Then came the dedicated kidvid networks, Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel, and the Cartoon Network, telling us something quite different. Adults are inept, crazy, or downright evil. Their rules make no sense. Don't even try to conform society: rebel, resist, be yourself.
If the two brothers with the same name don't suggest that something is askew in Wellsville, what about the opening song:
Hey, Smilin' Strange, you're looking happily deranged
I could've settled if you shoot me, or have you picked your target yet?
Or the adult characters:
Mom, who has a steel plate in her head that can pick up radio.
Artie, the Strongest Man in the World (Toby Huss, left), who is not at all muscular but brags that he can move a house a whole inch.
Mr. Slurm (Don Creech), the high school shop teacher with a claw for a hand.
Pit Stain Jones, a super-villain whose powers are obvious
Big Pete (Michael Maronna) is drawing close to adulthood, so he is the most conformist, with part-time jobs and career plans and crushes on girls.
But Little Pete (Danny Tamborelli) resists the International Adult Conspiracy on bedtimes and dodgeball, and investigates such mysteries as the "Inspector" tag in clothing, the "time warp" of Daylight Savings Time, and a telephone that has been ringing for 27 years.
More after the break
Heterosexual romance is a constant among the adult and teen characters, but Little Pete resists the International Adult Conspiracy on hetero-romance, too. He is mostly successful, reserving his affection for Big Pete and for his "hero," Artie the Strongest Man in the World.
The bizarre adult world provides some gay symbolism, and Little Pete's resistance to hetero-romance marks him as gay-vague. But there are even more queer codes. Boys often fall in love with Big Pete, notably:
1. Bill (Rick Barbarette) in the first season.
2. Teddy (Dave Martell) in later seasons.
3. Frenemy Endless Mike (Rick Gomez, top photo and left). I always wondered why he was called "Endless."
After Pete and Pete, Michael C. Maronna starred in the heterormative comedy Slackers (2003) and played Leon in an episode of The Gilmore Girls before moving behind the scenes as a studio electrician. He's married with children.
Danny Tamberelli starred in Igby Goes Down (2002), with Kieran Culkin, plus episodes of All That and The 100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd and a lot of voiceovers. He starred in the sitcom Gross Habits (2015), about a guy named Gross who needs money. Only three episodes aired.
He's got a wife and kids, too.
Most of the other cast members have faded away from the screen, but Rick Gomez went on to starring roles in Hitz, Band of Brothers, What About Brian, Justified, The Crossing, and Silo, plus a lot off movies and voice work.
He and Steve Zahn became friends during The Crossing, and established Macaroni Art Productions. Their most recent project: She Dances (2025), with Steve as a dad trying to connect with his daughter (real life daughter Aubrey) at a dance competition.
I didn't find gay content in any of their lives after Pete and Pete. International Adult Conspiracy has won.
