Another One of "Those" LITB Questions - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

miss landers · 02-16-2005, 09:31 AM

When the series started Wally is in the 8th grade and Beaver is in the 2nd grade. That makes a 6 year difference in their grades. When the series ended Wally was in 12th grade and Beaver in the 8th grade. That makes a 4 year difference in their grades. So what happened? Did Wally fail a grade and Beaver skip a grade?

When the series started in 1957 I understood Wally was 12. So how come he was in the 8th grade? Isn't he too young to be in the 8th grade? Aren't 12 year olds in the 6th grade and 14 year olds in the 8th grade? Shouldn't Wally have been in the 6th grade when the series started?

UncleBilly · 02-16-2005, 10:30 AM

I've always wondered the same thing, Miss Landers. In "Lonesome Beaver" all the boys are signing up for Boy Scouts and Wally, Eddie and Tooey all claim to be 12 years old and in the 8th grade. As for the fact that the age difference decreases with time, I don't think the writers had any idea the series would still be watched and critiqued 45 years later so they didn't have a problem with changing ages midstream. I thnk it was done for storyline purposes.

miss landers · 02-16-2005, 12:25 PM

I agree. I think the fooling around with ages and grades was for storyline purposes. I think the writers wanted to place Wally in boy/girl situations like dating, parties, school dances, etc. The writers pushed Wally into the 8th grade where such situations would be appropriate.

As a general rule, 12 year old boys in the 6th grade aren't interested in dating or keeping their appearances neat in order to attract girls. 12 years old is too early for either sex to begin the "mating dance." And most parents in the late 50s would have thought 12 year old boys in the 6th grade were just a bit too young to have an "adult" interest in girls.

In the episodes from the first year of the series Wally and Eddie looked just too young for me to believe they had an interest in girls or that they wanted to "date." 12 year old boys are interested in sports, cars, camping out, fishing, and other guy things - not keeping themselves neat and well dressed in order to wow the opposite sex.

rockrgurl71111 · 02-16-2005, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss landers

When the series started Wally is in the 8th grade and Beaver is in the 2nd grade. That makes a 6 year difference in their grades. When the series ended Wally was in 12th grade and Beaver in the 8th grade. That makes a 4 year difference in their grades. So what happened? Did Wally fail a grade and Beaver skip a grade?

When the series started in 1957 I understood Wally was 12. So how come he was in the 8th grade? Isn't he too young to be in the 8th grade? Aren't 12 year olds in the 6th grade and 14 year olds in the 8th grade? Shouldn't Wally have been in the 6th grade when the series started?

He had a brithday in the 1st season.

Jack1000 · 03-05-2005, 02:25 AM

There are other questions/little bloopers with the show:

For instance, the episode with Aunt Martha and Mrs. Hathaway is called "The Visiting Aunts." However, it is never established that Mrs. Hathoway is an Aunt. The correct title should be singular.

In "Lumpy Rutherford", which is the first time we see Lumpy, Wally says that Lumpy is a Junior in high school. The next year Lumpy is a sophmore along with Wally and Eddie. It is later established that Lumpy had to repeat a year. However, in that case, he would be repeating his junior year.

TEACHER/ADMINISTRATOR INCONSISTENCIES

Wendall Holmes plays three different people in the series:

1. He at one time plays a principle with white hair. (Do you recall the episode?)

2. He plays the music teacher, Mr. Willett, with white hair

3. He plays Beaver's 6th grade teacher, Mr. Blair, with black hair and Andy the alcoholic with black hair. Does anyone know the actor's real hair color?

4. Edgar Bucanon played the owner of the aligator farm, where the boys take Captain Jack. Later he played Uncle Billy.

5. Mrs. Rayburn was never fully established as a teacher or principle. She starts out as a principal in the early seasons. Than, she subs for Ms. Landers when she is sick and begins to take on more of a teacher role. However, when Beaver got in trouble Mrs. Rayburn was always the principle. In Sweatshirt Monsters, she is a principal and Beaver's teacher is played by a Mr. Collins, who is never seen again. However, in "The Book Report" Mrs. Rayburn is a teacher. Another strange instance is that we have a Mr. Bloomgarden as principle at the same time as Mrs. Rayburn when Beaver is in the 2nd grade. This is mentioned at least once.

6. It is also established that Beaver says Ms. Canfield is pretty and mentions in response to Wally's teacher, "Well....Ms. Canfield's a lot prettier than Mr. Bloomgarden. (Implying that he is Wally's teacher) In "Beaver Plays Hookey," he says to Larry that he doesn't want to get in trouble with Mr. Bloomgarden for skipping school. What happend to Mrs. Rayburn here?

TV GUIDE's ENTRY FOR "BEAVER"S REPORT CARD" WAS:

"Beaver (Jerry Mathers) uses a pen to doctor his sick report card."

This is flat out wrong. Eddie changed the grade Beaver got in Math from a D- to a B+ and Ward and June suspected Beaver because he had been doing so poorly in Math and because the pen had a different color ink. It is only with Wally's interference that he makes Eddie call Ward and apoligize for his actions. (Man, I would have said Eddie, Get out!)

Jack

miss landers · 03-05-2005, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack1000

2. He plays the music teacher, Mr. Willett, with white hair

In the clarinet episode, Beaver plays three or four notes from "America" at his audition for the school band then quits playing. I noticed the tune was written on the chalkboard in the classroom where Beaver was auditioning. Beaver could clearly see the tune from where he was standing in the room. Why didn't he just read the tune from the chalkboard and finish his solo?

miss landers · 03-05-2005, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack1000

TEACHER/ADMINISTRATOR INCONSISTENCIES

I'd like to point out that Beaver's classroom served as Ward's office in a few episodes as well as other "office" locations around Mayfield.

snl75 · 03-05-2005, 03:46 AM

it was also sated in one ep. that miss rayburn had been one of junes teachers when she went to school does that imply that june grew up in mayfeld and went to grant ave. school before being shipped off to boarding school? its weird

miss landers · 03-05-2005, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snl75

it was also sated in one ep. that miss rayburn had been one of junes teachers when she went to school does that imply that june grew up in mayfeld and went to grant ave. school before being shipped off to boarding school? its weird

I always thought June had some connection with Mayfield in her young years. I think she knew Ward as a teen and before she went to State. I think June went to boarding school in or near Mayfield.

snl75 · 03-05-2005, 04:59 PM

i was thinking the same thing

tdr · 03-06-2005, 12:10 AM

I have long suspected that Wally and his buddies being in the 8th grade at age 12 may have had to do with the end of World War II and the original "babyboomers." If they are 12 in fall, 1957, they should have been born in 1945, or late 1944. Then with the sudden boom of babies beginning in 1946, many communities may have had to do some age rearranging, in addition to building new schools quickly to accomodate them all. And this was at a time when readjusting the country back to peace time was difficult. My mom, who wen to work for the (at the time) phone company in 1945, told me that people settling in the mid to late 40's would apply to service and it could take over 2 year to get it!-- often only on a party line. So the idea coudl have been that, to have room for the original boomer to start first grade in 1952, they had to allow some born in '44 and '45 and early '46 to start school early.

So it's easy to se a lot of unusual measures would have been adopted in those years to facilitate a country that was suddenly prosperous, at peace, and eager to raise families, after a quarter century of depression and war.

02-16-2005, 09:31 AM	#1
miss landers Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 29, 2004 Location: Northeast Posts: 226	Another One of "Those" LITB Questions When the series started Wally is in the 8th grade and Beaver is in the 2nd grade. That makes a 6 year difference in their grades. When the series ended Wally was in 12th grade and Beaver in the 8th grade. That makes a 4 year difference in their grades. So what happened? Did Wally fail a grade and Beaver skip a grade? When the series started in 1957 I understood Wally was 12. So how come he was in the 8th grade? Isn't he too young to be in the 8th grade? Aren't 12 year olds in the 6th grade and 14 year olds in the 8th grade? Shouldn't Wally have been in the 6th grade when the series started?

02-16-2005, 12:25 PM	#3
miss landers Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 29, 2004 Location: Northeast Posts: 226	I agree. I think the fooling around with ages and grades was for storyline purposes. I think the writers wanted to place Wally in boy/girl situations like dating, parties, school dances, etc. The writers pushed Wally into the 8th grade where such situations would be appropriate. As a general rule, 12 year old boys in the 6th grade aren't interested in dating or keeping their appearances neat in order to attract girls. 12 years old is too early for either sex to begin the "mating dance." And most parents in the late 50s would have thought 12 year old boys in the 6th grade were just a bit too young to have an "adult" interest in girls. In the episodes from the first year of the series Wally and Eddie looked just too young for me to believe they had an interest in girls or that they wanted to "date." 12 year old boys are interested in sports, cars, camping out, fishing, and other guy things - not keeping themselves neat and well dressed in order to wow the opposite sex.
	Last edited by miss landers; 03-05-2005 at 02:49 AM.

02-16-2005, 10:30 AM	#2
UncleBilly Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 08, 2002 Posts: 107	I've always wondered the same thing, Miss Landers. In "Lonesome Beaver" all the boys are signing up for Boy Scouts and Wally, Eddie and Tooey all claim to be 12 years old and in the 8th grade. As for the fact that the age difference decreases with time, I don't think the writers had any idea the series would still be watched and critiqued 45 years later so they didn't have a problem with changing ages midstream. I thnk it was done for storyline purposes.

03-05-2005, 02:25 AM	#5
Jack1000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 05, 2001 Posts: 2,055	There are other questions/little bloopers with the show: For instance, the episode with Aunt Martha and Mrs. Hathaway is called "The Visiting Aunts." However, it is never established that Mrs. Hathoway is an Aunt. The correct title should be singular. In "Lumpy Rutherford", which is the first time we see Lumpy, Wally says that Lumpy is a Junior in high school. The next year Lumpy is a sophmore along with Wally and Eddie. It is later established that Lumpy had to repeat a year. However, in that case, he would be repeating his junior year. TEACHER/ADMINISTRATOR INCONSISTENCIES Wendall Holmes plays three different people in the series: 1. He at one time plays a principle with white hair. (Do you recall the episode?) 2. He plays the music teacher, Mr. Willett, with white hair 3. He plays Beaver's 6th grade teacher, Mr. Blair, with black hair and Andy the alcoholic with black hair. Does anyone know the actor's real hair color? 4. Edgar Bucanon played the owner of the aligator farm, where the boys take Captain Jack. Later he played Uncle Billy. 5. Mrs. Rayburn was never fully established as a teacher or principle. She starts out as a principal in the early seasons. Than, she subs for Ms. Landers when she is sick and begins to take on more of a teacher role. However, when Beaver got in trouble Mrs. Rayburn was always the principle. In Sweatshirt Monsters, she is a principal and Beaver's teacher is played by a Mr. Collins, who is never seen again. However, in "The Book Report" Mrs. Rayburn is a teacher. Another strange instance is that we have a Mr. Bloomgarden as principle at the same time as Mrs. Rayburn when Beaver is in the 2nd grade. This is mentioned at least once. 6. It is also established that Beaver says Ms. Canfield is pretty and mentions in response to Wally's teacher, "Well....Ms. Canfield's a lot prettier than Mr. Bloomgarden. (Implying that he is Wally's teacher) In "Beaver Plays Hookey," he says to Larry that he doesn't want to get in trouble with Mr. Bloomgarden for skipping school. What happend to Mrs. Rayburn here? TV GUIDE's ENTRY FOR "BEAVER"S REPORT CARD" WAS: "Beaver (Jerry Mathers) uses a pen to doctor his sick report card." This is flat out wrong. Eddie changed the grade Beaver got in Math from a D- to a B+ and Ward and June suspected Beaver because he had been doing so poorly in Math and because the pen had a different color ink. It is only with Wally's interference that he makes Eddie call Ward and apoligize for his actions. (Man, I would have said Eddie, Get out!) Jack

03-05-2005, 03:46 AM	#8
snl75 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 25, 2004 Location: in the formen basement watching snl Posts: 1,377	it was also sated in one ep. that miss rayburn had been one of junes teachers when she went to school does that imply that june grew up in mayfeld and went to grant ave. school before being shipped off to boarding school? its weird

03-05-2005, 04:59 PM	#10
snl75 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 25, 2004 Location: in the formen basement watching snl Posts: 1,377	i was thinking the same thing

03-06-2005, 12:10 AM	#11
tdr Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Posts: 1,454	I have long suspected that Wally and his buddies being in the 8th grade at age 12 may have had to do with the end of World War II and the original "babyboomers." If they are 12 in fall, 1957, they should have been born in 1945, or late 1944. Then with the sudden boom of babies beginning in 1946, many communities may have had to do some age rearranging, in addition to building new schools quickly to accomodate them all. And this was at a time when readjusting the country back to peace time was difficult. My mom, who wen to work for the (at the time) phone company in 1945, told me that people settling in the mid to late 40's would apply to service and it could take over 2 year to get it!-- often only on a party line. So the idea coudl have been that, to have room for the original boomer to start first grade in 1952, they had to allow some born in '44 and '45 and early '46 to start school early. So it's easy to se a lot of unusual measures would have been adopted in those years to facilitate a country that was suddenly prosperous, at peace, and eager to raise families, after a quarter century of depression and war.