Leave It to Beaver

When I was young, way back in the 1960's I never really dug this show. It was too 'predictable'. In the first five minutes we meet the Cleavers, then in the next 15, Beaver has screwed up, and the last few minutes of the show, we get a good lesson on 'cause and effect' from Ward. Everybody laughs, credits roll, and we get to see Wally and Beaver walking home and a brand new De Soto go by in the street (Chrysler, replacing Ford Motor Company, sponsored the show from about 1959, onward and used the closing credits to get a product placement shot in.) And as I was a kid at the time, I never enjoyed seeing other kids get into trouble.

Now that I'm in my forties, I find the show hysterical. The exasperated look that Ward and June get when something happens, Wally's comments, and the dealings with all the Cleavers friends are priceless.

Wally's come backs of 'Aw, heck, Beaver', and 'Don't be a creep, or something.' Crack me up. You can always count on a great line from Tony Dow in every episode.

The story lines were fairly typical fifties fluff, with a few exceptions. There is one that deals with an alcoholic handyman that Ward knows, that frankly could be re-shot today, and not feel 40 plus years old. I recently saw one, where Beaver joins a record club, and forgets to send back a card to cancel the next shipment of records. Hands up, out there, how many of us do that today with our CD and DVD club selection cards?

A true, kindhearted, and well written classic to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Leave It To Beaver contains one of the most remembered families in TV history. Unforgettable characters like Beaver, Wally, Ward, June and Eddie made the show a household name. The success of the show could be its unique way of showing the world through the eyes of Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver. Each of the main characters played a role in the shows appeal. Beaver's bad grammar and innocent charm. Wally's "one-of-a-kind" wisdom for his younger brother. Ward's desire for his boys to always do their best and stay straight, and June always keeping things together. Today we remember the Cleaver's as the wholesome family form the 50's. Gee, that's the way Beav' would've wanted it.

A TV Sitcom from the late 50's featuring the every day life of a family that was funny and sometimes absolutely hilarious. Not all the family oriented shows from this period could boast this. Even after nearly forty years since it ended it's run the shows remain un-dated and still great. (Much like the legendary I Love Lucy) The friends of Wally and Beaver and June and Ward were really what made the show a classic. Lumpy Rutherford and his dad Fred, Whitey, Richard, Gilbert, Larry Mondello and of course….. Eddie Haskell! As far as I'm concerned the reruns of this classic show could be broadcast on prime time and I'd watch it in favor of todays sitcoms.

During a recent TVLand "Top 10 Characters You Love To Hate" special, a well-known (under 40) female actress was quoted as saying that she believed sneaky Eddie Haskell to be the only character in the show that she remembered for resembling "a real person".

Though I'll agree that Ward and June might come across at times as being unrealistically conservative (for example, their sitting at home in their Sunday best for no reason) her comment was something I found hard to understand, since, Beaver was known to be the first show of it's kind to explore such teen issues as, alcoholism, divorce, and troubled teens.

It seems that many viewers also do not understand the significance of Ward's frequent reference (often shown as his sad remembrance) to his own harsh encounters with his strict Father, who made a point of "taking him out to the woodshed" to let Ward know "just what his Father meant", and how Ward, as a Father himself, deciding that he would not do the same when teaching his own sons right from wrong.

While the conservative side of the show might be a bit too much for some, in the end there is nothing wrong with that behavior either - it's a far better lifestyle than what we see in today's world, where parents sometimes see their children as a liability rather than a blessing.

Those who regularly watch Beaver know that while the corn does sometimes grow high in Mayfield, the trueness of the show's stories is what makes Beaver the timeless show that many still enjoy almost a half century after it's debut.

Others have commented that "Leave It To Beaver" was not a true reflection of American life. Maybe they were not there. I was. When the series opened in 1957, I was seven years old, an exact contemporary of the Beaver character. I loved the show from the first episode. I used it as a forecaster of what I could expect to happen to me in the coming week. While I had no older brother, my other experiences were quite similar. There were in my class at school a "Larry Mundello", a "Judy Hensler", and many other characters who led me into mischief, then scattered, leaving me holding the bag. I remember the baby alligator ads in comic books, publishing a neighborhood newspaper (one issue), and getting caught climbing things I shouldn't have. My father went to the office, my mother tended to the housekeeping. Maybe my life wasn't typical, but it sure was real to me, and I relive it every evening with reruns of "Leave It To Beaver."