Jack1000
12-14-2003, 11:16 PM
Guys,
Many comments on this board have elluded to Jerry Mathers being annoying as a teenager. I don't know enough about Jerry's personal life at that time. However, in looking at the last two seasons of LITB, the only personality change is the stuff that I see of real teans. In fact, I like the older Jerry BETTER than the younger Jerry because his charactor was more developed. You know the cuteness and "Hi Wally!" can only go so far.
The producers sometimes had Beaver doing things at 14-15, where a teen would be too old to be doing them. "Beaver the Bunny" could have been hilarious in Season 1 or 2, but not for a middle school 7th grader, who Beaver was portraying at the time.
The closest we get to serious adolecent rebellion is "The Silent Treatment" Now in today's world, Beaver's comments to June would be considered nothing. Yet, the writers I think were trying for the "James Dean" image for Jerry. They failed miserably, not because of bad writing. After all the moral is that mothers are always needed for strong support and nurturing and Beaver does apoligize to June at the end. The problem was that this is the only episode where Beaver shows any non-compliance to authority that goes over the top. Jerry is made to be an Eddie Haskell in this episode which he obviously isn't.
Teenage Jerry was cool and fun! He wasn't cute anymore, which many supporters of the earlier seasons have suggested. But he always had a great chemestry to act and react to the situations around him. I would suggest that he was very mature for his age!
Jack
Many comments on this board have elluded to Jerry Mathers being annoying as a teenager. I don't know enough about Jerry's personal life at that time. However, in looking at the last two seasons of LITB, the only personality change is the stuff that I see of real teans. In fact, I like the older Jerry BETTER than the younger Jerry because his charactor was more developed. You know the cuteness and "Hi Wally!" can only go so far.
The producers sometimes had Beaver doing things at 14-15, where a teen would be too old to be doing them. "Beaver the Bunny" could have been hilarious in Season 1 or 2, but not for a middle school 7th grader, who Beaver was portraying at the time.
The closest we get to serious adolecent rebellion is "The Silent Treatment" Now in today's world, Beaver's comments to June would be considered nothing. Yet, the writers I think were trying for the "James Dean" image for Jerry. They failed miserably, not because of bad writing. After all the moral is that mothers are always needed for strong support and nurturing and Beaver does apoligize to June at the end. The problem was that this is the only episode where Beaver shows any non-compliance to authority that goes over the top. Jerry is made to be an Eddie Haskell in this episode which he obviously isn't.
Teenage Jerry was cool and fun! He wasn't cute anymore, which many supporters of the earlier seasons have suggested. But he always had a great chemestry to act and react to the situations around him. I would suggest that he was very mature for his age!
Jack