonderland". After following a rabbit down a burrow, Alice has an adventure with strange characters, including a smiling Cheshire cat, a large white rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts.
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(Ep 108 - "Hulk Arnold")
"Hulk Hogan" is the ring-name used by Terry Bollea, a professional wrestler and actor.
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(Ep 112 - "The Little Women")
Title of the 1869 book by Louisa May Alcott, and the subsequent movies (1918, 1933, 1949, & 1994) about sisters growing up in post-Civil War America.
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Episode Info
Wonder Years Menu
4/18/21 11:45