The Baron > Jeff of Earth-JApril 2, 2026 at 8:26am
Regarding Richard Nixon, I'm reminded of something that Ole Anderson is supposed to have said to Jim Cornette when Cornette remarked that Ole seemed to like him better than he used to: "It's not that you've gotten any better, it's that so many people have come along that are worse."
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER - Season 6: I approached this season with very low expectations, due largely to doc photo and Commander Benson's comments a few pages back, but that's okay because I ended up being really pleasantly surprised. I remember Leave It To Beaver better than I remember some series I watched as a kid, but still, until recently, I hadn't seen an episode in probably 50 years. One of the images I retain from the show is Beaver looking out the rear window of the family car as Ward backs it out of the driveway, and that's from the season six opening. I think I probably began watching LITB somewhere toward the end of the run; I also remember being surprised at how young Bever was when I first saw season one episodes. Having said that, though, I do agree that the earlier seasons were better than the later ones.
If I had to draw a line, it would be when Larry and Judy were dropped with no explanation. I remember Gilbert and Richard and Whitey et al, but I guess I never really thought about the fact that they never interracted with Larry Mondello. The fifth season episode Commander Benson noted, "Nobody Loves Me" with Miss Landers and Gus the fireman (one I didn't recall from childhood), is certainly a standout, but I see it more of a transition than an ending. To be perfectly honest, Tracy annd I both were getting a bit tired of the formula that Beaver's friends all agree to do something, then Beaver is the only one that follows through. I'm sure there was at least one example of this trope in each of the first five seasons, but it becomes particularly noticable when binging the series.
Honestly, I enjoyed seeing the different conflicts introduced as the boys got older, although I do agree with Kevin and Adam that the series had just about run its course by season six, "with Wally planning to head off to college and Beaver on the verge of high school." It's too bad the boys weren't allowed to develop beyond that, as the boys on My Three Sons were. I appreciate the fact that the series was allowed to have a truly final finale, a clip show, as the family pages through a photo album.
After Leave It to Beaver, Tony Dow went on to a leading role in the teenage soap opera, Never Too Young, with fellow former child star Tommy Rettig (Jeff Miller from Lassie). Here's a CLIP from YouTube to give you an idea of what it was like. It looks deliciously bad; if only the entire series was available. (It was replaced on ABC's daytime schedule by Dark Shadows.)
I had watched a number of episodes of Leave It To Beaver when it first aired, and liked them. It ran from 1957 to 1963. I was nine when it started and 14 1/2 when it ended. In fact, Jerry Mathers and I have the same birthday and birthyear. We’ll both turn 78 in June.
I have no idea which episodes I saw when they first aired. I didn’t recognize any in my recent binge watch. We shared a single TV, so I was at the mercy of my parents’ viewing preferences, but I know I wasn’t around for the last couple of seasons. Wikipedia tells me that the show changed networks between seasons 1 and 2. It changed production companies between seasons 4 and 5. The show also bounced around on four different days of the week, which causes many watchers to drift away. Some researchers that have “TV Guide-style” info are able to tell what the counter-programming was. I have no idea.
1959 (Oct) - ABC - Saturday, 8:30 - Wanted: Dead or Alive, Checkmate, The Defenders (CBS); Man & the Challenge, Tall Man NBC)
1962 (Sep) - ABC - Thursday, 8:30 - Perry Mason (CBS); Dr. Kildare (NBC)
I knew it switched networks, but I hadn't realized it was shuffled around so much in the early seasons, even on the same network mid-season. From 1959-1962 (S3-5) it reamined fairly stable.Some of those competition shows I haven't even heard of.
MY THREE SONS - Season 2: The first standout episode was "A Perfect Memory" (S2, E5), directed by Peter Tewksbury. I might not have recognized the name, except Commander Benson spoke so glowingly of him a couple of pages back. The plot is told mostly in flashback and deals with an old flame of Steve's from his high school days who is in town for a visit. They spent the episode trying to track each other down. Will they be reunited face-to-face? This episode was Tewksbury's only season two credit, so I assume it was leftover from season one.
It's always fun to spot known actors from other shows, but a couple season two epsiodes have two such actors in each. "The Romance of Silver Pines" (S2, E15) features both Irene Ryan (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Jan Clayton (Lassie). Tracy was the first to recognize Irene Ryan out of her "Granny" make-up, and wants to be sure to receive credit for that. (She didn't recognize Jan Clayton at all, but never watched Lassie.) "Bub Gets a Job" (S2, E19) features both Raymond Bailey (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Rusty Stevens (Leave It To Beaver). Speaking of The Beverly Hillbillies, Nacy Kulp has a recurring role as one of Robbie's teachers.
Also noteable, "Second Time Around" (S2, E17) is a direct sequel to the first episode of the series.
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Regarding Richard Nixon, I'm reminded of something that Ole Anderson is supposed to have said to Jim Cornette when Cornette remarked that Ole seemed to like him better than he used to: "It's not that you've gotten any better, it's that so many people have come along that are worse."
We flipped a bit, mostly between CBC and BBC, but also CTV and CNN.
Artemis II splashdown.
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER - Season 6: I approached this season with very low expectations, due largely to doc photo and Commander Benson's comments a few pages back, but that's okay because I ended up being really pleasantly surprised. I remember Leave It To Beaver better than I remember some series I watched as a kid, but still, until recently, I hadn't seen an episode in probably 50 years. One of the images I retain from the show is Beaver looking out the rear window of the family car as Ward backs it out of the driveway, and that's from the season six opening. I think I probably began watching LITB somewhere toward the end of the run; I also remember being surprised at how young Bever was when I first saw season one episodes. Having said that, though, I do agree that the earlier seasons were better than the later ones.
If I had to draw a line, it would be when Larry and Judy were dropped with no explanation. I remember Gilbert and Richard and Whitey et al, but I guess I never really thought about the fact that they never interracted with Larry Mondello. The fifth season episode Commander Benson noted, "Nobody Loves Me" with Miss Landers and Gus the fireman (one I didn't recall from childhood), is certainly a standout, but I see it more of a transition than an ending. To be perfectly honest, Tracy annd I both were getting a bit tired of the formula that Beaver's friends all agree to do something, then Beaver is the only one that follows through. I'm sure there was at least one example of this trope in each of the first five seasons, but it becomes particularly noticable when binging the series.
Honestly, I enjoyed seeing the different conflicts introduced as the boys got older, although I do agree with Kevin and Adam that the series had just about run its course by season six, "with Wally planning to head off to college and Beaver on the verge of high school." It's too bad the boys weren't allowed to develop beyond that, as the boys on My Three Sons were. I appreciate the fact that the series was allowed to have a truly final finale, a clip show, as the family pages through a photo album.
After Leave It to Beaver, Tony Dow went on to a leading role in the teenage soap opera, Never Too Young, with fellow former child star Tommy Rettig (Jeff Miller from Lassie). Here's a CLIP from YouTube to give you an idea of what it was like. It looks deliciously bad; if only the entire series was available. (It was replaced on ABC's daytime schedule by Dark Shadows.)
I had watched a number of episodes of Leave It To Beaver when it first aired, and liked them. It ran from 1957 to 1963. I was nine when it started and 14 1/2 when it ended. In fact, Jerry Mathers and I have the same birthday and birthyear. We’ll both turn 78 in June.
I have no idea which episodes I saw when they first aired. I didn’t recognize any in my recent binge watch. We shared a single TV, so I was at the mercy of my parents’ viewing preferences, but I know I wasn’t around for the last couple of seasons. Wikipedia tells me that the show changed networks between seasons 1 and 2. It changed production companies between seasons 4 and 5. The show also bounced around on four different days of the week, which causes many watchers to drift away. Some researchers that have “TV Guide-style” info are able to tell what the counter-programming was. I have no idea.
I knew it switched networks, but I hadn't realized it was shuffled around so much in the early seasons, even on the same network mid-season. From 1959-1962 (S3-5) it reamined fairly stable.Some of those competition shows I haven't even heard of.
MY THREE SONS - Season 2: The first standout episode was "A Perfect Memory" (S2, E5), directed by Peter Tewksbury. I might not have recognized the name, except Commander Benson spoke so glowingly of him a couple of pages back. The plot is told mostly in flashback and deals with an old flame of Steve's from his high school days who is in town for a visit. They spent the episode trying to track each other down. Will they be reunited face-to-face? This episode was Tewksbury's only season two credit, so I assume it was leftover from season one.
It's always fun to spot known actors from other shows, but a couple season two epsiodes have two such actors in each. "The Romance of Silver Pines" (S2, E15) features both Irene Ryan (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Jan Clayton (Lassie). Tracy was the first to recognize Irene Ryan out of her "Granny" make-up, and wants to be sure to receive credit for that. (She didn't recognize Jan Clayton at all, but never watched Lassie.) "Bub Gets a Job" (S2, E19) features both Raymond Bailey (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Rusty Stevens (Leave It To Beaver). Speaking of The Beverly Hillbillies, Nacy Kulp has a recurring role as one of Robbie's teachers.
Also noteable, "Second Time Around" (S2, E17) is a direct sequel to the first episode of the series.
On to season three!
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