famelovingboy68
I am only 25, but saw Leave it To Beaver on television about 5 years ago and was already nostalgic and then went on to watch it whenever I could on TV Land. A few months ago when we were back where I grew up in Washington, I showed this to my 16-year old brother and he liked it right away; I started with the final season I bought in Seattle earlier in the trip so he saw him in his older days where his voice had deepened and he had a "funny sounding" voice. These were such episodes as where Wally grew a mustache, and Beaver finds that the paperboy he wants to get back at was really a girl, and Beaver gets ready to tour the USA with his class. He liked the older Beaver better. Ward was rather liberal for the late 1950's and early 1960's. How He is sometimes seen in the kitchen and doing dishes for example and rarely punishes Wally and Theodore. Beaver is his nickname to those who weren't part of the generation. When Beaver drills a hole in the garage with Larry coaxing him into having fun with the drill Ward just gave a stern lecture with no punishment, which still led the 7 or 8 year old Beaver to try and run away. When his father wasn't lenient giving a stern talking to or just passing a wise lesson along, he was maybe just on par with parents who are neither lenient nor strict. The one thing that may have bothered me before is that Hugh Beaumont died before I was even born. Mayfield was one of those towns where the state doesn't seem to be revealed, as the nature of Ward's work was never revealed, he was just seen in his office, often with his bumbling and annoying coworker, Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford's dad. Wally was perhaps the funniest part of the show. The generation gap and placing friends above family what Wally and later the Beaver had to say to their parents was a funny recurring joke on the show ie. " oh, people just sort of goofed around back then"," gee dad I'd feel like a creep having you introduce yourself in front of the class, mom that'd ruin me." Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow's voice's deepened a little early. One thing I didn't like was how much Beaver treated girls as repulsive and how long it took him to get over it, he only knew that adult women were too grown up to be icky in any way, he had an infatuation with his young teachers in season 1 and season 2. Mathers was a cute boy, all the way through the show and didn't lose his charm after his voice deepened. He was a nice and charming teenager. if only there was a kid like that now. Sometimes i might feel like a dork wanting to watch a series that is outdated by nearly 50 years every night, when most people under their mid or late 30's or so haven't even seen Leave it To Beaver, much less make early TV Land era shows part of their lineup. ButI have even got my contemporary slightly older brother to watch Leave it To Beaver. there's way too much to say about this show for one review.
Austentatious
There is so little these days that makes me laugh. Few things that pass for comedy are actually funny to me. It seems it all has to be graphic, obnoxious, or push some imagined envelope. I find that there are no envelopes yet to be pushed. Since the culture is so jaded, nothing shocks or surprises any more so it's quite hard to get a laugh by being outrageous (thank God!). Comedy, therefore, is a difficult medium. What remains? In order to be funny, it still must strike some chord in reality, and some subtlety (IMO) is required. In accord with these things, the most recent series that consistently delivered for me was "The Cosby Show" (unless I must count the first 2 or 3 seasons of "The Office", which I thought had some potential, but quickly KILLED my interest). Still, I watch re-runs of Beaver, and I can't help it, I laugh out loud at least once/per episode. Besides, who hasn't known an "Eddie Haskel"?? Do we really need more depressing reality telling us we're all screwed-up and no one really has any helpful answers? Do we really need to bemoan the time when moms made a career of their families (perish the thought!)? My guess is that families were stronger, children were involved in far less destructive behavior, and men felt like men. No, people didn't have as many material possessions, but I think people were more content, and ultimately, I think women were, in a real sense, contributing to a much healthier society. Was life perfect then? No; but could what we have now ever be described as such? If anyone thinks so, I would definitely disagree. "Leave It To Beaver" still strikes a chord, and it's still humorous.
debortiz-1
Leave it to Beaver is a classic that I never get tired of watching! I didn't watch it too much as a child (I was born in 1951) mainly because as a young child (girl) I wasn't as interested in what little boys were doing but I did watch the show. I continue to watch it as an adult because Ward Cleaver reminds me of my dad, hands down! Ward treats Wally and Beaver with love, patience and RESPECT. Everything about Ward reminds me of my dad...his class, kindness, integrity, wearing a suit to work everyday, you name it! In the beginning episodes they have Ward being a little bumbling as a father and have June as the "mother knows best" role. Later they sort of switched the roles, probably because of the dynamics of father/son interaction. People always say how unrealistic the show is but, believe me, I was there during the 50s and 60s and the Cleaver family mirrored my own in a million ways. We always ate dinner at the table and "talked about our day", my dad helped with homework, etc. I remember my brother sneaking food he didn't like to our dog who wasn't allowed in the kitchen but sat dutifully by the door next to my brother's chair (classic Beaver type stuff). I wish they'd show this TV show to high school students as a model for good parenting, something that is sadly lacking in today's world. Ward and June are the parents every kid wants!One of the reasons the show is so good is because of the development of each character. Fred Rutherford is a classic nemesis to Ward. Everyone knows a boor like Fred and can relate. He was a great character. I always liked the "idea" of Larry's parents. Larry was obviously an "accident" child. He talks about his older brother and sister, his older mother who was overwhelmed by having to deal with Larry's shenanigans without the help of her traveling husband. Stuff like this is true to life now and then. All of Beaver's friends (Larry, Gilbert, Whitey, Richard) had very distinct personalities. Lumpy and Eddie were classics and both played their parts perfectly! They even had Aunt Martha, who showed up from time to time. She was from the "older" generation and had very conservative views, didn't understand little boys having never had children herself. June was always worried the boys would embarrass her "acting up" in front of her aunt. Then there was Uncle Billy. He was far from perfect. Everyone knows someone like him. People like to make fun of the show because of "gee, Beav" or "give him the business" but this show is like I Love Lucy in that it will always be something people can relate to. It shows human nature, something that never changes.One of the things I've never liked (can you believe I don't like something about this show) is how when they are outside there are always people walking up and down the sidewalks. This didn't happen in real life. People had cars and did not walk around in their suits and high heels. The other thing that I didn't like was invariably on every show June would ask Ward what his father would have done in some given scenario. Okay, once or twice is okay but they overdid that one.Another thing I've noticed about the show is how some people think Ward and June were really strict but I think the opposite was true. The kids would leave in the morning and half the time Ward and June didn't even know where they were. As long as they showed up for lunch and dinner they were on their own. We had a lot more freedom that way back in the day. We didn't have to worry about being kidnapped, raped or whatever. Kids were allowed to make their own decisions and suffer the consequences. That's how you learn and that's how Ward and June raised Wally and the Beaver.I could go on and on about this show because it truly warms my heart to watch. I guess you have to have been around at that time to truly appreciate it.
Florida2
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.