Written
by James Fohl
Growing up in the fifties with a television had to have
been one of the greatest things ever. Pretty much every family
that had a television set had it turned on during the weekday
evenings, and sat
in front of the warm glowing tube watching their favorite
programming.
One television program that stands out from the fifties
and early sixties was the family sitcom, "Leave It To Beaver".
"Leave It To Beaver" was Hollywood's attempt at creating the
perfect fifties
family. While the family was an excellent model for the family
unit during the fifties, it was a far cry of what family life
really was for that era.
Let's face it; anybody who grew up watching "Leave It To
Beaver" loved the show simply because the show just flowed with
the Cleaver family. You had Ward Cleaver, who worked at the
office, but still had plenty of time for his wife and children;
the perfect father. You also had June Cleaver, the dedicated
housewife / mother. She was always there for her family, whether
it was for dinner or just some friendly advice. Wally Cleaver
was the typical teenager of the family. He had his friends, and
more than he could ask for, but always desired to do a little
more with his life.
Then there was the Beaver; the star of the show, yet the
one member of the family that just evened out the family, and
helped cover the family in every aspect. Beaver was everything,
from the central person of most of the story plots, to the comic
relief character. After all, the show was called "Leave It To
Beaver", and the Beaver certainly helped the show live up to its
title.
Living on 211 Pine Street, in Mayfield Ohio, the Cleavers
had a wonderful house, great car, a nice warm dinner every
night, and of course who could forget the whole neighborhood
that pretty much just operated around the whole Cleaver family.
The sitcom lasted for a whooping two hundred and thirty
episode count. That is a pretty amazing number, considering that
every episode tried to center around giving a moral lesson of
some sorts. Speaking of which, the moral lessons that the show
delivered really made some people think. I still remember
watching episodes of "Leave It To Beaver" when I was younger,
and thinking about the conversations that took place between
Ward and his children. The moral lessons displayed in every
episode of "Leave It To Beaver" are just one of the keys that
made the show so great.
Okay, so a lot of families in the fifties were nothing
like the Cleaver family. Big deal, really if every family in
America during the 50's and early 60's operated like the
Cleavers, then "Leave It To
Beaver" would have been cancelled in its first season. "Leave It
To Beaver" was popular because it allowed the viewers to forget
their problems, and just jump into the Cleaver's fantasy world
and learn an important moral lesson along the way.
