Well now, today I had a nice surprise. I'm still watching the last of the New LITB DVDs and am in the last season of the show and today's episode was "Dads & Grads Part 2". The nice surprise was seeing the real Larry Mondello back on the show for this episode and even nicer was that he was playing Larry just the way the writers should have had him playing Larry ever since the new shows started. In other words Larry was no longer a weirdo in robes and a weird name, he was now Larry again with the same faces he used to make as a kid and even talking like he did as a kid. It was like finally seeing Larry again and not that odd kook the writers had him being in the other "new" shows. Larry explains his return to normality in the show this way, "My parents had me de-programmed and I'm now working again in the real world" or words to that effect, I didn't write them down.

Now what's still horrible about this last season is they've changed the opening Beaver theme to now having some annoying Bozo scat singing acapello NO orchestra just this jerk be boppin' the song like this (say the following words to the tune of the Beaver theme and you'll get the picture): Boop ba dee ba boo boo ba dee. Ba boop bee dee dee ba booo. Boop ba de ba boo boop ba dee ba boop ba bee beep ba do boop.

Trust me, it's unlistenable, I actually hit the mute while this outrage goes on seemingly forever.

I think I've heard that and it is pretty bad. One of many things I'd mute.

Wait, Larry was acting weird during The New Leave It To Beaver? I haven't seen the show so I don't know. And I haven't heard The New Leave It To Beaver theme. I mean I have, but it was from the earlier seasons. Was the theme that bad?

Wait, Larry was acting weird during The New Leave It To Beaver? I haven't seen the show so I don't know. And I haven't heard The New Leave It To Beaver theme. I mean I have, but it was from the earlier seasons. Was the theme that bad?

Yep, it started in the reunion movie Still The Beaver, full beard, dressed up like some weird cult guru.

I have a recorded-from-TV set in horrible quality. I guess I need to suffer thru it and try to watch some of these episodes.

Yes, Larry wasn't seen very much in the whole New LITB set of shows/reunion movie, but the few times he was on he was that weird sheet wearing swami hat guy who changed his name to some word unpronounceable. I think he may have only appeared 2 times, maybe 3 before the pleasant and good old Larry showed up again late in the last season "Dads & Grads Part 2". He now looked like Larry and talked like Larry again! It was really great to see him back to normal. In this particular episode Beaver is supposed to be getting married again to his old lady (wife) who left him high and dry the first time. (Another great decision from the new Sad Sack Beaver in the new shows.) But don't worry alls well that ends well, Beaver doesn't get hitched again to this horror and returns to his new found girlfriend who he just left high and dry when the old ball and chain showed up. Nice huh? Beaver is a jerk in these episdoes. But the old Larry returning makes up for the bad writing. :talk:

OMG!!! I did not know ANY of this!!! And I think I only saw maybe one or 2 eps of the NLITB when it was on Nick at Nite years ago....(always fell asleep for some reason)

Always wondered what actually happened to Larry as the years went by...

When it was on originally I had only seen a couple episodes on TBS back then. It was only in recent years that I am now watching the DVDs of the show that I got in a trade. Yes, the quality on a lot of them is bad, on one or 2 of them it's downright horrible. But I'd say 85% of them are perfectly watchable and understandable. Still not beautiful or perfect but not bad. Is the series great? No. It's only worth watching if you're a fan of the original show. A few of the episodes are very nice, most of them are mediocre.

I saw a lot of them on TBS, none on Disney. I could kick myself for not having the VCR rolling.