I've only seen a few eps. of this show, and am not really a fan. But, in the eps. I saw I felt kinda sorry for little Richie. It seemed like he hardly got any attention, and was always in his room I think. I know I can't judge this by only a few eps., but I saw this on another board where people said, Laura was more of a husband to Rob, than a mother to Richie. It was on the LITB board, comparing June Cleaver to Laura Petrie. Like who was the better mother. I Know its only a tv show and the show was supposed to be centered around Rob aka Dick, but still I kinda felt sorry for Richie and did'nt think he got enough love and attention. What does everyone else think, on this? I mean he did seem to get love and attention by his parents, just maybe not enough and I think all he ever did was scream out his lines. But, its just a tv show not real life, and the show was supposed to focus around Dick. But, their all pretty good actors!!! :D So, what's everyone's opinon on Richie being rejected? Do you sometimes feel kinda sorry for him? Really I don't think they needed, the character. He did'nt relly seem to serve a purpose.

Oh, I have the name Richie Cunningham in my name, but that's another Richie. He's from Happy Days. :D

Sorry to say, but
Your thoughts are identicle to mine on the character of Richie Petrie. He seems actually to be an artifical kid, in the way that he was written for. Almost in an "apply kid here", "now remove kid" pattern.
Nothing was ever truely written to be centered around him as in for example the kids in, My Three Sons, Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, The Brady Bunch, or The Andy Griffith Show (Anyone who dissagrees, take another look at episode #41, "A Bird In The Head Hurts", it's not about Richie, it's about Rob). Unfortunately, but true, Richie was basically an animated prop.
But (and you know I had to say this), Laura showed love to everybody!

Steve

The explanation for that is that "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was one of the first family shows that wasn't about the kids. It's more about people who have kids.

I thought it was genius to not include Ritchie all that much because most kids grow up, stop being cute, and start being annoying. Once they stop being cute, you realize that they can't really act.

The "amazing invisible kids" idea is also used on "Everybody Loves Raymond". Believe me, it's for the best. Remember when the Beav grew up?

Originally posted by MTM1Fan
Believe me, it's for the best. Remember when the Beav grew up?

Hey now! I guess I'm one of those rare exceptions in that I enjoyed the last season of LITB more than the first. I thought the show picked up, but I know most folks don't see it that way.

As for Richie, I agree with you completely. Frankly, other than a few episode ideas that were created with the Petries having a child, for the most part he wasn't at all central to the show and I thought the Petries without a kid might have been even better. Let's face it, they basically lived the life of a newlywed couple (sans kids) anyway with all the parties and late dinners out and such that they went to.

B&W "all this talk is making me even more itchy for a DVD on DVD set" fan

I noticed that Ritchie became less and less a part of the show as time went on. I counted the eps w/ Ritchie each year in one of the DVD Show books, and he went from 27 appearances the first season to 7 the last. I wonder if Larry Mathews was paid for all the shows he didn't appear in and if he had to go to regular school those weeks too. He mentioned in one of the books that he much preferred the studio tutor to regular school, as I'm sure I would have also.
I, along w/ B&W Kid, also enjoyed the last season of LITB the most. I liked the jazzy music and the adolescent problems of Wally and The Beav, and I couldn't stand the early Beav who couldn't talk too well and chopped words apart.

Originally posted by jehobden
I, along w/ B&W Kid, also enjoyed the last season of LITB the most. I liked the jazzy music and the adolescent problems of Wally and The Beav, and I couldn't stand the early Beav who couldn't talk too well and chopped words apart.

Hey, hey! Someone that agrees with me about this topic! And I liked the last season for the exact same reasons you mentioned (music was better, issues w/girls and such were funnier, and most of all I really thought Eddie Haskell & Lumpy hit their peak with funny remarks and expressions).

BTW, it's B&W fan, not Kid (although at 37, many still consider me a kid at heart). ;)

B&W "stands for Black & White (TV shows obviously)" fan

...so little time! I'll try to be brief and to the point:

Was Richie rejected?:
Probably not. (Do you mean "neglected"?) Most of the parts where he got lots of attention were probably "edited out". :lol: I agree with the promo Nick @ Nite (when it was good) once ran which referred to him as "Richie, the Incredible Low-Maintenance Boy!"

Was Richie necessary?:
Well, I guess if Rob and Laura were childless, we'd wonder, "Why no kids?" (This is often asked of The Bob Newhart Show.)

Leave it to Beaver - Later vs. Earlier Episodes:
The writers seemed to drop his speech impediment shortly after the first episode. Otherwise, he just talked like any little kid. I don't have a marked preference between earlier and later episodes - they're always fun for different reasons!

So much for being brief. Sorry! :talk: