Beaver's friends - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

GARFIELDKOOL · 03-04-2005, 11:06 PM

Who was your favorite friend of Beaver's and why? I like Larry and Gilbert in their own way, but I can't seem to make up my mind. Larry was sneaky and Gilbert was a con. How about it?

miss landers · 03-05-2005, 08:35 PM

How come Beaver's friends were all sneaky little creeps - Gilbert, Larry, Judy, Richard. They were all sneaky little creeps that usually did something mean to Beaver, or made a fool of him, or used him, or betrayed him, or conned him, or laughed at him, etc.

I think Beaver's friends were one of the worst things about the show. They gave viewers the idea that Beaver was stupid, and because he was stupid he deserved abuse, that he was worthy of abuse, that abuse is normal, abuse should be expected, and abuse is what childhood friendships are all about.

The writers should have presented a balanced picture of friendships. After all, LITB was a show that was viewed in the 50s by a lot of children and those children should have been given a better picture of what being a friend was all about.

Well, anyways, I don't remember Whitey being quite as mean as the others or as sneaky or as nasty or as traitrous - so I vote for Whitey.

JudgeGarth · 03-05-2005, 09:31 PM

No, Whitey was nasty, too. He conned Beaver into climbing into that soup bowl and also gypped him out of the baseball glove (was that what it was?) when Beaver had the pedometer and claimed he walked 20 miles a day.

gilligan fanatic · 03-05-2005, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudgeGarth

No, Whitey was nasty, too. He conned Beaver into climbing into that soup bowl and also gypped him out of the baseball glove (was that what it was?) when Beaver had the pedometer and claimed he walked 20 miles a day.

yeah thats a good episode. Whitey was still good more so then Larry. Richard bothered me a little bit. I didn't mind Whitey or Gilbert. Larry wasn't so bad. Beavs friend Bengie the littler kid bothered me a lot because he poors that paint all over himself and freaks out when he thinks beaver disapeared.

GARFIELDKOOL · 03-05-2005, 10:18 PM

Let me just say this. Miss Landers, I agree with you when you said all of Beaver's friends were sneaky creeps. The worst thing I seen Larry do was when he didn't pay Beaver his money back....75 cents or something. He went off with Beaver's other friends and bought soda. The worst thing I seen Gilbert do was when he conned Beaver into making a face on the yearbook pictures. Some friends.

Mijada · 03-06-2005, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss landers

I think Beaver's friends were one of the worst things about the show. They gave viewers the idea that Beaver was stupid, and because he was stupid he deserved abuse,

Beaver was stupid. He didn't deserve the abuse but he was stupid. He made the same mistakes over and over again and never seemed to learn anything from them no matter how much his parents tried to teach him what was right. You would think that a young boy like himself who worshipped the ground his father walked on would have listened to him instead of those conniving friends of his. For once I would have liked to have seen him stand up to Larry or the others and tell them, "Look we are going to do this my way whether you like it or not" It would have saved him a lot of trouble .

gilligan fanatic · 03-06-2005, 12:55 PM

I think it is funny watching Beaver get in trouble. He messes up on his own to it is not always just his friends. In "The Haircut" he losses his money and gets Wally to cut his hair for him. He was younger then but he still messed up on his own in latter episodes.

desilu #1 · 03-07-2005, 06:23 PM

I think I would vote for Larry. He seemed to be a normal little boy, by that I mean he did get himself and Beaver in trouble but I don't think he was malicious about it like the other boys were.

Tweety · 03-08-2005, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desilu #1

I think I would vote for Larry. He seemed to be a normal little boy, by that I mean he did get himself and Beaver in trouble but I don't think he was malicious about it like the other boys were.

I agree desilu - in fact, it seems to me that Larry would more often than not get in trouble WITH the Beaver, as opposed to Beaver's other "friends" who would get Beav in trouble while they got off scot-free.

And I also don't think that Larry was malicious when he got Beaver in trouble... he even apologized to Beaver after breaking the bow that Beaver bought Wally for his birthday, for example... Larry felt bad when he got Beaver in trouble, while the other kids enjoyed it when Beaver got caught.

I think Larry was the best friend Beaver ever had.

btw Desilu - that's a great picture of Lucy and Desi!

Eddie Haskell · 03-09-2005, 01:18 AM

My favorite was Whitey; he was more intelligent than not only Beaver but all of those nasty little kids. He said some of the funniest things on the show. Larry was okay but I thought Gilbert was a jerk and Richard was a bit of a troublemaker.

miss landers · 03-09-2005, 01:36 AM

I liked Whitey because he had a kind of innocence the other kids didn't. He was likeable. Gilbert and Richard always struck me as the "precocious child actors" - they were never quite believable as ordinary little kids living in Mayfield, especially Gilbert. Everytime they were on screen I felt they were sending the message "Look at me! I'm a precocious child actor! Wheeeee!"

Eddie Haskell · 03-09-2005, 01:39 AM

I never trusted Gilbert because he kept changing his name on the show. What was he, some sort of psycho killer moving from place to place?

desilu #1 · 03-09-2005, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tweety

I agree desilu - in fact, it seems to me that Larry would more often than not get in trouble WITH the Beaver, as opposed to Beaver's other "friends" who would get Beav in trouble while they got off scot-free.

And I also don't think that Larry was malicious when he got Beaver in trouble... he even apologized to Beaver after breaking the bow that Beaver bought Wally for his birthday, for example... Larry felt bad when he got Beaver in trouble, while the other kids enjoyed it when Beaver got caught.

I think Larry was the best friend Beaver ever had.

btw Desilu - that's a great picture of Lucy and Desi!

Thanks for the compliment on my pic Tweety!

03-05-2005, 08:35 PM	#2
miss landers Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 29, 2004 Location: Northeast Posts: 226	How come Beaver's friends were all sneaky little creeps - Gilbert, Larry, Judy, Richard. They were all sneaky little creeps that usually did something mean to Beaver, or made a fool of him, or used him, or betrayed him, or conned him, or laughed at him, etc. I think Beaver's friends were one of the worst things about the show. They gave viewers the idea that Beaver was stupid, and because he was stupid he deserved abuse, that he was worthy of abuse, that abuse is normal, abuse should be expected, and abuse is what childhood friendships are all about. The writers should have presented a balanced picture of friendships. After all, LITB was a show that was viewed in the 50s by a lot of children and those children should have been given a better picture of what being a friend was all about. Well, anyways, I don't remember Whitey being quite as mean as the others or as sneaky or as nasty or as traitrous - so I vote for Whitey.
	Last edited by miss landers; 03-06-2005 at 07:49 AM.

03-07-2005, 06:23 PM	#8
desilu #1 Lucy/Desi 4-EVER Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 23, 2000 Location: Battle Creek, Michigan USA Posts: 724	I think I would vote for Larry. He seemed to be a normal little boy, by that I mean he did get himself and Beaver in trouble but I don't think he was malicious about it like the other boys were.
	__________________ Amy M. Weaver

03-09-2005, 01:18 AM	#10
Eddie Haskell Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 11, 2002 Location: Mayfield Posts: 645	My favorite was Whitey; he was more intelligent than not only Beaver but all of those nasty little kids. He said some of the funniest things on the show. Larry was okay but I thought Gilbert was a jerk and Richard was a bit of a troublemaker.
	__________________ "That's a lovely sweater, Mrs. Cleaver"

03-09-2005, 01:36 AM	#11
miss landers Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 29, 2004 Location: Northeast Posts: 226	I liked Whitey because he had a kind of innocence the other kids didn't. He was likeable. Gilbert and Richard always struck me as the "precocious child actors" - they were never quite believable as ordinary little kids living in Mayfield, especially Gilbert. Everytime they were on screen I felt they were sending the message "Look at me! I'm a precocious child actor! Wheeeee!"
	Last edited by miss landers; 03-09-2005 at 02:24 AM.

03-04-2005, 11:06 PM	#1
GARFIELDKOOL Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 02, 2004 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 7,204	Beaver's friends Who was your favorite friend of Beaver's and why? I like Larry and Gilbert in their own way, but I can't seem to make up my mind. Larry was sneaky and Gilbert was a con. How about it?

03-05-2005, 09:31 PM	#3
JudgeGarth Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 07, 2004 Location: Wheaton, IL Posts: 443	No, Whitey was nasty, too. He conned Beaver into climbing into that soup bowl and also gypped him out of the baseball glove (was that what it was?) when Beaver had the pedometer and claimed he walked 20 miles a day.

03-05-2005, 10:18 PM	#5
GARFIELDKOOL Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 02, 2004 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 7,204	Let me just say this. Miss Landers, I agree with you when you said all of Beaver's friends were sneaky creeps. The worst thing I seen Larry do was when he didn't pay Beaver his money back....75 cents or something. He went off with Beaver's other friends and bought soda. The worst thing I seen Gilbert do was when he conned Beaver into making a face on the yearbook pictures. Some friends.

03-06-2005, 12:55 PM	#7
gilligan fanatic Born to Be Bad Forum Fanatic Join Date: May 06, 2001 Location: down by the Lagoon Posts: 9,954	I think it is funny watching Beaver get in trouble. He messes up on his own to it is not always just his friends. In "The Haircut" he losses his money and gets Wally to cut his hair for him. He was younger then but he still messed up on his own in latter episodes.

03-09-2005, 01:39 AM	#12
Eddie Haskell Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 11, 2002 Location: Mayfield Posts: 645	I never trusted Gilbert because he kept changing his name on the show. What was he, some sort of psycho killer moving from place to place?