Was it the comedy? Was it the wholesomeness? Was it The Beaver? What draws you to this sitcom? Now mind you, I am not knocking the show, but I never had any LOL moments with it. That doesn't mean it was bad, just makes me wonder what about the show was great to you personally?

What appeals to me about Leave It To Beaver is the opportunity to travel back to a more simple time where everything is more black and white. (excuse the pun!) I enjoy watching a complete family unit (with both parents even!) living, loving , and learning together. It's refreshing to see brothers who actually get along with each other (at least most of the time) . Also i guess I see a bit of myself in the Beaver. I was almost as naive, gullible, and childish as the Beaver when I was a kid.

I prefer classic TV shows. They were much more wholesome and funny, IMO. I can't watch modern shows anymore because I don't like the sex jokes, the constant insults, the trashy clothes, etc. (The exception is Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld, but I don't watch those often anymore.) I love these old "feel good" shows. :)

I grew up in the late 50's. It was a much simpler time. No computers, cell phones or whatever gadgets. Beaver reminds me of that time. I don't watch too much of today's shows. It is basically trash. Beaver, for me, had a lot of LOL moments.

There really aren't that many LOL moments in the show but IMO I don't think it was designed that way. There have been a few for me but that is the exception and not the rule. The characters are so human and real and to me the humor comes from the warmth of the characters and situations, not from catchphrases. Beaver is a natural kid and isn't set up to deliver funny punch lines and be a smart ass....sorry we're talkin' about the Beav, I mean wiseguy. :) Great show. I'm a little more than halfway through the series now and have really been enjoying it. It is funny how they talk about 'kids today' on the show and how they had the advantages that Mr. and Mrs. C didn't have. It's all relative as our parents said the same thing to us and todays parents say the same thing to their kids.

I think the best attribute of the show is the stellar writing. When watching the episodes, it's obvious that a lot of care and thought went into the scripts of this series. 234 episodes and I don't think there is a poor show in the bunch. There are a few weaker ones, the 2nd season episode where the boys bring home a horse from the carnival isn't that good. There are a few weaker episodes in season 6, the series started tailing off a bit at that point. Another strong attribute is in the casting, all actors in this show are very good. Hugh Beaumont was a great TV dad. One thing about the series that I've always thought is strange is that there is no christmas related episode in the whole series. Very unusual for an all american TV family like the Cleavers to not have a christmas themed episode.

When I compare Leave It To Beaver with Father Knows Best, Leave It To Beaver has a bright, upbeat atmosphere while Father Knows Best tends to be dark and moody. Both shows are good, but I prefer Leave It To Beaver over Father Knows Best.

Its an all around good flawless show.



These TV writers today should be tied up and forced to watch a show like this so they can learn how to make a good TV show for a change.

I prefer classic TV shows. They were much more wholesome and funny, IMO. I can't watch modern shows anymore because I don't like the sex jokes, the constant insults, the trashy clothes, etc. (The exception is Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld, but I don't watch those often anymore.) I love these old "feel good" shows. :)
Well said!! Me, too. :D

LITB seemed very "real" to me when I first saw it in the late 70's. Believe it or not, it reminded me a lot of my own childhood even though I grew up in the 70's. Mom was home, Dad went to work, the family had one car, did a lot of things together, there was respect for the parents, and life in general. That's not a dig at other types of lifestyles or traditions, it's just what I related to.

I agree too about the quality of the writing. The boys sounded real, and I think that's partly because the producers listened to their own kids talk and tried to transfer that dialogue to the screen. And there was also something very touching about the classic relationships among the family which, in contrast to the normal gripes about this show, were not 'perfect' but were rich, complex and ultimately, beautiful.

Just about all of the replies given so far could also be my reasons for my watching the show. However, another reason that I have is one that could also be used as a negative by some and that is the references in LITB to persons or TV shows of the late 1950's to early 1960's. Such as:

Wally saying that if Beaver is questioned he might start crying like Jack Paar.........Eddie being questioned if what he is claiming is like the time he said he saw Broderick Crawford on the bus.......Eddie remarking to someone trying to talk tough, "Who do you think you are, Cassius Clay?".......June stating that a party she has heard about sounds like something that would be given on The Untouchables. There are many, many others, particularly in the later seasons of the series.

I thoroughly enjoy hearing each of these topical references these many years later, but I was around during those years and know who they are referring to and what they mean. However, there could be people now in their 30's or even 40's who may not understand what is meant. This isn't to say that a person couldn't have studied up on that period, but you wonder if some of it might not be completely understood. LITB may be one of the few programs still being aired who has those references. I'm glad that they do, but I wonder how others might feel.

Was it the comedy? Was it the wholesomeness? Was it The Beaver? What draws you to this sitcom? Now mind you, I am not knocking the show, but I never had any LOL moments with it. That doesn't mean it was bad, just makes me wonder what about the show was great to you personally?

In a word....WARD!!:D No really, he's the main reason I watch, but I'm a classic TV fan. As others have stated, it's the real "family" feeling you get and then going back in time to get an idea of how life was like for our parents and grandparents. For each show I get the "father" I never had and always wanted.

The show, to me, is just like comfort food. :)

The show, to me, is just like comfort food. :)



You just hit it on the head.

You just hit it on the head.
:D

The show, to me, is just like comfort food. :)

Exactly.

As far as LOL moments go I think there are plenty, though that isn't what the show is about. But it never fails at giving me those moments whenever Fred, Larry or Eddie are on the screen.

As far as LOL moments go I think there are plenty, though that isn't what the show is about. But it never fails at giving me those moments whenever Fred, Larry or Eddie are on the screen.
Not to mention Lumpy. :lol:

LITB was in its second season when I was born, so I am not very far removed from things or ideas so common on the show, but no longer seen today. Examples: 2-parent, one-car family is the norm; we see grocery stores and drug stores, but not huge discount stores; drug stores have soda fountains/lunch counters, and you don't see fast-food joints tempting children with plastic playlands and kids' meals; adults generally wear suits or sportcoats or dresses, while kids wear just plain clothes-- everything worn doesn't have to display a brash message.

The show can be picked on for presenting a view of middle-class American life that is too good to be real, but it is worth noting that there are a few exceptional episodes to this rule. "Beaver and Andy" was about an alcoholic that befriended and later betrayed Beaver and his innocence. The Chopper episode was about a broken family and the negative effects on a kid. In a final season ep, "Box Office Attraction," Wally meets up with a sexually aggressive girl who dropped out of school. And in "All Night Party," about Wally's graduation night, the worries and rules set by the parents clearly suggest sexual temptations and substance abuse.

So what "draws" me, still, to LITB is that it becomes more nastalgic as the years go by, and that it presents the biasedly good view of American life, but not without reminding viewers occasionally of the genuine problems and dilemmas emerging in the culture.

I'm glad you mentioned those episodes. These are ones that critics of LITB fail to mention. Certainly those types of things - as well as many others - existed in that late-1950's/early-1960's period. Most sitcoms of that time never dealt with them. It's important to remember that LITB did.

"Box Office Attraction" is a very memorable episode for me, because I used to be a box office cashier in a movie theater. However, I was/am nowhere near as worldly as this girl!! I love the line Beaver's friend (I think it was Richard, someone correct me if I'm wrong) had: "You know what they call girls like her, Beav? That's a woman of the world!" :lol: :lol: :lol:

The actress who played "Marlene Holmes" in the Box Office Attraction episode was Diane Sayer. By way of information, she was 25 years old at the time. Diane was in a number of TV shows like Mod Squad, Ozzie & Harriet, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Here Come The Brides and Dobie Gillis. She also had some minor roles in movies such as: Throughly Modern Millie, Dirty Dingus Magee, The Sand Piper and Support Your Local Gunfighter. She died in 2001 at the age of 63.

^ Thanks for that info!!

"Box Office Attraciton" is a good episode of the show, but not all kids back then were that innocent. In real life there is a possibilty that Wally would not have pushed that girl back when she tried to kiss him.


Still fun to watch to see how things have changed so much since 1963.

Still fun to watch to see how things have changed so much since 1963.
It sure was a different world back then!!