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The Adventures of Pete & Pete

post #1 of 15
5/27/05 at 4:01pm
Thread Starter 
I just picked up the first season of Pete & Pete on DVD, making it the first TV show DVD I've ever purchased. I'd seen a lot of nostalgia shows from my youth that I never really got motivated to spend the cash on, but Pete & Pete jumped out at only 17 bucks at Wal*Mart, while also being a show I religiously caught every episode of. My dad and I would watch it when I was a kid.

I was actually pretty suprised at how it held up. It wasn't just the nostalgia; I was genuinely adoring the show, laughing out loud. I only now see just how quirky and great the show is, whereas when I was little it was all literal and not surreal at all. My favorite episode, featured in season 1, is still the one with Older Pete driving the golf cart at the driving range, but forced to do it in a bear costume while the golfers aimed at him. "Lawn Boy," I believe.

Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts on Pete & Pete are. For anyone that picked the DVD up: Has it held up for you guys too? If you haven't ever seen it, I suggest ignoring the orange and green Nickelodeon package art and give it a try. I found it to still be a really charming show with terrific writing that is great for kids, while still remaining incredibly smart and funny enough for the adults to sit with them, unlike most of today's kids' fare.
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post #2 of 15
5/27/05 at 4:03pm
That's good to hear that it holds up... I drove all over the city the day it came out, and could not find it anywhere. I ended up ordering it off Amazon but it hasn't shown up yet. I was hoping to get my mitts on it before I go out of town for the weekend, but that's not looking too likely.
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post #3 of 15
5/27/05 at 4:27pm
I loved that show. I too watched it when I was a kid. I remember the Driving Range episode fondly. One thing that always stuck out in my young mind was "How in the hell did young Pete get that tattoo?" I don't think it was ever answered. Anyway, the two episodes that stick out in my mind are the ones with 1 - The Phone that just rings and rings and rings, and 2 - That red light that NEVER changes to green. And that school bus driver it just sitting there getting more and more frustrated. Now, like I say I haven't seen these episodes since I was young, and I haven't had the chance to pick up the DVDs yet, so I too am glad to hear that they hold up.
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post #4 of 15
5/27/05 at 5:25pm
Thread Starter 
Favorite characters, anybody?

Stu the bus driver was definitely a great character. The episode where he goes ballistic and runs off the bus and beats up a scarecrow made me laugh till I cried.

And of course Artie. The strongest man....in the world.

I like Endless Mike a lot, too, but mostly because he's played by barely-pubescent Sam Rockwell, who is great in everything. The cast of this show is great. Great "villians," like Papercut, the kid who made origami weapons. And Ellen, who definitely tried hard for that "Winnie Cooper" spot, but still didn't quite replace Winnie as my dream next-door girl.
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post #5 of 15
5/27/05 at 5:43pm
I was on the crew for the final season of the show. Artie (Toby Huss) had already left the show by then.

I'm not mentioning this to be a name dropping attention starved gladhander either, nor do I have any secrets or stories to tell really. But I'll provide some clarifications where I can.

Endless Mike Hellstrom was played by the great Rick Gomez, not Sam Rockwell.

The red light episode with the bus driver (Damian Young) was one of the last to be shot.
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post #6 of 15
5/27/05 at 6:13pm
I'd been dying for this ever since it was announced months and months ago. Turns out it's even better than I remembered. I had trouble finding it too, and when I finally found it, there were only two copies left. Hopefully that means sales are through the roof and we'll get more seasons soon.

This Nick Rewind thing is an awesome idea. Anybody else want some Rocko's Modern Life on DVD? I'd buy it in a heartbeat. It woulda been a much better choice than Clarissa. That show was torture even when I was 10.
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post #7 of 15
5/27/05 at 6:20pm
I watched the show all the time when I was in grade school. I loved it because at the time my older brothers were in high school, and I would watch the show and try to act like older Pete to try and impress my own brothers.

I bought the DVD and am too surprised that it still holds up. Younger Pete isn't that great, but altogether the show is still a blast to watch, and I certaintly appreciate the originality of the writing a lot more. It's almost like Twin Peaks, but for kids. I'm also surprised at just how good the music in the show is, definitely a welcome departure from the usual top 40 crap in practically every kid/teenage show and movie.

And Rylander, I'm terribly envious that you got to be on the crew of the show. I know you said that you didn't have any stories to tell, but I'd love to hear anything about your experience on the show. Seriously, when I was a kid Pete and Pete was the coolest thing in the world, so that puts you on Rat Pack levels of cool if you ask me.
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post #8 of 15
5/27/05 at 8:33pm
In case you can't tell from the sig, I have a mild obsession with this show. I bought an unofficial version of the dvds a few months ago, and I think I may like the show even more now than I did when I was kid. "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" - the episode with Mr. Tastee, is surprisingle poignant, and I was laughing out loud when I realized that they parodied the Bob Dylan Don't Look Back opening scene when Big Pete is going through all of the school cafeteria's names for meatloaf.

And, of course, the great episode where Little Pete teams up with Pitstain to soak their principal, Adam West, with creamed corn for April Fool's day while he's onstage with Johnny Earwax and the Up with Personal Hygiene Singers.

And, let's not forget the cameos from Steve Buscemi, Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop, and countless others.

Polaris, the band that did most of the music and the title song "Hey Sandy", has an album out called "Music from the Adventures of Pete & Pete" that I highly recommend.

And, yes, Rick Gomez was great as Endless Mike Hellstrom. I was glad to see him still working in Sin City.

....

Yeah, like I said...mild obsession. Maybe not so mild.
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post #9 of 15
5/27/05 at 10:18pm
Thread Starter 
Well I feel stupid. Here I am pretending to be a huge fan and I've got actors wrong. Thanks for the clarification. I guessed wrong...the first movie I ever saw Rockwell in (can't remember which), I remember thinking "That's Endless Mike!" I checked imdb, and I can see why I messed up. Rick Gomez looks pretty similar to Sam Rockwell in that photo.
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post #10 of 15
5/27/05 at 10:38pm
You aren't the only one to make that mistake, no sweat.

I'll answer questions/talk if you guys PM me. This thread should remain about the dvds that I need to buy rather than become all about me.
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post #11 of 15
5/27/05 at 11:53pm
I pick the DVD up the day it came out. I had to go to three stores and in the end got the last copy in the store I was going to. They better release more Nick Rewind shit soon. I would love the rest of Pete and Pete, Salute Your Shorts, and maybe Welcome Freshman.
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post #12 of 15
5/28/05 at 12:57am
I got to thinking, and didn't Pete & Pete intorduce us to a VERY young Michelle Trachtenberg? I remember a Nick show (before Harriet the Spy or something like that) where she always wore a cast on her arm. And there was this fat kid that had football jerseys customized with his name on the back. The only thing I remember about those two characters was when they went down to the train tracks to see a train flatten a penny. Was that Pete & Pete or did I get my shows mixed up?
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post #13 of 15
5/28/05 at 3:21am
Thread Starter 
That was Pete & Pete. Michelle Trachtenburg was Nona, and yeah, she was perpetually cast-clad. They did go to flatten a penny, and I believe Pete became convinced it would derail the train.
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post #14 of 15
5/30/05 at 1:54pm
Bought this DVD right away. I was a bit worried that I'd remembered the show too fondly, but it really has held up quite well. Of course, it helps that the characters wear odd clothes instead of then-current fashions, and that there's a minimum of pop-culture references. I think Season 2's my favorite, between Orange Lazarus, Inspector 34, riboflavin, and tapioca.
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post #15 of 15
5/31/05 at 12:43pm
This is an interesting thread. Pete & Pete is one of my favorite shows of all time, but I was already out of college when it started airing, so it's fun to hear the opinions of people who actually watched it when they were kids.

There's so many shows about being a kid, and there's so many shows about being a teenager, but Pete is the only show I can think of about that in-between age, being in middle school (or junior high, whatever they call it where you're from). Well, I guess The Wonder Years is about that age, but that show is so sappy. But there's something about Pete that just captures that in-between feeling, you know? When you're interested in girls and stuff, but you're still basically a kid.
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