arnold: 1968, the summer before junior high school. and i don't mind saying i was a pretty fair little athlete. bianculli: "the wonder years" was a guy in modern times looking back on his childhood. that in itself is not new, but "the wonder years" did it with a wit and with the music. it was a brilliantly written show and a great performance by that entire young cast. hey, steve. it looks like my baby brother and his girlfriend have found each other. [ chuckles ] she's not my girlfriend. kevin arnold has to cope with all the timeless problems of growing up during one of the most turbulent times that we have known. kevin arnold is just like a regular kid except in the 1960s. and he's not really aware of many of the events. like in one of the episodes, the whole family's watching the apollo 8 take off. but i'm just sitting there trying to call a girl.