The Adventures of Pete & Pete (with David Martel)
Aww.
Ep. 013 is live!
When discussing the nostalgic nature of the 80's and 90's, it's far too easy to default to the outlandish and iconic movies, cartoons, and toys of the era. Sometimes, we forget properties that had a foot in reality, while also appealing to the surreal and absurd. One series managed to do that to perfection, and it still holds up to this day. The Adventures of Pete & Pete on Nickelodeon managed to tap into something about being a late Gen-Xer/Millennial growing up at that time to great effect. Despite capturing the feel of that time, the show itself reflects things from what's become a bygone era. There is a point, a drop off, where the idea of kids roaming and finding adventure on their street or a neighboring cul de sac came to an end. Trouble with a bully, these days, can have much darker connotations and repercussions than they did back then, and our bullies aren't aikin to villains found in Dick Tracy. I'm starting to understand the spirit and feeling behind my father having said to me "it was a simpler time, son," in regards to his own childhood. Things weren't magically perfect when those of us that are 35 and older were kids. But there was a simplicity to it. We had rotten bullies, but the bullies of today are a whole different breed, and the parents are rough trade as well. It's 2023...in 3-5 years if Henry asked me if he could go on a bike ride, I'd be terrified. Not a joke, not hyperbole, I would be sick to my stomach unless he had a damn tracking device on him. Now, that says far more about me than anything else, and I need to work on that...but...is it wrong to say that the world we live in now is far more frightening? With the benefit of hindsight, I realize just how scary the world was when I was a kid. I'm sure there were times my mom, dad, and even stepmother had moments of great fear that I wasn't going to come back home in one piece. That said, there was undoubtedly much more freedom and simplicity to being a kid than there is today. If one were to sit down and watch Pete & Pete today, it would certainly look vintage or retro, but there would be a sense of "this is evergreen" to the show. It truly holds up, and while a great measure of that credit goes to the writers and those who chose locations for filming, the cast is truly what makes this show. Unlike so many other teen/kid centric shows at the time, we didn't have what essentially appeared to be squeaky clean uber attractive "teens" (some of which were already in their damn 20's) shoved at us. We also didn't have the more obnoxious fare that came by way of the Disney Channel in later years. Instead, we had teens and kids that looked like us, or our friends. Additionally, the cast really sold this show. For the three of us, this was an absolute delight to discuss. It made for a great birthday present for Jason, and to be able to interview David Martel and ask him what it felt like to work on this, and be a part of it, was truly an honor. If you haven't dusted off this classic in quite some time, give it a revisit. If it is something that was never on your radar, check it out because damn if it doesn't hold up.
Thank you for listening this week, and reading. Please be sure to follow David on Instagram @DavidJMartel. This closes out our month of thankfulness and brings November to a close. Come back next Monday, and kick off December properly with us. And as always, thanks and enjoy.
-Derek
