Why I really love this show

[frani]

Well, being a boomer, I saw it the first time through and it was, of course, my favorite. But what i like about it now is the reminder of what life was like back then. No, I'm not talking about June cleaning in her best clothes or Ward wearing a suit and tie to relax with the paper, I'm talking about the pre-sexual revolution early sixties, especially in the last season, when Kennedy was president. Kids really didn't talk back to adults and really did think they were going to get in trouble for little stuff. I mean it is a little extreme when Beaver gets in trouble for writing a letter to an advice columnist. I mean compare that to kids today watching Jerry Springer and the like. Some of the situations are a little extreme, but I think that basic idea of adults really being the boss was very true. Then the boomers went ahead and we changed all that with sex, drugs and rock and roll later. I also love it when they slip in the cultural references like John Glenn and the Russians and so on.

[DarleneIllyria]

You made such a good point with your post frani, and I don't think I could say it any better. Let me tell you why I love Leave it to Beaver.

Leave it to Beaver just represents the carefree days. No problem was all that big. You never saw Beaver and Gilbert snorting dope, or Wally and Eddie boozing it up. You see that kind of stuff in society everyday, and Leave it to Beaver is just an escape from reality. I get so much of a laugh out of some of the things that Beaver and Wally get into.

I kind of think its ironic that reality shows today get so much popularity. Hell, I seek ways to leave reality for awhile. No way, would I want to watch somebody living in real world situations. Well, I don't see many people eating bugs in real life either- so I don't see how realistic that is.

Leave it to Beaver just rocks. I guess that's best way I can sum up my post.

[Pitooey]

Frani - I have to agree with you too. It was such a simpler time. I do miss those times too. Everything is just so out there now.

When I was a kid I enjoyed seeing Eddie Haskell he was my favorite........

[BBF]

I love Leave It to Beaver because it gives me kind of an idea of what things were like back in the 50s and early 60s. I know things weren't THAT simple, but they were a heckuvalot simpler and more carefree than they are now I'm sure. The show gives you a chance to watch funny stuff without all of the violence (except for the occasional fight between Beaver and a neighborhood kid) and drugs and all of the other crap going on in the world today.

[BrandonS]

Everything you've said is true. One of the attractive things about the show is that it is a reminder of a very innocent time. But beyond that, the Cleavers are an ideal family, even by the standards of the 50s. None of the Cleavers really had a mean bone in their bodies. Ward and June govern by example. They rarely lose their tempers and always apologize when wrong. Wally and Beaver don't rebel very much because they've been raised very well and because its so obvious that Ward and June are fair.

[Jack1000]

I think that it would be so cool to turn back time and imagine living in the Cleaver's house. I love this show and think it may be the greatest sitcom of all time! LITB speaks to past, current, and future generations!

I would have loved to live in that house! I think that Beaver at any age was great! But I think it would have been cool to meet him in his later years. (I prefer some of the later episodes to some of the earlier ones) Jerry seemed very mature, quick-witted, and sensitive i.e, wiser than his years.

Did any of you on the board growing up in the late 50's-60's remember seeing the show the very first time in it's original run? There doesn't seem to be quite as much edits in LITB as other shows on TV Land. Maybe that is because the quality of the writing and the interaction of the scenes/characters are so good, that not even TV Land can botch up this classic.

Wouldn't it have been cool living in that house?

Jack

[scanman17]

i agree with everyone's points about litb. it is an amazing show. it makes me laugh consistently and it almost always warms my heart, and that is a very difficult thing to do to me.
the way that the characters go through different moods from episode to episode, shows us how carefully the show was written and supervised. how wonderfully the actors "got" who they were and what they were supposed to do, and it shows how perfectly it was directed.
so in closing, yeah, It Rocks

[sami dg]

I guess the reason I love the show so much, is my family life wasnt even close. As sad as it may be watching shows like LITB was like an escape for me as a kid. I always wished had a father like Ward and a wholesome mother like June. I would have loved to live in that time period but I suppose I had a good time in the 80's too. The show is just good although it may be a bit unrealistic especially by today's standards it is a show that will be around forever and I hope that it comes out on DVD so that I will have it forever so my daughter will be able to watch it.

[SOAPDYNASTY]

This show was before my time but i love seeing it on tv land... I wish i had a family like that

[ricardo/mertz]

I love the show for most of the reasons all of you said. But, most of all I get a kick out of the silly expressions the boys make. Esp. Wally. Like when he says," Gee Beave I was just goofin' on ya." I also like how no matter what Wally and the Beaver always stick up for one another. Wally always sides in w/ Beaver even when Eddie is givin' him "the business." I loved the show as a kid (reruns) and I'm just now getting back into it as an adult. So a lot of the episodes are new to me.