There were a great many family situation comedies in the 1950s and '60s: Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons. But LEAVE IT TO BEAVER is, by my lights, the greatest of all.
There are two reasons for this. First is the sheer quality of the production, from the superior writing to the sharp photography to the realism and chemistry of the performers, particularly the quartet who portrayed the Cleaver family (and of course Ken Osmond as the devious Eddie Haskell!) BEAVER maintained a remarkably consistent quality throughout its run; there was no marked decline, and the series quit while it was ahead. There weren't really any bad episodes, either. I could rattle off a few that were weaker than others, but the level of consistency was remarkable.
The other reason for its success is that, despite its focus on teaching moral lessons, BEAVER never lost sight of being funny, whimsical, and entertaining. The show was a pure aesthetic pleasure. The dialogue captured the way children think and speak, and as delivered by Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Rusty Stevens, and the other young performers it was frequently hilarious. BEAVER gave us a child's-eye view of the world, playing on human nature and drawing laughs from ordinary situations. I always laugh out loud at a BEAVER episode, even after seeing it dozens of times.
And so many of the episodes have stood the test of time. Who can forget Beaver and his portly pal Larry Mondello smoking coffee grounds in Ward's meerschaum pipe? Or the duo playing hooky from school and unwittingly ending up on a cowboy show on TV? Or Beaver being lured into climbing in a billboard soup cup? Plus the many rites of passage, scholastic and otherwise, that marked the lives of Beaver and Wally Cleaver as they grew up in Mayfield, USA.
To many people "Leave It to Beaver" is just a phrase conjuring up the "homogenized, squeaky clean" 1950s. Go beyond the stereotypes and reacquaint yourself with this television classic. You will be surprised at just how sharp, ironic, and funny it is.
There are two reasons for this. First is the sheer quality of the production, from the superior writing to the sharp photography to the realism and chemistry of the performers, particularly the quartet who portrayed the Cleaver family (and of course Ken Osmond as the devious Eddie Haskell!) BEAVER maintained a remarkably consistent quality throughout its run; there was no marked decline, and the series quit while it was ahead. There weren't really any bad episodes, either. I could rattle off a few that were weaker than others, but the level of consistency was remarkable.
The other reason for its success is that, despite its focus on teaching moral lessons, BEAVER never lost sight of being funny, whimsical, and entertaining. The show was a pure aesthetic pleasure. The dialogue captured the way children think and speak, and as delivered by Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Rusty Stevens, and the other young performers it was frequently hilarious. BEAVER gave us a child's-eye view of the world, playing on human nature and drawing laughs from ordinary situations. I always laugh out loud at a BEAVER episode, even after seeing it dozens of times.
And so many of the episodes have stood the test of time. Who can forget Beaver and his portly pal Larry Mondello smoking coffee grounds in Ward's meerschaum pipe? Or the duo playing hooky from school and unwittingly ending up on a cowboy show on TV? Or Beaver being lured into climbing in a billboard soup cup? Plus the many rites of passage, scholastic and otherwise, that marked the lives of Beaver and Wally Cleaver as they grew up in Mayfield, USA.
To many people "Leave It to Beaver" is just a phrase conjuring up the "homogenized, squeaky clean" 1950s. Go beyond the stereotypes and reacquaint yourself with this television classic. You will be surprised at just how sharp, ironic, and funny it is.