Satellite TV remembers the beaver
It was a long time ago in the 1950s, a time when the United States was very different from what it is today. TV moms stayed home while only the dads went to work, teenagers enjoyed wholesome “innocent” fun at Saturday night “dances” and later at the local malthouse, families always they sat down to dinner together: mom, dad, and the kids.
Many today believe that it was a better time… a period in our history when the culture was less vulgar and people were more friendly to one another. You had to be alive back then to know if it’s true. Or… you can find out for yourself today if you’re a satellite TV subscriber.
People who have satellite TV enjoy access to more channels and programming than those who subscribe to competing programming channels like Direct TV or Cable TV.
As a satellite TV subscriber, I have the opportunity to tune into networks like TV Land. And that allows me to follow the adventures of “El Castor”.
When “Leave it to Beaver” wowed television audiences in the mid-1950s, the Cleaver family—mom, dad, older brother Wally, and, of course, the Beaver—enjoyed remarkable success. The Cleavers lived quietly and comfortably in a small town in the United States. Papa Cleaver had a “professional” office job, Mama Cleaver stayed home.
Older brother Wally played sports in high school and was a bit shy around girls. And then there was the Beaver.
Beaver Cleaver was still quite young when the first show aired… an elementary school student. Audiences then and now (count me as a “now” audience member) enjoyed watching Beaver’s weekly misadventures as they learned about life from his teacher at school, from his older brother Wally, but most of all from his father, Ward Cleaver.
Would an “old-fashioned” show like “Leave it to Beaver” find an audience today if it had to compete with TV shows that portray more modern and somewhat dysfunctional American families? Okay, yes. It has caught my attention. I’ve become a devoted fan of the Beaver family and their weekly ’50s-style problems. And I’m willing to bet there are plenty of other people like me who are looking forward to episodes of Leave it to Beaver more than fifty years after they first appeared. for the first time on television.
In fact, the world The Beaver lived in seems so wonderful and idyllic, so perfect that it makes me wonder how that America disappeared. When I watch The Beaver, I live in that world with him for thirty wonderful minutes. I listen to my dad and try to learn and benefit from his wisdom and experience. I always complete my homework… play baseball with the boys… wash my hands and get dressed for dinner.
I like that world. Thank you Satellite TV for making it available.