Back in 1952, I was only 12 years old, and television was in it's infancy. In New York City, we had a bare four channels available, and with the exception of the "Late, Late Show" which showed movies, and the pioneering "Jerry Lester Show" which was the raw beginnings of the late night variety format, television for the most part went off at 10:00 PM and did not come on again until 7:00AM the next day. But in between those hours, seven days a week, there was great "experimentation". The Mister Peepers" show was one of those experiments that worked.
Unlike the almost perfect characters that were to come in the "Ozzie and Harriet Show" and the "Leave It to Beaver Show" in the mid to late 1950's, this show dealt with the inner anxieties and insecurity the common person deals with in a not too perfect, everyday world world. And the late, great Wally Cox was the perfect actor to epitomize the 'everyday real person'. In fact, he was magnificent at the part and within the role itself. Unfortunately, it was role that would typecast him for the rest of his acting career.
In fact, it wasn't that Cox looked like a soft spoken, shy milquetoast sort of person (horn-rimmed eyeglasses and all), he was that person. And he was aptly able to, realistically, portray a 'real person' who, despite this inability to rise above his ordinary appearance and manner, managed to meet life's constant challenges and to succeed.
The main character, Mr. Peepers, was a high school science teacher who took pride in his profession. He genuinely cared for others more than for himself, and was able to instill pride and the quest for achievement in his students, while gaining their respect. And at the end of the series, he manages to marry the girl of his dreams.
No, this was not a 'goody-two' shoes sort of show. The comedy was always there, and it was done at a slow enough pace that we had time to understand its true meaning. For when Mr. Peepers was embarrassed, so were we the viewer. But when he triumphed, be it ever so mildly or ungamly, we cheered as much for ourselves as for the character; for in many ways, Mr. Peepers was representative of the majority of us.
This was an excellent show that, unfortunately, is almost all gone now. The crude Kinescope recordings of this series, like many others produced at the dawn of television, have either been lost or destroyed. Too bad. There is much today's television audience could learn from this past comedic-dramatic gem. The series was proof positive that, when well done, pathos and comedy can go hand in hand.
