History Series / TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete

** Big Pete's Narration: "This is [person]. And this is [person's possession]."

''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' was one of several sitcoms aired by {{Nickelodeon}} during the early 1990s, about two brothers and their oddball family/neighborhood/school/world in the town of Wellsville. WillMcRobbAndChrisViscardi, two members of Nickelodeon's marketing department, created the series in 1988 as shorts meant to advertise Nickelodeon in a more roundabout way. The commercials took off, leading to half-hour specials being produced (five from 1991 to 1993), and eventually a full-series order with a three-season run. The plug was pulled in 1996.

The series was fairly successful on Nick when it aired, alongside other live-action shows such as ''SaluteYourShorts'' and ''Series/ClarissaExplainsItAll''. The first two seasons were also released to DVD as part of Nickelodeon's "Rewind" series, which showcased shows from that era. ''Pete and Pete'' in particular was also a hit with [[PeripheryDemographic college-aged young adults]]--a demographic that Nick wouldn't attract again in such large numbers until ''InvaderZim'' in 2001--who enjoyed its quirkiness. Additionally, by being shot on location and eschewing a laugh track, it pioneered a format that became the preferred one for sitcoms by the time the 2000's came around.

** At this point, almost if not all the music used in the series that is authored by Polaris and Mark Mulcahy completely fills this thanks to their lyrics, that is if you want to interpret them with pretty ''deep'' meaning in the lyrics as "Hey Sandy" or even what "Waiting for October" ''hide'' in. Not even the creators are sure about what the songs specifically talk about.

** In "On Golden Pete," involving the Petes' Dad's obsessive quest to catch an elusive striped bass, his HAM radio nickname is revealed to be [[Literature/MobyDick Ahab]]

* WorldOfWeirdness: See CloudCluckooland above, or even MundaneFantastic. It's a world completely full of SeriousBusiness, too.

* AcmeProducts: Everything from the Kreb* corporation.

** Artie is a [[Series/DoctorWho Time Lord]]? That actually makes a lot of sense.

* {{BrandX}}: Most Kreb* products are thinly veiled parodies of existing brands, including Kreben Up soda (7-Up), Kreb of the Loom underwear (Fruit of the Loom), Kreb Newtons (Fig Newtons), Krebbin Donuts (Dunkin Donuts), Kreb Duds (Milk Duds), etc.
* TheCameo: One of the great joys of the show was the plethora of guest stars such as SteveBuscemi, JaneaneGarofalo, AdamWest, LLCoolJ, and BebeNeuwirth.
** The show was also crawling with cameos from alternative rock musicians including IggyPop (who had a recurring role as Nona's [[strike:dad]] pop), Kate Pierson of Music/TheB52s, Gordon Gano of the Music/ViolentFemmes, Marshall Crenshaw, Syd Straw, Michael Stipe of Music/{{REM}}, David Johansen of the Music/NewYorkDolls, the rock band Luscious Jackson and Richard Edson (the original drummer for Music/SonicYouth)

* {{Drive-In Theater}}: Used as a setting when older Pete and [[spoiler:Ellen]] go on a date.
* DarkestHour:The Second part of "Farewell My Little Viking.". John Mcflemp is purging Artie's memory, has turned Artie into just another white collar guy in a suit, and Little Pete, who's normally TheDeterminator, is on the verge of giving up. [[spoiler:But then Pete's dad has a HeelRealization and heads to find Artie, who goes back to his old ways while Little Pete stands up to Papercut on his own.]]
* TheDeterminator: Little Pete rarely gives up on anything, and in a world filled with people for whom adult swim (No, not [[AdultSwim that one]]) is treated like oppression of free speech, Little Pete is the king of it, doing insane things solely on principle.
* EmbarrassingTattoo: Little Pete's "Petunia", a lounging woman in a Spanish-style dress; subverted in that ''Mrs. Wrigley'' is embarrassed by it.

* EscalatingWar Ellen's father and the Petes' father got into a huge prank war in the episode "Apocalypse Pete".

* GeekPhysiques: The show largely avoids this trope, but Joe Jones from "Space, Geeks, and Johnny Unitas" plays it painfully straight (although admittedly he proves to be both a football and UFO nerd [[spoiler: and an alien]])

* IconicOutfit: Little Pete wore a red flannel cap almost everywhere he went. It gets lampshaded when he's wearing it in the middle of the summer.

** Those are all Meaningful [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Nicknames]]; Mike's surname "Hellstrom", however, is quite a MeaningfulName.

** In "On Golden Pete," involving the Petes' Dad's obsessive quest to catch an elusive striped bass, his HAM radio nickname is revealed to be [[MobyDick Ahab]]

* WorldOfWeirdness:

:::TheKirk - Little Pete
:::TheSpock - Monica
:::TheMcCoy - Nona

* ShoutOut: In "Tool and Die", when Pete sneaks around Mr. Slurm's classroom and is caught, the shot of Pete on his back with Mr. Slurm standing over him, both pointing flashlights at each other, is a direct Shout Out to ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' and its iconic image of Mr. White and Mr. Pink in a standoff. In "X Equals Why?", there are movie posters in a theater promoting ''Reservoir Pups'' and ''[[Film/PulpFiction Pup Fiction]]''; this episode also features Steve Buscemi, who appeared in both of the Tarentino movies being referenced.

* SurrealHumour: One of the series' better traits was it's use of humor in ways that nobody would expect. Heavy use of the FunnyBackgroundEvent, The NoodleIncident, and just all out weirdness that nobody ever bats an eye towards.
* TakingAThirdOption: When it comes to Papercut playing Rock Paper Scissors, you have two options: choose paper and lose, or be too afraid to choose rock, because he's going to beat you up anyway. Little Pete and all his friends finally stand up to his bullying by creating new hand signs to represent forces of nature that can't be beaten, such as volcanoes and meteors.

* UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo: The shorts, specials and "Day of the Dot" present Ellen as pining after Big Pete, with him having to remind her that she's "a girl, and a friend, but not my girlfriend." Season two episodes like "Yellow Fever" and "Time Tunnel" turn this around--Big Pete is starting to wonder if he has feelings for Ellen, but she no longer reciprocates.

* WondrousLadiesRoom: In the episode "All-nighter", Pete (the younger) and two of his friends (Wayne and Monica) end up locked in the school overnight by accident. Naturally, [[HilarityEnsues hijinks ensue]] as all three take the opportunity to do all the things they would otherwise never be allowed to do on school grounds. Monica decides to go and check out the '''BOYS''' room, since she has never been inside one in her life, apparently. Upon entering she is utterly astounded by the presence of urinals and completely baffled as to their purpose. The two boys (who happened to be in the exact same bathroom for some reason) decide to have some fun by telling her the urinal is "a foot washer".

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Season 3's been on it's way since 2006. Don't hold your breath. (See ScrewedByTheNetwork below.)

* ProductionPosse: Showrunners [=McRobb=] and Viscardi would cast Damian Young (Bus Driver Stu) in their show ''Series/TheWarNextDoor'', as well as the film ''SnowDay'' (which was proposed as a Pete & Pete movie.) Bob Mittenthal, who wrote a couple of episodes, would also go on to co-create ''KaBlam'' with [=McRobb=] and Viscardi. By a startling coincidence, Rick Gomez (Endless Mike) was cast on another [=McRobb=]-Viscardi show -- ''KaBlam'' -- without any of the three knowing until production started.
** Also, surprisingly, ''{{Scrubs}}''. Several longtime members of ''Pete & Pete's'' production crew ended up working on the show, including ''P&P'''s director of photography Michael Spillman, who would direct over a dozen ''Scrubs'' episodes. The actor who played Teddy on ''P&P'' also had a couple of bit roles sprinkled throughout and when you consider how much of the show's style is eerily reminiscent of ''P&P'' (first-person narration with ending realization, absurdist humor and characters, emphasis on music, etc.), it's almost an adult SpiritualSuccessor.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: More specifically, by the parent company of the network. When Viacom shifted around some key executives at Nickelodeon, it eventually resulted in several "Rewind" DVD releases being postponed and eventually cancelled, leaving the third and final season unavailable on DVD (at least in the US).

* WhatMightHaveBeen: ''SnowDay'' was originally supposed to be a Pete & Pete movie, but due to the script being shelved for 8 years after it was written, the show had already ended, and the actors were too old to do the roles by the time shooting began.
** Another version of events was that the script was pitched as the series ended, and Nick figured the show would be forgotten by the time production wrapped up on the film so they asked for rewrites. Nevertheless, watching the film it's quite easy to figure out who was supposed to be each ''Pete'' character.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: One of the shorts credit's at least some of Artie's powers to his shirt, which is a 60/60 blend (60% titanium, 40% cotton).

** It's actually "can you stand to shoot me, or have you picked your target yet?". The "Sandy" that the song is referencing was one of the victims of the Kent State incident. The line is easier to decipher in the album version, and was deliberately unintelligible so as to not explicitly reference a violent death in the theme song of a children's show.

* GRatedDrug: Extra-frosty Orange Lazaruses give those who consume them too fast brain freezes of such intensity that the victims start tripping

*** The above is only a ''very'' partial list. Every episode has at least one thing receiving the SeriousBusiness treatment, however, it's more likely the show has 2, one for Big Pete and one for Little Pete. It's also not uncommon for side characters to demonstrate their own serious businesses, without following up on their plot. The final episode "Saturday" simply follows half a dozen characters and their big reactions to very little things.

** His on-camera feats include hitting a golf ball 300,003 feet, pushing a house to the left an inch (he wanted to knock it over, but he had strained a muscle earlier while lifting a brassiere emporium), rolling a bowling ball from whatever state Wellsville is in into Canada, skipping a stone on Neptune, leaving the Wrigley's gutters clean and spotless by blowing through the drainage pipe (and said gunk going flying all over the neighborhood,) and leaping across the city in a single jump

* SeriousBusiness:

** The unspoken rule to proving yourself to be King of the Road on a family trip is based on how high you can stack all the luggage on top of your car. Dad's masculinity is threatened when another family's station wagon has a higher stack than the Wrigleys. They eventually have to strip down and put their clothes and underwear and the Statue of Liberty hood ornament to finally win out in the end.
** That, and just about everything else on the show - the school marching band, bedtimes, shop class, bowling balls, school tests, dodgeball, favorite songs, baseball, awkward silence, Daylight Saving Time, Halloween, underwear inspecting, fishing, field trips, good-luck charms, pool piss, pool hierarchy, spring fever, Varsity sports, how fast your electricity meter is spinning...

The two titular brothers are named Pete Wrigley for reasons that are never explained within the series proper[[note]]the shorts mention their mom wanted their names to rhyme[[/note]]; co-creator Will [=McRobb=] once noted that, should you feel the need to ask, you're probably watching the wrong show. This is, after all, the same show where underpants inspectors are guardian angels, a metal detector can find an entire car (still in good condition) buried at the beach, you can run to the Canadian border in four hours (or use a riding mower), and a mentally challenged man who speaks incoherent sentences and runs around in spandex pajamas is the personal superhero of the younger Pete Wrigley. Why two brothers have the same name should be the least of your issues.

* ShoutOut: In "Tool and Die", when Pete sneaks around Mr. Slurm's classroom and is caught, the shot of Pete on his back with Mr. Slurm standing over him, both pointing flashlights at each other, is a direct Shout Out to ''ReservoirDogs'' and its iconic image of Mr. White and Mr. Pink in a standoff. In "X Equals Why?", there are movie posters in a theater promoting ''Reservoir Pups'' and ''[[PulpFiction Pup Fiction]]''; this episode also features Steve Buscemi, who appeared in both of the Tarentino movies being referenced.

The two titular brothers are named Pete Wrigley for reasons that are never explained within the series proper[[hottip:*:the shorts mention their mom wanted their names to rhyme]]; co-creator Will [=McRobb=] once noted that, should you feel the need to ask, you're probably watching the wrong show. This is, after all, the same show where underpants inspectors are guardian angels, a metal detector can find an entire car (still in good condition) buried at the beach, you can run to the Canadian border in four hours (or use a riding mower), and a mentally challenged man who speaks incoherent sentences and runs around in spandex pajamas is the personal superhero of the younger Pete Wrigley. Why two brothers have the same name should be the least of your issues.

* FootFocus: Happens in an episode in which Big Pete is trying to date Ellen. He calls her on the phone while she's barefoot and asks her random questions and asks her "try writing something with your foot." She holds the pencil with her toes and does just that, in close-up.

** Also, surprisingly, ''{{Scrubs}}''. Several longtime members of ''Pete & Pete's'' production crew ended up working on the show, including ''P&P'''s director of photography Michael Spillman, who would direct over a dozen ''Scrubs'' episodes. The actor who played Teddy on ''P&P'' also had a couple of bit roles sprinkled throughout and when you consider how much of the show's style is eerily reminiscent of ''P&P'' (first-person narration with ending realization, absurdist humor and characters emphasis on music, etc.), it's almost an adult SpiritualSuccessor.

-->'''Ellen''': Nickelodeon presents ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete''! Starring Pete, Pete's brother Pete, and me--Ellen--as Pete's girlfriend--
-->'''Older Pete''': Look, you're a girl, and you're a friend...[[ShesNotMyGirlfriend but you're not a girlfriend]]!
---->''[[OpeningNarration Narration that preceded every Pete & Pete short]]''

-->'''Older Pete''': This is [person/place/thing]. And ''this'' is [something associated with it].
---->''[[OpeningNarration Narration that preceded nearly every Pete & Pete episode]]''

** As much as they could in a live-action show. I mean, the school's mascot was a squid in a bucket, Little Pete once caused an explosion by placing a humidifier and a dehumidifier next to each other, Big Pete was once visited by a space alien that was a fan of Johnny Unitas, and that's not even getting into Artie...
** Rolling Thunder, a magical bowling ball with Power For Good... and Powers For Evil...
** Little Pete found Jimmy Hoffa's wallet buried under Dad's lawn.

** The show was also crawling with cameos from alternative rock musicians including IggyPop (who had a recurring role as Nona's [[strike:dad]] pop), Kate Pierson of Music/{{TheB52s}}, Gordon Gano of the Music/ViolentFemmes, Marshall Crenshaw, Syd Straw, Michael Stipe of Music/{{REM}}, David Johansen of the Music/NewYorkDolls, the rock band Luscious Jackson and Richard Edson (the original drummer for Music/SonicYouth)

* TheCameo: One of the great joys of the show was the plethora of guest stars such as SteveBuscemi, Creator/JaneaneGarafolo, AdamWest, LLCoolJ, and BebeNeuwirth.

* TheCameo: One of the great joys of the show was the plethora of guest stars such as SteveBuscemi, JaneaneGarafolo, AdamWest, LLCoolJ, and BebeNeuwirth.
** The show was also crawling with cameos from alternative rock musicians including IggyPop (who had a recurring role as Nona's [[strike:dad]] pop), Kate Pierson of Music/{{TheB52}}'s, Gordon Gano of the Music/ViolentFemmes, Marshall Crenshaw, Syd Straw, Michael Stipe of Music/{{REM}}, David Johansen of the Music/NewYorkDolls, the rock band Luscious Jackson and Richard Edson (the original drummer for Music/SonicYouth)

* TheCameo: One of the great joys of the show was the plethora of guest stars such as Steve Buscemi, Janeane Garafolo, Adam West, LL Cool J, and Bebe Neuwirth.
** The show was also crawling with cameos from alternative rock musicians including Iggy Pop (who had a recurring role as Nona's [[strike:dad]] pop), Kate Pierson of the B-52's, Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes, Marshall Crenshaw, Syd Straw, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., David Johansen of the New York Dolls, the rock band Luscious Jackson and Richard Edson (the original drummer for Sonic Youth)

** Danny Tamberelli (Little Pete) claimed on Reddit that the line is "Can you settle a sure bet?". It would make sense, as it properly fits the song's rhyme scheme.

* ProductionPosse: Showrunners [=McRobb=] and Viscardi would cast Damian Young (Bus Driver Stu) in their TooGoodToLast show ''Series/TheWarNextDoor'', as well as the film ''SnowDay'' (which was proposed as a Pete & Pete movie.) Bob Mittenthal, who wrote a couple of episodes, would also go on to co-create ''KaBlam'' with [=McRobb=] and Viscardi. By a startling coincidence, Rick Gomez (Endless Mike) was cast on another [=McRobb=]-Viscardi show -- ''KaBlam'' -- without any of the three knowing until production started.

* HeyItsThatGuy: ''Tons'' of recognizable cameos, including Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi, Bebe Neuwirth and Chris Elliot.

* PlanetEris: As much as they could in a live-action show. I mean, the school's mascot was a squid in a bucket, Little Pete once caused an explosion by placing a humidifier and a dehumidifier next to each other, Big Pete was once visited by a space alien that was a fan of Johnny Unitas, and that's not even getting into Artie...
** Rolling Thunder, a magical bowling ball with Power For Good... and Powers For Evil...
** Little Pete found Jimmy Hoffa's wallet buried under Dad's lawn.