Leave It To Beaver - General Discussion

[wanton87]

On 11/24/2020 at 10:17 AM, chessiegal said:

Tom - the husband married to the older sister of a girl Wally was going out with. Plot was Ward and June were worried Wally would think married life was grand. Of course, Wally goes to the young couple's house for dinner and hears them squabbling, so all is well.

I recall that My Three Sons had a similar episode titled: “Robbie and the little stranger.” To where Robbie was the recipient of said lesson. I only mention it because the girl that played the young married college girl in this episode, was none other than the girl that played Caroline Cunningham (Karen Green) in the LITB episode titled: Eddie’s Girl.

It’s kind of fun to tie the relationship between such shows together.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, wanton87 said:

I recall that My Three Sons had a similar episode titled: “Robbie and the little stranger.” To where Robbie was the recipient of said lesson. I only mention it because the girl that played the young married college girl in this episode, was none other than the girl that played Caroline Cunningham (Karen Green) in the LITB episode titled: Eddie’s Girl.

It’s kind of fun to tie the relationship between such shows together.

I used to love Uncle Charlie. "Dinner's ready, if you're not out here in ten seconds, I'm throwing it on the floor!"

[Waterston Fan]

Yes, in some episodes Ward and June can be really annoying.  I remember the episode where Wally turns 17 and he's ready to get his license but I admit, I think it was too soon for him. lol 

Then after he gets his license he wants to go for a drive as Ward and June freak out sorta. 

[peacheslatour]

Quote

The episode that was on a few days ago where Beaver was playing in the car with one of his friends, the brake is accidentally released and the car rolls into the road also happened back in the day at my neighbor's house.  The difference was that my neighbor's driveway was incredibly steep.  When their car rolled down the driveway it crossed the street, and nearly took out another neighbor's front porch.

Is that the one where Beaver and Gilbert were pretending to be parents and they were yelling at the "kids" in the backseat?

[peacheslatour]

15 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Yes.

I thought so. I think that's the funniest thing they ever did. Or at least one of.

[GreekGeek]

On 11/28/2020 at 11:04 AM, peacheslatour said:

I thought so. I think that's the funniest thing they ever did. Or at least one of.

It was funny that Gilbert played the “wife.” But I got annoyed by those people who sat in their cars honking the horn instead of helping the kids out by driving the car back onto the driveway. Instead Wally had to do it, and promptly got a ticket for driving without a license.

[TheLastKidPicked]

Stumbled across a Ken Osmond interview from a few years ago.  He was so gracious and so self confident, he was enjoyable to watch.

When asked if he takes any kidding from playing Eddie Haskell, he replied,

"Eddie has been very good to me all these years.  Because of playing that character, doors have opened that wouldn't otherwise be open.  Everywhere I go, I'm treated as a long, lost friend."

With all the bad stories you hear about child actors, it's great to hear the cast (especially Frank Bank) benefit from the time they spent on the show. 

Edited December 23, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[chessiegal]

I like how the writers gave Wally a spine. It was repeated in the all night party episode when Wally's date got pushed into a fountain. When Wally hears his date got grounded for a month, he takes off on his own initiative to talk to her father. Good for you Wally!

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 1/20/2021 at 8:08 AM, chessiegal said:

I like how the writers gave Wally a spine. It was repeated in the all night party episode when Wally's date got pushed into a fountain. When Wally hears his date got grounded for a month, he takes off on his own initiative to talk to her father. Good for you Wally!

They did a nice job of showing Wally as somebody who kids could look up to.  Is anybody  here old enough to remember Highlights Magazine, with Goofus and Gallant?   Wally almost seems based on Gallant.

 

8 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

In what world did Ward and June think that Beaver was the smartest kid in his class?   He had the second highest score ever in the history of that IQ test being given at that school.   It should have occurred to Ward and June that something was wrong, that there was no way that Beaver was that smart.   And of course, Ward had to gloat like a jackass over Beaver's IQ test score.  As expected, it turned out that the new kid at school put Beaver's name on the test that he had taken.

Hugh Beaumont has said he wants the show to be about the kids growing up, but also about parents learning to be better parents.  I'm impressed that he could set aside his own ego and show Ward to be over the top and a bit unlikeable in this episode.  He needed to do it in order to make a point.  He was setting himself up for a fall with the following lines:

"Well, Willis, they probably only notified the top performers first.  You'll be hearing about your boys in a few days."

And when he was in Miss Rayburn's office and implied that Beaver inherited his intelligence from Ward himself:  "Well, I'm not surprised.  He has the background for it."  You could almost FEEL the eyerolls in the room.

The redemption arc, when Ward learns his lesson, was nicely done.  When Charles admits he switched the papers, and Ward asked why the kids picked on him, you can see the realization in Ward's face when Charles responds,  "I think it's because my parents were always showing up at the school making a big fuss about it." 

The tagline:

"You know, June.  I think I learned something today.  To take our kids as they are, and not wish they were something else or try to make them like ourselves.  That just doesn't work."

It might have otherwise sounded corny, but they did such a nice job of building up to it that it felt very natural.

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by TheLastKidPicked

[peacheslatour]

36 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

They did a nice job of showing Wally as somebody who kids could look up to.  Is anybody  here old enough to remember Highlights Magazine, with Goofus and Gallant?   Wally almost seems based on Gallant.

 

Hugh Beaumont has said he wants the show to be about the kids growing up, but also about parents learning to be better parents.  I'm impressed that he could set aside his own ego and show Ward to be over the top and a bit unlikeable in this episode.  He needed to do it in order to make a point.  He was setting himself up for a fall with the following lines:

"Well, Willis, they probably only notified the top performers first.  You'll be hearing about your boys in a few days."

And when he was in Miss Rayburn's office and implied that Beaver inherited his intelligence from Ward himself:  "Well, I'm not surprised.  He has the background for it."  You could almost FEEL the eyerolls in the room.

The redemption arc, when Ward learns his lesson, was nicely done.  When Charles admits he switched the papers, and Ward asked why the kids picked on him, you can see the realization in Ward's face when Charles responds,  "I think it's because my parents were always showing up at the school making a big fuss about it." 

The tagline:

"You know, June.  I think I learned something today.  To take our kids as they are, and not wish they were something else or try to make them like ourselves.  That just doesn't work."

It might have otherwise sounded corny, but they did such a nice job of building up to it that it felt very natural.

 

I loved the way Ward was able to see things from the boys side of it. Maybe, in some small way Leave It To Beaver made Americans of that generation, better parents.

[chessiegal]

I'm watching Season 1. Jerry Mathers sure was a cutie.

[chessiegal]

I was watching an episode of Perry Mason last night. He was defending a young woman who looked so familiar. Then I realized it was Miss Landers - Sue Randall.

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

She was only 49 years old when she died, lung cancer.   I thought she was the cutest teacher of the bunch.

Larry Mondello kept telling Beaver he was his friend.  He sure didn't act like it.

Larry had kind of a messed up home life. His parents were obviously older than most of his cohort, his dad seemed to be perpetually out of town, his sister was quite a handful and his mother was neurotic. 

[chessiegal]

Last night I saw Gilbert (Stephen Talbot) in an episode of Perry Mason (The Case of the Wandering Widow). I also saw one of Beaver's friends in an episode of Wagon Train, but now I can't remember which one.

[chessiegal]

Thanks - that was so weird because I never watch Wagon Train. For some reason I turned it on last week. My mother hated Westerns, so they were never on at our house. I remember her being annoyed with her father for watching Gunsmoke when we would visit. She thought Westerns were too violent.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Yeah, but he is related to Batman, how bad could that be?

Larry was no Bruce Wayne, he was just a messed up little kid.

[peacheslatour]

40 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Given how his mother acted, I suppose that gets into the whole "nature versus nurture" argument.   I suspect that it is a combination of both.

I will say that Beaver was so easily manipulated by all of his so called "close friends".  There was a very quick transition later in the series when he thought about going away to school, and all of a sudden classmates treated him like he was the most popular kid in his class, not wanting him to go. 

I swear, Theodore Cleaver was born without a spine.

[Maverick]

2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Yeah, but he is related to Batman, how bad could that be?

 

 Is he though?  Was it every established if Harriet was Bruce or Dick's aunt?   Or did art imitate life and she was just a beard hired by Bruce to keep too many questions from being asked?

 Larry's personality did seem to be influenced by his smothering mother and father never being around.   As opposed to Gilbert, who was just a born shithead. 

[Cobb Salad]

35 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 

 Is he though?  Was it every established if Harriet was Bruce or Dick's aunt?   Or did art imitate life and she was just a beard hired by Bruce to keep too many questions from being asked?

 Larry's personality did seem to be influenced by his smothering mother and father never being around.   As opposed to Gilbert, who was just a born shithead. 

Aunt Harriet was Dick’s Aunt:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_DC_Comics_characters#Harriet_Cooper

[chessiegal]

I have a quibble with the writers. I know they often have Beaver using incorrect grammar. MeTV is showing Season 3 which has Wally in high school (10th grade I believe, since he was in the 8th grade in Season 1). There was an episode recently where Wally uses incorrect grammar, and June corrects him. Someone that old should not be using incorrect grammar.

[Egg McMuffin]

I have a tough time watching this show through adult eyes. I love the kids - Tony Dow was great, as was Jerry Mathers in the earlier seasons. The friends are well cast and Gilbert especially cracks me up.

It’s the parents I have a problem with. They’re so remote and cool towards the kids. There’s not much true affection shown (Ward is better than June in this area). And the kids are always afraid to go to them with the most minor of problems. I know parenting changed a lot between the 1950s and 1970s, when it became more common for parents to be closer to their kids. I’ll take Mike and Carol Brady, who show regularly show affection for their children, any day over the Cleavers when it comes to TV parents.

[Cobb Salad]

3 hours ago, Kyle said:

I have a tough time watching this show through adult eyes. I love the kids - Tony Dow was great, as was Jerry Mathers in the earlier seasons. The friends are well cast and Gilbert especially cracks me up.

I generally like the show and find most of the characters likeable/amusing but sometimes I want to scream regarding Beaver’s behavior especially when he’s encouraged to do something mostly by one of his so called best friends.  I go out for early morning walks and get back by the time the 2nd episode starts on MeTV.   I swear over the last week or two I think I saw several episodes in a row (really every other episode - I missed the 8 am ones) where Larry Mondello encouraged Beaver to do something that got him in a heap of trouble with Ward and June.   Why doesn’t Beaver learn to not let Larry tell him what to do?

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Andy Taylor always expected the worst from Opie.   Even when he was proven wrong, he would still expect the worst from Opie.

I just watched Andy the other night. He did what you are saying and then he said "I'm doing it again, aren't I?" and Opie goes "What?" and Andy says "I'm thinking the worst of you without knowing all the facts." I think he did become aware and tried to do better.

[Cobb Salad]

Today’s 8:30 episode was “In the Soup”, a favorite of mine.  Yet again Beaver is convinced to do something stupid by one of his “friends”, this time Whitey Whitney.  You can see the look on Whitey’s face when he watches Beaver actually take the dare of checking out if there’s actually soup in the bowl or not, boy is he gullible.  Again, Ward has to tell Beaver he doesn’t have to keep proving himself over and over to people.  

[Egg McMuffin]

Beaver has the worst friends. They’re always encouraging him to do something that he shouldn’t, and/or they throw him under the bus later on.

I have to say: I love Gilbert. There is something about Stephen Talbot’s line readings that just crack me up. Apologies if someone has already posted this, but he and Jerry Mathers were interviewed together recently. It was fun to see because Talbot didn’t participate in the 1980s reunion movie or revival (he was one of the few who declined), and because the cadence of his voice is exactly the same. He seems like a super nice guy too.

Jerry Mathers and Stephen Talbot interview

[peacheslatour]

50 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Beaver has the worst friends. They’re always encouraging him to do something that he shouldn’t, and/or they throw him under the bus later on.

I have to say: I love Gilbert. There is something about Stephen Talbot’s line readings that just crack me up. Apologies if someone has already posted this, but he and Jerry Mathers were interviewed together recently. It was fun to see because Talbot didn’t participate in the 1980s reunion movie or revival (he was one of the few who declined), and because the cadence of his voice is exactly the same. He seems like a super nice guy too.

Jerry Mathers and Stephen Talbot interview

The episode where the two of them are sitting in the car pretending to be parents with their kids is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.

[Egg McMuffin]

Oh definitely - with Gilbert as the mother.

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Oh definitely - with Gilbert as the mother.

Yep.

[peacheslatour]

20 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

The best part of that episode is the immediate changing of tone from Eddie Haskell when he noticed Ward was standing near him.

Whitey lived a pretty sad life.

And very real.  I was over a neighbor's house back in the day, and two of their kids were playing in the car.  The neighbor's driveway was very steep.  In any case, the brake somehow got released, and the car rolled down the hill and nearly took out the porch on the house across the street.

My parents and their friends used to take their kids to the drive in and while the parents sat in one car, we kids sat in another. One time someone (I honestly don't remember who) released the parking brake and we rolled forward a few yards. We didn't hit any other cars but we did tear the speaker off the post.

[xwordfanatik]

6 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I was watching an episode today.  It is the one where some weasel trips the Beaver and Beaver gets up and swears at the kid.  Beaver's teacher (Miss Priss) threw a fit, because Beaver said a bad word.  Such a bad word that Miss Priss couldn't handle it and sent a letter home with the Beaver.

So here is my question.  What word do you think came flying out of Beaver's pie hole that landed him in such hot water?  And why wasn't Miss Priss more concerned about the kid that tripped the Beaver?

I know Beaver's teacher is Miss Landers, but she completely overreacted to what Beaver said, that is why I call her Miss Priss.  Violence, even if it is just tripping someone is a much bigger deal than language.

I agree, and I would have called that meanie an asshole, too.  That's my guess.

[Maverick]

 Where do you think the term "pearl clutching" came from?   All those 50s ladies were too dainty to stand the word "darn".

[S45apUSA]

Ward was in the war and at that were dating. Is this the same episode the boys look in Ward’s footlocker and the Navy Uniform is short of shown and were Wally help Beaver the wartime letter? Can the rate speciality badge or patch be seen well enough tell what it would represent and is the anything to show that he was in the Seabees? Had Ward already finished college at this time or did got to college on the GI Bill?

Edited May 12, 2021 by S45apUSA

[peacheslatour]

48 minutes ago, S45apUSA said:

Ward was in the war and at that were dating. Is this the same episode the boys look in Ward’s footlocker and the Navy Uniform is short of shown and were Wally help Beaver the wartime letter? Can the rate speciality badge or patch be seen well enough tell what it would represent and is the anything to show that he was in the Seabees? Had Ward already finished college at this time or did got to college on the GI Bill?

I would not be surprised. Wasn't his father a farmer?

[S45apUSA]

The kept try big to write him as if he still didn’t like girls. While I might be able to see him not want show his buddies he liked a girl but he seemed not be nice to girls. He did mention once or twice to Wally he liked a girl. 
Why? 
I wonder by the time he was 12ish-to about 14 he might been tiring of playing or the way Beaver was being written. Jerry Mathers ended up just wanting to have a normal life in high school.

[S45apUSA]

What about the Monster sweatshirts episode? The thing I saw as problem is the disobedience of Beaver actually wearing it to school. Would a shirt or sweatshirt like that been such a distraction in the classroom back then?

[xwordfanatik]

What I wonder is why Beav didn't just turn the damn thing inside out?  Once again, Beav gets left holding the bag, when his friends don't do what they say they will.  Remember the class picture and the face he made, when Gilbert talked him into it?  

He never learns!  Beaver's picture is next to gullible in the dictionary.  Poor schnook.

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, xwordfanatik said:

What I wonder is why Beav didn't just turn the damn thing inside out?  Once again, Beav gets left holding the bag, when his friends don't do what they say they will.  Remember the class picture and the face he made, when Gilbert talked him into it?  

He never learns!  Beaver's picture is next to gullible in the dictionary.  Poor schnook.

That's not true! Gullible isn't even in the dictionary.

[xwordfanatik]

Are you a Roseanne show fan, too?  😊

[peacheslatour]

1 minute ago, xwordfanatik said:

Are you a Roseanne show fan, too?  😊

Yes but I heard that joke way before I ever watched Roseanne.

[Maverick]

4 hours ago, S45apUSA said:

Would a shirt or sweatshirt like that been such a distraction in the classroom back then?

 Back then?  I suppose it would depend on the school/area but I would think absolutely yes.   Not even so much because of dress codes but social norms.   

[S45apUSA]

19 hours ago, Maverick said:

 Back then?  I suppose it would depend on the school/area but I would think absolutely yes.   Not even so much because of dress codes but social norms.   

That’s kind what thought. Would tittering as Mrs Rayburn said have the whole class or mostly the girls? Why couldn’t the teacher sent to gym or the boys restroom to turn the inside out and then principals office?

[S45apUSA]

Wally and friends join the Boy Scouts the all say 12 yrs old and 8th grade. It would seem that they would have been 6th or 7th grade if they were 12. The age was partly for the plot point of joining the Boy Scouts. Where did they live? Does anyone have any idea what cutoff dates would’ve been in Ohio, Washington, Oregon, California, or any other state where it may have been set?

[S45apUSA]

On 5/27/2021 at 9:42 AM, xwordfanatik said:

What I wonder is why Beav didn't just turn the damn thing inside out?  Once again, Beav gets left holding the bag, when his friends don't do what they say they will.  Remember the class picture and the face he made, when Gilbert talked him into it?  

He never learns!  Beaver's picture is next to gullible in the dictionary.  Poor schnook.

 Exactly he could have asked to be excused to go the bathroom since had nothing on underneath the sweatshirt .

Edited June 18, 2021 by S45apUSA
Fixing a mistake

[mmecorday]

The episode about the Cleavers going camping was on this morning. June, of course, wore her Sunday best on the drive to the rustic cabin, but did manage to slip into a pair of dungarees while she was there. She rocked that look, by the way. Ward didn't want the boys to bring their comic books because he wanted them to marvel at nature, not read Marvel comics. Wally and the Beav sneaked out of the cabin to go hiking and found that the cabin was right close to civilization and they were able to buy comics and get burgers and sodas.

Now I want to go camping.

[peacheslatour]

11 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

The episode about the Cleavers going camping was on this morning. June, of course, wore her Sunday best on the drive to the rustic cabin, but did manage to slip into a pair of dungarees while she was there. She rocked that look, by the way. Ward didn't want the boys to bring their comic books because he wanted them to marvel at nature, not read Marvel comics. Wally and the Beav sneaked out of the cabin to go hiking and found that the cabin was right close to civilization and they were able to buy comics and get burgers and sodas.

Now I want to go camping.

And they were watching a drive in movie by lip reading. I swear they said it was called Jungle Fever. I didn't know Spike Lee was making movies back then.

[peacheslatour]

5 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Ward was being a jerk.  The kids would have plenty of time to read comic books.  What if it rained while they were camping?  What would they do at night when it was too dark to go outside?  I would have expected June and Ward to bring reading material.  Most of the people who I know that have camped, have brought something to read. 

Yes, the goal is to go out and be in nature, but sometimes things don't go as planned.

That seems to be a trope in every sitcom where they go camping. From The Brady Bunch to Frasier.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

This show is so classic, hope it never goes off the air. Hollywood can't make decent shows like this anymore.

[GreekGeek]

On 6/4/2021 at 6:12 AM, S45apUSA said:

I don’t know about the Boy Scout rules, but I think the Cleavers’ home was kept vague on purpose. I assumed it was somewhere in the Midwest, but in one episode June mentioned that the ocean was 20 miles away. That surprised me; I would have thought that they were at least a thousand miles from any ocean.

Edited August 14, 2021 by GreekGeek

[chessiegal]

The location was extremely vague. Beaver talks about having a surf board. Eddie says he has a summer job on a ship and they go to "the docks" which implies they are near a major shoreline. They go to the mountains, they go to a lake.

[peacheslatour]

56 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

The location was extremely vague. Beaver talks about having a surf board. Eddie says he has a summer job on a ship and they go to "the docks" which implies they are near a major shoreline. They go to the mountains, they go to a lake.

I always assumed they were in CA. Namely because it never snows there once. Doesn't have to be L.A. They could be in somewhere smaller like Santa Monica.