"Wally's Track Meet" S4 E18 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

vitoscotti · 06-10-2021, 09:06 AM

A very interesting, complex episode. Shows Wally & Beaver's intense loyalty to each other. Lumpy & Eddie's bad sides. Then, a glimpse at Lumpy's rarely seen good side. Ward breaks his oath to not be a domineering sports father, and plans a trip to Wally's track meet. Then it's the Colonial House for supper. I was wondering if the boys would bring obligatory suits jackets and ties for even a casual day. But the trip never happens. My neighboring city had a Colonial House restaurant. It was really good. Eddie as the team manager always intrigued me. A lowly, thankless, smelly towel fetcher job. Doesn't seem Eddie's thing. Good idea though. It puts Eddie in the sports mix. The track coach is paunchy, and out of shape which is funny. Coach Henderson (John Close) is another LITB actor that died really young (1963, 42). Fred's first wife died really young too amoung others. And Fred. Lumpy tells Beaver of his fear of getting beat up by his father. Pretty common back then. But look how better the kids turned out compared to todays kids with delinquent fathers. I give it 9/10.

Cx · 06-10-2021, 01:49 PM

Good observations, and I like this episode as well.

It occurs to me that, at least to me, this is one of the few episodes where it's Wally that misbehaves and disappoints his parents, and not Beaver. In fact, Beaver is a mature stand-up guy...a real mensch as it were, in this episode.

stevea · 06-10-2021, 06:41 PM

Another interesting thing that happens in this episode is that Wally does not draw out his confession as Beaver always does. He admits it almost immediately, at the dinner table the same night, IIRC.

Another one is Beaver having the nerve to go over and convince Lumpy to confess his part in it. And succeeding! Of course Fred is the usual oaf, being more concerned about the plans the family had made, than the incident itself.

vitoscotti · 06-10-2021, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

Another interesting thing that happens in this episode is that Wally does not draw out his confession as Beaver always does. He admits it almost immediately, at the dinner table the same night, IIRC.

Another one is Beaver having the nerve to go over and convince Lumpy to confess his part in it. And succeeding! Of course Fred is the usual oaf, being more concerned about the plans the family had made, than the incident itself.

In a show of huge inconsistancies we've mentioned Ward's past never wavers. Also Fred. He's the anti Ward. The writers make him a buffoon almost every chance.

In this episode it's really clear why Lumpy is screwed up. With a father like Fred. But Eddie. His parents play it pretty straight and aren't cartoon character oafs. The writers never play up Eddie's father as a wacko like Fred. There's not a lot of evidence why Eddie is like he is.

stevea · 06-11-2021, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitoscotti

There's not a lot of evidence why Eddie is like he is.

Check out Beaver's Doll Buggy, S4Ep38. There's a small clue in that episode, in an outdoor scene with Eddie and Wally.

06-10-2021, 09:06 AM	#1
vitoscotti Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 14, 2017 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,084	"Wally's Track Meet" S4 E18 A very interesting, complex episode. Shows Wally & Beaver's intense loyalty to each other. Lumpy & Eddie's bad sides. Then, a glimpse at Lumpy's rarely seen good side. Ward breaks his oath to not be a domineering sports father, and plans a trip to Wally's track meet. Then it's the Colonial House for supper. I was wondering if the boys would bring obligatory suits jackets and ties for even a casual day. But the trip never happens. My neighboring city had a Colonial House restaurant. It was really good. Eddie as the team manager always intrigued me. A lowly, thankless, smelly towel fetcher job. Doesn't seem Eddie's thing. Good idea though. It puts Eddie in the sports mix. The track coach is paunchy, and out of shape which is funny. Coach Henderson (John Close) is another LITB actor that died really young (1963, 42). Fred's first wife died really young too amoung others. And Fred. Lumpy tells Beaver of his fear of getting beat up by his father. Pretty common back then. But look how better the kids turned out compared to todays kids with delinquent fathers. I give it 9/10.

06-10-2021, 01:49 PM	#2
Cx Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 01, 2020 Posts: 209	Good observations, and I like this episode as well. It occurs to me that, at least to me, this is one of the few episodes where it's Wally that misbehaves and disappoints his parents, and not Beaver. In fact, Beaver is a mature stand-up guy...a real mensch as it were, in this episode.

06-10-2021, 06:41 PM	#3
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,944	Another interesting thing that happens in this episode is that Wally does not draw out his confession as Beaver always does. He admits it almost immediately, at the dinner table the same night, IIRC. Another one is Beaver having the nerve to go over and convince Lumpy to confess his part in it. And succeeding! Of course Fred is the usual oaf, being more concerned about the plans the family had made, than the incident itself.