The Adventures of Pete & Pete

Unlike many who commented on this show, I didn't grow up watching Pete and Pete. You see, I'm nearly 60 years old.

I discovered it by accident, or I should say that my stepdaughter discovered it by accident, then I walked by and got hooked like Bob the bass. I ended being the show's biggest fan. As I re-watch it on DVD, I love it more than ever. Today I got season two and was going to watch one episode to pass the time. That had a prayer. As soon as I saw the episode names, I knew I had to watch them again: The Time Tunnel, Inspector 34, The Phone Call.

Those three episodes alone will demonstrate to you that this series is good in ways that no other series has ever touched. It says as much about America as any Ken Burns documentary, it makes me laugh as much as the best episodes of Seinfeld, and it's cooler than anything which ever sprang from the mind of Slushmaster Bob. Its narrative flow is deeply cynical, yet there is a strong undercurrent of warmth and hope, as if it despairs of what people are, without forgetting what they yet might be. It never forgets that we, like the Petes when they time-travel, may yet find a way to do it over, and get it right. Even without Riboflavin.

I have been a major league TV addict for 50 years, and if you ask me to name the best show I have ever watched ... well, I don't know if I could name just one ... but this obscure Nickelodeon show would be one that would come to mind - alongside I, Claudius and The Civil War and The Simpsons and all the other greats. It's sheer genius, with more than a touch of poetry.

In the words of Inspector 34, it's so much better than underpants.

Pete & Pete aired at a time when Nickelodeon didn't especially cater to the under 10 age group. I remember it so clearly; these were the golden years of my childhood, after all. Pete & Pete started its run when I was seven and I faithfully watched till the end. Even after they stopped producing more episodes it was always on in the re-run form before it gradually disappeared. I do not have the Noggin channel on my cable service so I guess I'm out in the dark unless Nickelodeon stops showing SpongeBob Square Pants long enough to air them once again.

I miss Pete & Pete so much. On any given day, story references come to mind and provide me with a much needed laugh. The theme song rocked, and the opening credits are one of the best moments, if not THE best moment of the entire show! I never quite understood why the two brothers had the same name, but it was damn hilarious either way. Nickelodeon does not make shows like Pete & Pete anymore because, very simply, KIDS NOW AREN'T SOPHISTICATED Enough TO "GET IT". And mind you that was only a little over a decade ago. Kids do not understand or appreciate surrealist humor anymore.. Unless it has mile-a-minute editing and excitement at every corner, they want no part of it and that's just sad.

The Adventures of Pete and Pete is what more television shows should strive for. Kids can enjoy it, but I was 19 when I started watching it and have been intrigued ever since (I'm 24 now). This show is unique, humorous but not in the traditional way, very well written, very surreal and there is enough mystery to leave a variety of impressions and interpretations. Things that should be small events are blown up to very large scale circumstances with apocalyptic consequences. Other stories take completely random and unreal situations and make them a part of everyday life. If people thought like this on a daily basis, everyone's life would be much more exciting.

Artie, "The Strongest Man in the World", is a skinny fellow in striped pyjamas. His favorite smell is tire air. He's little Pete's personal superhero. Artie, who calls things "Pipe" when they're going well, is the only man capable of vanquishing a bowling ball that comes between two brothers. Without special effects the writers have created a very convincing alternate universe.

The stories are usually called "weird". More appropriately, they are metaphorical and mysterious. Little Pete and friends must survive a gym class dodge ball match, while Big Pete needs to study for a test. Whatensues is an epic of revolution and facing your fears. Cryptic characters come and go, bearing vague clues and meanings such as an old woman with a leg vein pattern matching an Iowa road map (though I've seen a map of Iowa and it's really just a big grid). Other times, yes, it's just plain weird. Very funny too.

Pete and Pete breaks away from every boring and trite television show out there. The problems on most sit-coms are stupid, petty and seem like every other show out there (everyday life is great, but WATCHING everyday life sucks). Pete and Pete breaks out of that completely. The storylines create profound meanings from quirky twists on everyday life; the quest for perfection...using an underwear inspector, a "lost" favorite song and the journey to get it back. If there is ANYTHING to compare this show to, it's like Tim Burton got control of the Wonder Years...kind of.

Pete and Pete says there is excitement in everyday life and implies that just about anything is possible...why not be a bus driver or a bear for career day?

If TV were truly what it should be: A medium to entertain, inspire and teach the masses, we would see so many more shows like this. Talented writers who made something unique right down to the theme music.

And the guest stars! They're offbeat yet recognizable and respectable... Steve Buchemi, Janine Garofolo, Chris Elliot, Adam West. Then rock and roll stars: Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop and Juliana Hatfield. Finally out of the blue you get Monday Night Football's Frank Gifford and PBS's John McLaughlin. Like I said, unique right down to the theme song.

This show is awesome.

This show is classic. The writing was well done and the characters were well developed. The show had weird stories: International Adult Conspiracy, looking for aliens in the town, getting back a lucky penny, to name a few. This was one of their few great shows and Nickelodeon had to can it. What a shame.

This show is about two red-headed brothers named Pete and his younger brother who is also named Pete. The show follows both of their lives as they grow up in the quirky town of Wellsville. Older Pete often goes about his daily life with his close friend, Ellen who I think eventually becomes a love interest. He probably has it a lot better than younger Pete. Younger Pete goes about his daily life a lot different than older Pete does. He and odd assortment of friends including Artie, "The Strongest Man in the World" must go about doing all kinds of weird adventures. Young Pete must also face off against a very weird assortment of bullies including a kid named Papercut, who can turn ordinary construction paper into deadly weapons; and another kid named Pit Stain who gets his name because he's always sweating in his armpits. Young Pete also gets into all kinds of weird situations like trying to win a game of dodge ball and trying to go on for a week with getting any sleep.

This is truly one of the more original shows to ever grace the small screen. It shows the weird and quirky lives of people living in small towns. This show is a hell of a better than the crap that Nickelodeon is airing now. I think that what makes this show different from other shows is its unusual cast of characters. Everybody on this show, no matter how small their role might be, their role would always prove to be of very great significance in later episodes. I used to love watching this show on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I think that this was the show that rocketed Danny Tamberelli to fame. Now that he's a teenager and he's on "All That" he isn't the same little kid he was on "Pete & Pete".

There were so many classic episodes of "The Adventures of Pete & Pete". The one episode I will remember will probably be the Christmas special where Pete and Pete try to organize the town so that they can have Christmas every single day while also battling a maniacal garbage man who's after their family tree. Another episode I'll remember will be the one where young Pete goes up against the bully known as Papercut. I think probably my favorite episode would have to be the one where young Pete organizes all of his friends and prepares them to go on a sort of "sleep strike" where they must go on for I think a week without getting any sleep.

It's sad that Nickelodeon took this show off the air. Sure it was unusual, but at least it was good.

"The Adventures of Pete & Pete" gets a 10/10.