STILL THE BEAVER (TV)
Summary
A television film starring the characters of the iconic television series “Leave it to Beaver,” now grown up and dealing with new problems.
Wally and Beaver Cleaver are grown up and have made new lives for themselves. Wally is a lawyer who still lives in Mayfield, having married his high school girlfriend Mary Ellen. They are trying to have children but have not yet succeeded. Beaver lives out of town with his wife Kimberly and his sons Corey and Oliver. The story begins as Kimberly throws Beaver out of the house, saying she wants a divorce. A dejected Beaver returns to his mother’s house in Mayfield, where Wally and Mary Ellen are staying while their new house is being constructed.
However, Wally has an ongoing feud with Eddie Haskell, whose company is handling the construction. Despite their differences, they come to a mutual agreement as to fixing a problem with the building’s foundation. When Beaver returns to his old house, memories of his childhood come flooding back, particularly memories of Ward, who has been dead for the past six years. Beaver tells June that he lost his job working for his father-in-law and about Kimberly wanting to divorce him.
Wally catches up with Beaver and tries to help him through his divorce. He offers to represent him in court. Later, Wally and Mary Ellen discuss their plans for their new home. Wally is frustrated about not having children yet but Mary Ellen says it will happen at the right time. They have been trying to have children for a whole year without success.
Kimberly allows Beaver to take his kids on a trip to the zoo. They have a good time at first, but at lunch their resentment towards Beaver shows through. Despite his efforts, he can’t explain to them why he was forced to move out. They ask to go home. Later, Larry Mondello (now converted to Hinduism) and Richard Rickover (now a psychologist) come to visit Beaver and give him advice about his current situation. Richard notes that the Cleaver household had “a lot of love” when Beaver was a kid, and Beaver wishes he could give his children that kind of experience. Beaver returns home and talks to Kimberly on the phone, who tries to prevent him from taking Corey and Oliver out that Saturday; Beaver angrily protests.
While discussing his divorce negotiations with Wally, Beaver declares that he wants custody of his children in order to have them grow up in Mayfield as he did. Wally notes that gaining custody would be a difficult task for Beaver, given his current employment and living situation. Eddie enters and makes fun of Beaver before talking to Wally about the construction. Later, Wally talks to June about Beaver’s desire for custody, and she laments that Beaver has been lost since Ward passed away.
Wally and Mary Ellen go to a cabin to try and unwind so they can relax, but Wally has difficulty unwinding. Beaver goes out to lunch with Whitey to try and get a job. Whitey sets him up with Fred Rutherford, who remarks that Beaver reminds him of Ward. He wants to give Beaver a job, but Beaver believes that he is being hired because of Mr. Rutherford’s relationship with his family and not on his own merit. Beaver refuses but Mr. Rutherford appreciates this answer and hires him anyway. Lumpy, who also works at the company, finds out that Beaver is working there and is upset, but Mr. Rutherford chastises his son.
Later, Beaver returns home to find Kimberly waiting for him. Kimberly admits that she may have unfairly blamed Beaver for her own personal issues; she wants to leave the country to study to become a veterinarian. She will be leaving Corey and Oliver in Beaver’s care while she is gone. Despite their earlier arguments, she has confidence in Beaver. Beaver is happy that he can look after his children, but nervous that he might somehow botch the situation up.
Beaver picks up Corey and Oliver, who seem unenthused at the prospect of living in Mayfield. At dinner, Beaver is uncomfortable when Wally starts acting like a parent towards his sons. That night, Mary Ellen talks to Wally about leaving Beaver’s children alone, but Wally feels responsible for preventing Beaver from messing up. As Beaver checks up on his children sleeping in his old room, June advises him that it will take time for them to adjust to their new life.
Wally and Mary Ellen, despite their efforts, have still not yet conceived a child. Beaver tries to connect with his sons by getting them gifts: a guitar for Corey and a baseball mitt for Oliver. They appreciate Beaver’s efforts. The next day Beaver takes them outside to play baseball, but Oliver is scared of the ball. Beaver tries to help him overcome this obstacle, but to no avail. Wally notices this and cuts in, trying to help Beaver out. However, Beaver is incensed and orders his kids inside. He and Wally have an argument as Eddie and Lumpy watch. Beaver declares that they are not friends and storms inside. Wally announces he is moving into his new house tomorrow, much to Eddie’s displeasure.
June finds Wally and tries to get him to talk to Beaver, but he refuses. Wally says he is tired of cleaning up after Beaver. June discovers that Wally and Beaver’s behavior is beginning to affect Corey and Oliver, causing a rift between them. Oliver accidentally breaks Corey’s guitar. Beaver is called into Corey’s school by Miss Canfield (now the principal); Wally was caught vandalizing school property.
Beaver takes him home and tries to discipline him in the same way that Ward did when he was a kid, but it doesn’t work. Corey counters that all his friends are in the old neighborhood, and that Beaver still won’t talk to him and Oliver about what happened with their mother. Beaver grounds both Corey and Oliver when he finds out about the broken guitar. Corey and Oliver conspire to run away from home and go to Italy to live with their mother.
While Beaver frantically searches for the boys, Wally comes across them and tries to convince them not to go. He reveals that Beaver intended to fight for custody of them and cares for them very deeply; they believed that they had simply been left with Beaver when there was nowhere else to go. Corey questions Wally on his recent feud with Beaver; all three of them realize they need to give Beaver a second chance. Wally brings the boys home and Beaver has a talk with them. He says that despite his mistakes, he loves them very much and wants to be there for them. Corey and Oliver apologize for their resistance and forgive Beaver.
Wally and Mary Ellen move into their new house. Beaver arrives and he and Wally apologize to each other. Soon Mary Ellen tells Wally she’s finally pregnant. June tells Beaver she’s selling the house to him, and he is overjoyed. Wally’s son Ward Jr. is born. June reflects that her sons turned out just the way she and Ward wanted. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: March 19, 1983 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:33:43
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:12393
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Families
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1983
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Bud Austin … Executive Producer
- Nick Abdo … Producer, Writer
- Arnold F. Turner … Associate Producer
- Steven H. Stern … Director
- Brian Levant … Writer
- Joe Connelly … Based on the series "Leave it to Beaver" created by
- Bob Mosher … Based on the series "Leave it to Beaver" created by
- John Cacavas … Music by
- Dave Kahn … "Leave it to Beaver" theme by
- Melvin Lenard … "Leave it to Beaver" theme by
- Mort Greene … "Leave it to Beaver" theme by
- Barbara Billingsley … Cast, June Cleaver
- Tony Dow … Cast, Wally Cleaver
- Jerry Mathers … Cast, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver
- Ken Osmond … Cast, Eddie Haskell
- Frank Bank … Cast, Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford
- Richard Deacon … Cast, Fred Rutherford
- Ed Begley Jr. … Cast, Whitey
- Corey Feldman … Cast, Corey Cleaver
- John Snee … Cast, Oliver Cleaver
- Richard Correll … Cast, Richard Rickover
- Rusty Stevens … Cast, Larry Mondello
- Janice Kent … Cast, Mary Ellen
- Joanna Gleason … Cast, Kimberly
- Diane Brewster … Cast, Miss Canfield
- Luke Fafara … Cast, Tooey Brown
- Damon Hines … Cast, Marcus
- Eric Osmond … Cast, Eddie Jr.