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Leave It To Beaver coming in 2005!!! (1 Viewer)

Dane Marvin

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Beav me up, Scotty!




Seriously, man, I love to watch TV from the days when you could base an entire episode around a kid gettin' his head stuck between two fence posts. And make it a damn funny episode at that. I totally forgot about "LITB" until someone reupped this thread. I keep forgetting to list in those threads of 'your most wanted shows on DVD', but this is definitely up there for me at a time when most of the shows I've wanted to see on DVD are now already here or on the way soon.

C'mon, Universal...
 

David Von Pein

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Damn straight! :)

Another "simplistic" example of a LITB entry being Episode #118 (from Season 4) -- "Beaver Won't Eat" (his brussels sprouts). A top-flight, but ultra-simple, ep. which has the Cleaver household all up in arms because The Beav doesn't like brussels sprouts. That ep. features Hal Smith (aka "Otis" from TAGS) as a restaurant manager. Beaver's sprout-hating days end in that restaurant's funny scene when he finally gets the vegetable to "stay down there" after accidentally swallowing a Sprout. :D

I, too, vote for Full-Season Releases on DVD! No other way will do! And, remember, Beav fans -- EACH and every season of "The Beav" sports precisely 39 Episodes a season! A ton by today's 22-ep. standard, eh? :emoji_thumbsup: :)

That'll probably mean three double-sided discs from Universal (given their current 2-Sided trend :frowning:). I, myself, would enjoy seeing a 6-Disc set for each of the 6 seasons, with unique Disc Art featuring a different character on each disc -- Beaver, Wally, Ward, June, Eddie, and "The Lump", respectively. :)

Who here recalls all six of the "Show Openings" for Beaver? (They filmed a new one for each season.)

Let's have a gander, shall we? OK. :) ........

1.) "Prints In Cement" opening.

2.) Parents meet the boys at bottom of staircase.

3.) Ward & June enter the boys' bedroom, awakening them for school. (First season in the "new" house at 211 Pine St.; Mayfield USA.)

4.) "The Ward" & "The June" hand boys their coats on front porch.

5.) "Yard Work" (featuring June presenting a tray of ice-cold homemade lemonade for her hard-working crew of 3 men in the front yard). This is the worst opening, IMO, which also features the "Magical Closing Front Door" after June exits the house with her tray of beverage delights. Perhaps Eddie was inside to serve as "Doorman" or something. I only hope somebody gave this opening's creator "The Business" for producing such an opening-credits sequence, which comes complete with Beaver's delightfully-fake "lip licking" in anticipation of receiving a glass of June's ice-cold beverage. :laugh:

6.) The 1962-1963 "Jazzed-Up" beginning, with everybody running toward Ward's brand-new '63 four-door sedan.

-------------

"Good morning, Mrs. Cleaver! Gee, Mrs. Cleaver, your kitchen always looks so clean. My mother says it looks like you never do any work in here." :laugh: -- Edward Clark Haskell (aka: "Edward W. Haskell" in some eps.)

:) :)

"Oh, you don't have to worry about Clarence's driving, Ward. When it comes to brains, he's got a head on him like the Rock of Gibraltar." :laugh: -- Fred Rutherford

:) :)

"Gee, dad, we didn't mean to get Mr. Rutherford {with the 'barrel hoops'}." -- "Yeah, we yelled 'meathead' and he came runnin' out." :laugh: -- Wally, then The Beav quotes

:) :)

 

Joe Lugoff

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That's a great summary of the Season Openings, David VP! You know your Beaver!

I would like to add that at the very end of the Season Six Opening, Hugh Beaumont apparently stepped on the brakes too hard, and you can see Jerry Mathers flung back in his seat. Or should I say flung forward, because he was facing backwards? Well, you know what I mean.

You got that TV Guide autographed by The Beav? How cool. By the way, that was the ONLY time "Leave It to Beaver" made the cover of TV Guide in the whole six years it was on! Hard to believe, isn't it?

One more thing, and then I'll let you go: I often go around saying that "Leave It to Beaver" might be the only TV sitcom in history which never had a storyline that was so stupid or far-fetched that it couldn't actually happen in real life. Oh, it came close a few times: Beaver parading around town in a bunny suit -- Beaver giving away his father's best suits to win some 10-cent award -- Beaver embarrassed to be seen pushing a doll buggy, when Gilbert and Richard didn't seem the least embarrassed -- I think these episodes pushed Beaver's stupidity almost to the point of unbelievability. But compared to the great majority of sitcoms, "Beaver" kept the basic plotlines very believable.
 

Jeff Willis

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Great post, David. A vote wasn't called for (for favorite show "openings") but the last one was my favorite (since I'm a Jazz fan anyway :D )

This might be in the minority here, but for some reason I liked the later seasons better in this series than the earlier ones. Most series seem (for me) to be the opposite; I tend to favor the early ones.
 

Jeffrey Nelson

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My fave Beav episodes:

The one where Beav gets stuck in the giant soup bowl on the billboard
The one where Wally and Beav put the goop in their hair and jazz riffs play in the background
The one where Beav tries to mess up Wally's party with bug ice cubes, rubber cheese, and a Xmas light blinker in the electrical outlet for the record player
The one involving Mayfield Power & Lighting and Jet Electro
The one where Beav loses Ward's prize autographed baseball



I think THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW successfully liberated the sitcom format from those conventions, and did it without depicting a white trash family.
 

Gary OS

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Great job as always, David. I'm with you 100% on the need for LITB to be released in season sets. And my favorite opening theme has always been the last one. The "jazzy" tune stays with me all day when I hear it.

I love the idea for 6 disks per set, but like you say, the reality is that Universal isn't going to give us that nice of a package.

Oh, Jeff. You're definitely not alone in your love for the last season. Frankly, I find myself liking the LITB episodes in reverse order (which I rarely do - I usually like earlier seasons with most of my favorite shows). I enjoy Season 6 more than the others, and if I had to rate the seasons, it'd go 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

This is why I really hope Universal is committed to all six seasons. Otherwise I won't be able to enjoy my favorite episodes from the last season, some of which are:

"Wally's Dinner Date" - I've always had a crush on Cheryl Holdridge (Julie Foster), ever since her MM days.
"Bachelor at Large" - any episode where Eddie is prominent is a good episode, IMHO.
"Beaver the Sheep Dog" - great lines by Eddie as he teaches Beav how to insult girls.
"Party Spoiler" - I love Lumpy's goofy facial expressions at the party. Hilarious!
"The Credit Card" - Eddie's line to Lumpy about needing a bat to keep the girls off him is classic.
"Eddie's Sweater" - More hilarity from Lumpy as he sits in the car drumming the dashboard.
"Wally's Practical Joke" - one of my all-time faves. From the beginning joke as Lumpy runs away, to the guys getting Lumpy back, to the ending where Fred jumps down Lumpy's throat for starting the whole thing.

Gary "the more I think about it the more I wish they'd release this show in reverse order and start with the last season" O.
 

Dane Marvin

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The giant soup bowl episode is priceless. I remember seeing it in syndication when I was in grade school, probably around 1988. Hilarious.

I remember laughing at another one wherein Larry and Beav take money out of Larry's mom's stash and spend it on a day out on the town. Beav casually pushes money from the stash out of the window of Larry's house and then goes outside and just happens to "find money" on the ground outside afterward. This is exactly the sort of things kids in my neighborhood (myself included) would have done at that age to justify our actions. I'm pretty sure I used the "but I found this money!" excuse a couple times during my childhood.
 

Greg_S_H

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That was a great episode, but it was Larry who dropped the money. He was a little rat, and Beav was a dopey kid who actually believed it fell from the sky.
 

David Von Pein

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I heartily agree. And, yes, esp. in the latter years, the writers seemed to NOT wish Theodore to grow up much (at least mentally). He WAS, indeed, a bit of a dolt in a lot of shows. Those were the years when the producers realized that they had in their midst a bit of a "teen idol"...and not in Jerry Mathers -- but, instead, in Tony Dow.

Probably presented a bit of a problem for Mr. Mosher and Company (the writers). How are they to proceed? The show's still called "Leave It To BEAVER" -- not "Wally's Becoming A Hunk". So, they still did some shows highlighting Beaver's antics, but they found that stories revolving around Wallace were going to bring some bigger ratings too.

The shows centering on Wally in the latter years are MUCH better, IMO, than the Beaver-centered eps. (plus the fact that Wally's friends, Eddie & Lumpy, were much better (i.e. more interesting & funnier) characters than Beaver's early-'60s pals). (IMO, anyway.)
 

David Von Pein

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I tend to agree here. But, the early shows are very good too -- and Ward's character is much LESS "stiff" acting. There are many good confrontational scenes between Ward and June or Ward vs. The Boys in the early shows.

A "Top Ep." recommendation .......

When we get S.2 on DVD, the ep. aired on Christmas Day 1958 -- "Happy Weekend" -- is one of my faves. Ward takes the family up to a mountain cabin for a nice, 'old-fashioned' weekend of camping and fishing and NO SIX HOURS OF "SITTING IN A STUFFY MOVIE THEATER!"

----------------

"Oh, my comment {re. hairstyles} wasn't referring to you dear -- your hair looks like it never saw
a curler."
:laugh: -- Ward Cleaver (to June) -- Gotta love that Ward. :)

:) :)

"Gee, mom, the way they fix ladies' hair nowadays, you can't tell whether they've been to the beauty parlor or just standing around in the wind." LOL. -- Wally
 

David Von Pein

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LOL. :laugh: I crack up just thinking of that episode -- which also has a funny title -- "Wally's Haircomb". (Ep. #73; Season #2.)

I can hear those "riffs" startin' up now. LOL! Every time the camera shows Wally's "Jelly-Roll" "haircomb", the music would turn jazzy.

And after Beaver surprises June with the same style "comb" one day, June blows her stack ----

"Beaver Cleaver! You march back up those stairs and comb that hair RIGHT!!"

She then makes Wally wash that "grease" out of his hair too. A great ending, and a good little tacked-on piece of sage June "advice" as well, when June tells Wally ----

"Wally, we knew you'd grow up with good sense -- but what's wrong with having good sense along the way?" :)

--------

Jeffrey -- How can you not have another "hair"-involved episode on your fave list -- "The Haircut"?

That was Ep. 4 of the first season, so we'll see that in November (hopefully) on DVD. Beaver loses his haircut money and cuts his own hair (with Wally's help). It turns out, to put it mildly -- Badly. :)

Looks to me like they REALLY scalped Jerry Mathers for this episode too! Doesn't look 'fake' to me. (That must have been a fun couple of weeks for Jerry after that ep. was filmed. He probably REALLY was wearing that stocking cap all the time for awhile. Although HOW they managed to film further unrelated LITB episodes remains a mystery. Maybe they took a few weeks hiatus. :))
 

David Von Pein

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I concur.

And that ep. you mentioned is a fave of mine too. I'm always popping that one into the VCR. I managed to tape every Beaver ep. off of TV-Land in 2001, except one stubborn episode I could never get -- "Beaver And Violet" (From S.3; Ep. 110). Violet kisses The Beav at a picnic (gasp! :)), while Fred Rutherford snaps an ill-timed photograph of the kiss.

Back to the lovely, sleek lines of Miss Holdridge for another moment :) .......

Cheryl actually played TWO different girlfriends of Wally's in LITB -- in an early show ("Wally's Pug Nose"), she was "Gloria Cusick".

Gary no doubt also knows that Cheryl was in an episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" too -- as "Joan Delroy", a pushy dancer on "The Alan Brady Show".

Cheryl will turn 61 in just a few days (June 20). Time flies, huh?

Here's Cheryl in a "Bewitched" appearance.........

 

David Von Pein

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Yes, this one is a dandy.

The scene (and boys' reactions) where Lumpy's car does its "American Graffiti" impression by falling apart right in the middle of the street is a highlight. [/url]
 

Joe Lugoff

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I -- and everyone I know -- totally agree.

My favorite rat friend of Beaver's was Larry. When he left the show, the Beaver episodes were never the same. Since Eddie and Lumpy never left (thank goodness), the Wally episodes just got better and better.

The poorest attempt at replacing Larry is Season Four's Harry What's-His-Name. But I never really liked Richard or Whitey or especially that annoying Gilbert. I also don't like the way Gilbert (Stephen Talbot) bad-mouths the show now, saying it's very embarrassing to him that he was ever part of such a thing. He particularly doesn't like its promotion of "middle class" values and its lack of black characters. I think he should get over it! :rolleyes
 

DaveyM

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I'm also looking forward to the Beav on Dvd. The previous posts about Beavers hair problems reminds me of the Sheep Dog episode. The scene where Beaver comes down for dinner with his hair plastered down looking like Adolph Hitler is classic. When Wally cracks up i always lose it too.
I would love to see the reunion movie "Still the Beaver" again. I remember watching when it first aired but i didn't even have a Vcr in those days to tape it. Does Universal own the rights to this? It would be fun seeing it again.
 

Jeffrey Nelson

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They should include Still The Beaver as an extra on the last season set (assuming they release each and every season, and they had better!!!). That would be perfect. Just as they should include Bring Me The Head Of Dobie Gillis on the last season set of The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis...oops, I must be dreaming, mustn't I?
 

Tom.W

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I agree too. How about Wally's Graduation Party, in which his date gets pushed into the fountain by a drunk?

I hope we don't have to wait five or six years for the sixth season, a la Munsters Season 2.

BTW, the talented Cheryl Holdridge can be found in several early sixties eps of Ozzie and Harriet too.
 

David Von Pein

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Yes, that was entitled "The All-Night Party", and featured one of Wally's many female conquests -- "Kathy Gregory".

Which brings me to another LITB list -- "Wally's Babes".

My favorites would be both Mary Ellen & Julie -- a dead heat for "Top Doll" :) ......

>> Mary Ellen Rogers (Played by Pamela Baird)
>> Julie Foster / Gloria Cusick (Cheryl Holdridge)
>> Carolyn Stewart (Vickie Albright)
>> Evelyn Boothby (Mary Mitchel)
>> Margie Manners (Candy Moore)
>> Alma Hanson (Carol Sydes)
>> Kitty Bannerman (Bernadette Withers)
>> Kathy Gregory (Carole Wells)
>> Lori Ann (Brenda Scott)
>> Gail Preston (Laraine Stephens)
>> Ginny Townsend (Linda Bennett)
>> Caroline Cunningham (Karen Green)
>> Shirley Fletcher (Beverly Lunsford)


Honorable Mentions:

>> "Judy", played by Barbara Parkins. She wasn't really a 'Wally Girl', but he did make goo-goo eyes at her in one episode in Season 5.

>> "Carol Martin", a tennis player (played by Cindy Robbins) who took Wally 'for a ride' just to lure her real boyfriend back into her scheming arms. That vixen! She doesn't deserve the likes of a Wallace Cleaver! ;)

>> "Marlene Holmes" (Diane Sayer) .... This girl, from "the wrong side of the tracks" -- who drank beer and smoked cigarettes (that tramp!! :)) -- gave Wally, to my knowledge, his ONLY on-screen kiss; and a beaut it was, which took Wally by surprise as he uttered, after the sensuous smooch, a shocked "Goll-y!!". :)
 

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