Am I the only one...

[coltsfan90]

...who enjoys the later seasons more? I like when the show focused more on Eddie, Wally, and Lumpy

[biffbronson]

I like the late seasons best. One of the reasons: Those foxy girlfriends of Wally's...!

[dahur1]

Yeah, I like the last couple season's best too.

[OH Nuts!]

I liked all the seasons; but now that I relect on it, the later seasons were the nicest.

[Hughsgirl]

Nope, not the only one. I love the later seasons too and I liked the new house much better too!

[Zinc2]

I'm an earlier season fan. Don't get me wrong, there's lots to love as the boys grow older. The last scene in Beaver Takes a Drive is a winner.

The writers had to adapt to Wally's teen years and Beaver changing from a young boy. Teen stories had a wonderful appeal in the 60's and still do. Besides, Tony Dow was getting a boatload of fan mail, so it was fitting he was featured more.

But...Ward and June had neat scenes together and seemed a bit more relaxed the first few seasons. Ward and June snuggled after the power went out in "Water, Anyone". Ward got down on his knee to explain Tom Sawyer and June even planted marigolds in pants. Ward was upset more those early years, but there was a dynamic to it and logical based on the storyline.

Just as the boys grew, Ward and June naturally evolved too. I'm ok with it because they still had great chemistry, it's just some of those early moments are priceless. And simply put, the boys were so cute and naive early on.

The den was awesome in seasons 3-6, then again the garage was pivitol in 1-2. You could go on toe-to-toe like this for a long time. It's just the stories and the tone of the early seasons that wins me over.

[Tweety]

IMO, the early seasons were REALLY unique in the history of TV. No TV show ever had kids that were anything like a young Beaver and Wally.

In the later seasons, Wally was featured more, as Beaver was in that "awkward" stage. That was a good move by the writers. But the later seasons were more like the typical 50s-60s teen shows. Plots about dating, going to dances, and having parties . Lots of other TV shows featured those kind of plots.

I wasn't crazy about the fact that the writers didn't really let Beaver grow up. When he was 13 or 14 and had to be a bunny in a school pageant, that was ridiculous.

Still, I liked the series all the way through. It's just that the early shows were a one of a kind phenomenon in terms of the kids themselves.

And what a great group of kids they got to act on that show. Larry, Whitey, Eddie, Lumpy, Judy... absolutely PERFECT for those parts. Best group of child actors ever assembled for one show, IMHO

[Cincy Guy]

The last three seasons (1960-61, 1961-62 & 1962-63) are my favorite years of the series. During those three seasons, there were more stories that centered around "Wally". I also think that by that time, the show's creators must have felt the TV audience's interest in "Eddie" because he seemed to be in more of the stories and with additional scenes. In those stories, too, there seem to be more references to personalities of those times (Khrushchev, Cassius Clay, Jack Paar, etc.). This could have really made the show seemed dated, yet I find them more funny now than when they first aired.

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by Tweety

And what a great group of kids there got to act on that show. Larry, Whitey, Eddie, Lumpy, Judy... absolutely PERFECT for those parts. Best group of child actors ever assembled for one show, IMHO

Totally. There were some other great child actors from the late 50s/early 60s like Billy Mumy and Ron Howard, but in terms of an ensemble, the LITB kids were stellar. And what I really like about the show is how well they got along off stage, and how everyone (the adults and the children) stayed close after the series. Another thing that was endearing about the LITB cast is how none of them tried to milk their show - like some Brady Bunch cast members.

Honestly, the more I watch LITB the more I love it. I'm so grateful that Antenna TV aired it, that I was able to burn many episodes, and that there are great folks out there who have uploaded eps (quite a few I've never seen) to You Tube.

[Tap Dancer]

I like the early seasons best. Beaver was cute when he was younger. And I'm a fan of Tooey because I like nerds. It's too bad he wasn't in many episodes.

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

... Another thing that was endearing about the LITB cast is how none of them tried to milk their show - like some Brady Bunch cast members....

Wow, ain't THAT the truth!

I loved the original BB show. But I couldn't care less about Christopher Knight and his dopey wife and their dopey "reality" show... of course, I don't care for reality shows of any kind.

And I'm probably somewhat of an exception about all of the Brady sequels... The Brady Brides, the Bradys etc... I was not a fan of those shows, because I really don't care about any of the kids' spouses or their own kids... I didn't grow up watching them. I couldn't care less about the extended family members.

I did like both BB movies, because of the parody aspect. And I liked the cameos of the original cast.

But for the most part, the LITB cast left the show and went on with their lives. Yeah, they had that "Still the Beaver" series for a brief time (I didn't care about that one), but the cast basically let the original show stand on its own. Living through the 70s, 80s and 90s, we really didn't know what any of the cast was doing, other than an occasional appearance in a TV show or movie. Eddie Haskell was truly one of the GREAT TV characters of all time, but Ken Osmond lived a regular life after the series ended (I think he became a policeman).

Just a great group of kids. I don't think we can thank them enough for the great work they did on that show.

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by Tweety

Wow, ain't THAT the truth!

I loved the original BB show. But I couldn't care less about Christopher Knight and his dopey wife and their dopey "reality" show... of course, I don't care for reality shows of any kind.

And I'm probably somewhat of an exception about all of the Brady sequels... The Brady Brides, the Bradys etc... I was not a fan of those shows, because I really don't care about any of the kids' spouses or their own kids... I didn't grow up watching them. I couldn't care less about the extended family members.

I did like both BB movies, because of the parody aspect. And I liked the cameos of the original cast.

But for the most part, the LITB cast left the show and went on with their lives. Yeah, they had that "Still the Beaver" series for a brief time (I didn't care about that one), but the cast basically let the original show stand on its own. Living through the 70s, 80s and 90s, we really didn't know what any of the cast was doing, other than an occasional appearance in a TV show or movie. Eddie Haskell was truly one of the GREAT TV characters of all time, but Ken Osmond lived a regular life after the series ended (I think he became a policeman).

Just a great group of kids. I don't think we can thank them enough for the great work they did on that show.

And I have a special fondness for Jerry Mathers, for all the spokesperson work he's done for diabetes. He's a Type 2 who takes really good care of himself and the condition, as do I. Hope I get to meet Jerry someday.