I viewed School Sweater on the DVD set, and I agree with you, the opening scene (IMO) is edited (the episode is definitely short at 25:19). I think the edit is between where Wally says (re the basketball game) A little over two minutes, and Well, I'm kinda tired. The scene itself seems unnaturally short. There definitely could have been a short conversation about the gopher.

The rest of the episode seems very clean, with natural dissolves that seem to be original. The episode flows, and isn't choppy.

I compared the scene to a TV Land version, and of course they're the same. The TV Land episode is heavily edited--timed at 20:21. I think I saw one of their dissolve edits, where they go from the end of the kitchen scene, to Wally and Eddie in the hall at school, joined in progress.

I forgot they make the claims about remastering from original film elements on the back of the DVDs, too. I really find it hard to believe.

So we agree about the possible edit in the beginning of the School Sweater episode, very good.

You mentioned having jittery video during the opening credits, my season 3 set does the same thing. During the opening credits when the camera scans across the boys room, the video gets jittery and it's annoying, tough on the eyes and difficult to watch.

"Tire Trouble" is one of the 3rd season episodes on the DVD's that runs only about 25 minutes. There are a few other 3rd season episodes also with this shorter 25 minute run time. I have watched "Tire Trouble" but haven't noticed anything unusual where something might be edited. Have you watched this episode lately?

No, but I intend to.

It's interesting that everyone raves about this set, yet I've never been that impressed by it. The most annoying thing is this jittery video. The thing that made me suspect it was my set, is the fact that it's not jittery on MeTV. Of course, they can use other sources and edit them in.

On the other hand, it is a nice collection, and the episodes are close to complete. On the back of the S3 DVD, they do call it "The Complete Third Season." I just don't think it quite lives up to the hype.

Years ago channel 40 here ran LITB for a long time, and it probably came from Universal unedited. I have all of season 1 on VHS. Now I regret not going on and getting season 3. It's probably from there that I remember the missing line from June's Birthday.

I also question Shout Factory's claim about remastering using original film elements. If that were the case, I don't think we'd be talking about edits in episodes. These little snippets of dialog that seem to be edited out, as in June's Birthday and School Sweater, it puzzles me as to why this would happen, why remove a line of dialog here and there, it doesn't make sense.

But I will say this, season 3 seems to be the most problematic as far as possible edits in episodes. The other seasons are better in this regard and the run times are more consistent, unlike season 3 where the run times vary between 25 and 26 minutes.

I took another look at the "Tire Trouble" episode, if there's an edit it's probably early on in the episode, it seems to me that there should be a scene with Wally and Beaver in the garage working on their Chinchilla cage, then maybe Eddie Haskell comes along and tells them how expensive Chinchilla's are, so they give up on the idea.

I say this because later in the episode, Ward asks Wally and Beaver what they were doing in the garage, Beaver says that they had started building a Chinchilla cage, then Wally says that Eddie said Chinchilla's cost two or three hundred dollars so they gave up on the idea.

If there's an edit in this episode, I'd say it occurs between the 3 and 4 minute mark when Ward comes home from work for the first time and finds the garage in a mess. The edit could also be at around the 5 and a half minute mark when Ward comes home and discovers the garage still in a mess.

I took another look at the "Tire Trouble" episode, if there's an edit it's probably early on in the episode, it seems to me that there should be a scene with Wally and Beaver in the garage working on their Chinchilla cage, then maybe Eddie Haskell comes along and tells them how expensive Chinchilla's are, so they give up on the idea.

I say this because later in the episode, Ward asks Wally and Beaver what they were doing in the garage, Wally says that they had started building a Chinchilla cage but Eddie said that they cost two or three hundred dollars so they gave up on the idea.

If there's an edit in this episode, I'd say it occurs between the 3 and 4 minute mark when Ward comes home from work for the first time and finds the garage in a mess.

I highly doubt that's an edit. When I first saw the series on Netflix which the episodes were directly from Universal themselves, there was no such scene and often things happened in LITB where they were just mentioned and not actually shown. There were several episodes where they said Eddie said something, but that they didn't show Eddie doing it. To me, it sounds like that's not an edit.

I highly doubt that's an edit. When I first saw the series on Netflix which the episodes were directly from Universal themselves, there was no such scene and often things happened in LITB where they were just mentioned and not actually shown. To me, it sounds like that's not an edit.

Right now I'm just speculating, at this time I don't know if the episode is edited or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if information comes out confirming that it's edited. "Tire Trouble" is one of the shorter season 3 episodes, running about 24:55 on the DVD, which gives me reason to be skeptical.

There were several episodes where they said Eddie said something, but that they didn't show Eddie doing it.

That might be true, but it didn't happen this way EVERY time.

That might be true, but it didn't happen this way EVERY time.

Not every time, but a lot of the time it happened that way.

I looked at the episode. At 3:54 Ward has pulled into the driveway, and opens the garage door. He sees the mess, and does a slow boil. He yells for the boys. There's a picture sweep, and then he's in the kitchen, saying, Look, boys. I think some dialog is cut before that.

Later June is vacuuming, and answers the door--it's Eddie. They chat a little, and she says the boys are at the garage. At 10:58, there's a scene change to that, and the music changes (that kind of choppiness is a clue it's edited, to me). I think a scene is edited out there--maybe there was another scene with Fred and Ward at the office, and then it went back to Eddie joining the boys.

If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think.

It could have been done that way in the original production, but I doubt it. Something has to account for the 24:56 episode length--a missing minute.

I see Beaver's Tree runs 24:58--something's probably wrong there, too.

Beaver's Fortune runs 24:58, also. Beaver Makes A Loan, same. Beaver the Magician, 25:17.

I see Beaver's Tree runs 24:58--something's probably wrong there, too.

Beaver's Fortune runs 24:58, also. Beaver Makes A Loan, same. Beaver the Magician, 25:17.

Yes, I suppose it's possible that some of these shorter than usual season 3 episodes are uncut and just run a little short, but having said that I'm skeptical of all of them and suspect they might be edited.

I looked at the episode. At 3:54 Ward has pulled into the driveway, and opens the garage door. He sees the mess, and does a slow boil. He yells for the boys. There's a picture sweep, and then he's in the kitchen, saying, Look, boys. I think some dialog is cut before that.

Later June is vacuuming, and answers the door--it's Eddie. They chat a little, and she says the boys are at the garage. At 10:58, there's a scene change to that, and the music changes (that kind of choppiness is a clue it's edited, to me). I think a scene is edited out there--maybe there was another scene with Fred and Ward at the office, and then it went back to Eddie joining the boys.

If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think.

It could have been done that way in the original production, but I doubt it. Something has to account for the 24:56 episode length--a missing minute.

I agree with what you say about the 3:54 mark, it does appear like something was edited there, seems like Ward was talking to June before he started talking to the boys, maybe his conversation with June was edited out.

To me, it looks like any edits to the episode would be within the first five minutes or so, the rest of it looks OK. But I'll check the episode again later and give it another look.

Kind of off the subject, but I noticed in Tire Trouble, when the boys were chasing the tire, they went past Bentley Gregg's Bachelor Father house (another house that's on the Revue lot).

I took another look at the "Tire Trouble" episode. Aside from the possible edit at around the 3:55 mark, the rest seems uncut, but I still wonder if maybe there's a deleted scene with Wally and Beaver in the garage working on the Chinchilla cage. It's also possible that no such scene was filmed.

I also watched "Beaver Makes A Loan". The one place I noticed where there might be an edit is right around the 3 minute mark, where the scene cuts to Larry returning from the school store and Beaver impatiently waiting for him in the hallway. Aside from that, the rest of the episode appears to be uncut.

I'm gonna check all of those. Another thing I can do is look at season 1 lengths. If any of those look short, I can master the old VHS copies from channel 40 to DVD, and compare them.

I may also call channel 40, locally, and see if they saved any of their LITB videotapes. I've heard frequently that the syndicators don't want them back. (I kind of doubt they saved them--it's been over 10 years since LITB has been in syndication.)

I don't know anything about Netflix, but if Universal provided those episodes, it would be neat to compare them, also.

This may all seem picky, but this DVD set is very expensive and the episodes should be complete.

Today I watched the episode "Beaver's Fortune". This one looked uncut to me, at least I didn't notice anything obvious where something might be edited, so maybe the 24:55 run time is correct.

Rusty Stevens is funny as Larry Mondello, too bad he didn't stay on with the show, I think he's gone after the 3rd season.

Ken Osmond is funny too as Eddie Haskell, he's such a smart ass and plays the role perfectly, just about every scene he's in is a gem. :lol:

Tony Dow's acting wasn't that great in the beginning when the series first started, but he improved as the episodes went along, and by the 3rd season he seems pretty comfortable and settled into the role of Wally Cleaver.

An odd thing that just occurred to me is that all of these are about one minute short. That's the length of a commercial. At the time, there were probably limits on the ad time, but maybe there was some charity that got an extra minute, March of Dimes, Christmas/Easter Seals, etc. (public service announcement). If that were the case some of this may have been edits that were made to the original episode. It would be great to find out why they're short, but it may be an impossible task.

You might want to rename this thread to "possible Season 3 edits", IMO. It sounds very misleading that there are season 3 edits.

I don't know much about edits or commercials or the length of the show but I hated when TV Land would start an episode and cut out the opening scene. I really hate when the synopsis of the episode is all wrong. Wally’s Test- Wally and Eddie conspire to cheat on a history test.

Yes I've noticed that particular synopsis is wrong.

How about wrong titles? Beaver's Laundry, for example.

TV Land always cut the season 1 teasers.

I have old VHS copies of around 4 or 5 original episodes, one is Ward's Baseball. That times out 25:43 on the DVD, and my copy times around 25:37 (the extra 6 seconds are probably that Universal logo at the end on the DVD). In other words, they're identical. The only thing different about the old one is the lower quality, and the cast commercial at the end. That was interesting to see, and would have been a great addition to the DVD set. Sue Randall and Mathers were hawking Purina Dog Chow. Tony Dow was on briefly, in the beginning. The only other old VHS third season episode I have is Blind Date Committee, which is nearly 26 minutes on the DVD. The others I have are a couple of first seasons episodes, and a sixth season one--I think I'll eventually compare them, too. I'd really like to come across one where the DVD set is noticeably short.

I can also use the VHS copies I have from WHMB, of the first season. I have nearly all of them.

Today I watched "Beaver's Tree" on the DVD. This one also appears to be uncut, so the 24:55 run time is probably correct.

So far, I'm skeptical that "Tire Trouble" and "School Sweater" might have something edited out from them. Also "June's Birthday" has a possible edit if Miss Landers line about informing the class they are going to Mrs. Harrison's exists and was in fact edited out.

"June's Birthday" is one of the longer episodes on the DVD. Some episodes are over 26 minutes, and an extra line, if it exists, would push it over 26 minutes, too. I really wish I could find a copy of this as originally shown. Maybe I'll post it on Sitcoms Trading Post as a want.

Now that I've seen Ward's Baseball as originally shown, I agree with you about Tire Trouble. The only possible edit I see is the one we originally agreed about, near the beginning of the episode, as Ward comes into the kitchen and blows his top.

Tonight I'll check out Beaver's Tree. I wish we could figure out for certain why some of these episodes come up so short.

I looked at "Beaver's Tree", and it doesn't have any obvious edits. It's possible there could be a few Ward lines cut, when he catches them hauling the tree in the wagon, but I doubt it.

I watched the beginning of "Beaver's Fortune", and it looks to me like an opening scene might be missing. It starts as the school bus is pulling up, and they cut to June saying to Beaver, Stay out of his way (after he leaves, she does explain to Ward she's talking about a 5th grade bully). After some more dialog between Ward and June, Wally comes in and says Beaver was asking whether Wyatt Earp was a real guy. I think there might might have been an opening scene with the boys, establishing all of this. Of course, it's not on the heavily-edited TV Land version, either, IF the scene exits.

I also watched "Beaver's Fortune", it seemed uncut to me but I'll take another look at it.

And I just watched two more episodes, "The Hypnotist" and "Larry's Club". The Hypnotist looked uncut to me but I'm not sure about Larry's Club, I thought I saw a couple places where something could be edited.

For these 3rd season episodes that run 25 minutes instead of 26 minutes, if the episode isn't edited, then the network must have needed an extra minute of commercial time for whatever the reason, maybe they were promoting something. Would be great to see original network telecasts with the original commercials, if the originals are still in existence.

Yes, it was interesting to see the episode with Sue Randall and Mathers promoting Purina Dog Chow. The cast commercials would have been an interesting add-on to the DVDs.

I also wondered in another post whether maybe they used the extra minute for Christmas/Easter Seals, March of Dimes, etc.

I'm also going to see if any season 1 episodes are shorted. I think I have better sources to compare to.

Season 1 episodes all have pretty consistent run times, so I'm not really concerned about edits with those. Season 3 is the season with episode run time discrepancies, a full minute from the shortest episodes to the longest.

I don't think there are any problems with the season 1 DVD set from Universal. The season 1 DVD from Shout Factory is a different story, that set is a mess. I'm glad Universal re-issued season 1 on six single sided discs. I purchased it and put Shout Factory's 1st season DVD's in the trash, I kept disc #1 because it has the bonus feature.

I think it’s Mother’s Day Composition but they always start the episode with Mrs. Rayburn taking about Miss Landers being out maybe but asking the class to mention some ideas for a composition. I know the episode starts in the kitchen with Beaver mentioning Miss Landers being sick and needing money. Wally mentions Eddie acting like Jerry Lewis, the only time Jerry is mentioned. That scene is always edited.

I highly doubt that's an edit. When I first saw the series on Netflix which the episodes were directly from Universal themselves, there was no such scene and often things happened in LITB where they were just mentioned and not actually shown. There were several episodes where they said Eddie said something, but that they didn't show Eddie doing it. To me, it sounds like that's not an edit.

Sorry to bump this old thread agin, but I was rereading it. I don't have Netflix--does anyone know if LITB is still on there? If they have the Universal versions (rather than the Shout! versions) I'd certainly like to see what June's Birthday (and several other Season 3 episodes) looks like on there.

Sorry to bump this old thread agin, but I was rereading it. I don't have Netflix--does anyone know if LITB is still on there? If they have the Universal versions (rather than the Shout! versions) I'd certainly like to see what June's Birthday (and several other Season 3 episodes) looks like on there.

Netflix doesn't have it anymore. They lost the rights to it and several other Universal series years ago.

Here's an update on edits in June's Birthday, from an expert on the show who was involved with the mastering of the DVD set:

There are a couple of lines missing around the 15 minute mark (the Miss Landers explanation of where the class was going): it could have been right around a 35mm reel change location and possibly damaged, or the negative might have been damaged. My theory is that if it's a reel change, sometimes those are marked by a flash, which someone might have cut out.

Earlier film copies could have had the lines, before there was any damage. I think the reel change cut or film damage is the most likely explanation. They probably could have gone to great lengths to restore it, but probably not worth the time and money (IMO).

Yeah it’s like all of a sudden we’re into a conversation about singing at Mrs. Harrison’s house. That’s the first time we hear that and June is supposed to be there.

I'm told many people who had taped Beaver years ago (and might have the episode with those lines) got rid of their tapes when the DVDs came out. TV Land is no help--their showings had the same edit. This person thought the episode was correct on Dailymotion, but it is just the TV Land version, slowed down to make it seem like it runs 26 minutes.

To properly restore it, they probably would have had to master a new 35mm print from the original negatives, assuming they're intact and available.

For some reason the third season is a problem, with a few episodes that definitely run short on the DVD set. That season needed extra work that they were either unwilling to do, or had no budget to do.

Here's an update on edits in June's Birthday, from an expert on the show who was involved with the mastering of the DVD set:

There are a couple of lines missing around the 15 minute mark (the Miss Landers explanation of where the class was going): it could have been right around a 35mm reel change location and possibly damaged, or the negative might have been damaged. My theory is that if it's a reel change, sometimes those are marked by a flash, which someone might have cut out.

Earlier film copies could have had the lines, before there was any damage. I think the reel change cut or film damage is the most likely explanation. They probably could have gone to great lengths to restore it, but probably not worth the time and money (IMO).

So it's been confirmed that June's Birthday has an edit on the DVD, that's interesting to know, thanks for sharing the information.

I haven't watched any LITB episodes on the DVD's lately but I'm still skeptical that some of the shorter episodes from season 3 that we discussed previously have edits also.

This commercial could explain shorter episodes in season 3. As I said in another thread I never knew Ford was a sponsor. Anyway, look at the length of this ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9x8PBc1G8E

Now that LITB is running on Antenna/Me TV network, it doesn't seem to me there are any edits on the shows yet somehow with ALL the commercials it still fits into the 30-minute time-slots! It is possible that Universal did ALL the edits years ago when it first ran in syndication (1967). In the old days when reruns were shown in daytime on networks the edits were done by their production companies i.e. All 3 "Lucy shows", Dick Van Dyke, Danny Thomas,etc.