Lonesome Beaver

Producers Bob Connolly and Bob Mosher wrote this episode, more than likely from personal family experiences. So true... As a kid, what do you do when you're sometimes left all alone?

Such is Beave's plight when Wally up and joins the Boy Scouts. Thinking back to when we were kids, it was a challenging situation --and who wants to hang around mom and dad all day, right? Besides, they'd find something for you to do.

So Beaver goes out and makes the rounds, really bummed about Wally's trip. Without fail, he sees Gus, the fireman, and gets some words of wisdom. Burt Mustin, originally a car salesman in Hollywood, got into films late in life and became a hero to us kids. He was always there as a sounding board to Beave.

In a poignant scene, Ward finds Beave watching a guy working in a manhole and puts all the zigzag pieces together. "You were here all day?" he asks in total amazement. When you think about it, how many of us kids used to stop and watch guys do all sorts of things, from climbing telephone poles to digging a ditch? A way of life.

Wally finally comes back --because of a rain storm. Hooray! By the way, look for John Hart as the Boy Scoutmaster. Hart, for a brief while, replaced Clayton Moore as the LONE RANGER.

Watch this for old times sake. Brings back a lot of memories. Best of SEASON 1 dvd box set. Great color photo on the cover for fans. Thank you METV for running this oldie.

The gist of this episode is that with Wally getting older, he and Beaver must learn to go their separate ways. Wally joins the Boy Scouts and goes off on a trip with them, leaving Beaver at home to his own devices. Will he be able to survive without Wally there to guide him and tell him what to do?

The episode feels strangely patched together, as if the writers weren't quite sure where to go with this story. I'm not sure the reason for making it a windy night at the beginning.

It's worthwhile taking a look at the newspaper Ward holds in the first scene - it is labeled "Press Tribune" and has a wealth of news stories written on it with the headline "High Winds Sweep City." It bears the date - February 26 - but no year!

Another curiosity: Beaver states his age as "7 and three quarters," whereas Jerry Mathers was actually 9!

Wally joins the Boy Scouts and Beaver, used to doing everything that Wally does, tries to join too. But the scoutmaster informs Beaver that he can't join until age eleven, and currently Beaver is only 7 and three quarters. Then one weekend the troop goes for a weekend of camping at Friend's Lake, and Beaver learns what it is to be on his own on a weekend without Wally. With his friends either occupied, away, or ill, and Gus having to ready for inspection, Beaver learns about loneliness at a young age.

There's not that much going on in this episode, and it feels a bit like filler. There are some things that recommend it though. First, joining the Boy Scouts sure seems like joining the army with the questions about age and qualifications and then the oath. Next, there is a rather frantic June, not wanting Wally to go camping, almost kissing him in front of the fellas, and obsessing over weather reports. A good wedding gift for Wally's future wife would be a sturdy pair of scissors - to cut those apron strings!

Then there is Eddie Haskell, trying to kiss up to the scoutmaster from the beginning and acting like he's in charge, like another famous know it all, Barney Fife. Finally - Was it common to put kids into bed in their pajamas all weekend so that they would not catch cold? This seems like an extreme precaution.