He became self-centered, bratty, inconsiderate and spoiled. He didn't have respect for Wally and Wally should have beat him to death. Beaver was also very immature. If things didn't go his way, he had a fit. He was also a very sloppy boy. Hair was never combed, and he didn't know how to dress. Also very dumb and gullible. No wonder Larry and Gilbert conned him with ease.

I will agree that he was "dumb and gullible" in many ways, but I don't really think he was obnoxious. I feel a big part of the problem is that they always wanted to keep him acting like a little kid, even when he wasn't. That is what might have caused him to seem sloppy and stuff too.

I think more than anything he became a flat out bad actor. He also appears to be at that "geeky" age as well. I don't enjoy many of the last years episodes other than the ones that center around Wally and his friends.

I do agree that there were times when Beaver seemed more obnoxious to me but what drove me crazy was his sloppiness. I said it before and I'll say it again, that kid got very repulsive at that awkward age. Tony seemed to sail right through without a problem but Jerry did not and he didn't do anything to try to cover it up. And whoever said that he just became a bad actor, I think had alot to do with it as well. The writers very well could have kept him "too young", but Jerry could have at least worked on his own appearance. To me, he just didn't care and it was way too obvious. I also noticed that as Jerry got older than he squinted alot and shook his head up and down while talking, like a nervous twitch or something. And that voice of his was unbearable. Ok...I guess I'm done picking on him. :lol: I liked Tony much better.

Hi Amy! Yeah I guess we could call this the "bash the Beav" thread. :lol:

His whole character in the later years was really pretty awful to me. Espcially his hair, which was so awful. I wonder why someone (the producers, his parents, etc.) didn't do something about it?

[QUOTE=

His whole character in the later years was really pretty awful to me. Espcially his hair, which was so awful. I wonder why someone (the producers, his parents, etc.) didn't do something about it?[/QUOTE]

I was always grossed out by his hair in those later seasons too. It never looked like he ever washed it. Gilbert, Richard and Whitey always took more pride in their clothes and hair than Beaver ever did. I agree that the problem with that was the creators of the show or whoever wanted to keep him a little kid for too long.

I do agree that there were times when Beaver seemed more obnoxious to me but what drove me crazy was his sloppiness. I said it before and I'll say it again, that kid got very repulsive at that awkward age.


Hmm, this whole sentence reminds me of the 5th season ep, "Nobody Loves Me" (where Gus and Miss Landers make their last original appearances). Beaver and Richard thought of themselves as both repulsive and awkward then.

While I thought Beav was pretty bratty that last year, I still enjoyed the last season of the show more than any others. At least Beaver could speak complete words and sentences by then.

He became self-centered, bratty, inconsiderate and spoiled. He didn't have respect for Wally and Wally should have beat him to death. Beaver was also very immature. If things didn't go his way, he had a fit. He was also a very sloppy boy. Hair was never combed, and he didn't know how to dress. Also very dumb and gullible. No wonder Larry and Gilbert conned him with ease.
yeah he did alittle.

[QUOTE=

His whole character in the later years was really pretty awful to me. Espcially his hair, which was so awful. I wonder why someone (the producers, his parents, etc.) didn't do something about it?

I was always grossed out by his hair in those later seasons too. It never looked like he ever washed it. Gilbert, Richard and Whitey always took more pride in their clothes and hair than Beaver ever did. I agree that the problem with that was the creators of the show or whoever wanted to keep him a little kid for too long.[/QUOTE]
what did he look like in TNLITB?

LITB was originally premised on the follies of a little 7 year old boy. People tuned in to see a cute little kid doing silly stuff and getting into and out of trouble. And the viewers became used to it. But Jerry Mathers grew up way too fast. When he became as tall as Wally, it was asking just a little too much of the audience to believe that 12 year old Beave could be just as dumb and as cute as a 7 year old. Wally began getting more and more time on the show because Beaver (through no fault of his own) went over the top - he simply became unbelievable. It was a pain watching him. In watching the last two years of the series, it's difficult for me to believe that a big kid like the Beave could be as dumb as a 7 year old. It's though he's learned nothing from the mistakes he's made in past episodes. He continues to make the same mistakes over and over and has to be lectured again and again by his dad. The Wally episodes of the last two seasons are refreshing however. In some of the them, Beaver has a very, very limited role and in some episodes Mathers presence could have been dispensed with entirely to make a tighter episode. And I agree about his appearance. He did look greasy and stinky. How sad for the great Beave.

I also didn't like the episode where he gave June the silent treatment just because he wanted to hang with Wally and Eddie and she wanted him to go to the store instead. What a bitch-ass attitude!

I also didn't like the episode where he gave June the silent treatment just because he wanted to hang with Wally and Eddie and she wanted him to go to the store instead. What a bitch-ass attitude!

I found that a little harsh too! You guys are right about Beaver growing out of his character in the last two seasons. I think that he was a little too old to be doing that!

About his self-centeredness, he went from one extreme to the other. If you all recall the episode "baby picture", you will remember that he went to extremes to make sure he put his mother's feelings ahead of his because he simply didn't want to make her cry. Of course if he had, Ward would have smoked him! ;) :lol: At the end, instead of taking the chance on hurting June's feelings and asking her for a different photo, Ward cut off his bare butt in the photo! AWWWW!! But then in the later years as in the silent treatment, he had no quams about hurting his mother over that trip to the store! Lucky for the little creep that he didn't reduce her to tears, then I think Ward would have dragged his sloppy ass to the shed!

About his self-centeredness, he went from one extreme to the other. If you all recall the episode "baby picture", you will remember that he went to extremes to make sure he put his mother's feelings ahead of his because he simply didn't want to make her cry. Of course if he had, Ward would have smoked him! ;) :lol: At the end, instead of taking the chance on hurting June's feelings and asking her for a different photo, Ward cut off his bare butt in the photo! AWWWW!! But then in the later years as in the silent treatment, he had no quams about hurting his mother over that trip to the store! Lucky for the little creep that he didn't reduce her to tears, then I think Ward would have dragged his sloppy ass to the shed!

LOL you are bad! Yeah the script writers were inconsistant in some ways.

Not to beat a dead horse but, thinking about it,i'm not so sure that it was inconsistant in this matter because I often wonder if sometimes we all don't get somewhat self-centered as we get older. But, I still think that he should have gotten his ass whooped because he really had her on the verge of tears all through the episode. Now, as for Ward, they were very inconsistant with him because if you recall in the earlier years, he put emphasis on the boys not upsetting their mother and I'm sure that included making her cry. He would get real ticked off when he yelled at them and would say,"can't you see you have upset your mother?" That sure was a sore spot with him because Ward always seemed so considerate of her feelings.

Guys,

Where do you find episodes of Beaver as a teen being overly sloppy? Yea, he wasn't the neatest kid in the world. But, I don't think he looked overly bad in apperence either.

I like the later seasons because they had more realistic situations of conflict. However, there are some episodes "Beaver The Bunny" and "The Clothing Drive" that are unwatchable because not only are they poorly written, they are both unrealistic for content. No 14-15 year old 8th grader would be caught dead in a rabbit outfit, let alone doing a play designed for 2nd-3rd graders. Whoever wrote that episode must have been on crack!

I am not a huge fan of Season 1. It seems to artifical and reactionary. Everything was "Hi Wally! Can I come too Wally? I wanna be like you Wally." Yes, Beaver is cute, but you can't build the best stories just on the basis of a cute charactor. I think "The Haircut" is very over-rated.

"The Clothing Drive" is almost as bad. What kid is going to get excited over winning some 50 cent plaque? Ward is made to look like an aloof father in this episode, which he clearly is not. Does anyone know what the producers or director were going for in that opening scene with the the three kids walking around in circles?

What do you guys think?

Jack

Hey Jack! :wave:
I don't think I've seen the clothing drive episode so I can't give an opinion. On the issue of Beaver's sloppiness, me finding him repulsive is just my personal opinion. I guess he looked ok in some episodes and bad in others. I just found him very annoying. I guess he just seemed very unkept to me or maybe that is just the way he came off but, he just didn't seem to have any pride in his appearance, not as Beaver but as the actor himself, or at least that is just the way I precieved it.

Guys,

Where do you find episodes of Beaver as a teen being overly sloppy? Yea, he wasn't the neatest kid in the world. But, I don't think he looked overly bad in apperence either.

I like the later seasons because they had more realistic situations of conflict. However, there are some episodes "Beaver The Bunny" and "The Clothing Drive" that are unwatchable because not only are they poorly written, they are both unrealistic for content. No 14-15 year old 8th grader would be caught dead in a rabbit outfit, let alone doing a play designed for 2nd-3rd graders. Whoever wrote that episode must have been on crack!

I am not a huge fan of Season 1. It seems to artifical and reactionary. Everything was "Hi Wally! Can I come too Wally? I wanna be like you Wally." Yes, Beaver is cute, but you can't build the best stories just on the basis of a cute charactor. I think "The Haircut" is very over-rated.

"The Clothing Drive" is almost as bad. What kid is going to get excited over winning some 50 cent plaque? Ward is made to look like an aloof father in this episode, which he clearly is not. Does anyone know what the producers or director were going for in that opening scene with the the three kids walking around in circles?

What do you guys think?

Jack
Jack1000, I have to agree with desliu #1. This is a matter of our opinion. Since the majority of people on this thread feel the same way about Beaver when he got older, then it must be true. If you ask me, Beaver was neater when he was younger, and also likable. He was a whole different person when he grew up. Starting with that annoying voice, I know that's puberty, but it was still annoying. Secondly, Beaver seemed so angry at the world and as a viewer, I got the vibe he was telling everyone around him to kiss his ass. He didn't smile much when he got older, He was always sore. He often called Wally a dirty rat. To me, he was the biggest dirty rat, literally and figurally speaking.

I always liked the Beav! I liked that he wasn't as goody-goody as Wally...not that there's anything wrong with that, but Beaver was more realistic. Give the kid a break. :D

Jack1000, I have to agree with desliu #1. This is a matter of our opinion. Since the majority of people on this thread feel the same way about Beaver when he got older, then it must be true. If you ask me, Beaver was neater when he was younger, and also likable. He was a whole different person when he grew up. Starting with that annoying voice, I know that's puberty, but it was still annoying. Secondly, Beaver seemed so angry at the world and as a viewer, I got the vibe he was telling everyone around him to kiss his ass. He didn't smile much when he got older, He was always sore. He often called Wally a dirty rat. To me, he was the biggest dirty rat, literally and figurally speaking.

But I think that when you get to Season 5-6 of LITB, you had more adolecent rebellion because the producers wanted to show Beaver as an awkward teenager, who was at times "mad at the world." I see a lot of these later episodes as being, "ahead of their time." It shows that the world and its teens weren't so sweet and sugar-coated as we might want them to be.

As far as majority opinion making something true, I disagree here. However, I think it does show that most people did prefer the younger Beaver in comparison to the older Beaver. However, I am in the minority, I like Seasons 5-6 the best.

Jack

But I think that when you get to Season 5-6 of LITB, you had more adolecent rebellion because the producers wanted to show Beaver as an awkward teenager, who was at times "mad at the world." I see a lot of these later episodes as being, "ahead of their time." It shows that the world and its teens weren't so sweet and sugar-coated as we might want them to be.

As far as majority opinion making something true, I disagree here. However, I think it does show that most people did prefer the younger Beaver in comparison to the older Beaver. However, I am in the minority, I like Seasons 5-6 the best.

Jack :lol: :clap greatly put,man!

In the last season with Beaver becoming a teen and Wally on the edge of adulthood it seemed that Leave it to Beaver had run its course. Beaver giving June the silent treatment showed the Beav's rebellious side and Don Juan Beaver one again showed that Beaver had trouble with girls.