Pete and Pete took an alternative rock approach to the family sitcom. In other words, this wasn't your dad's situation comedy. Is it any wonder so many alternative musicians, like Juliana Hatfield, the B-52's Kate Pierson, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, and Blondie's Debbie Harry flocked to the (fictional) town of Wellsville? Nor could independent film actors, like Richard Edson (Stranger Than Paradise), Martin Donovan (Saved!), and Steve Buscemi (Fargo), resist the allure of the appealingly offbeat Wrigley family.
Meet the Wrigleys: redheaded teenager Pete (Michael Maronna, Home Alone), redheaded elementary school student Pete (Danny Tamberelli, The Mighty Ducks) and his tattoo Petunia, Dad (Hardy Rawls), Mom (Judy Grafe)--and the metal plate in her head. First season cast members include Big Pete's almost-girlfriend Ellen (Alison Fanelli), Little Pete's pal Natasha (Heather Matarazzo, Welcome to the Dollhouse), bus driver Stu (Damian Young), and Little Pete's personal superhero, Artie (Toby Huss), the strongest man in the world. Buscemi appears as Ellen's dad in "Apocalypse Pete" and would return for another episode in the second season.
The first season followed three years of 60-second shorts. It features 12 adventures (eight regular episodes plus four specials). Highlights include "King of the Road," in which the Wrigleys battle for road trip supremacy, "Tool and Die," in which Big Pete learns not to judge a shop teacher by his cover, and "Hard Day's Pete," in which Little Pete forms the Blowholes with Syd Straw and Marshall Crenshaw. Then there's "Don't Tread on Pete," in which Little Pete utters the immortal line, "Is this guy pickin' your scabs the way he's pickin' my scabs?" The Adventures of Pete and Pete ran on Nickelodeon for three well-loved, much-missed seasons. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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