Kevin Arnold

Kevin Arnold is twelve going on thirteen, a middle kid in a suburban family, navigating the sudden strangeness of junior high, his own moods, and his complicated feelings for the girl next door, Winnie Cooper. He's ordinary in the way that turns out to be the whole point—curious, awkward, embarrassed by his parents, trying to figure out what kind of person he's becoming.

Fred Savage plays Kevin with an unforced naturalism that keeps the show's nostalgic narration honest instead of syrupy—his face does the real work of adolescence, the flinches and small triumphs, while an adult voiceover supplies the hindsight. The gap between what Kevin feels and what he can say makes even ordinary school days feel enormous.