...that Wally was pretty much a perfect son? I know Beaver was supposed to be the one who always got into trouble and Wally was supposed to be the wise older brother, but it seems that they kind of exaggerated his role so that he didn't even seem like a teenager sometimes. Am I crazy for feeling this way? :confused:

...that Wally was pretty much a perfect son? I know Beaver was supposed to be the one who always got into trouble and Wally was supposed to be the wise older brother, but it seems that they kind of exaggerated his role so that he didn't even seem like a teenager sometimes. Am I crazy for feeling this way? :confused:

Yeah sometimes it does bug me! LOL! Glad I'm not the only one.Don't get me wrong, I like that he had manners and all, but no one likes a squeaky clean kid either! In fact that can be scary! But there is one epsiode I recall that he got into trouble and that was the Merchant Marine at the begining. He got a good talking to by Ward (which we didn't see) because he was very late for dinner and didn't call.

Well, there are over achievers in real life too. I grew up with a kid in the sixties that was one. Never got into trouble. Just like Wally he was always doing his homework. Quarterback for the HS football team, and Valedictorian. But street smart and and every day kind of guy like Wally too. What became of him..? Well, he became an astronaut, and flew on three shuttle missions in the 80's.
I wonder what Wally would have become...?

Wally wasn't completely perfect. I remember one time where he lost his temper a little bit with Eddie and Lumpy. He was a nice well-mannered guy. They do exist, and likely go far in life too.

Nothing about this show bugs me.

I don't feel that the character of "Wally" was perfect. He made some bad choices in the shows just like "Beaver". There were times when both of them got punished for doing something wrong. Remember when they hid "Larry" when he ran away from home? or when "Beaver" was placed in the boat when it was tested in the pond?

Nothing about this show bugs me.

I know what you mean; the more I watch the show the more I love it.

I don't feel that the character of "Wally" was perfect. He made some bad choices in the shows just like "Beaver". There were times when both of them got punished for doing something wrong. Remember when they hid "Larry" when he ran away from home? or when "Beaver" was placed in the boat when it was tested in the pond?

Exactly. Wally definitely wasn't perfect.

And let's not forget when Wally got in trouble for throwing towels in the locker room.

Wally wasn't perfect. But he is awesome!:) :cool: I LOVE "Leave It To Beaver"- Wally is such a great brother to Theodore- and vice versa. Wally and the Beaver- classic TV example of brotherly love.:) :cool:

You talked about perfect kids. The Sound of Music the children there were perfect. No one talked back or made of fuss. They were too good.

Nah, I disagree.
If Wally were 'perfect', he'd have ditched his alleged 'friends' Lumpy and Eddie early on but despite being shown by everyone including his parents and the Beav that they could drag him down [and Wally agreeing with the others], Wally stayed their friend to the end. The only reason I can think of is that he hoped eventually they'd somehow get guilt tripped for having done all those stunts to him while he was nice to them and become good people -which never happens in Real Life and didn't even happen in Mayfield.

I wanted to be like Wally Cleaver back in Jr high school

There were a few times when Ward became pretty upset over something Wally did -- like when he had that junk heap of an automobile parked in the driveway, and Ward couldn't get his car out. There was a comment that Ward hadn't been quite so upset with either of the boys before -- though he kept his emotions "in" more-or-less.

The whole thing about Wally buying the old car and eventually selling it piece-by-piece to his friends really created some bad waves.

Nothing about this show bugs me.
Same here.It's one of the best shows of it's type ever made and I consider it one of the top ten shows ever made.

Same here.It's one of the best shows of it's type ever made and I consider it one of the top ten shows ever made.


WORD!!!!

Nah, I disagree.
If Wally were 'perfect', he'd have ditched his alleged 'friends' Lumpy and Eddie early on but despite being shown by everyone including his parents and the Beav that they could drag him down [and Wally agreeing with the others], Wally stayed their friend to the end. The only reason I can think of is that he hoped eventually they'd somehow get guilt tripped for having done all those stunts to him while he was nice to them and become good people -which never happens in Real Life and didn't even happen in Mayfield.lumpy became a pretty nice guy on the new leave it to bevaer in the 80s he and beaver had even became friends by that point

Wally and Beaver both dodged their bath by tossing dirt in the tub. He also called another girl's parents pretending to be Ward when Beaver didn't want to go to a party.

Same here.It's one of the best shows of it's type ever made and I consider it one of the top ten shows ever made.

Funny how tastes change. When I was much younger I mildly liked the show but was not gaga over it. Now 30 years later, as I began revisiting it, I've truly fallen in love with the show too. Now I'd put it in my top ten as well.

God Bless Antenna TV for running this show for over a year, and God Bless me for having the good sense to burn 50-60% of the eps to DVD. Had I known Antenna was going to eventually remove it, I would have burned much more. A most endearing show, with charming cast members. Crossing my fingers I one day get to meet Jerry Mathers.

Wally also showed a lack of perfection in the S3 episode, "Wally, the Businessman". He was getting in over his head by extending credit for ice cream to several people who didn't pay him back when they promised. Then eventually Beaver bailed him out by covering his shortage when Wally's supplier came to collect.

Another S3 episode where Wally screwed up was "Wally's Play" (originally aired just 2 weeks after "Wally, the Businessman"). In that one Wally actually was bested by Eddie Haskell, of all people, by refusing a funny role in a play because Wally was too embarrassed to wear a dress for the part. I still laugh when I remember Ward's confusion when he said "Beaver ripped Wally's dress". :lol:

In both of these episodes, Wally proved that he was far from perfect and could make mistakes as well as anyone else.

Yes, I agree that Wally sometimes was too clean-cut, honest, and respectful. But thankfully there are many episodes in which he's far from perfect and lets himself be misled, or to go with the flow (Wally's Haircomb may be the best example).

When I think about kids being 'too good,' I'm reminded of one the earliest Brady Bunch eps, where the whole family thinks either the mom or the dad wrote to Dear Libby about just pretending to love the new mixed family, so the kids start doing all their chores without being told, behaving exceptionally well, and stuff. But Alice, the housekeeper, knows something has to be up, so she questions them all, saying "If there's anything I can't stand, it's a perfect kid!" :lol:

That was a great line for Alice...! She really knew the score.

There were numerous, frequent exclamations by June of "WALLY!" at the little things he would do or say. Of course he was far from a saint. In some ways he reminds me of my older brother though, in that I tended to get into far more trouble -- just like Beaver vs. Wally.