View Full Version : What modern-day things would the Cleavers have/do now?


stevea
01-20-2026, 10:34 PM
Assuming the Cleavers are as they are, age-wise, around the 5th or 6th season, the year is 2026 rather than 1962:

1. Would Ward have an Android or Iphone? Is he important enough to also have a smartphone assigned to him from the "9034" office? What sort of phones do the boys have? Do W&J even allow Beaver to have one?

2. Would the Cleavers now have a dishwasher? Would all the appliances be Wi-Fi enabled? Would they have a microwave on the counter?

3. Of course all the Cleavers would be members of Sitcoms Online. What other social media would they be on? Which family members would be on what? Tik Tok? Facebook? X? Instagram? What Gaming for the boys, if anything?

4. How big a TV would they have in the den?

5. What other things would they have?

6. Does June shop on Amazon instead of going to the corner drug store? Is she a working mom now and if so what does she do?

Sgt. Saunders
01-21-2026, 10:36 AM
I wonder if Ward would replace all of those many hardcover books of his in the den with Kindle books?

Would the always-in-condition Wally Cleaver have a top-of-the-line NordicTrack treadmill somewhere in the house to keep fit? And, would June enroll in a Pilates class? Of course, Ward and June would also be avid Pickleball enthusiasts.

Would Larry Mondello and Lumpy Rutherford both be faithful Ozempic users?

Would Julie Foster undergo every plastic surgery procedure in order to maintain that glowing, 17-year-old visage of hers?

Would Marlene Holmes still be working as a ticket cashier at The Mayfield Cinema or is she now working as a sex surrogate like Helen Hunt’s character in the film, “The Sessions”?

Would Richard Rickover finally get those humongous and God-awful orthodontic braces off of his teeth in 2026?

stevea
01-21-2026, 10:56 AM
Richard would have dyed-white braces. He'd find a place that would straighten his steel-wool hair. Being young in 2026, he'd have missed out on directing the Disney sitcoms.

Marlene would be a greeter at Wal-Mart, and would get an employee discount on drapes so she and her aunt could alter them to fit the windows. She would hang out (poor choice of words) at Hank's Place, which is still in the skid-row section of Mayfield.

Dude111
01-21-2026, 12:31 PM
1. Would Ward have an Android or Iphone? Is he important enough to also have a smartphone assigned to him from the "9034" office? What sort of phones do the boys have? Do W&J even allow Beaver to have one?

2. Would the Cleavers now have a dishwasher? Would all the appliances be Wi-Fi enabled? Would they have a microwave on the counter?

3. Of course all the Cleavers would be members of Sitcoms Online. What other social media would they be on? Which family members would be on what? Tik Tok? Facebook? X? Instagram? What Gaming for the boys, if anything?

4. How big a TV would they have in the den?

5. What other things would they have?

6. Does June shop on Amazon instead of going to the corner drug store? Is she a working mom now and if so what does she do?

1) No none of them have one..
2) Maybe a reg dishwasher but no internet stuff!!
3) I dunno...
4) A 32" CRT :)
5) I dunno buddy
6) I dunno.....

stevea
01-21-2026, 01:45 PM
If they live in present day, it's hard to believe they have a working CRT TV. I know a guy whose Trinitron gave out a couple of years go--and once they're gone, they're gone.

I know of a few others who still have one, but they're becoming rarer and rarer.

Tankeryanker
01-21-2026, 09:23 PM
1. Yes, Ward would have had a work issued phone. Iphone probably. Most companies seem to use them.
Beaver would have one of those phones that only have three choices you can call. Mom, dad and Mrs. Rayburn.

2. Yes on the dishwasher and microwave. Not sure about wi-fi enabled. Might bug June with the snooping she likes to do. No need for competition. For sure on the microwave. Going to sit right next to Aunt Jemima cookie jar.

3. Maybe X? June would do FB or any picture centric platform. Her kitchen would be shown off.

4. How much wall space was there?

5.Roomba? A drone with a camera to follow the boys to school?

6. Yes, she would shop on amazon and have the groceries delivered as she always has had. She doesn't go to work until Beaver is in high school. Maybe a lawyer. Maybe she guts it out and goes back to become a professor of Home Economics.

Dude111
01-21-2026, 10:36 PM
If they live in present day, it's hard to believe they have a working CRT TV. I know a guy whose Trinitron gave out a couple of years go--and once they're gone, they're gone.Yes its very very sad.... Good beautiful stuff replaced with garbage!

stevea
01-21-2026, 11:19 PM
4. How much wall space was there?

Two things:

1. They could mount a good size TV over the fireplace.

2. If June didn't want the TV in the living room, maybe they would convert the garage to a family room/media room.

Dude111
01-22-2026, 12:42 AM
That would be interesting!!

vitoscotti
01-22-2026, 01:33 AM
Don't watch CNN or MSNBC.

Sgt. Saunders
01-22-2026, 04:47 AM
Don't watch CNN or MSNBC.

But, would June take the time each day to watch the truly inspired and insightful conversation on “The View”?

stevea
01-22-2026, 06:26 AM
But, would June take the time each day to watch the truly inspired and insightful conversation on “The View”?

Hard to know if June would be a fan of that show. I guess one factor depends on where Mayfield is.

Dude111
01-22-2026, 06:48 AM
Well where are all the mayfields we know exist??

Maybe we can find it!!

Sgt. Saunders
01-22-2026, 09:29 AM
There is a Mayfield, New York, which was established in 1793.

cd637299
01-23-2026, 08:52 PM
I could file this under Things You Wouldn’t Hear on LITB:

Fred pulls out his iPhone….”Hey Ward old man, check out this cat on YouTube!” while Ward is trying to figure out debits and credits.

In keeping with Fred’s obnoxious persona.

cd

MichaelMartinD
01-26-2026, 10:17 AM
I could file this under Things You Wouldn’t Hear on LITB:

Fred pulls out his iPhone….”Hey Ward old man, check out this cat on YouTube!” while Ward is trying to figure out debits and credits.

In keeping with Fred’s obnoxious persona.

cd

Yes! This would be perfect for a modern-day update of LITB.

stevea
01-26-2026, 11:01 AM
Richard Deacon really got into the Rutherford role. It really added to the show, and the writers made the most of it.

Bonniegirl
01-26-2026, 05:40 PM
The boys wouldn't be going to the movie theater as much. They would watch movies at home streaming.

And if they did go. Beaver would be taken there by June or Ward , and they would watch the movie too, not just drop him off. Maybe Wally when he was a teenager could go with friends and no parents. But Beaver would be too young. You never see young children in a movie theater without an adult these days.

MichaelMartinD
01-27-2026, 10:15 AM
To be sure, a major theme of the show if updated would be Ward and June trying to monitor the boys' web use and content. And when they camped out over the "Happy Weekend," the issue would of course be getting the boys to turn off their phones.