The pilot episode of "The Wonder Years," the one that begins with little Winnie Cooper learning that her older brother was killed in Vietnam and ends with her first kiss, was more than just another TV show to Danica McKellar.
McKellar, the young actress who played Winnie for six seasons on the show, said Tuesday morning that she shared that experience of a first kiss with her character.
"I was 12 at the time and it was my first kiss as well as Fred's (Fred Savage, who played Kevin Arnold), and we were very anxious," she said by phone from college, where she is studying math.
"It was a big deal. No, it was a huge deal to me, and in one of the takes that did not make it on the show, you could see me making this stupid smile just as we were about to kiss. I was so nervous.
"But the producers were very nice about it. They printed all six takes of the kiss and gave copies to Kevin and I. That's what it was like growing up on that show. It's like having the greatest home videos of all time. "
McKellar, who said she hopes to return to acting after college, said she never expected the series to run for six seasons andhad good reason not to expect to be a part of it even if it did have a long run.
"Winnie was supposed to be a guest shot on the pilot and that was it," she said. "My sister and I were both up for the role (her sister was later cast as Becky in the series) and we were both told to return for a second audition after dinner.
"My sister and I were eating dinner with my mother in this restaurant and this boy walked in and sat at the next table. I remember looking at him and thinking how cute he was. When we got back to the set, we had to audition with that same boy, who turned out to be Fred Savage. "
The actress said the producers told her after the pilot that they wanted to make her character permanent on the show and the rest, as they say, is "The Wonder Years. "
For you devout fans, Nick at Nite will present a five-night, 40-episode
"Wonder Years" marathon starting Monday at 8:30.