document_title: The Wonder Years

question_text: where was the wonder years supposed to take place

text: The Wonder Years

text: Production[edit]

text: Conception[edit]

text: The series was conceived by writers Neal Marlens and Carol Black. They set out to create a family show that would appeal to the baby-boomer generation by setting the series in the late '60s, a time of radical change in America's history. They also wanted the series to tie this setting in to the life of a normal boy growing up during the period. After writing the script for the pilot episode, Marlens and Black began pitching the series to television networks. None of them were interested, except for ABC, with whom Marlens and Black reached an agreement.[14]

text: Marlens had originally wanted the setting to be his native Huntington, Long Island, where he grew up. Elements were also taken from Black's childhood from the White Oak section of Silver Spring, Maryland.[15] ABC, however, insisted that the location remain nonspecific (the colloquial "Anytown, USA").[16][17][18][19]

text: Writing[edit]

text: When they started writing the series, Marlens and Black took a script for a future film that they had been toying with, which featured an off-screen narrator. Black explained, "We liked the concept that you could play with what people think and what they're saying, or how they would like to see themselves as opposed to how the audience is seeing them."[20] They based the show, in part, on their own childhood growing up in the suburbs. Black recalled that "we naturally [took] elements of our experience and [threw] them into the pot. The basic setup, the neighborhood, the era – that's the time and place where we grew up."[20]

text: Casting[edit]

text: The search for the main lead of the show did not take long. Marlens and Black went to five casting directors and interviewed them for recommendations. All five of them recommended Fred Savage, who at the time was famous for his roles as the grandson in The Princess Bride and as Charlie/Marshall in Vice Versa. Marlens and Black, having never heard of Savage, decided to see the rough cut of Vice Versa. Said Marlens, "[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's a rare thing to find in a child actor." Marlens and Black took this approach when casting the other kids for the show, looking for natural ability rather than professionalism. According to Marlens, they saw 300 to 400 kids before narrowing it down to 70, "My wife and I made the final choice ... each of whom had to be approved by the network."[21] For the choice of Savage's character's main love interest, the choice came down to actress Danica McKellar and her sister, Crystal McKellar. With just days to go before shooting, the producers eventually selected Danica to play Winnie Cooper. However, Mary Buck, the head of casting, noted that, "it was practically a tossup". Crystal McKellar was liked so much by the producers that they eventually created the character of Becky Slater so that they could have her on the show.[22] Danica later reflected on the experience, "I auditioned, like everyone else. They had read lots of girls but hadn't found their 'Winnie' yet, and I was thrilled to be chosen."[23]

text: Filming[edit]

text: At the end of the first season, Marlens and Black departed from the show. Although they never gave a reason for their sudden departure, it may have been due to Black's pregnancy. She hinted at it in an interview in April 1988, saying "We have secret plans to leave Los Angeles before our kids reach the age of cognizance."[20] One challenge for the cast and crew was filming around a child actor, meaning that the show had to obey child labor laws. Savage at the time explained, "You have to get at least three hours of school in every day. So whenever I'm on a break, I go to school. It's really intense because I have to get a lot done in short periods. And it's hard because if they need you back on the set, they pull you away every twenty minutes. If you're writing an essay and suddenly get inspired, you've got to stop and go back to work."[24] Many exterior shots were filmed in Burbank, California.[25]

text: Lawsuit[edit]

text: As the show was in the process of wrapping its sixth and final season, a costume designer on the show named Monique Long filed a sexual harassment charge against stars Fred Savage and Jason Hervey.[26] The suit brought a lot of unwanted publicity to the show. In the end, the case was settled out of court, with Savage stating that he was "completely exonerated", adding that it was a "terrible experience".[27]

text: Cancellation[edit]

text: The Wonder Years wrapped its sixth and final season in May 1993. Its cancellation was partially blamed on conflict between producers and executives at ABC. As Kevin matured, the producers wanted the storylines to mature as well. However, the executives at ABC felt uncomfortable with more explicit content given the time slot, saying, "We felt it was inappropriate to present Kevin's awakening because of the setting in the 1960s, the gentle tone of the series and, most importantly, the 8 p.m. time period." Bob Brush noted that, "When Kevin became 16 and 17, there were really things he needed to get to that we couldn't 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, "You could do this on any show besides The Wonder Years." Other reasons for the show's cancellation were escalating costs and declining ratings. The cast's salary increases, coupled with location shooting (which was due to the producers wanting to reflect Kevin obtaining his driver's license), led to Brush claiming that they were spending $1.2 million an episode. The final episode aired on May 12, 1993. Bob Brush noted that the finale was not what he would have wanted it to be, but because the cast and crew were unsure at the time of filming if the sixth season was going to be the last, he was forced to have the ending be open-ended, until the recording of Daniel Stern's narration.[28] Fans were somewhat disappointed with the ending, in particular the revelation that Kevin and Winnie don't end up as a couple. Brush acknowledged this disappointment, saying, "Some viewers [were] surprised that nothing works out the way your fondest wish would be," and explained, "The message I wanted in there is that that's part of the beauty of life. It's fine to say, 'I'd like everything to be just the way it was when I was 15 and I was happy,' but it seemed more nurturing to me to say that we leave these things behind and we go on to forge new lives for ourselves."[29]

text: In a January 2018 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Alley Mills said that the sexual-harassment lawsuit against Fred Savage and Jason Hervey was a significant factor in the show's cancellation.[30][31]

text: Plot synopsis[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired
Nielsen ratings[32]

First aired
Last aired
Rank
Rating

1
6
January 31, 1988 (1988-01-31)
April 19, 1988 (1988-04-19)
10
18.8
(Tied with ALF)

2
17
November 30, 1988 (1988-11-30)
May 16, 1989 (1989-05-16)
22
16.3
(Tied with The Hogan Family and The NBC Sunday Night Movie)

3
23
October 3, 1989 (1989-10-03)
May 16, 1990 (1990-05-16)
8
19.2

4
23
September 19, 1990 (1990-09-19)
May 15, 1991 (1991-05-15)
30
14.2

5
24
October 2, 1991 (1991-10-02)
May 13, 1992 (1992-05-13)
N/A
N/A

6
22
September 23, 1992 (1992-09-23)
May 12, 1993 (1993-05-12)
N/A
N/A

text: The series depicts the social and family life of a boy in a typical American suburban middle-class family from 1968 to 1973, covering the ages of 12 through 17. Each year in the series takes place exactly 20 years before airing (1988 to 1993).

text: The show's plot centers on Kevin Arnold, son of Jack and Norma Arnold. Kevin's father holds a management job at NORCOM, a defense contractor, while his mother is a housewife. Kevin also has an older brother, Wayne, and an older sister, Karen. Two of Kevin's friends and neighbors are prominently featured throughout the series: his best friend, Paul Pfeiffer, and his crush-turned-girlfriend Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper. Storylines are told through Kevin's reflections as an adult in his mid-30s, voiced by narrator Daniel Stern.

text: In the pilot episode, Winnie's older brother Brian, who Kevin admires, is killed in action in Vietnam in 1968. Kevin meets Winnie in a nearby wooded area called Harpers Woods. This unsaid relationship between Winnie and Kevin remains dormant for a long while, with Winnie starting to date a popular 8th grader named Kirk McCray and Kevin briefly going steady with Becky Slater. After Kevin breaks up with Becky due to his feelings for Winnie, Becky becomes a recurring nuisance for Kevin. Winnie eventually dumps Kirk as well, and Kevin and Winnie share a second kiss at the start of the 1969 summer vacation. Around St. Valentine's Day 1970, Winnie temporarily dates Paul, who has broken up with his girlfriend Carla. Winnie and Kevin start dating each other soon after.

text: Just before the summer break, Winnie and her family move to a house four miles away. Although Winnie attends a new school, Lincoln Junior High, she and Kevin decide to remain together and maintain a successful long distance relationship. A beautiful new student named Madeline Adams joins Kevin's school and quickly catches Kevin's eye, but it is Winnie who breaks up with Kevin after meeting Roger, a jock at her new school. Neither relationship lasts long, but Winnie and Kevin don't reunite until she is injured in a car crash. After graduating from junior high, Kevin and Winnie both go to McKinley High and Paul attends a prep school. Paul would later transfer to McKinley High and join Kevin and Winnie.

text: Earlier seasons of the show tended to focus on plots involving events within the Arnold household and Kevin's academic struggles, whereas later seasons focused much more on plots involving dating and Kevin's friends.

text: Kevin has several brief flings during the summer of 1971 and the 1971–1972 academic year. After Kevin's grandfather gets his driver's license revoked, he sells his car to Kevin for a dollar. Paul transfers to McKinley High after his first semester at prep school when his father runs into financial troubles. Wayne decides to join the army as a result of his inability to do well in school. This gets turned around when Wayne isn't able to get his physical. Winnie and Kevin are reunited when they go on a double date to a school dance and find themselves more attracted to each other than their respective partners. In late 1972, Kevin's older brother Wayne starts working at NORCOM, and dates his co-worker Bonnie, a divorcée with a son, but the relationship does not last. Kevin's father quits NORCOM, and buys a furniture manufacturing business.

text: Final episode and epilogue[edit]

text: In the series finale double episode, Winnie decides to take a job for the summer of 1973 as a lifeguard at a resort. Kevin, meanwhile, is at his job at his father's furniture factory and calls Winnie, who is distant and seems to be enjoying her time away from Kevin. Eventually, Kevin and his father fight and Kevin announces that he is leaving, reasoning that he needs to "find himself." Kevin drives to the resort where Winnie is working, hopeful that she can secure him a job and they can spend the rest of the summer together.[33][34]

text: Kevin eventually secures a job at the resort, and plays a round of poker with the in-house band. He wins big, and goes out to search for Winnie to tell her of his good fortune. To his surprise, he sees Winnie engaged in a passionate kiss with another lifeguard.

text: The next day, Kevin confronts her and they fight. Kevin then plays another round of poker, losing his car in a bet. Desperate, Kevin confronts Winnie and her new boyfriend at the restaurant and ends up punching him in the face. Kevin then leaves the resort on foot.

text: On a desolate stretch of highway, Kevin decides to begin hitchhiking. He finally gets picked up by an elderly couple and much to his surprise he finds Winnie in the backseat. Winnie was fired over the fight Kevin instigated at the resort. Kevin and Winnie begin to argue and the elderly couple loses patience and kicks them out of the car. A rain storm begins and Kevin and Winnie search for shelter. They find a barn and discuss how much things are changing and the future. They make up and kiss passionately. (It is loosely implied that the two lose their virginity with each other.)

text: The narrator's monologue states

text: Once upon a time, there was a girl I knew who lived across the street, brown hair, brown eyes. When she smiled, I smiled, when she cried, I cried. Every single thing that ever happened to me that mattered, in some way, had to do with her. That day, Winnie and I promised each other that no matter what, that we will always be together. It was a promise full of passion, truth and wisdom. It was the kind of promise that can only come from the hearts of the very young.

text: They soon find their way back to their hometown and arrive hand-in-hand to a Fourth of July parade. During this parade, the adult Kevin (Daniel Stern) describes the fate of the show's main characters. Kevin makes up with his father, graduates from high school in 1974, and leaves for college, later becoming a writer. Paul studies law at Harvard. Karen, Kevin's sister, gives birth to a son in September 1973. Kevin's mother becomes a businesswoman and corporate board chairwoman. Kevin's father dies in 1975, and Wayne takes over his father's furniture business. Winnie studies art history in Paris while Kevin stays in the United States. Winnie and Kevin end up writing to each other once a week for the next eight years. When Winnie returns to the United States in 1982, Kevin meets her at the airport with his wife and eight-month-old son.

text: The final sounds, voice-over narration, and dialogue of the episode and series is that of Kevin (voice of Daniel Stern), with children heard in the background:

text: 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.

text: A little boy (Stern's real life son, Henry) can be heard asking his dad to come out and play catch during a break in the final narration. Kevin responds, "I'll be right there" as the episode – and series – closes.

text: In 2011, the finale was ranked #11 on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.[35]

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage): Character born March 18, 1956, Kevin grew up in the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s.[36] The voice of Kevin as an adult (and the show's narrator) is supplied by Daniel Stern (Arye Gross in the original broadcast of the pilot).
John "Jack" Arnold (Dan Lauria): Character born on November 6, 1927, died in 1975. Kevin's father was a gruff, laconic man and a Korean War veteran; he grew up during the Great Depression, served in the US Marine Corps, and is seen in photographs wearing the uniform of a First Lieutenant. He works at NORCOM, a large military defense corporation, in a middle management position he loathes. Later, he starts his own business, building and selling handcrafted furniture. The series's last episode reveals that he dies in 1975 near the end of Kevin's freshman year of college – that is, two years after the time of the show's finale – although in a previous episode, an adult Kevin says his father would later be the grandfather of Kevin's sons. Jack represents the viewpoint of the "Silent Generation" that grew up during the Depression and came of age during the Second World War; it was confused and angered by the rapid changes taking place in the 1960s. He is described as a Republican who voted for Richard Nixon twice in the presidential elections of 1968 and 1972.
Norma Arnold (née Gustavson) (Alley Mills): Character born circa 1928, Kevin's housewife mother. Unlike her husband, Norma is friendly and upbeat. She met Jack as a college freshman. When he graduated, she moved across the country with him and did not finish college. She eventually gets her degree late in the series and begins work at a software startup called Micro Electronics. Although she came of age at the same time as her husband, she is less conservative than her husband and increasingly yearns to break out of her homemaker role, reflecting the rise of feminism in the 1960s.
Karen Arnold (Olivia d'Abo): Character born circa 1950, Kevin's older, hippie sister. Her free-spirited ways clash with her overbearing father's conservatism, and she depends upon her mother as a mediator. When Karen moves in with her boyfriend Michael (David Schwimmer) during her freshman year of college, she has a falling out with her father. The pair marry one year later and move to Alaska, where Michael has secured a good job. Karen ultimately accepts some of her parents' viewpoints and has a baby, while her husband learns to support his wife and child.
Wayne Arnold (Jason Hervey): Character born circa 1954, Wayne is Kevin's older brother. Wayne enjoys physically tormenting Kevin and Paul, calling Kevin "butthead" or "scrote". He takes over the family furniture business when his father dies. Wayne is usually portrayed as a loser in romantic relationships. For a time, he dated a girl named Dolores, but that was more casual than serious. In later seasons, Wayne matures. In the final season, he begins a serious relationship with a divorcée named Bonnie, but is left heartbroken when she reconciles with her husband.
Paul Joshua Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano): Character born March 14, 1956, Paul is Kevin's long time best friend, a bright and excellent student, and an allergy sufferer. He is also Jewish and in one episode celebrates his Bar Mitzvah. Although Kevin and Paul are best friends in the series's early seasons, their relationship becomes somewhat strained later. Kevin begins to spend more time with Chuck and Jeff, causing tension with Paul. Paul also attends a private prep school for one season, leaving Kevin alone to start public high school. In another episode, Kevin tattles on Paul after Paul loses his virginity. In the final episode, it is revealed that Paul eventually attends Harvard.
Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper (Danica McKellar): Winnie is Kevin's main love interest and neighbor. Her older brother's death in the Vietnam War plays a big part in the pilot. In another episode, Winnie's parents separate in grief over the death of their son. In the epilogue of the final episode, it is revealed that Winnie travels overseas to study art history in Paris. Kevin and Winnie write to each other every week for eight years until she returns; in the concluding moments of the finale, Kevin says that when Winnie returned to the States, Kevin met her accompanied by his wife and first child, despite the hope among Wonder Years fans that Kevin and Winnie would themselves marry. "Like I said," says Kevin at the end, "things never turn out exactly the way you plan them." As suggested in an episode entitled "The Accident" and in the finale episode of the series, every important event in Kevin's life has somehow involved Winnie.

text: Syndication[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Reruns of the show aired in syndication between September 1992 and September 1997. Nick at Nite then reran the show from October 13, 1997 to February 3, 2001.[37] It also reran on The New TNN (January 22, 2001 to September 28, 2001), ABC Family (November 12, 2001 to October 2, 2004), Ion Television (April 2, 2007 to October 4, 2007), and The Hub (October 11, 2010 to August 31, 2012).

text: In Canada, the show aired on CTS Ontario from September 2010 until September 2, 2011.

text: In Australia, the show aired on Network Ten between 1989 and 1995, then from March 31, 2012 on ABC1.

text: In Spain the series initially aired Mondays 9:30pm on TVE2 (now La2) as part of the Monday night Comedy block which also featured Murphy Brown. The series was later promoted to main channel TVE1 where it aired Fridays 9pm. Years later, in the late 90s, commercial station Antena 3TV recovered the series and aired it first in its 2pm comedy hour, later relocating it to a 530pm slot as part of the youth macro-show La Merienda.[citation needed]

text: Opening Sequence[edit]

text: Three different versions of the opening were made and each set to the Joe Cocker rendition of With a Little Help from My Friends.

text: First version (Pilot)[edit]

text: This first version of the opening was very basic: Nothing but a black screen was shown, after the title logo, with each cast member's name appearing in the center one by one. Much like the Arye Gross narration, this version of the opening was only used once when the pilot first aired after Super Bowl XXII.

text: Second version (Seasons one through five)[edit]

text: This opening now consists of home movie footage from the pilot, after the title logo is shown, ending with the "Created by" credit. In season five, more footage is added to show how much the cast has aged.

text: Third version (Season six)[edit]

text: The opening was overhauled completely in this version. Now, it consisted of stock footage and images of various moments throughout 60's and early 70s culture (i.e. John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-in, The Kent State Shootings, The Moon Landing, an anti-war protest.), and was set to a new edit of Cocker's rendition of the song (starting with the chorus, versus the opening of the song, as was the case in seasons one through five). The final image in this version is of Kevin, Paul, Winnie, and presumably some of their classmates in a group photograph edited to look like it belonged in the time period.

text: Home video releases[edit]

text: Initially, the first four episodes were released on 2 VHS Tapes by Anchor Bay in 1997, with most of the music intact (a select few songs, however, were re-recordings).[38] In the coming years, fees for licensing music prevented further episodes from being released at that point on VHS. The two volumes that were released on VHS were later released on DVD in 2000. Four episodes of the series were also included in two official "best-of" DVD sets (The Best of The Wonder Years and The Christmas Wonder Years), without much of the original music.[39][40]

text: For many years, The Wonder Years remained unreleased on DVD as official season box sets, due to music licensing issues.[41] Because of this issue, The Wonder Years routinely appeared high on the list of TV shows in-demand for a DVD release.[39][42][43]

text: In a blog update on the Netflix website on March 30, 2011,[44] and a press release issued the next day,[45] Netflix stated that they would be adding The Wonder Years to their instant streaming service. The other three 20th Century Fox series noted as part of the deal were added to the Watch Instantly service by April 2,[46][47][48] while The Wonder Years remained unavailable. On October 1, 2011,[49] 114 full-length episodes of the series were added to Netflix streaming. The clip show from the end of Season 4, which was released on DVD, has not been included.[50]

text: On September 26, 2011, it was announced that Amazon Prime's streaming video service would be adding The Wonder Years, describing the series as "available on digital video for the first time",[51] although Netflix added the series ahead of Amazon's release. All 115 episodes (including the clip show) became available to Prime members starting October 6, 2011.[52]

text: On both digital streaming services, portions of the soundtrack have been replaced. The show's opening theme, Joe Cocker's rendition of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends," has been replaced on Netflix[53] and Amazon with the version of the song that played in the UK and other overseas airings. The majority of the show's soundtrack remains unchanged. Songs such as "Light My Fire" by The Doors and "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix have been replaced by generic sound-alikes with different lyrics.

text: On February 11, 2014, StarVista/Time Life announced the upcoming DVD release of the complete series in the second half of the year, noting that they were "painstakingly securing the rights for virtually every song."[54] On June 11, packaging details for complete set were revealed. The packaging consists of a miniature school locker featuring a replica yearbook with signatures from cast members, behind-the-scenes photos and classic show memorabilia. Also included are two notebooks similar to those carried by the two lead characters, each featuring detailed episode information, production photos, all 115 episodes plus over 15 hours of bonus features on 26 DVDs. Customized Wonder Years magnets are also included. On September 30, 2014, the complete series was released to those that pre-ordered the set through mail order from Time Life/Star Vista. Also a box set for the first four seasons was released as well. October 10, 2014, though was considered the official release date.[55]

text: On October 7, 2014, Star Vista released Season One on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.[56] Season Two was released on February 3, 2015. Season Three was released on May 26, 2015. Season Four was released on January 12, 2016. Season Five was released on May 24, 2016. Season Six was released on September 27, 2016.

text: On October 6, 2015, Star Vista released The Wonder Years- The Complete Series: Collectors Box set and The Wonder Years- The Complete Series DVD collections in a wide general retail release.[57]

text: On May 9, 2016, Fabulous Films released The Wonder Years - The Deluxe Edition on 26 DVDs in the UK. It was intended to be the first release to contain every episode in its original transmission presentation, although in the end this did not happen.[58] The set includes over 23 hours of bonus material.

text: On October 1, 2017, The Wonder Years was removed from Netflix after being on there for 7 years.

text:
DVD Name
Ep #
Release dates
DVD Special Features

Region 1
Region 2
Region 4

Season One
6
October 7, 2014[59]
N/A
June 8, 2016

Highlights from The Wonder Years cast reunion, May 28, 2014
Featurette: With a Little Help from My Friends: The Early Days of The Wonder Years
Interviews with:

Creators Neal Marlens and Carol Black
Fred Savage
Danica McKellar
Josh Saviano

Season Two
17
February 3, 2015[60]
N/A
June 8, 2016

Interview with Fred Savage (Part 1)
Interview with Danica McKellar (Part 1)
Highlights from The Wonder Years cast reunion
Interview with The Wonder Years creators Neal Marlins and Carol Black

Season Three
23
May 26, 2015
N/A
June 8, 2016

Cast Interviews
Hall Pass: Roundtable with Danica McKellar, Fred Savage, and Josh Saviano
A Family Affair: At Home With The Arnolds

Season Four
23
January 12, 2016
N/A
June 8, 2016

Teachers That Made A Difference
Cast Interviews

Season Five
24
May 24, 2016
N/A
June 8, 2016

That's A Wrap!: Mark B. Perry's Farewell Set Tour Season 5
Will You Love Me Tomorrow: The Wonder Years Love Stories
Cast Interviews

Season Six
22
September 27, 2016
N/A
June 8, 2016

One-Hour ABC Broadcast Of The Series Finale
At Last: The Final Episode
Interview Bob Brush, Executive Produce
From The Vault: Alley Mills And Bob Brush Letters

The Complete Series
115
September 30, 2014
N/A
April 20, 2016
Two notebooks, each featuring detailed episode information and production photos
Replica yearbook embellished with signatures from cast members, behind-the-scenes photos and classic show memorabilia, and liner notes penned by Fred Savage, series creators Neal Marlens and Carol Black, and executive producer Bob Brush
2014 Los Angeles cast reunion, featuring all key cast together for the first time in 16 years
Extensive individual interviews with all seven key cast members (Fred Savage, Danica McKellar, Josh Saviano, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, Olivia d'Abo and Jason Hervey), as well as with notable actors featured as guest stars or in recurring roles, such as David Schwimmer, Ben Stein, Bob Picardo and Seth Green
In-depth interviews with narrator Daniel Stern, Neal Marlens, Carol Black, Bob Brush and other production personnel
10 brand-new featurettes: •"With A Little Help From My Friends": The Early Days of The Wonder Years "The Times They Are A-Changin'": The Era "My Generation": The Kids Grow Up "When A Man Loves A Woman": Kevin & Winnie Forever "Bookends": Kevin & Paul "A Family Affair": At Home With The Arnolds "I Love You For Sentimental Reasons": Fan-Favorite Episodes "Will You Love Me Tomorrow": The Wonder Years' Love Stories "ABC": Teachers That Made A Difference "Both Sides Now": The Music That Made The Moments
"That's a Wrap! Mark B. Perry's Farewell Set Tour Season 5" - Writer/Producer Mark B. Perry's home video set tour from the end of his final season on the show, which includes new commentary from him.
"From the Vault: Alley Mills and Bob Brush Letters" - Alley Mills reads her emotional, written conversation with Executive Producer Bob Brush about the show's finale.
The one-hour finale as it was originally aired on ABC on May 12, 1993, including a deleted scene not included in the half-hour broadcasts of the final two episodes (both the one-hour finale and half-hour versions of the final two episodes will be included in the extras).[61]

text: DVD music replacements[edit]

text: The Time Life DVD releases feature approximately 96% of the original music soundtrack, including Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends" at the opening. There were altogether some 15 exceptions, in most instances featuring generic studio replacement music in place of the original song, while on a few occasions the original soundtrack song was replaced with another version of the same tune. None of the necessary music replacements resulted in footage from the episodes being removed.

text: In the episode "The Phone Call", the "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" was replaced with a song called "Star Crossed Lovers", which has been used in many other TV shows and movies, including The Brady Bunch. In "Dance With Me", Joe Cocker's cover of "The Letter" was replaced with the original version by The Box Tops, while the Herman's Hermits version of "There's a Kind of Hush" was replaced with a rerecording by the Craggy Blue Project. The episode "Heart of Darkness" had two replacements: "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors was replaced with "Children of the Night", while Richie Havens' cover of The Beatles' song "Here Comes the Sun" was replaced by "Train to Nowhere". In the episode "Whose Woods Are These?", the Blood, Sweat & Tears recording entitled "Variations on a Theme By Erik Satie (1st and 2nd Movements)" (adapted from Satie's "Three Gymnopédies") was replaced with "Le Suenne Fite".

text: The episode "How I Am Spending My Summer Vacation" replaced the Doors' "Light My Fire" with "Love's on Fire", while the episode "Summer Song" replaced Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Spinning Wheel" with a rerecording by former BS&T frontman David Clayton Thomas. In "Family Car", Neil Young's "Long May You Run" was replaced with "Keep Your Motor Running". In "Wayne on Wheels", "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" was again replaced by "Star Crossed Lovers". In the episode "The Treehouse", Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" was replaced with "Call the Whole Thing Off". In the episode "Little Debbie", "Tammy" by Liberace was replaced with a song called "Sammy". "Clip Show" contains the scene from "Heart of Darkness" in which "Here Comes the Sun" is replaced with "Train to Nowhere". The episode "Kevin Delivers" dropped Blood, Sweat & Tears' "You've Made Me So Very Happy" with a rerecording by David Clayton Thomas. In the episode "Alice in Autoland", Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" was replaced with a rerecording by him. In the final episode "Independence Day", the Ennio Morricone song "Brothers" from the 1986 motion picture The Mission, which was played over the pivotal barn scene featuring Kevin and Winnie's last kiss, was replaced with the generic tune "Pastorale" (for this instance alone, the same replacement was used in the 1998 The Best of The Wonder Years DVD release).

text: Also, not a music change per se, but the Daniel Stern redub of the pilot is used, with the standard opening sequence.

text: Other than the above music changes, all other music is intact. Of the 115 total episodes, over 100 are completely unaffected by the soundtrack changes.

text: The UK DVD release from Fabulous Films was intended to have no replaced music, but reviews on online retailers and fan websites show that this is not the case.[58]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: The official soundtrack was released in 1988 by Atlantic/WEA and contains a total of 13 tracks, featuring Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", which is the show's theme song.[62]

text: After the series' original run was over, Laserlight Digital released a 5-disc compilation box set under the title Music from 'The Wonder Years in 1994. This is the same company that later released the only two DVDs for the series, The Best of The Wonder Years and The Christmas Wonder Years. The disc included 40 oldies favorites and 5 original songs (each is repeated twice in the set) written exclusively for the series by W. G. Snuffy Walden.

text: In 2014, Time Life released a new soundtrack for the show which accompanies deluxe versions of their complete series DVD set. The CD is not available for purchase separately from the DVD box set, however.

text: Book[edit]

text: In 1990 the book The Wonder Years - Growing up in the Sixties by Edward Gross was published by Pioneer Books (ISBN 1-55698-258-5). It contains information about the creation and production of the show, interviews with cast and crew, and an extensive episode guide (up to the middle of the 4th season when the book was published). While long out of print and hard to find, the author gave permission to a fan website to publish the book online for free in its entirety.[63]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Recipient
Result

1991
American Cinema Editors' Eddie Award
Best Edited Episode from a Television Series
Dennis C. Vejar (For episode "Goodbye")
Nominated

1993
Best Edited Half Hour Series for Television
Dennis C. Vejar (For episode "The Wedding")
Nominated

1989
ASCAP Film and Television Music Award
Top TV Series
Stewart Levin
Won

1988
BMI Film & TV Awards
BMI TV Music Award
W.G. Snuffy Walden, John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Won

1989
Won

1990
Won

1988
Casting Society of America's Artios Award
Best Casting for TV, Comedy Episodic
Mary V. Buck and Susan Edelman
Won

1989
Nominated

1990
Meg Liberman and Marc Hirschfeld
Nominated

1989
Directors Guild of America Award
Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series
Steve Miner (For the pilot episode)
Won

1991
Peter Baldwin (For episode "The Ties That Bind")
Nominated

1989
Golden Globe Award
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Won

1990
Nominated

Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy
Fred Savage
Nominated

1991
Nominated

1988
Humanitas Prize
30 Minute Category
Carol Black and Neal Marlens (For the pilot episode)
Nominated

1989
Matthew Carlson
Won

1990
Todd W. Langen
Won

David M. Stern (For episode "The Powers That Be")
Nominated

1991
Bob Brush
Won

Mark B. Perry (For episode "The Ties That Bind")
Nominated

1992
Craig Hoffman (For episode "Hardware Store")
Nominated

1993
Sy Rosen (For episode "The Nose")
Nominated

1990
Peabody Award

ABC Television and Black/Marlens Company in association with New World Television
Won

1988
Primetime Emmy Award
Outstanding Comedy Series
Carol Black, Neal Marlens and Jeffrey Silver
Won

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Carol Black and Neal Marlens (For the pilot episode)
Nominated

1989
Outstanding Comedy Series
Carol Black, Neal Marlens, Bob Brush, Steve Miner and Jeffrey Silver
Nominated

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Fred Savage
Nominated

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Matthew Carlson (For episode "Pottery Will Get You Nowhere")
Nominated

Todd W. Langen (For episode "Coda")
Nominated

David M. Stern (For episode "Loosiers")
Nominated

Michael J. Weithorn (For episode "Our Miss White")
Nominated

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Peter Baldwin (For episode "Our Miss White")
Won

Michael Dinner (For episode "How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation")
Nominated

Steve Miner (For episode "Birthday Boy")
Nominated

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Robert Picardo
Nominated

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Maxine Stuart
Nominated

Outstanding Editing for a Series - Single Camera Production
Stuart Bass (For episode "Loosiers")
Nominated

Outstanding Costume Design for a Series
Scilla Andreen (For episode "Birthday Boy")
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special
Agamemnon Andrianos, David John West, Ray West and John L. Mack (For episode "Birthday Boy")
Nominated

1990
Outstanding Comedy Series
Bob Brush, Bob Stevens, Jill Gordon, Matthew Carlson, Michael Dinner, Ken Topolsky and Kerry Ehrin
Nominated

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Fred Savage
Nominated

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Bob Brush (For episode "Goodbye")
Won

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Michael Dinner (For episode "Goodbye")
Won

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
David Huddleston
Nominated

Outstanding Editing for a Series - Single Camera Production
Dennis C. Vejar (For episode "Goodbye")
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special
Agamemnon Andrianos, David John West, Ray West and John L. Mack (For episode "St. Valentine's Day Massacre")
Nominated

1991
Outstanding Comedy Series
Bob Brush, Jill Gordon, Ken Topolsky, David Chambers and Michael Dinner
Nominated

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Peter Baldwin (For episode "The Ties That Bind")
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special
Agamemnon Andrianos, David John West, Nello Torri and John L. Mack (For episode "Little Debbie")
Nominated

1992
Agamemnon Andrianos, David John West, Nello Torri and Craig Hunter (For episode "Grandpa's Car")
Nominated

1993
Agamemnon Andrianos, David John West, Nello Torri and Craig Hunter (For episodes "Summer" and "Independence Day")
Nominated

1988
Television Critics Association Award
Program of the Year

Nominated

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
Won

1989
Nominated

1990
Nominated

2006
TV Land Award
Favorite Series Finale

Nominated

2007
Favorite Heard-But-Not-Seen Character
Daniel Stern
Nominated

2008
Character You'd Pay to Do Your Homework for You
Danica McKellar
Nominated

1989
Viewers for Quality Television Award
Best Quality Comedy Series

Nominated

Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series
Fred Savage
Won

1990
Best Quality Comedy Series

Nominated

Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series
Fred Savage
Won

1991
Best Quality Comedy Series

Nominated

Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series
Fred Savage
Nominated

Best Writing in a Quality Comedy Series

Nominated

Best Specialty Player
Robert Picardo
Nominated

1992
Best Quality Comedy Series

Nominated

Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series
Fred Savage
Nominated

1989
Writers Guild of America Award
Episodic Comedy
Carol Black and Neal Marlens (For episode "My Father's Office")
Won

Carol Black and Neal Marlens (For the pilot episode)
Nominated

1990
Matthew Carlson (For episode "Pottery Will Get You Nowhere")
Nominated

Todd W. Langen (For episode "Coda")
Won

1991
Bob Brush (For episode "Goodbye")
Nominated

David M. Stern (For episode "The Powers That Be")
Nominated

Bob Stevens (For episode "Rock 'N' Roll")
Nominated

1989
Young Artist Award
Best Family Television Series

Won

Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Comedy Series
Fred Savage
Won

Best Young Actor Guest-Starring in a Drama or Comedy Series
Robin Thicke
Nominated

Best Young Actor in a Featured, Co-Starring, Supporting, Recurring Role in a Comedy, Drama Series, or Special
Josh Saviano
Nominated

Best Young Actress in a Featured, Co-Starring, Supporting, Recurring Role in a Comedy, Drama Series, or Special
Danica McKellar
Won

1990
Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series
Fred Savage
Nominated

Jason Hervey
Nominated

Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series
Danica McKellar
Nominated

Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series
Robert Jayne
Nominated

Joshua John Miller
Nominated

1992
Best Young Actress Co-Starring in a Television Series
Danica McKellar
Nominated

Best Young Actor Guest-Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series
Brandon Crane
Won

Best Young Actress Guest-Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series
Crystal McKellar
Nominated

Lisa Paige Robinson
Nominated

1993
Best Young Actor Co-Starring in a Television Series
Josh Saviano
Nominated

Best Young Actress Co-Starring in a Television Series
Danica McKellar
Nominated

Best Young Actor Recurring in a Television Series
Giovanni Ribisi
Nominated

Best Young Actress Guest-Starring in a Television Series
Wendy J. Cooke
Nominated


document_title: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

question_text: when does star wars the last jedi come out on dvd

root

text: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

text: Plot[edit]

text: Shortly after the battle of Starkiller Base, General Leia Organa leads Resistance forces to flee D'Qar when a First Order fleet arrives. Poe Dameron leads a costly counterattack that destroys a First Order dreadnought, but after the Resistance escapes to hyperspace, the First Order tracks them and attacks the Resistance convoy. Kylo Ren, Leia's son, hesitates to fire on the lead Resistance ship after sensing his mother's presence, but his TIE fighter wingmen destroy the bridge, killing most of  their leadership and incapacitating Leia, who survives by using the Force. Disapproving of new leader Vice Admiral Holdo's passive strategy, Poe helps Finn, BB-8, and mechanic Rose Tico embark on a secret mission to disable the First Order's tracking device.

tag: p

text: Meanwhile, Rey arrives on Ahch-To with Chewbacca and R2-D2 aboard the Millennium Falcon to recruit Luke Skywalker to the Resistance. Disillusioned by his failure to train Kylo as a Jedi, and under self-imposed exile from the Force,  Luke refuses to help – even after he learns of Han Solo's death at Kylo's hands – and believes the Jedi should go extinct. Unbeknownst to Luke, Rey and Kylo communicate through the Force, puzzling the two enemies. As Rey and Kylo learn about each other, both have visions of themselves as future partners.

text: R2-D2 persuades Luke to train Rey. After Kylo tells Rey what happened between him and Luke that caused him to choose the dark side, Luke confesses that he momentarily contemplated killing Kylo upon sensing that Supreme Leader Snoke was corrupting him, causing Kylo to destroy Luke's new Jedi Order in retaliation. Convinced that Kylo can be redeemed, Rey leaves Ahch-To without Luke. Luke prepares to burn the Ahch-To Jedi temple and library, but hesitates. Yoda's ghost appears and destroys the temple by summoning a bolt of lightning, claiming Rey has all she needs to learn, and encourages Luke to learn from his failure.

text: Holdo reveals her plan to discreetly evacuate the remaining Resistance members using small transports. Believing her actions cowardly and risky, Poe leads a mutiny. Finn, Rose, and BB-8 travel to the Canto Bight casino and acquire the help of the hacker DJ. They infiltrate Snoke's ship, where all but BB-8 are captured by Captain Phasma. Meanwhile, Rey lands on the ship, and Kylo brings her to Snoke, who says he facilitated the mental connection between her and Kylo as part of a plan to destroy Luke. Ordered to kill Rey, Kylo instead kills Snoke and defeats Snoke's guards alongside Rey. Rey believes that Kylo has returned to the light side of the Force, but he instead invites her to rule the galaxy with him. Refusing, she fights Kylo for possession of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, which splits in two.

text: Leia recovers and stuns Poe, allowing the evacuation to begin. Holdo remains on the ship to mislead Snoke's fleet as the others flee to an abandoned Rebel Alliance base on Crait. DJ reveals the Resistance's plan to the First Order, and the evacuation transports are slowly destroyed. Holdo sacrifices herself by ramming Snoke's fleet at lightspeed; Rey escapes in the chaos, while Kylo declares himself Supreme Leader. BB-8 frees Finn and Rose, who escape after defeating Phasma, and join the survivors on Crait. When the First Order arrives, Poe, Finn, and Rose attack with old speeders. Rey and Chewbacca draw the TIE fighters away with the Falcon, while Rose stops Finn from completing a suicide run against the enemy siege cannon, which subsequently penetrates the Resistance fortress.

text: Luke appears and confronts the First Order to enable surviving Resistance members to escape. Kylo orders the First Order's forces to fire on Luke, to no effect. He then engages Luke in a lightsaber duel; upon striking Luke, Kylo realizes he has been fighting a Force projection of him. Rey uses the Force to help the Resistance escape on the Falcon. Luke, exhausted, dies peacefully on Ahch-To. Rey and Leia sense his death, and Leia tells surviving rebels that the Resistance has all it needs to rise again. At Canto Bight, one of the children who helped Finn and Rose escape grabs a broom with the Force and gazes into space.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, a powerful Jedi Master who has been in self-imposed exile on the planet Ahch-To.[9][10]
Hamill voices Dobbu Scay, named after the film's editor, Bob Ducsay. On Canto Bight, the character mistakes BB-8 for a slot machine.[11][12][13]
Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, twin sister to Luke, former princess of Alderaan, and a leading general in the Resistance.[10] This was Fisher's final film role before her death on December 27, 2016.
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader Snoke's disciple, who is strong with the dark side of the Force and leader to the Knights of Ren. He is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, nephew of Luke Skywalker, and the grandson of Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader).[10]
Daisy Ridley as Rey, a highly Force-sensitive scavenger from the desert planet Jakku who joined the Resistance and goes to find Luke Skywalker.[10]
John Boyega as Finn, a former stormtrooper of the First Order who defected to the Resistance.[10][14]
Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, a high-ranking X-wing fighter pilot in the Resistance.[10][15]
Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, the leader of the First Order and Kylo Ren's master.[10]
Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata, a pirate and ally of the Resistance.[10]
Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, the former head of the First Order's Starkiller Base.[10]
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, a humanoid protocol droid in the service of Leia Organa.[10]
Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, the commander of the First Order's stormtroopers.[10][16]
Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, a member of the Resistance who at the beginning works in maintenance.[17][18]
Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, an officer in the Resistance.[19][20]
Frank Oz as Yoda, the deceased former Grand Master of the Jedi, and Luke's wise former mentor, who appears as a Force-ghost.[21]
Benicio del Toro as DJ, an underworld codebreaker.[19]

tag: ul

text: Joonas Suotamo appears as Chewbacca, taking over the role from Peter Mayhew after previously serving as his body double in The Force Awakens. Mayhew, who was 73 years old and suffering from chronic knee and back pain,[22] is credited as "Chewbacca consultant." Billie Lourd, Mike Quinn, and Timothy D. Rose reprise their roles as Lieutenant Connix, Nien Nunb, and Admiral Ackbar respectively.[23][24][25] Due to the death of Erik Bauersfeld, Admiral Ackbar is now voiced by Tom Kane. Amanda Lawrence appears as Commander D'Acy, and Mark Lewis Jones and Adrian Edmondson play Captains Canady and Peavey respectively. BB-8 is controlled by puppeteers Dave Chapman and Brian Herring,[26] with initial voice work by Ben Schwartz and final sound effects voiced by Bill Hader modulated through a synthesizer.[27] Jimmy Vee portrays R2-D2, taking over the role from Kenny Baker, who died on August 13, 2016.[28][29] Veronica Ngo portrays Rose's sister Paige Tico,[19] a Resistance gunner who sacrifices her life to destroy a First Order dreadnought.

text: Justin Theroux plays the master codebreaker. Lily Cole plays his companion.[30] Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a voice cameo as Slowen Lo.[31] Warwick Davis plays Wodibin.[32] Gareth Edwards, director of the Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One,[33] has a cameo appearance as a Resistance Soldier, as does Gary Barlow.[34] Directors Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish also cameo in the film. Hermione Corfield appears as Tallissan "Tallie" Lintra, a Resistance A-Wing pilot and squadron leader. Noah Segan and Jamie Christopher appear as Resistance pilots Starck and Tubbs.[35] Hamill's children, Griffin, Nathan, and Chelsea, cameo as Resistance soldiers. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry filmed cameo appearances as stormtroopers.[36] Tom Hardy also filmed an appearance as a stormtrooper, but his cameo was dropped from the final cut.[37] Hugh Skinner cameos as a Resistance Officer.

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: In October 2012, Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the Star Wars franchise, to The Walt Disney Company. Disney announced a new trilogy of Star Wars films.[38] J. J. Abrams was named director of the first episode in the trilogy, The Force Awakens, in January 2013.[39][40] In June 2014, director Rian Johnson was reported to be in talks to write and direct its sequel, Episode VIII, and to write a treatment for the third film, Episode IX, with Ram Bergman producing both films.[41][42] Johnson confirmed in August 2014 that he would direct Episode VIII.[43] In September, filmmaker Terry Gilliam asked Johnson about what it felt like to take over something made famous by another filmmaker. Johnson responded:

text: I'm just starting into it, but so far, honestly, it's the most fun I've ever had writing. It's just joyous. But also for me personally, I grew up not just watching those movies but playing with those toys, so as a little kid, the first movies I was making in my head were set in this world. A big part of it is that direct connection, almost like an automatic jacking back into childhood in a weird way. But I don't know, ask me again in a few years and we'll be able to talk about that.[44]

text: The story begins immediately after the last scene of The Force Awakens.[33] Johnson had his story group watch films such as Twelve O'Clock High, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gunga Din, Three Outlaw Samurai, Sahara, and Letter Never Sent for inspiration while developing ideas.[33][45] He felt it was difficult to work on the film while The Force Awakens was being finished.[33]

text: In December 2015, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, "we haven't mapped out every single detail [of the sequel trilogy] yet", and that Abrams was collaborating with Johnson and that Johnson would in turn work with (then) Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow to ensure a smooth transition.[46] Abrams is an executive producer along with Jason McGatlin and Tom Karnowski.[47] Lucasfilm announced the film's title, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, on January 23, 2017.[48]

text: Casting[edit]

text: In September 2015, Disney shortlisted the female cast members to Gina Rodriguez, Tatiana Maslany, and Olivia Cooke.[49] Later that month, Benicio del Toro confirmed that he would play a villain in the film,[50] and Mark Hamill was also confirmed.[9] In October 2015, Gugu Mbatha-Raw was rumored to have been cast in the film.[51] In November, Jimmy Vee was cast as R2-D2.[28] In November, Kennedy announced at the London premiere for The Force Awakens that the entire cast would return for Episode VIII, along with "a handful" of new cast members.[10] In February 2016, at the start of filming, it was confirmed that Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran had been cast in unspecified roles.[20] In April 2017, at Star Wars Celebration Orlando, Lucasfilm announced that Tran plays Resistance maintenance worker Rose Tico, which Johnson described as the film's largest new role.[17][18] To keep Frank Oz's return as Yoda a secret, producers excluded Oz's name in the billing for the film's pre-release marketing and ensured that Oz stayed on set during filming.[21]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Second unit photography began during pre-production at Skellig Michael in Ireland on September 14, 2015, due to the difficulties of filming at that location during other seasons. It would have lasted four days,[52][53][54] but filming was canceled for the first day due to poor weather and rough conditions.[55] In November 2014, Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Studios, confirmed that the film would be shot at Pinewood,[56] with additional filming in Mexico.[14] In September 2015, del Toro revealed that principal photography would begin in March 2016;[50] Kennedy later said filming would begin in January 2016.[10] The production began work on the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios on November 15, 2015.[57] Rick Heinrichs served as production designer.[58]

text: In January 2016, production of Episode VIII was delayed until February due to script rewrites.[59] Filming was in danger of being delayed further due to an upcoming strike between the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television and the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union.[60] On February 10, 2016, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that principal photography had begun[61] under the working title Space Bear.[33] Additional filming took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia from March 9 to 16,[62][63] as well as in Ireland in May.[64] Malin Head in County Donegal and a mountain headland, Ceann Sibeal in County Kerry, served as additional filming locations.[65] To increase the scenes' intimacy Driver and Ridley were both present when filming Kylo and Rey's Force visions.[66] Location filming for the battle scenes on the planet Crait took place in July at the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia.[67]

text: Principal photography wrapped on July 22, 2016,[68] though as of early September, Nyong'o had not filmed her scenes.[69] In February 2017, it was announced that sequences from the film were shot in IMAX.[70] Production designer Rick Heinrichs said the original screenplay called for 160 sets, double what might be expected, but that Johnson did some "trimming and cutting". Ultimately 125 sets were created on 14 sound stages at Pinewood Studios.[71]

text: According to creature designer Neal Scanlan, The Last Jedi uses more practical effects than any Star Wars film, with 180 to 200 creatures created with practical effects, some cut from the final edit.[72] For Yoda's appearance in the film as a Force ghost, the character was created using puppetry, as was done in the original Star Wars trilogy (as opposed to computer-generated imagery, which was used to create Yoda in most of the prequel trilogy).[73]

text: The film's Canto Bight sequence contains a reference to the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil, in which Finn and Rose are arrested for committing parking violation 27B/6.[74]

text: Music[edit]

text: In July 2013, Kennedy announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe that John Williams would return to score the Star Wars sequel trilogy.[75][76] Williams confirmed his assignment for The Last Jedi at a Tanglewood concert in August 2016,[77] stating he would begin recording the score "off and on" in December 2016 until March or April 2017.[78] On February 21, 2017, it was confirmed that recording was underway, with both Williams and William Ross conducting the sessions.[79][80]

text: In lieu of a traditional spotting session with Johnson, Williams was provided a temp track of music from his previous film scores as a reference for scoring The Last Jedi.[81] The score briefly quotes "Aquarela do Brasil" by Ary Barroso in its "Canto Bight" track as another reference to the film Brazil. It also contains a brief quote of Williams performing[82] his own theme for The Long Goodbye (co-composed by Johnny Mercer) during Finn and Rose's escape, but this is not in the official soundtrack release.[83]

text: The official soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on December 15, 2017 in digipak CD, digital formats, and streaming services.[84]

text: Release[edit]

text: In January 2015, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that Episode VIII would be released in 2017,[85] and in March, Lucasfilm announced a release date of May 26, 2017.[86][87] In January 2016, The Last Jedi was rescheduled for December 15, 2017 in 3D and IMAX 3D.[47][88] On January 23, 2017, the film's title was announced as Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[48] Similarly to The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, "Episode VIII" was included in the film's opening crawl, although not in its official title.[89]

text: The Last Jedi had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 9, 2017.[90] The European premiere was held at London's Royal Albert Hall on December 12, 2017, with a red carpet event.[91]

text: It was reported that Disney had placed notable conditions on U.S. cinemas screening The Last Jedi, which some operators described as onerous. Disney required that the film be screened in a cinema's largest auditorium for a four-week period (other Disney releases have had similar clauses, but only for two weeks), and was given a 65% cut of ticket sales (a percentage higher than the 55–60% average of other major films, and cited as the highest split ever demanded by a Hollywood film behind the 64% split of The Force Awakens). The agreement, which was required to be kept confidential, also contained regulations on promotions and restrictions on removing any scheduled screening. Violations were to be penalized with an additional 5% cut of ticket sales. Because of this, some cinemas declined to screen the film, particularly smaller or one-screen cinemas that would otherwise be barred from screening any other film during the commitment period. Industry representatives considered this policy reasonable, citing the performance of Disney releases and the Star Wars franchise, and that the guaranteed business attracted by the film, and concession sales, would make up for the larger cut of ticket sales.[92][93][94][95]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2017)

tag: table

text: A set of eight promotional postage stamps were released on October 12, 2017 in the UK by the Royal Mail with artwork by Malcolm Tween.[96] On September 19, 2017, Australia Post released a set of stamp packs.[97] Tie-in promotional campaigns were done with Nissan Motors and Bell Media, among others. Two main trailers were released, followed by numerous television spots. Figurines of many of the characters were released in October, and advance tickets for Last Jedi went on sale in October.

text: Several tie-in books were released on the same day of the North American release of the movie, including The Last Jedi: Visual Dictionary, and various children's reading and activity books. Related novelizations included the prequel book Cobalt Squadron, and the Canto Bight, a collection of novellas about the Canto Bight Casino.

text: Video games[edit]

text: As with The Force Awakens, there is no official tie-in game for The Last Jedi, in favor of integrating content from the film into other Star Wars video games,[98] including Star Wars Battlefront II, which introduced various content from the film, during the second week of the game's first "season".[99] An update to the MOBA mobile game Star Wars: Force Arena added new content from the sequel era, including some characters as they appeared in The Last Jedi. Characters from the film also appeared in the mobile RPG Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.

text: Home media[edit]

text: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Star Wars: The Last Jedi digitally in HD and 4K via digital download and Movies Anywhere on March 13, 2018, with an Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD physical release on March 27. It was the first Star Wars film to be released on the Ultra HD Blu-ray format.[100]

text: Tie-in literature and merchandise[edit]

text: The official novelization is by Jason Fry, with an audiobook version narrated by Marc Thompson. There is a "junior novel" by Michael Kogge (2018 Lucasfilm Press), and an audiobook version narrated by Jessica Almasy.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Star Wars: The Last Jedi  grossed $620.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $712.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.333 billion.[3] It had a worldwide opening of $450.8 million, the fifth-biggest of all time, including $40.6 million that was attributed to IMAX screenings, the second biggest for IMAX.[101][102] It was estimated that the film would need to gross $800 million worldwide to break even;[103] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $417.5 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the most profitable release of 2017.[104]

text: On December 31, 2017, its 17th day of release, it passed the $1 billion threshold, becoming the fourth film of 2017, the fifteenth Disney film, the fourth Star Wars film and the thirty-second film overall to pass the mark.[105][106] The film was the highest-grossing film of 2017, the second highest-grossing film in the franchise (behind The Force Awakens), the fourth highest-grossing film released by Walt Disney Studios, the sixth highest-grossing film in North America and the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time.[107][108][109][110]

text: United States and Canada[edit]

text: Pre-sale tickets went on sale in the United States on October 9, 2017, and as with The Force Awakens and Rogue One, ticket service sites such as Fandango had their servers crash due to heavy traffic and demand.[111] In the United States and Canada, industry tracking had The Last Jedi grossing around $200 million from 4,232 theaters in its opening weekend.[112] The film made $45 million from Thursday night previews, the second-highest amount ever (behind The Force Awakens' $57 million).[113] It went on to make $104.8 million on its first day (including previews) and $220 million over the weekend, both the second-highest amounts of all time.[114] The opening weekend figure included an IMAX opening-weekend of $25 million, the biggest IMAX opening of the year and the second biggest ever behind The Force Awakens.[115]

text: After dropping by 76% on its second Friday, the worst Friday-to-Friday drop in the series, the film fell by a total of 67.5% in its second weekend, grossing $71.6 million. It was the largest second-weekend drop of the franchise, although it remained atop the box office.[116] The three day total was the 14th biggest second weekend of all time.[117] It grossed an additional $27.5 million on Christmas Day, the second biggest Christmas Day gross of all time behind The Force Awakens ($49.3 million), for a four-day weekend total of $99 million.[118] It made $52.4 million in its third weekend, again topping the box office. It also brought its domestic total to $517.1 million, overtaking fellow Disney vehicle Beauty and the Beast as the highest of 2017.[119] It was the 6th biggest third weekend of all time.[120] It had the 7th biggest New Year's Day gross of all time with $14.3 million, bringing the four day total to $66.8 million.[121][122] It grossed $23.7 million and was surpassed the following weekend by Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (which was in its third week) and Insidious: The Last Key.[123]

text: Outside North America[edit]

text: In its first two days of release the film made $60.8 million from 48 markets. The top countries were the United Kingdom ($10.2 million), Germany ($6.1 million), France ($6 million), Australia ($5.6 million) and Brazil ($2.5 million).[124] By the end of the weekend, the film made $230.8 million outside North America, the ninth-highest of all time. This included $36.7 million in the UK (third-highest), $23.6 million in Germany (second-highest), $18.1 million in France, $15.9 million in Australia (second-highest), $14.4 million in Japan, $8.5 million in Russia, $8.3 million in Spain, $7.2 million in Brazil, $7 million in Italy and Mexico, $6.0 million in Sweden and $5.1 million in South Korea.[125] On its second weekend, it grossed $76.1 million overseas and became the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year in Europe.[126] As of January 21, the largest markets outside of the United States and Canada are the United Kingdom ($109.3 million), Germany ($79.8 million), France ($63.5 million), Japan ($60.8 million) and Australia ($43.5 million).[127]

text: The film had a $28.7 million opening weekend in China, the lowest for a Star Wars film in that country since 2005. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened to $52 million two years prior and Rogue One, which featured Chinese stars Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen, opened to $30 million in 2016. The Last Jedi added only $7 million during the week, to reach a total of $34.2 million in its first seven days. A week after its debut, China's movie exhibitors dropped the film's showtimes by 92 percent, from its 34.5% percent share of the territory's total screenings.[128][129][130][131] The film grossed $910,000 in its third weekend, dropping to ninth place at the Chinese box office, overshadowed by new releases including Bollywood film Secret Superstar, Hollywood films Ferdinand and Wonder, and Chinese film A Better Tomorrow 2018. The Last Jedi grossed $41 million in China, as of January 21, 2018.[132]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has an approval rating of 90% based on 376 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi honors the saga's rich legacy while adding some surprising twists—and delivering all the emotion-rich action fans could hope for."[133] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 56 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[134]

text: Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film four out of four stars, praising the surprises and risks that it took, writing that "The movie works equally well as an earnest adventure full of passionate heroes and villains and a meditation on sequels and franchise properties.... [The film] is preoccupied with questions of legacy, legitimacy and succession, and includes multiple debates over whether one should replicate or reject the stories and symbols of the past."[135] Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising the cast and the direction: "You're in hyper-skilled hands with Johnson who makes sure you leave the multiplex feeling euphoric. The middle part of the current trilogy, The Last Jedi ranks with the very best Star Wars epics (even the pinnacle that is The Empire Strikes Back) by pointing the way ahead to a next generation of skywalkers – and, thrillingly, to a new hope."[136]

text: Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5/4 stars, saying, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi...doesn't pack quite the same emotional punch [as The Force Awakens] and it lags a bit in the second half, [but] this is still a worthy chapter in the Star Wars franchise, popping with exciting action sequences, sprinkled with good humor and containing more than a few nifty 'callbacks' to previous characters and iconic moments."[137] For The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy said, "Loaded with action and satisfying in the ways its loyal audience wants it to be, writer-director Rian Johnson's plunge into George Lucas' universe is generally pleasing even as it sometimes strains to find useful and/or interesting things for some of its characters to do."[138]

text: Will Gompertz, arts editor of BBC News, gave the film 4/5 stars, writing "Rian Johnson ... has not ruined your Christmas with a turkey. His gift to you is a cracker, a blockbuster movie packed with invention, wit, and action galore."[139] Mark Kermode, British film critic, gave the film 4/5 stars saying Johnson "proves himself the master of the balancing act, keeping the warring forces of this intergalactic franchise in near-perfect harmony."[140] The unpredictability of the plot was appreciated by reviewers such as Alex Leadbeater of Screen Rant, who commented specifically that the death of Snoke was "the best movie twist in years".[141]

text: Conversely, Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote, "Despite a few stunning decorative touches (most of which involve the color red) and that brief central sequence of multiple Reys, the movie comes off as a work that's ironed out, flattened down, appallingly purified. Above all, it delivers a terrifyingly calculated consensus storytelling, an artificial universality that is achieved, in part, through express religious references."[142] Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail gave the film 2/4 stars, saying the film suffered from too many new additions and writing, "Nifty new animals, a maturing villain, a flagging heroine, muffled humour – as it seeks to uphold a giant cultural legacy, this unfolding trilogy struggles to maintain a balance that often seems just out of reach."[143] Owen Gleiberman of Variety criticized the film for being too derivative of the past movies by saying that "it's now repeating things that have already been repeated. The rebels-up-against-it plot, with our heroes worn down to the nub of their fighting spirit, feels like a rehash of what we went through a year ago in 'Rogue One,' and the attempts to echo the look and mood and darkening design of 'The Empire Strikes Back' now make clear that the new trilogy is an official monument to nostalgia".[144]

text: Audience reception[edit]

text: Audience reception measured by scientific polling methods was highly positive. Audiences randomly polled by CinemaScore on opening day gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[114] Surveys from SurveyMonkey and comScore's PostTrak found that 89% of audience members graded the film positively, including a rare five-star rating.[112][145][146]

text: The user-generated review sections of Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic contained scores that were significantly more negative, achieving ratings of 46% and 4.5/10, respectively.[147][148] Several reviewers speculated that the low user scores are the result of manipulation, either by coordinated vote brigading from internet groups or from bots.[149][150][151] Quartz noted that some new accounts gave negative ratings to both The Last Jedi and Thor: Ragnarok, while Bleeding Cool stated that reviews for Thor had tapered off up to that point but skyrocketed afterwards.[152][153] In response to tampering claims, Rotten Tomatoes released a statement that they did not detect any unusual activity aside from a noticeable "uptick in the number of written user reviews" on The Last Jedi.[154]

text: Reviewers characterized The Last Jedi as divisive among audiences.[155] Todd VanDerWerff of Vox found that dissatisfied fans saw the film as too progressive, disliked its humor, plot, or character arcs, or felt betrayed that it ignored fan theories.[149] Other reviewers made similar observations.[156][157][158] Particularly divisive was the reveal that Rey's parents are insignificant;[149][156][158] many fans had expected her to be Luke's daughter or to share a lineage with another character from the original trilogy.[159][160][161] There was also sentiment that Snoke's character was underdeveloped and that Luke's actions contradicted his previous heroic portrayal.[158][162][163] Reviewers stated that fan theories were held so strongly among some viewers that it was difficult for them to accept different stories,[156][158][163] but that other viewers appreciated the film's action, tone, and deviation from Star Wars tradition.[156][158]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Award

Date of ceremony

Category

Recipient(s) and nominee(s)

Result

Ref.

MTV Movie & TV Awards

June 18, 2018

Best Actor in a Movie

Daisy Ridley

Nominated

[164]

Best Hero

Nominated

Best Villain

Adam Driver

Nominated

Academy Awards

March 4, 2018

Best Original Score

John Williams

Nominated

[165]

Best Sound Editing

Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce

Nominated

Best Sound Mixing

David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Stuart Wilson

Nominated

Best Visual Effects

Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

Nominated

Art Directors Guild Awards

January 27, 2018

Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film

Rick Heinrichs

Nominated

[166]

British Academy Film Awards

February 18, 2018

Best Sound

Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood

Nominated

[167]

Best Special Visual Effects

Stephen Alpin, Chris Courbould, Ben Morris, Neal Scanlan

Nominated

Costume Designers Guild

February 20, 2018

Excellence in Fantasy Film

Michael Kaplan

Nominated

[168]

Empire Awards

March 18, 2018

Best Film

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Won

[169]

Best Director

Rian Johnson

Won

Best Actor

John Boyega

Nominated

Best Actress

Daisy Ridley

Won

Best Female Newcomer

Kelly Marie Tran

Nominated

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Nominated

Best Production Design

Nominated

Best Visual Effects

Won

Best Costume Design

Michael Kaplan

Won

Saturn Awards

June 27, 2018

Best Science Fiction Film

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Nominated

[170]

Best Actor

Mark Hamill

Won

Best Actress

Daisy Ridley

Nominated

Best Supporting Actress

Carrie Fisher

Nominated

Kelly Marie Tran

Nominated

Best Director

Rian Johnson

Nominated

Best Screenplay

Won

Best Production Design

Rick Heinrichs

Nominated

Best Editing

Bob Ducsay

Won

Best Music

John Williams

Nominated

Best Costume Design

Michael Kaplan

Nominated

Best Makeup

Peter Swords King, Neal Scanlan

Nominated

Best Film Special / Visual Effects

Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan

Nominated

Visual Effects Society Awards

February 13, 2018

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Ben Morris, Tim Keene, Eddie Pasquarello, Daniel Seddon, Chris Corbould

Nominated

[171]

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project

Cameron Nielsen, Albert Cheng, John Levin, Johanes Kurnia for "Crait Surface Battle"

Nominated

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

Peter Kyme, Miguel Perez Senet, Ahmed Gharraph, Billy Copley for "Bombing Run"

Nominated

Mihai Cioroba, Ryoji Fujita, Jiyong Shin, Dan Finnegan for "Mega Destroyer Destruction"

Nominated

text: Sequel[edit]

text: Episode IX, the final installment of the sequel trilogy, is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019.[8] Principal photography is set to begin in June 2018.[172] Colin Trevorrow was expected to direct the film, but on September 5, 2017, Lucasfilm announced that he had stepped down.[173] A week later, Lucasfilm announced that J. J. Abrams would return to direct Episode IX and co-write it with Chris Terrio. Abrams and Terrio stated that Episode IX will bring together all three trilogies, with elements from the previous two trilogies.[174][175]