A good growing-up story. LITB storylines had to deal with more mature subjects / ideas as the young cast members were getting older. They certainly weren't as "cute" as earlier, but this was better than adding a lot of small children to the cast as so many other sitcoms have done; it never works. A pretty well-done epis ode.
8 Reviews
Not exactly Love Story
AlsExGal9 March 2024
At the athletic club, Ward runs into Bill Boothby who mentions that Wally and his daughter Evelyn have been dating steadily and hints that they may someday get married. Ward is alarmed, this being the first he's heard of it. Wally isn't really serious about Evelyn, but apparently she has all kinds of romantic ideas about marrying young as her sister is married. Ward and June are afraid that being around Evelyn's sister and her husband may give Wally ideas. But one day the young couple fights in front of Wally and Evelyn about money problems, about being stuck in jobs they don't like because of those problems, and being somewhat dependent on Evelyn's parents.
I do have to wonder what is up with June. When Beaver, who is really too young to be that interested in girls, is seen talking to a girl she encourages matters. When Wally, who is old enough to be dating, likes a girl - this girl and the housekeeper's daughter before her - she considers it a three-alarm emergency. A word to June - someday these boys are going to meet girls they want to marry and leave you. Deal with it! As for Mr. Boothby, I wonder why he is being so casual about possibly yet another daughter getting married too young when he's already helping support the first one that got married too young.
Note a young Ryan O'Neal as Evelyn's brother-in-law. He is not very recognizable at this point, but his unique voice certainly is.
I do have to wonder what is up with June. When Beaver, who is really too young to be that interested in girls, is seen talking to a girl she encourages matters. When Wally, who is old enough to be dating, likes a girl - this girl and the housekeeper's daughter before her - she considers it a three-alarm emergency. A word to June - someday these boys are going to meet girls they want to marry and leave you. Deal with it! As for Mr. Boothby, I wonder why he is being so casual about possibly yet another daughter getting married too young when he's already helping support the first one that got married too young.
Note a young Ryan O'Neal as Evelyn's brother-in-law. He is not very recognizable at this point, but his unique voice certainly is.
Great episode
LukeCoolHand16 July 2023
On another review I was talking about this show getting better in the 4th season when they substituted Gilbert instead of Larry and started focusing more on Wally. Eddie , and Lumpy and some great guest stars. This 1st show of the 5th season really drives the point home. This show features the future Ryan O Neil of the coming series Peyton Place and the very next episode features Barbara Parkins of the same series. WOW. It had gotten really old with Larry Mondello getting Beaver into trouble and acting like a real dope in almost every episode. I really wish the show could have lasted another season or two.
Quite daring for LITB
vitoscotti2 July 2021
A rare LITB taste of real life problems. Wally being sized up for marriage material by Evelyn. 2 couples are odd pairings. Ryan O'Neal 20 years old in real life. His wife Judy (Gloria Gilbert) was only 15 in 1961. Evelyn (Mary Mitchel) was 21. Her steady Wally (Tony Dow) 16.
Beaver has physically matured quite a bit since last season. He's 13 but acts like he's 6 years old still. Very odd seeing a 13-year-old boy play the cute angle.
Beaver has physically matured quite a bit since last season. He's 13 but acts like he's 6 years old still. Very odd seeing a 13-year-old boy play the cute angle.
Teen-age Wally is brilliant; adult Bill Boothby is dangerous
pensman20 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Ward is in the locker room at the golf club when a stranger introduces himself: Bill Boothby. After all, we should be friends given the way are kids are, he says. Ward is nonplussed; what kids is he talking about? Beaver has a new friend? No, no, no, it's Wally and Evelyn; there're going steady, and who knows, wedding bells could always be in the future. If Ward looks thrown, then June will be . . . really surprised. She knows Wally has dated the girl a few times but marriage? How do we get information out of Wally without him knowing it?
It must have been a long hiatus between the end of series four and the first episode of series five because Beaver has definitely lost the cute factor. He's still "speaking" as if he were in fourth grade, but he looks like a high school freshman. It's dinner time, everyone is in the dining room but the big question has yet to be asked and is floating about like an ever-expanding balloon about to pop. Wally feels something is up but what? He says he feels kinda creepy, the way you feel when the coach walks through the locker room. A laugh track line then, not so much now.
Then Ward just blurts out, hey June guess who I ran into at the locker room? And now the door has been opened, both June and Ward feel comfortable enough to begin what no doubt is for Wally, the Inquisition. Wally knows they know, but how much do they know, and do they know more than even he knows? Time for a little strategic retreat.
All is good until Evelyn shows up for tennis and for doubles partners she has brought her sister Judy Henderson and her husband Tom Henderson. (Ryan O'neal at 20 before some early plastic surgery). Isn't that Tom from your school, asks June? Oh, yeah, says Wally. He used to go to junior college but he dropped out when he married Judy. THEY'RE MARRIED, asks a nervous June. And they are two of the neatest guys Wally knows.
Time to pump Beaver to see if he knows anything about Wally and Evelyn going steady. Beaver doesn't know much, but he doesn't believe his brother would do anything as squirrelly as going steady. For June, the name Evelyn Boothby is becoming code for "Danger Wally Cleaver, Danger." Especially when the Hendersons have invited Wally and Evelyn Boothby over for dinner: Wally is friends with married people. (Repeat Danger warning).
Beaver wants to know why Wally wants to hang around old people. They're not old, insists Wally. If they're married then they're old people, says Beaver. Beaver is upset. He figured he'd have an older brother for a while, but now. Now nothing, says Wally; he has no intentions of getting married. Time for really awkward conversation with Ward and June on the way out. And don't wait up, we will probably be playing bridge.
Wally and Evelyn arrive but Judy isn't ready for them. You can tell Evelyn has her agenda and Judy isn't helping with her hair in curlers. When Tom arrives home he is full of complaints about work and his boss being on his back all the time. Worse, his boss knows Judy's parents are giving them money to make the rent; so, Tom can't quit, he has to put up with the squeeze. Then as Evelyn is making her "pitch," we can hear Tom and Judy striking out in the kitchen.
Back at home base, Beaver is up. He can't sleep. He tells June and Ward that he's worried about the same thing their worried about: Wally being traded to another team. Wally's changed, claims Beaver: he has been wearing clean shirts and socks every day. Both Ward and June tell Beaver not to worry. That's the job even though both of them are hearing that "Danger, Wally Cleaver, Danger" in their own heads.
Wally gets home early; the danger has passed. He has seen "reality TV" before there was such. Wally has learned "when you're still having fun, that marriage stuff is nothing to mess with." A happy ended for the Cleavers, but it's built on the Hendersons having a rough time of it.
Our story began in the locker room and it ends there. This time good old Bill is introducing himself to Jack Bennett as his Roger is seeing a lot of Bill's Evelyn; and the way kids are today, they might find themselves buying stripped trousers and cut-a-way coats. Ward looks at a shell-shocked Jack, his boy is just a youngster murmurs Jack; and Ward says rather cryptically, if his son is ever invited over to the Hendersons, let him go. That Bill Boothby is a dangerous guy.
A very good episode with much truth in it. How many parents are both kicking in money, and have "the kids" living at home with them. We need more like Wally who can see the truth and not live in a fiction.
It must have been a long hiatus between the end of series four and the first episode of series five because Beaver has definitely lost the cute factor. He's still "speaking" as if he were in fourth grade, but he looks like a high school freshman. It's dinner time, everyone is in the dining room but the big question has yet to be asked and is floating about like an ever-expanding balloon about to pop. Wally feels something is up but what? He says he feels kinda creepy, the way you feel when the coach walks through the locker room. A laugh track line then, not so much now.
Then Ward just blurts out, hey June guess who I ran into at the locker room? And now the door has been opened, both June and Ward feel comfortable enough to begin what no doubt is for Wally, the Inquisition. Wally knows they know, but how much do they know, and do they know more than even he knows? Time for a little strategic retreat.
All is good until Evelyn shows up for tennis and for doubles partners she has brought her sister Judy Henderson and her husband Tom Henderson. (Ryan O'neal at 20 before some early plastic surgery). Isn't that Tom from your school, asks June? Oh, yeah, says Wally. He used to go to junior college but he dropped out when he married Judy. THEY'RE MARRIED, asks a nervous June. And they are two of the neatest guys Wally knows.
Time to pump Beaver to see if he knows anything about Wally and Evelyn going steady. Beaver doesn't know much, but he doesn't believe his brother would do anything as squirrelly as going steady. For June, the name Evelyn Boothby is becoming code for "Danger Wally Cleaver, Danger." Especially when the Hendersons have invited Wally and Evelyn Boothby over for dinner: Wally is friends with married people. (Repeat Danger warning).
Beaver wants to know why Wally wants to hang around old people. They're not old, insists Wally. If they're married then they're old people, says Beaver. Beaver is upset. He figured he'd have an older brother for a while, but now. Now nothing, says Wally; he has no intentions of getting married. Time for really awkward conversation with Ward and June on the way out. And don't wait up, we will probably be playing bridge.
Wally and Evelyn arrive but Judy isn't ready for them. You can tell Evelyn has her agenda and Judy isn't helping with her hair in curlers. When Tom arrives home he is full of complaints about work and his boss being on his back all the time. Worse, his boss knows Judy's parents are giving them money to make the rent; so, Tom can't quit, he has to put up with the squeeze. Then as Evelyn is making her "pitch," we can hear Tom and Judy striking out in the kitchen.
Back at home base, Beaver is up. He can't sleep. He tells June and Ward that he's worried about the same thing their worried about: Wally being traded to another team. Wally's changed, claims Beaver: he has been wearing clean shirts and socks every day. Both Ward and June tell Beaver not to worry. That's the job even though both of them are hearing that "Danger, Wally Cleaver, Danger" in their own heads.
Wally gets home early; the danger has passed. He has seen "reality TV" before there was such. Wally has learned "when you're still having fun, that marriage stuff is nothing to mess with." A happy ended for the Cleavers, but it's built on the Hendersons having a rough time of it.
Our story began in the locker room and it ends there. This time good old Bill is introducing himself to Jack Bennett as his Roger is seeing a lot of Bill's Evelyn; and the way kids are today, they might find themselves buying stripped trousers and cut-a-way coats. Ward looks at a shell-shocked Jack, his boy is just a youngster murmurs Jack; and Ward says rather cryptically, if his son is ever invited over to the Hendersons, let him go. That Bill Boothby is a dangerous guy.
A very good episode with much truth in it. How many parents are both kicking in money, and have "the kids" living at home with them. We need more like Wally who can see the truth and not live in a fiction.
Look! It's Ryan O'Neal!
gregorycanfield29 May 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, I recognized Ryan O'Neal, even before the closing credits confirmed it. However, the fact that it was Ryan O'Neal didn't cause me to like the episode any better. He did nothing that any other actor couldn't have done just as well. The episode is all about Wally suddenly going steady. With someone named Evelyn. Then, we find out that, while dating Evelyn, Wally is also hanging around with Evelyn's married sister and her husband. What was the world coming to?! No wonder Ward and June were so concerned! By contrast, I found the whole episode pretty underwhelming. Maybe, different actors would have made a difference. As I mentioned, Ryan O'Neal was OK. Between Mary Mitchell (Evelyn) and Gloria Gilbert (Judy), I couldn't decide who was the bigger bore. They were absolutely interchangeable. They could have switched roles, and it would have made no difference whatsoever. The story came across like an attempt to take the show in a more "adult" direction. It didn't work. The episode is a misfire. Only the fine performances of the regular cast members make it watchable.
TRIBUTE TO RYAN O'NEAL.
tcchelsey1 March 2024
True, future PEYTON PLACE stars Ryan O'Neal would appear in this episode, and Barbara Parkins in the next. Must see tv.
The difference here, It's a more gently poignant story, with Wally very much the center of attention and there's rumors of a possible engagement? Times do change.
I agree with the last reviewer, had the series gone on for a few more seasons, Wally, perhaps, would have gotten married, and this may have been a bit of show prep for the future. There's no question MY THREE SONS picked up from where LEAVE IT TO BEAVER left off, with eldest son Robbie getting married and having children of his own.
Young Ryan O'Neal plays Tom Henderson, who has recently married a local girl named Judy (played by Gloria Gilbert), and things seem to be rolling along... that is until Wally and his date are hanging around the newlyweds TOO much, according to Ward and June. Could there be something in the works the folks don't know?
Also a soap opera bit to all this, which is kind of funny and you just have to let it flow, of course well knowing Wally is NOT getting married quite yet.
Ryan O'Neal passed in December 2023 and thanks to METV for rerunning this oldie but goodie.
First episode of SEASON 5 remastered Universal.
The difference here, It's a more gently poignant story, with Wally very much the center of attention and there's rumors of a possible engagement? Times do change.
I agree with the last reviewer, had the series gone on for a few more seasons, Wally, perhaps, would have gotten married, and this may have been a bit of show prep for the future. There's no question MY THREE SONS picked up from where LEAVE IT TO BEAVER left off, with eldest son Robbie getting married and having children of his own.
Young Ryan O'Neal plays Tom Henderson, who has recently married a local girl named Judy (played by Gloria Gilbert), and things seem to be rolling along... that is until Wally and his date are hanging around the newlyweds TOO much, according to Ward and June. Could there be something in the works the folks don't know?
Also a soap opera bit to all this, which is kind of funny and you just have to let it flow, of course well knowing Wally is NOT getting married quite yet.
Ryan O'Neal passed in December 2023 and thanks to METV for rerunning this oldie but goodie.
First episode of SEASON 5 remastered Universal.
Is Wally Really Thinking Of Getting Married?
StrictlyConfidential8 December 2020
(*Ward to June quote*) - "There must be more going on than we know about."
Why Wally would keep from telling his parents that he was going steady with Evelyn Boothby is beyond me.
Anyway - "Wally Goes Steady" was a pretty run-of-the-mill episode from TV's "Leave It To Beaver". There was nothing special here.
Wally is interrogated by his parents regarding Evelyn and he also learns that married life isn't all that attractive when it comes to young lovers like Tom and Judy Henderson.
Why Wally would keep from telling his parents that he was going steady with Evelyn Boothby is beyond me.
Anyway - "Wally Goes Steady" was a pretty run-of-the-mill episode from TV's "Leave It To Beaver". There was nothing special here.
Wally is interrogated by his parents regarding Evelyn and he also learns that married life isn't all that attractive when it comes to young lovers like Tom and Judy Henderson.
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