leave it to beaver (1 Viewer)

jimmyjet · Nov 17, 2014

i dont recall many episodes that i didnt like, except for the bunny one

iirc, he was way too old to make that believable for me

i think i like the kidding between june and ward the best

but definitely eddie, if we are talking about a character

the rest of the characters could have been played by most actors

the character of eddie haskell was not an easy one to do

i think that might have been the reason why ken osmond got so stereotyped

he did such a good job on a hard character that no one could see past that memory !!

Oliver Ravencrest · Nov 18, 2014

Another favourite is Sweatshirt Monsters, I remember watching this as a kid and thinking what's wrong with those

and I enjoy the Parking Attendants a lot. I agree that Beaver the Bunny is one of the weakest episodes.

I think I like this show so much because the kids came across as real kids and did "dumb" things as kids do. It's too bad Rusty Stevens left the series so soon, Larry and Beaver were a great team, never cared much for Gilbert.

Gary16 · Nov 18, 2014

I much prefer the later seasons and one of my top 5 favorites is "Beaver on TV" especially due to the Twilight Zone reference during the episode.

Gary OS · Nov 18, 2014

I'm actually a LITB fan that thinks the show's best episodes were in the later seasons as well. In fact, I'd rank my favorite seasons of that show in this order, from best to worst: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I know that's sacrilege to some fans, but it's honestly how I feel about the show. Once Wally got into high school and we had Eddie & Lumpy joining in every so often I felt the show really took off. Many of the episodes I like the very best are from the last 2 seasons of the series.

Gary "what a fantastic show from the golden age of television" O.

John Hermes · Nov 18, 2014

Gary OS said:
I'm actually a LITB fan that thinks the show's best episodes were in the later seasons as well. In fact, I'd rank my favorite seasons of that show in this order, from best to worst: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I know that's sacrilege to some fans, but it's honestly how I feel about the show. Once Wally got into high school and we had Eddie & Lumpy joining in every so often I felt the show really took off. Many of the episodes I like the very best are from the last 2 seasons of the series.

Gary "what a fantastic show from the golden age of television" O.

I feel the same way. The show as a whole reflected my childhood quite well, but particularly the later seasons.

Ron1973 · Nov 18, 2014

Gary OS said:
I'm actually a LITB fan that thinks the show's best episodes were in the later seasons as well. In fact, I'd rank my favorite seasons of that show in this order, from best to worst: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I know that's sacrilege to some fans, but it's honestly how I feel about the show. Once Wally got into high school and we had Eddie & Lumpy joining in every so often I felt the show really took off. Many of the episodes I like the very best are from the last 2 seasons of the series.

Gary "what a fantastic show from the golden age of television" O.

I was talking to a classmate last night (she's actually only 26) and we talked about how much simpler times were back then. We discussed that we'd love to just take a time machine back to that era. LITB typlifies that time period for me.

Radioman970 · Nov 18, 2014

I've got to see this bunny one. I don't remember it. I'll probably adore it.

Gary OS · Nov 18, 2014

Ron1973 said:
I was talking to a classmate last night (she's actually only 26) and we talked about how much simpler times were back then. We discussed that we'd love to just take a time machine back to that era. LITB typlifies that time period for me.

Absolutely agree. If given the chance, I'd do the exact same thing. I know things weren't anywhere close to perfect back then, but speaking solely for myself, I'd much rather live in 1950's/1960's Mayfield or Mayberry than in 21st century _______, USA.

Gary "just my two cents, so please don't anyone get bent out of shape" O.

TravisR · Nov 18, 2014

Obviously, the world is different today than when LITB was first on but I think one of the great things about the show is that, even after more than 50 years, it's still very relatable to the suburban experience. A show like I Love Lucy is fun but LITB had a lot of stories that either happened to you or could have happened to you as a kid.

Greg_S_H · Nov 18, 2014

I was reading about that last night. Joe Connelly had seven kids and Mosher two, and they used that to inform their scripts.

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Connelly reportedly followed his children around with a pad of paper writing down funny situations and lines that were later used in the show.
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jimmyjet · Nov 18, 2014

Radioman970 said:
I've got to see this bunny one. I don't remember it. I'll probably adore it.

the show could have been cute, had it been in the earlier seasons.

beaver was just too old, such that it seemed somewhat ridiculous, at least to me.

jimmyjet · Nov 18, 2014

Greg_S_H said:
I was reading about that last night. Joe Connelly had seven kids and Mosher two, and they used that to inform their scripts.

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Connelly reportedly followed his children around with a pad of paper writing down funny situations and lines that were later used in the show.
---

i suspect a lot of writing is based upon personal experiences

i know a lot of dvd was influenced by its cast members, but especially carl reiner.

DeWilson · Nov 18, 2014

Mike Frezon said:
I could definitely see where Larry might've been a "mistake."

The character was a mistake - his only purpose was to get The Beav in trouble, and the best thing for the series was when he was written out.

Radioman970 · Nov 19, 2014

jimmyjet said:
the show could have been cute, had it been in the earlier seasons.

beaver was just too old, such that it seemed somewhat ridiculous, at least to me.

A Christmas Story level? I might like that actually...

Greg_S_H · Nov 20, 2014

The reason I started watching Beav again was because I have been watching Mister Ed and it uses a music cue that would be familiar to anyone who has watched LITB. It's that real warm music that plays when the episode settles in and the family is sitting down in the living room. You'd know it if you knew it.

Mister Ed is on and it's got a real cutie named Jacqueline Beer as an evil spy. Like Alan Young, she's still with us!

The last Beav I saw was "Three Boys and a Burro." I wonder if it was named after that Tom Selleck movie.

Gary16 · Nov 20, 2014

Jacqueline Beer played Suzanne on "77 Sunset Strip" from 1958 to 1963. Always worth watching.

Greg_S_H · Dec 7, 2014

Which of these would be the safer investment?

Asking for a friend.

Purple Wig · Sep 8, 2020

This week on Buzzr TV the “Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour” features a LITB reunion with Jerry Mathers, Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond, Richard Deacon, Lumpy, and Judy.

The 1960's · Jul 28, 2022

In Memory of
Tony Dow April 13, 1945 — July 27, 2022

Leave It To Beaver (1957-1963)
S02E13 Happy Weekend (Dec.25.1958)
Stars Barbara Billingsley Hugh Beaumont Tony Dow Jerry Mathers Harry Tyler

Yesterday Jul 27, 2022 we lost a man we all grew up with and loved as Wally Cleaver. This episode aired on Christmas 1958. In an article from ABCNews today July 28, 2022, the late Tony Dow noted this as his favorite LITB episode. You can see why as it’s a beautiful scenic episode filmed with love and tenderness as Ward takes Wally and The Beaver to Shadow Lake to experience the things he did in his childhood. It emphasizes the importance of family, togetherness and relationships.