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One of the greatest TV shows ever. As an accurate portrait of two brothers growing up together in a middle class family environment, it was dead-on. Watching The Beaver and Wally's suburban adventures (in re-runs, of course) was like revisiting my own childhood. My brother and I were Wally and The Beaver. Our Dad was more Archie Bunker than Ward Cleaver, and Mom was more Marge Simpson than June, but, to me, "Leave It To Beaver" has a ring of authenticity about it that no other TV series about growing up (with the exception of the brilliant "James At 15") ever had.
"Beaver" was always about the little dramas that, to a kid, were big dramas. It addressed some heavier social issues, too (alcoholism, theft, homelessness), but it always kept its focus on the boys and their unpredictable suburban world. And that world, for the most part, was a microcosm of the world that lay ahead of them, the world of "adulthood".
The characters were gold. Ken Osmond's "Eddie Haskell" is one of the most brilliant creations in TV history, along with "Dr. Smith" and "Thurston Howell III". His grossly sycophantic conversations with Ward and June were hilarious, as was his uncanny ability to avoid responsibility and talk The Beaver into another stupid scheme. "Whitey" (Stanley Fafara) always reminded me of the Fair Weather Friend we've all had, the opportunistic kid who slinked between you and another pal he'd never introduce you to. Frank Bank's "Lumpy" was another gem, a cloddish, awkward bully who had respect for Wally and contempt for "The Beave".
If you're coming from a particular perspective, the show is hilarious, charming, moving, scary and comforting. It's about the curiosity in all of us, the insecurity. It''s about our obsessions, lessons only learned through experience, and the importance of family.
It's a masterpiece.
score /10
fertilecelluloid 30 December 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1251112/ |
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19-10-2020 02:17:06