Mother's helper

[desilu #1]

Ok, I love June but I thought this was an episode where she went overboard, she was darn near freaking out! She acted as though Wally and this girl were necking in the kitchen. Now, I know Ward is considerate of her feelings but I thought for sure the way he looked at her when she was trying to get Beaver to go in the kitchen to eat cookies he was going to put his foot down with her yet again but he softened like he was worried that she was gonna start bawling or something. Ward is always trying to reassure her about something by going along with her ideas. I must say not many men would have allowed that back then. Just once I would have loved to see Ward lay down the law with her,gee I wonder how she would have handled it. As a matter of fact, I don't recall Ward and June ever getting into an argument. Has anyone else?

[duluthduke]

I agree 100%! This episode clearly shows June's snobbish, bossy ways! Because Margie was the cleaning woman's daughter, she wanted him to have no part of her!

Compare this to "Wally's Dream Girl," where she pushes him into seeing Ginny Townsend because she played bridge with her mother and her parents belonged to the Country Club!!

It would have been interesting to see an argument between them! The closest they ever came was in the first years, when they were a bit more fiesty. People who don't watch the show closely always assume that Ward was such a strict tyrant, when, in reality, he was pretty soft!

[desilu #1]

Actually I wasn't thinking about her being upset because she was the cleaning woman's daughter but because her"baby" being a typical teenage boy with raging hormones. I can see that can be frieghtning to most mothers but not to that point. She really acted like they were in there groping each other. As for Ward, yes he is soft and sweet and that's one thing I find strange for that era. I was under the impression that women had their place and did what the husband asked. I love Ward but just once I would have loved to see that side of him.

[duluthduke]

I hadn't thought of that aspect!

[desilu #1]

Yeah I think most people think that June is a snob when I really don't think she is, she might come off that way because of Aunt Martha's upbringing. I think snobs are naturally just mean spirited people but June really is very kind and seems to have good intentions.

[duluthduke]

I don't feel she was mean-spirited either. However she did have snobbish traits. Recently, "The Grass is Always Greener" is another example. She was so wary of Wally and Beaver playing with "the trash man's sons."

But when Wally wanted to join The Barons, who weren't very good kids, she was all in favor of that because they wore ties and drove expensive cars!

[Michael [hXc]]

I think the thing is that she just misjudges people. She makes her judgements on occupation and/or appearance.

[duluthduke]

But when you misjudge people based on their occupation or appearance, that is being a snob.

[magellan333]

I interpreted Junes reservations about Wally and Mrs. Manner's daughter completely different. I thought her concern was that Wally was too distracted by the girl. After all, his grade in English did go down and he was skipping track practice. He was a little too "goo-goo-ga-ga" over here. Having two unrelated teen agers spend that much time in the house together really isn't that great of an idea. Especially when it is obvious one is attracted to the other. I thought that was the issue at hand. As for the trash man's kids, I think June's apprehension was Beaver spending time at the dump. Especially when Ward mentioned chasing the ice-truck as a boy.

[Samme]

This is the only episode where
June really went overboard and I
actually disliked her. It seemed
she just butting into Wally's
life in a way that was too
overbearing and protective. It's
like she was jealous of the
cleaning lady's daughter. Wally
had to be all hers! It was almost
sick the way she was trying to
control him. It was usually just
a slightly overprotective mother's
concern and she's a wonderful
mom and character. But, I hate
her in this one.

[David VP]

I interpreted Junes reservations about Wally and Mrs. Manner's daughter completely different. I thought her concern was that Wally was too distracted by the girl. After all, his grades in English were down.

Yes. There's that aspect, plus a fact that June verbally expresses for all to hear as to why she doesn't approve of the Wally/Margie teaming ....... To quote June: "Ward, Mrs. Manners had her daughter come over here to work, not get interested in Wally".

That pretty much sums it up in my book.

Slightly off-topic, but similar in "controlling the boys" nature ........

There's a bit of a "double standard" (more likely just lack of continuity) regarding how Ward & June treat/protect the boys from episode to episode.

Take for instance the ep. in which Wally joins the Boy Scouts. He & Beaver are allowed to go out after dark (in a semi-bad storm no less!) on their own. And the parents have no qualms about Beaver walking back to the house, as a SEVEN-year-old, by himself -- in the dark and in a windstorm.

But during the later years, when Beaver is 12, June INSISTS that Beaver have a babysitter (and in the case of "Judy, The Babysitter", Beaver isn't even going OUT of the house! He's just going to stay home).

There's also the episode where the boys take care of "Puddin' " (the baby girl). The boys are left alone in the house (except for Puddin') that time and Ward/June didn't bat an eye, and made no attempt to get a sitter that night. Even WITH an infant child on the premises to boot!

Although, I admit, Ward was kind of on a spot that time, having bragged about the boys' being responsible, et al. He, therefore, was pretty much in a corner. Although, even without Puddin' staying with the boys, there STILL would have been no babysitter on that particular occasion.

Several others points like this can be made throughout the show's 6-year run. Sometimes Ward & June couldn't care less if the boys are home by themselves, or out on the city streets all alone. But other times (if it "fits the script"), they get all rattled and upset when the boys are home alone, or they can't locate a babysitter.

It's just something I've always noticed about LITB.

[HaskellGirl]

Those are really great points!!! They did often change depending on what was convenient for the storyline, didn't they?

Another thing I think happened was also in the beginning of the series, it was about boyhood and adventure and just sort or "real life". Later in the series, I think the show was trying to show life, but also make a statment of how things SHOULD be. At first, the kids were always running off and having their own adventures, but later on, as teenagers, I think there was more an emphasize on what should and should not be done. I think this was statement against what was happening in the early 1960s.

Speaking of which, there's this really funny line in NLITB where Beaver's younger son was getting beat up and Beaver and Wally wanted him to fight back. June was dead set against and said "You two grew up in the 60s! Beaver, you even had a van with peace signs all over it!" and Beaver says "That's because I couldn't afford to have it repainted".

[Waterston_Fan]

Saw this episode for the first time... didn't care for it really and maybe June just didn't want Wally to fall back on his studies and stuff..

I mean he did confess to Beaver that he did slack off on his schoolwork and stuff.

I didn't understand the part where Wally goes to help Margie and it's really Mrs. Manners...

ANyone care to explain that part?

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by Waterston_Fan

Saw this episode for the first time... didn't care for it really and maybe June just didn't want Wally to fall back on his studies and stuff..

I mean he did confess to Beaver that he did slack off on his schoolwork and stuff.

I didn't understand the part where Wally goes to help Margie and it's really Mrs. Manners...

ANyone care to explain that part?

They stopped having the daughter come into help.

[Waterston_Fan]

Originally Posted by Torgo

They stopped having the daughter come into help.

Oh, okay. Thanks..

I wished they showed that Wally/Ward talk if they even taped it..