Season Six Episodes
6-01: HomecomingWayne's friend returns home from Vietnam.
They say men are children, but sometimes children are men; maybe that's where the confusion lies. All I knew was that night, the world seemed suddenly very big and I felt very small, so I did what I could... nineteen-seventy-two was a crazy time. Kids played football, drove cars, went to school, celebrated life; while soldiers, heroes, their brothers, struggled to find their way home from war; and young boys watched and grew wiser in their dreams.
6-02: Fishing
The annual father-son fishing trip comes with some problems.
The hardest part of growing up is having the ones you've always turned to, turn to you.
6-03: Scenes from a Wedding
As the Arnold's attend a wedding, a bridesmaid hits on Kevin, Jack's boss hits on Norma, and Wayne reveals he once had a relationship with the bride.
It seems to me, a wedding means something different to everyone. To some, it's an occasion for simple pleasures. And for others, a wedding's implications are more profound. For some, it's a time for contemplation. For others, a time for regrets. A chance to measure just how far we've come in life... against the promise of those just starting out.
6-04: Sex and Economics
Kevin gets a job as a house painter, but his workers aren't so hardworking.
Junior year was a time of... exploration. A time for expanding horizons, broadening perspectives, seeking answers to little-known questions. It was an opportunity to grapple with the great issues of our day, which, as it happened, boiled down to only two. One was sex. Miss Farmer. Our social studies teacher. In one of the great cosmic ironies of our time, the board of education had hired her to mold and develop our young minds.
6-05: Politics as Usual
When Winnie volunteers for a handsome political candidate, Kevin becomes jealous.
Every four years, our country is gripped by a case of temporary insanity. We call it... the presidential election. It's democracy defined. A chance for politicians who know better... to make promises they can't keep. And come November... it's a chance for us to believe them.
6-06: White Lies
Kevin brags that he and Winnie spent the night together.
They say hindsight's twenty-twenty, and I guess it's true. Because as I stood outside Winnie's house that night, I suddenly saw it all so clearly. I'd sold both of us short, by taking something that most people naver have and throwing it away for something less. I'd been in such a hurry to impress people, I'd torn apart the only ones who did... us.
6-07: Wayne and Bonnie
Wayne dates a girl who has a child, leading Norma to believe he is too immature to be a father himself.
It was that simple. And it was that complex. Love can kill you. It can tear you apart. But if you're very lucky... it can bring you back together. Sometimes love is unexpected... and unpredictable. And sometimes... you just have to go with your heart. And hope for the best.
6-08: Kevin Delivers
Kevin gets a job as a Chinese delivery boy.
Working for Mr. Chong certainly wasn't the best job I ever had. The hours were long... the money was poor, and employee-management relations left a lot to be desired. But in its way, each night held a promise - of riches. And adventure.
6-09: The Test
Kevin, Paul and Winnie study for the SATs; Jack gets a lukewarm evaluation at work.
After all, I knew that this was just one test in thousands I'd be taking in my life. None of them final, none of them irrevocable. And the way I saw it, maybe life was a risk. But this time, I was ready.
6-10: Let Nothing You Dismay
Kevin wants to buy Winnie something special for Christmas; Jack tries to get a loan to buy a new business.
December, nineteen-seventy-two, was a time of change for my family. A time of strange occurrences. Improbable events. And, a few surprises. After a twenty-year sabbatical in the kitchen, my mother was graduating from State College. We were all pretty proud of her. As for my father, after a half a lifetime at NORCOM, he decided to invest in the future. Well, the future of furniture, anyway.
6-11: New Years
A night out on New Year's brings heartbreak.
Nineteen-seventy-two was a memory, like it or not. The funny things is, looking back now, what I remember most is how it ended. So maybe that New Years Eve in nineteen-seventy-two didn't work out exactly like we had planned. There was heartbreak we didn't anticipate and events we couldn't have imagined. Still, it wasn't all bad. There was a magician. So maybe there was a message in it all. The future was calling us and no matter what, there was no turning back now.
6-12: Alice in Autoland
Kevin can get a great deal on a car from a classmate, but fears she is falling for him.
I never did get that car. I got my old one back from "Pistol Pete." But I guess I did learn a few things from this mess. When it comes to couples, mind your own business. When it comes to women, you'll never understand them. And, when it comes to cars... always bring a wrench.
6-13: Ladies and Gentlemen... The Rolling Stones
Kevin steals his dad's new car so that he, Winnie and some friends can see The Rolling Stones.
And that's when I realized... there's all kinds of logic in this world. And a lot of it doesn't make any sense. That night, moved by the forces of teen logic, I'd stolen my dad's car, had a run-in with the police, a fight with my friends and an accident. All in all... it was a great evening. Even if there were no Rolling Stones.
6-14: Unpacking
Winnie asks Kevin to help her set up a couple of their friends. When it doesn't work out, Winnie blames Kevin.
So... we went home. That day, I thought about a lot of things, like hometowns, like family - the shortcomings, the flaws, the arguments. Still, in the world of inconsistency and doubt... maybe home is what you make it. Like I said, most suburbs were about the same. Sure, some may have been a little bigger, and some may have been a little greener... there was only one real difference. Only one of them... was yours.
6-15: Hulk Arnold
Kevin joins the school's wrestling team.
At some point in your teenage years, if you're lucky, you make a discovery. You find out you're actually good at something. It's that critical juncture, where talent becomes... expertise... kinda. It's your chance to start or, end up flat on your face.
6-16: Nose
One of Kevin's friends falls in love with a girl that has a big nose.
In high school, appearances are everything. The way you look. The way you wish you didn't look. Nobody is satisfied. Which is maybe why... throughout the halls and classrooms... we hear the one universal cry.
6-17: Eclipse
Winnie gets upset at Kevin after he tells her that she is perfect.
I guess you can say that the laws of nature aren't always predictable. Still, when it came to matters of cause and effect, I think we managed to learn a thing or two. Perhaps that day, despite all the chaos, there really were cosmic forces at work. Forces so powerful, so profound, they defied all our attempts of rational explanation. I mean, hey, it had taken only five-thousand years to understand the moon. So, maybe, we were making progress. Then again, when it came down to it, maybe we learned enough for one day.
6-18: Poker
A poker game amongst the guys finds secrets being revealed.
If there's one way to describe adolescence, it might be this: it's a gamble. An adventure into the unexpected. A step into the unknown. It's a time of life that pits hope against fear. And logic against prayer. A game of luck... and opportunity. Not unlike, say, for instance... poker.
6-19: The Little Women
Winnie scores high on her SATs; Norma gets a high-paying job.
I mean, no sense being pigheaded. The way I saw it, the world was big enough for all of us. And besides, so what if women could influence government, take over big businesses, alter domestic policy, dominate education, make the world a better place. In one important respect, we still had a lot to teach them. Yep, when it came to being jerks, they still had a lot to learn.
6-20: Reunion
The Arnold's attend Norma's 25th high school reunion.
QUOTE COMING SOON
6-21: Summer (1)
Kevin spends the summer chasing after Winnie.
I guess things never turn out exactly the way you planned. I know they didn't with me. Still, like my dad used to say - traffic's traffic. You go where life takes you. I remember a time, a place, a particular 4th of July. The things I saw in that decade of war and change. I remember how it was, growing up. Among people and places I loved. Most of all, I remember how it was... to leave.
6-22: Independence Day (2)
Kevin loses his money and car in a poker game; Kevin is heartbroken to find out Winnie has a new boyfriend; Kevin and Winnie spend one last night together; the futures of each character are revealed.
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 other 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.