Were There Too Many Characters? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

howilu · 02-16-2005, 02:56 PM

I enjoyed The New Leave it to Beaver since is was great to see June, Wally, Beaver and friends once again. However, I felt that the main reason why the show had a shorter run than the original was that there were too many main characters to build stories around.
The original show had four principals, Ward, June, Wally and Beav. The NLITB had June, Beaver and his kids Oliver and Kipp; Wally, his wife Mary Ellen, Kelly and later Kevin. Lumpy, Eddie, his wife Gert and their two children. To me, it made it tough for the writers to focus on the kids as well as the original cast.

Mark B. · 02-17-2005, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by howilu

I enjoyed The New Leave it to Beaver since is was great to see June, Wally, Beaver and friends once again. However, I felt that the main reason why the show had a shorter run than the original was that there were too many main characters to build stories around.
The original show had four principals, Ward, June, Wally and Beav. The NLITB had June, Beaver and his kids Oliver and Kipp; Wally, his wife Mary Ellen, Kelly and later Kevin. Lumpy, Eddie, his wife Gert and their two children. To me, it made it tough for the writers to focus on the kids as well as the original cast.

Hey, some activity here at TNLITB!

I don't know if writing for that many characters is more difficult or actually gives the writers more to work with. However, I always enjoyed the large cast and diversity of stories. I'm sure it was difficult to try and include everyone is a single story though- you can see that sometimes when one or two characters essentially have a 'cameo' scene in a given episode.

Mark

Courtnee · 03-29-2005, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by howilu

I enjoyed The New Leave it to Beaver since is was great to see June, Wally, Beaver and friends once again. However, I felt that the main reason why the show had a shorter run than the original was that there were too many main characters to build stories around.
The original show had four principals, Ward, June, Wally and Beav. The NLITB had June, Beaver and his kids Oliver and Kipp; Wally, his wife Mary Ellen, Kelly and later Kevin. Lumpy, Eddie, his wife Gert and their two children. To me, it made it tough for the writers to focus on the kids as well as the original cast.

NOPE! Just enough!

magellan333 · 09-30-2005, 10:56 PM

If any of them had been left out, I would have missed them.

comedyfreak · 12-27-2005, 10:25 AM

I feel there were just the right amount, you have to remember that families do grow and don't stay the same. The only thing I was disappointed with was, Beaver's childhood friends never show up. I always wondered what happened to Larry Mondello, Whitey, Tooy(sp), and Richard.

magellan333 · 02-05-2006, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

I feel there were just the right amount, you have to remember that families do grow and don't stay the same. The only thing I was disappointed with was, Beaver's childhood friends never show up. I always wondered what happened to Larry Mondello, Whitey, Tooy(sp), and Richard.

Beaver referenced Larry Mondello one time. Something about giving him a bear hug and cracking a rib. It would've been nice to see them, if only just one time.

HaskellGirl · 03-15-2006, 01:16 AM

I remember Larry being in the final episode...does anyone else? Remember, Beaver was going to remarry his ex-wife, and Eddie Haskell threw him a bachelor party (and made his wife be the stripper..that Eddie!!) anyway, I think Larry was there, but I haven't seen that episode since I was a kid, so perhaps I'm remembering it wrong. Does anyone else remember that?

I liked the large cast actually...I thought they did the show very well, especially in the later seasons. The dynamic became a lot smoother and the episodes funnier. They stopped ripping on all the classic LITB storylines.

Mark B. · 03-16-2006, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HaskellGirl

I remember Larry being in the final episode...does anyone else? Remember, Beaver was going to remarry his ex-wife, and Eddie Haskell threw him a bachelor party (and made his wife be the stripper..that Eddie!!) anyway, I think Larry was there, but I haven't seen that episode since I was a kid, so perhaps I'm remembering it wrong. Does anyone else remember that?

.

Yep- you are right! The episode was 'Dads and Grads'. I remember it well because I was there!- I was an extra at Beaver's wedding! Yes, Larry was there (with a beard as I recall). I think it was the only time he was in the new series since the Still The Beaver tv movie.

Mark

02-16-2005, 02:56 PM	#1
howilu Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 20, 2003 Location: St. Louis Park, MN Posts: 1,958	Were There Too Many Characters? I enjoyed The New Leave it to Beaver since is was great to see June, Wally, Beaver and friends once again. However, I felt that the main reason why the show had a shorter run than the original was that there were too many main characters to build stories around. The original show had four principals, Ward, June, Wally and Beav. The NLITB had June, Beaver and his kids Oliver and Kipp; Wally, his wife Mary Ellen, Kelly and later Kevin. Lumpy, Eddie, his wife Gert and their two children. To me, it made it tough for the writers to focus on the kids as well as the original cast.

09-30-2005, 10:56 PM	#4
magellan333 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 26, 2003 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 822	If any of them had been left out, I would have missed them.

12-27-2005, 10:25 AM	#5
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,058	I feel there were just the right amount, you have to remember that families do grow and don't stay the same. The only thing I was disappointed with was, Beaver's childhood friends never show up. I always wondered what happened to Larry Mondello, Whitey, Tooy(sp), and Richard.

03-15-2006, 01:16 AM	#7
HaskellGirl Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 15, 2002 Posts: 590	I remember Larry being in the final episode...does anyone else? Remember, Beaver was going to remarry his ex-wife, and Eddie Haskell threw him a bachelor party (and made his wife be the stripper..that Eddie!!) anyway, I think Larry was there, but I haven't seen that episode since I was a kid, so perhaps I'm remembering it wrong. Does anyone else remember that? I liked the large cast actually...I thought they did the show very well, especially in the later seasons. The dynamic became a lot smoother and the episodes funnier. They stopped ripping on all the classic LITB storylines.