Die Serie zeigt die Kindheit der Hauptfigur Kevin Arnold und seiner Freunde in einem nicht näher benannten Vorort im Kalifornien der späten 1960er und frühen 1970er Jahre. Die Geschichten werden rückblickend vom erwachsenen Arnold aus dem Off oftmals mit einem ironischen Unterton kommentiert (Voiceover). Mal sind die Episoden ernsthafter, dann wieder eher heiterer Natur.
Viele der Folgen beschäftigen sich mit den privaten Problemen der Protagonisten in Sachen Liebe, Schule, Familie und Freunde. Themen der damaligen Zeit, wie beispielsweise der Vietnamkrieg, Studenten-Demos, die Morde an Robert F. Kennedy und Martin Luther King, werden auch mehrfach angesprochen.
Growing Up (Folge 1) 9.0
Autor: Bob Brush
Sendedatum: 1990-09-19
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: The family attends Jack's company picnic. Kevin is not looking forward to seeing Mimi Detweiler, who used to have a crush on him. Wayne's new girlfriend Angela annoys everyone but Wayne. Kevin beans Jack with a baseball at the father-son baseball game. Karen leaves for college.
Ninth Grade Man (Folge 2) 10.0
Sendedatum: 1990-09-26
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Winnie is nervous about starting a new school, so she gets Kevin to promise to think about her every hour on the hour. Kevin finds this promise harder to keep than he thought when he loses his locker to Tony Barbella, is enrolled in shop class and meets a new girl in French class, Madeline.
The Journey (Folge 3) 10.0
Autor: Jeffrey Stepakoff
Sendedatum: 1990-10-03
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: News of a 10th-grade girls' slumber party has Kevin and his friends traveling across the city, believing they'll be invited in if they bring beer.
The Cost of Living (Folge 4) 10.0
Sendedatum: 1990-10-10
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: When Kevin learns that Paul gets a weekly allowance of five dollars and that there is money to be made being a caddy, he goes to work for the first time.
It's a Mad, Mad, Madeline World (Folge 5) 9.5
Autor: Eric Gilliland
Sendedatum: 1990-10-24
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin has to cancel a date with Winnie to finish a homework assignment with Madeline, who has already kissed him once. To make matters worse, when he flees Madeline's, he drops a bracelet that Winnie had engraved for him.
Little Debbie (Folge 6) 9.0
Autor: Mark B. Perry
Sendedatum: 1990-11-07
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Paul's sister Debbie needs someone to take her to a cotillion and Kevin is guilted into the task. Meanwhile, Paul, Doug and Randy go to the football game to watch cheerleader Donna Delgado.
The Ties That Bind (Folge 7) 9.5
Autor: Mark B. Perry
Sendedatum: 1990-11-14
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: When the family needs money, Jack demands a raise and gets it. But his new position means travelling across the country and it looks like he might miss Thanksgiving.
The Sixth Man (Folge 8) 9.5
Autor: David Chambers
Sendedatum: 1990-11-28
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin is worried that Paul will look foolish when he's drafted to the basketball team, but it appears that Paul is only at his worst when he plays Kevin.
A Very Cutlip Christmas (Folge 9) 8.0
Sendedatum: 1990-12-12
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin discovers a soft-spot inside Cutlip when he sees him playing Santa Clause at a local mall.
The Candidate (Folge 10) 9.0
Autor: Eric Gilliland
Sendedatum: 1991-01-09
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin enters the race for student-council president, head-to-head with nemesis Becky Slater.
Heartbreak (Folge 11) 10.0
Autor: David Chambers
Sendedatum: 1991-01-23
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin is excited when a joint field trip is organized with Winnie's school. But things do not work out so well when Kevin has a hard time tearing Winnie away from her new friends. Things go from bad to worse when Winnie tells Kevin she has met someone else.
Denial (Folge 12) 10.0
Sendedatum: 1991-01-30
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: News of Kevin's break-up with Winnie has spread quickly throughout Robert F Kennedy Junior High. Kevin is still in denial though and has Paul organise a party at his place so that Kevin can get Winnie alone. In an effort to make Winnie jealous, Kevin turns up with Madeline on his arm. When Kevin finally does get Winnie alone, she tells him she needs him to be her friend, but only her friend.
Who's Aunt Rose? (Folge 13) 9.0
Autor: Mark B. Perry
Sendedatum: 1991-02-06
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin learns the importance of family when Grandpa Arnold returns to town for Aunt Rose's funeral.
Courage (Folge 14) 9.0
Autor: Mark B. Perry
Sendedatum: 1991-02-13
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin has a small crush on Dr. Tucker's dental hygienist, Miss Hasenfuss. She makes him feel like a man, though that all changes when she calls him in for his first cavity filling.
Buster (Folge 15) 9.0
Autor: Mark B. Perry
Sendedatum: 1991-02-27
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin's dog Buster needs to get fixed to stop his incessant barking, but the dog wants to avoid that at all costs.
Road Trip (Folge 16) 9.0
Autor: David Chambers
Sendedatum: 1991-03-06
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin and his father endure a disastrous trip together to buy a suit for Kevin. They get lost and argue over the radio station and Kevin embarrasses Jack at a diner they stop at.
When Worlds Collide (Folge 17) 9.0
Autor: Eric Gilliland
Sendedatum: 1991-03-20
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin's quest to remain cool is shattered when Norma takes a job at his school. He tries to rebel by stealing a hallpass for Tony Barbella, but Norma catches him in the act. When Norma acknowledges him during a fire drill and the other kids laugh, Kevin decides it is time to ask his mother to stop noticing him at school.
Separate Rooms (Folge 18) 9.5
Autor: Bob Brush
Sendedatum: 1991-04-03
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: When Kevin and Wayne decide it's too cramped for two grown boys in their bedroom, they decide one of them should be allowed to move into Karen's room, now that she's away at college. The trouble is, who is going to be the one to go?
The Yearbook (Folge 19) 9.0
Autor: David Chambers
Sendedatum: 1991-04-10
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin finds himself in the in-crowd when he is invited to write witty captions for the photos in the yearbook. But when it comes to writing one for the fat kid in school, Peter Armbruster, Kevin has a hard time figuring out what is funny and what will hurt Peter.
The Accident (Folge 20) 10.0
Sendedatum: 1991-04-24
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Kevin sees Winnie for the first time since they broke up. He discovers that she a Roger have split up, too. When Winnie is in a car accident, Kevin rides over to see her at home, but her parents say she doesn't want to see him. Kevin leaves, but returns and climbs up to Winnie's bedroom window. They tell each other, "I love you."
The House That Jack Built (Folge 21) 9.5
Autor: Mark B. Perry
Sendedatum: 1991-05-01
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: Jack wants to help Karen out by fixing up the house she is now living in. But father and daughter go head-to-head when he discovers she is living there with a man.
Graduation (Folge 22) 10.0
Autor: Bob Brush
Sendedatum: 1991-05-08
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: As Kevin graduates from Junior High, he wants to believe nothing will change, but he learns that things can and do change when he discovers Paul is going to a private school in the coming year. Winnie is also anxious about the future. And Kevin has to drive Mrs. Heimer to the hospital when she goes into labor.
The Wonder Years (Folge 23) 10.0
Autor: Mark B. Perry
Sendedatum: 1991-05-15
Laufzeit: 24 min
Übersicht: A clip show of highlights from Kevin's years in Junior High. Including clips from "Don't You Know Anything About Women," "The Glee Club," "Just Between You and Me... and Kirk and Paul and Carla and Becky," "Summer Song" among others.
