Episode Reviews - "One of the Boys" - season 5

[stevea]

An early-season episode held over by ABC until near the end of the season. A warning for an inferior episode, at least acording to ABC at the time.

Eddie is bursting with good news for Wally, telling him that they've been asked to join the Barons, an exclusive high school club. Wally describers the club to his parents, who appear to be less than enthused. Ward later advises June that he checked on the club with his friend, the vice-principal, and there is nothing good to be said about them.

Wally finds out after meeting with them, that they just sit around knocking the school and other peers. He has arrived home in Eddie's car, and relates to his parents that the Barons were going somewhere for some beer, so he and Eddie decided the Barons were not for them.

[Sgt. Saunders]

Near the end of the episode, I “like” how Wally has a glass of milk as he’s telling Ward and June in the kitchen what a waste of time it was to go to a Friday night meeting of The Barons.

Yeah, how many 18-year-olds in America have a glass of milk on Friday night after having just been out with some guys? I guess in the Cleaver family, it’s father, like son with both Ward and Wally opting for a glass of iced cold milk after 12:00 PM.

And, did you notice that the usually attentive and responsible Wally just left that glass bottle of milk on the table for either Ward or June to put it back into the refrigerator after Wally had first taken it out of the refrigerator? I’m surprised that Ward or June did NOT tell their oldest son to put the milk back into the refrigerator. That was bad behavior that Wally or Beaver might have tried when they were both back in early grade school, but NOT as young men.

And, as I stated on another thread, I wonder what eventually happened to the spoiled and privileged members of The Barons? Did they even graduate from Mayfield High along with Wally, Eddie, Lumpy, Julie, Mary Ellen and the rest of the senior class? Did The Barons enroll in State University like most of the other Mayfield High graduates? Were any of The Barons drafted into the military? (If so, I bet they “loved” the food at Fort Dix or on Parris Island.)

Maybe some of The Barons ran for political office many years later?

After all, I believe Dr. Samuel Johnson once said something like, “Politics is the last refuge for a scoundrel.”

[stevea]

Good point about the beverage choice. "They went to get some beer, but honestly, Mom, I'd rather have a nice super-cold glass of milk. And make it a double - 4% not 2."

And that Baron who threw away Eddie's chocolate pudding could have rued the day he did that if he ended up having some S.O.S. at Fort Dix.

[Sgt. Saunders]

You know, if LITB had lasted a couple of more seasons, I think that the LITB writers would have figured out a way to have the wholesome and squeaky-clean 1960s singing group, The Cowsills, appear on an LITB episode, what with the writers’s apparent obsession with the consumption of milk by the Cleaver family on the show.

On one of his classic political comedy records, the late, great David Frye once did his Richard Nixon impression, enjoying milk and cookies with his daughter Julie and her fiancée, David Eisenhower, at the White House and President Nixon, wanting to seem “hip” and “with-it,” opines, “Ah, yes, milk, milk. The Cowsills drink milk!”

[MichaelMartinD]

I too noticed the milk drinking by Wally. I always thought it was meant to drive home his squeaky-clean persona and that he was the total opposite of the Barons. LITB is full of telling details like this, which really show the thought and care that went into the show.

The only weak point of the episode for me is that they should have shown at least part of the meeting Wally attended with the Barons. Having a crucial scene occur off camera inherently weakens a plot.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by MichaelMartinD

The only weak point of the episode for me is that they should have shown at least part of the meeting Wally attended with the Barons. Having a crucial scene occur off camera inherently weakens a plot.

That's a good point--sometimes they cut scenes due to time.

It could have been a short scene with the two nerd Barons who were at the lunch table (and how necessary was THAT scene?). Wally could have explained to them that the Barons were not for him. Eddie could raise some objections to what Wally said, but some back and forth could eventually have Eddie agreeing with Wally. An added benefit to this is that it might not have been necessary to even bring beer into the discussion.

[MichaelMartinD]

Originally Posted by stevea

That's a good point--sometimes they cut scenes due to time.

It could have been a short scene with the two nerd Barons who were at the lunch table (and how necessary was THAT scene?). Wally could have explained to them that the Barons were not for him. Eddie could raise some objections to what Wally said, but some back and forth could eventually have Eddie agreeing with Wally. An added benefit to this is that it might not have been necessary to even bring beer into the discussion.

I like that scenario. It also has the benefit that it would show Eddie rejecting the Barons and siding with Wally.

[Kermit T Frog]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Saunders

Yeah, how many 18-year-olds in America have a glass of milk on Friday night after having just been out with some guys?

But these were not guys he related to so why would he suddenly be drinking beer or what have you?

We don't ever see Wally, lumpy, or eddie drinking beer do we?

I guess I don't find Wally doing what he normally would be doing odd after stating that he wasn't worried about being in the hip crowd.

[MichaelMartinD]

Originally Posted by Kermit T Frog

But these were not guys he related to so why would he suddenly be drinking beer or what have you?

We don't ever see Wally, lumpy, or eddie drinking beer do we?

I guess I don't find Wally doing what he normally would be doing odd after stating that he wasn't worried about being in the hip crowd.

Right on. The milk was in totally in character for Wally and related to the theme of "unhipness."

[Kermit T Frog]

Originally Posted by MichaelMartinD

Right on. The milk was in totally in character for Wally and related to the theme of "unhipness."

Exactly. Wally was sports cool, and cute, but not hip.

Hmm, is that where the word hippie comes from?

[Sgt. Saunders]

Originally Posted by MichaelMartinD

I too noticed the milk drinking by Wally. I always thought it was meant to drive home his squeaky-clean persona and that he was the total opposite of the Barons. LITB is full of telling details like this, which really show the thought and care that went into the show.

The only weak point of the episode for me is that they should have shown at least part of the meeting Wally attended with the Barons. Having a crucial scene occur off camera inherently weakens a plot.

Your point that the LITB writers always wanted to present Wally as this almost unbelievably respectful, conscientious and chaste Eagle Scout is very well taken. And, of course, life in the United States during the early 1960s was a lot slower and was frequently “G-rated.”

Still, I can remember how most young guys acted when I was 18-years-old nearly a million years ago and NONE of us ever drank a glass of milk on a Friday or Saturday night. If we weren’t drinking beer for the first time as high school seniors, we were downing a can (or cans) of Coca Cola or Pepsi to go along with a pizza pie with all the toppings or hamburgers with French fries. NO ONE ever drank a cold glass of milk on a weekend during their final year of high school.

By the way, the dour-faced actor, who portrayed one of The Barons in this episode was also the movie theater usher, who caught Beaver trying to help the shifty and insufferable Gilbert Bates sneak into the theater without paying during Uncle Billy’s second trip to Mayfield. That movie theater usher looked like he just sucked on a lemon, he was that much of a prune-face.

And, the other arrogant Baron in this episode, portrayed one of the congenial teenagers at the party where Dudley wowed everyone with his piano-playing ability.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Kermit T Frog

We don't ever see Wally, lumpy, or eddie drinking beer do we?

In the season 6 episode "Box Office Attraction" we see Wally going to Hank's Place with Marlene Holmes, and they each get a beer. As she danced with another guy, he fanned away her cigarette smoke and didn't touch the beer.

Originally Posted by Sgt. Saunders

Your point that the LITB writers always wanted to present Wally as this almost unbelievably respectful, conscientious and chaste Eagle Scout is very well taken. And, of course, life in the United States during the early 1960s was a lot slower and was frequently “G-rated.”

Still, I can remember how most young guys acted when I was 18-years-old nearly a million years ago and NONE of us ever drank a glass of milk on a Friday or Saturday night. If we weren’t drinking beer for the first time as high school seniors, we were downing a can (or cans) of Coca Cola or Pepsi to go along with a pizza pie with all the toppings or hamburgers with French fries. NO ONE ever drank a cold glass of milk on a weekend during their final year of high school.

By the way, the dour-faced actor, who portrayed one of The Barons in this episode was also the movie theater usher, who caught Beaver trying to help the shifty and insufferable Gilbert Bates sneak into the theater without paying during Uncle Billy’s second trip to Mayfield. That movie theater usher looked like he just sucked on a lemon, he was that much of a prune-face.

And, the other arrogant Baron in this episode, portrayed one of the congenial teenagers at the party where Dudley wowed everyone with his piano-playing ability.

1. Thanks for pointing that out about the Dudley and Uncle Billy episodes. Never knew about those other Baron appearances.

2. Unrelated to this episode but commented on before, apart from the appropriateness of the milk, something I think the show got wrong was the dance music. They had the teenagers dancing to adult elevator-type music multiple times. Eddie or one of the other teens should have "clued them in" on finding some better teen dance music for the show. Then again, we don't know whether the actors were permitted to comment on the writing.

[MichaelMartinD]

Originally Posted by stevea

2. Unrelated to this episode but commented on before, apart from the appropriateness of the milk, something I think the show got wrong was the dance music. They had the teenagers dancing to adult elevator-type music multiple times. Eddie or one of the other teens should have "clued them in" on finding some better teen dance music for the show. Then again, we don't know whether the actors were permitted to comment on the writing.

Maybe it had to do with what music they had the rights to use? Maybe there were legal issues that forced them to use generic stock music?

[Sgt. Saunders]

I don’t know, but I thought that the (much-used) theme song for “The Teen Forum” LITB episode was kind of catchy.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Saunders

I don’t know, but I thought that the (much-used) theme song for “The Teen Forum” LITB episode was kind of catchy.

Right, and in the record club episode, Beaver had some instrumental that sounded pretty good for dancing, too. And I'm sure that had to be some public domain piece.

The only sitcoms of the time period (I'm aware of) that spend lavishly on music rights was "Bachelor Father." Nothing but the best for John Forsythe's Bachelor Productions.