:crazy: My favorite seasons are the final two, '61-'62 and '62-'63, when Wally starts driving and he and Eddie get jobs. Of course I love the whole series, but I think it's a testament to how good the writing and acting was that unlike most sitcoms, whose last season or two has gone downhill, "Leave It To Beaver" maintained consistent high-quality throughout the series. Michael

Most of those episodes were centered around Wally as Jerry Mathers was going through his awkward adolescence.

I agree completely. For me, the later the episode was made, generally the more I like it. Wally and his friends were more fun later, and Beaver could finally talk w/o chopping parts of words off.

I would love to buy the last two seasons, especially the last, on DVD, if Universal ever gets that far in releasing DVDs of the series.

Wally was at the perfect age for those episodes. Compare that to the late episodes of the Brady Bunch, where Greg and Marcia seemed WAY TOO OLD to be pulling stuff like leaving a fake taperecording for Cindy. Or in the Partridge Family, you would wonder why Keith, really an adult, would hang around Danny so much.
I agree that for Wally and Beaver, the writing and the characters grew well together.

Excellent comments about this topic!

:crazy: My favorite seasons are the final two, '61-'62 and '62-'63, when Wally starts driving and he and Eddie get jobs. Of course I love the whole series, but I think it's a testament to how good the writing and acting was that unlike most sitcoms, whose last season or two has gone downhill, "Leave It To Beaver" maintained consistent high-quality throughout the series. Michael The first 2 are the best...or anywayz the ones with larry mondelo or whatever his name was is the best!