Originating from a series of “shorts” played during commercial
breaks, The Adventures of Pete and Pete expanded to 30-minute
shows for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 1993-1995. Top name talent including
Janeane Garofalo, Steve Buscemi and even Iggy Pop, all made appearances in what
was one of Nick’s most popular programs in the early ‘90s.
For the record: Danny Tamberelli and I grew up together in a similar suburban
town in Northern New Jersey, where kids tend to think up some very interesting
stuff to keep themselves entertained. This past Halloween we were walking down
2nd Avenue in New York City, when a passerby dressed as “Artie”
approached Danny and said, “Hey are you supposed to be Little Pete?”
THE SHOW The Adventures of Pete & Pete: Season 2 consists of all
13 episodes, plus extras and audio commentaries by cast and crew. A tale of
suburban adventure, the brothers Pete, their parents and neighborhood characters
like Artie, the world’s strongest man, played out the well-known theme
of dead end suburbia. Taking place in “Wellsville, USA,” the show
was actually shot mainly in Cranford, NJ, a small town in the suburbs of New
York City. The plot surrounded an anything but typical four-person family, where
the brothers participated in classic rituals such as Halloween pumpkin smashing,
little league trash talking and sibling rivalry.
For example, in “the Call,” Little Pete finally answers a cursed
town pay phone that has been ringing for 27 years. Big Pete (Michael Marrona)
gets attacked by Halloween terror gang the Pumpkin Eaters in “Halloweenie.”
Other themes include time travel, father son relations, and of course finding
a way out of the house when you’re grounded.
Mrs. Wrigley had a metal plate in her head and picked up various radio frequencies,
while dad tried to look cool in front of the kids, but still had a lawn obsession.
In an odd pairing, punk idol Iggy Pop played the father of Michelle Trachtenburg,
who was Little Pete’s best friend and has now teeny bopped her way into
fine fare such as Ice Princess and Euro Trip.
The much-loved show was rare in that it appealed to both kids and 20-somethings
at the same time. Only lasting three full seasons, the story line became hard
to maintain once both Pete’s had grown up.
SOUND AND VISUALS
The video is Full Screen Format, and sound is Dolby Digital. Director of Photography
Michael Spiller had worked for accomplished filmmaker Hal Heartly, who won best
screenplay at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for “Henry Fool.” Spiller’s
crew is first class and easily captures the funky suburban vibe.
PACKAGING AND LAYOUT
The CD/DVD comes in two plastic cases with a cardboard outer layer to keep them
together. The layout has a backdrop of orange fall leaves, fitting for this
time of year and because they match the hair color of both Petes. Episode titles
and brief synopses are listed giving one a small hint of what to expect. A quote
on the front cover by Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times exclaims the program
is, “As good as television has ever been and great in ways few shows ever
attempt.
SPECIAL FEATURES
This release is full of extra features including audio commentaries by cast
members and crew as they watch the episodes more than ten years later.
• Pete & Pete Special: “Space, Geeks and Johnny Unitas”
is one of the original half-hour episodes from when the show was only airing
“shorts.” In this special the Pete’s mom picks up the telecast
of the Colts game on the metal plate in her head.
• Audio commentaries include Co-Creators Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi,
“Big Pete” Michael Marrona, “Little Pete” Danny Tamberelli,
“Artie” Toby Huss and Director Damen Santostefano. It is great to
hear their take on things years after they worked together.
• Five of the original “shorts” that the show first appeared
as, including "Artie, the Strongest Man... in the World," "The
Launch," "The Punishment," "Route 34" and "X-Ray
Man."
OH THE EARLY 90’s, WHEN TV WAS STILL GOOD The Adventures of Pete & Pete: Season 2 aired its last
episode over ten years ago, yet the show still remains surprisingly popular
with a broad ranged audience. Thanks to reruns on satellite channels such as
Noggin and now with all three seasons being released on DVD, fans can still
get their fix of this early Nick classics. You can snatch this 13-episode season
three along with tons of extras for under $20 in most places, making it an easy
choice for anyone who wants to relive the moments of this out of whack sitcom.
DVD Movie Score: A
DVD Sounds and Visuals Score: B+
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: A
DVD Extras Score: A DVD Overall Score: A
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