Most Representative Episode

[Commander Benson]

I have to begin this with candor: while I enjoy Leave It to Beaver immensely and it deserves to be in any pantheon of finest situation comedies, it actually falls third on my list--but that is only a relative standing. The first two in my preference--Hennesey and Father Knows Best --are too close to call.
And there are moments in LITB that edge it into a tie with the first two, most definitely.

My favourite episodes of LITB will always be "Most Interesting Character" and "The Bank Account", because they highlight the genuine love and respect that Wally and the Beaver have for their father. I have replayed my tape of Ward's reading of Beaver's "Most Interesting Character" composition that I can quote it by heart. And one of the few really effective moments of the LITB reunion movie was when it showed Ward's funeral and gravesite accompanied by the voice-over of Hugh Beaumont's reading of that composition. (Strangely, for some reason, these two episodes rarely make anyone's top-ten list of LITB episodes.)

But if I were going to show someone who had never seen the show the most representative episode of what the show was all about, I would select "Tenting Tonight". I happened to spot it while channel surfing last night (anything to avoid basketball!) and almost passed it up when I read the synopsis, because I didn't recall all of the wonderful--and so typical--LITB moments in it.

In brief, this is the one--as I'm sure all of you LITB devotees recognised right off--where, after becoming exasperated at how the boys wasted a whole Saturday at the movies, Ward promises to take them camping on the upcoming week-end. However, at the last moment, Ward has to cancel because of a last-minute work obligation; so the boys decide to camp out in the backyard on their own.

This leads to the first thing which typifies one of the best parts of LITB --the exchanges between Ward and June. They are playful and endearing, never lapsing into overblown sentimentality or saccarine sweetness; but show a couple who have obviously remained in love.

In this exchange (which I have to paraphrase, especially since I don't recall the exact name of Ward's boyhood chum), June states her concern over the boys being camped out alone, especially since it is raining. Ward relates to her the story of how, when he was in the fourth grade, he and his friend Chuck Halverson once spent a whole night sleeping in a tree.

"You spent the night in a treehouse?" interposes June.

"No," says Ward, "Just in a tree. We were quite the talk of the fourth grade over it, too. Two days later Lindbergh flew the Atlantic and stole all our glory."

"Oh, Ward, you're making that up."

"No, it's true. Lindburgh really did fly the Atlantic. It was in all the papers."

Besides being one of the cuter exchanges between Ward and June, it leads to the concluding scenes of the show--two independent but connected scenes which underscore the warmth, love, and respect that the Cleavers and their sons share for each other.

The next morning June and Ward are discussing the boys campout over breakfast. June mentions as an aside that she's thinks she'll have to call the roofer; she found wet spots on the stairway carpet. Ward tells her that, more likely, those wet spots were made when the tent was dragged upstairs by Wally and the Beaver after the came inside last night to get out of the rain.

This surprises June, who had been watching for such a thing to happen last night. "They came inside around mid-night," Ward tells her, "You were asleep by then."

June asks how the boys got into the house; Ward tells her that he left the back door unlocked before he turned in. June asks him how he knew the boys would come inside. "You sound like you've been through this before," observes June.

No, Ward confesses. That night he spent in the tree back in the fourth grade, his father had come out and yelled at him, trying to get him back in the house. Then he adds, "But Chuck Halverson and I would've given anything if my father had left the back door unlocked."

Change scenes to the boys' bedroom as they are getting ready for church. Visiting Eddie is envious that the Cleaver boys' father had allowed them to remain outside all night. "Boy!" Eddie remarks, "it must be neat to have a father who doesn't care what you do."

After Eddie leaves, the Beaver asks his older brother, "Wally, Dad does too care what we do, doesn't he?"

"Sure he does, Beav," replies Wally. "Who do you think left the back door unlocked?"

With this exchange, the understanding is complete. Ward has shown that he remembers the concerns and pride of a young boy (an area in which he occasionally lapsed) and acted out of sensitivity for those things. The boys, at the same time, realise and appreciate their father's unspoken (and thereby unembarrassing to them) demonstration of his affection.

Significantly--and typical of the best sitcoms of the day--the producers and writers did not underestimate the audience. To-day's sitcoms would have included an "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww" in the soundtrack at both Ward and June's exchange in the kitchen and when Wally pointed out that Dad left the backdoor unlocked--just to be sure that the viewers "got it". (Which, in my estimation, is one of the things that make to-day's sitcoms such drivel: they constantly hit their viewers over the head with every significant moment, on the premise, I imagine, that we're just too damn dumb to understand otherwise.

Bear in mind, this is a typical episode. Yet, it is skillfully developed and is satisfying. If to-day's writers had half the skill and insight that the early writers did, to-day's sitcoms wouldn't be just a banal collexion of trivial "misadventures" of overaged juveniles suffering from arrested development.


Commander Benson

[HaskellGirl]

I've never seen Hennesy, but I know Father Knows Best has never impressed me. It just doesn't seem like a funny show to me.

But I agree with you about the scene from Still the Beaver. Incredibly poignant, and it really did bring me to tears.

The sweetest, most touching episode of LITB, in my opinion, is the episode where Beaver gets kicked out of band, but he was doggedly determined to get dressed up in his suit and go to the concert despite it all, and the family all banded together to help out the Beav, without making him feel ashamed. I think this episode really showed the love and respect of the family, and I love the last scene where Beaver kisses his dad on the cheek, and Ward touches his forehead with his son. Absolutely beautiful.

[BrandonS]

Thanks for a very interesting post. I also loved "Father Knows Best." I have no immediate recollection of having seen "Hennesey." I agree with you about the difference between the old and new sitcoms. Sometimes I get the feeling that many current shows are written by committee, with the result that nothing very creative makes it through the process.

[*InThisMoment*]

Originally posted by HaskellGirl
I've never seen Hennesy, but I know Father Knows Best has never impressed me. It just doesn't seem like a funny show to me.

But I agree with you about the scene from Still the Beaver. Incredibly poignant, and it really did bring me to tears.

The sweetest, most touching episode of LITB, in my opinion, is the episode where Beaver gets kicked out of band, but he was doggedly determined to get dressed up in his suit and go to the concert despite it all, and the family all banded together to help out the Beav, without making him feel ashamed. I think this episode really showed the love and respect of the family, and I love the last scene where Beaver kisses his dad on the cheek, and Ward touches his forehead with his son. Absolutely beautiful.

(wipes tear) i think it's so sweet whenever beaver kisses ward.