User Reviews

Wally had a good game, he played for four minutes and ten seconds; just ask Eddie. Eddie is a little jealous of the attention Wally is getting and manages to change the topic of the conversation to himself: he is shaving. It seems they are all shaving except for Wally who is feeling less manly right now.

At home, Beaver is looking for an encyclopedia as he likes to look at the pictures. When Ward walks in, Beaver tells him that Wally scored a touchdown which pleases Ward and upsets June. Upstairs, Wally is shaving with a blade razor sans blade which might account for the smooth shave. Using a blade makes the shave less sooth and more nick prone.

Wally comes down for dinner looking like he's been in a fight. June suspects it's because of football, Ward figures Wally tried shaving. Ward suggests Wally stop because shaving makes your beard come in faster. Wally figures he needs to shave every day to get that beard to really come in. June is in the throes of her baby is growing up, too fast.

Eddie has stopped by to get an assignment from Wally because Eddie cut the class. Beaver tells Eddie that Wally has been shaving every day for a week. Wally gets Ward's shaver to prove he does shave; unfortunately Ward walks in to get his razor and balls Wally out for not listening and for using all his blades.

At school, Lumpy congratulates Wally for making the football varsity. Eddie joins the group and of course uses his information about Wally's shaving experience to make Wally look foolish. During dinner Wally makes some comments about the food and Ward sends Wally to his room. Beaver explains why Wally is in a bad mood; and it's because Ward yelled at Wally in front of Eddie Haskell. Ward feels guilty and needs to make it right.

Beaver and Wally are at the barber shop and so are Chester, Tooey, and Eddie. When Ward walks in Andy, the barber, asks if he should give Wally the once over. Ward says if Wally needs a shave then Andy is the expert. All the guys are eyes on Wally. It was a setup but Wally is grateful; he knows Ward set it up to make it OK. Wally knows that shaving does not make the man; the man knows what needs to be done and what doesn't need to be done.

Shaving was a rite of passage for some guys. I had a friend in college who as a college sophomore had never shaved. He felt he was being left out of a morning ritual and that depressed him. Everyone in our dorm floor envied him. Being hirsute was not seen as a plus. Nonetheless, he would come in the dorm bathroom on Saturdays and make a go at a wet shave. It's been about 50 years now, watching this episode made me think of Bill. I wonder if he ever got his wish.

On second viewing of many episodes, I have found that I don't like them nearly as much. Unlike many other series that I can watch over and over and many times I enjoy them even more when I re-watch them, such as Columbo and The Andy Griffith Show. In this episode Ward loses his temper with Wally right in front of Beaver and Eddie Haskel. And of course Eddie is smirking the whole time. This was hard to watch on second viewing as we now know that type of dressing down on children is not good for their self esteem, confidence or well being. And Ward does that a lot with both boys and sometimes June. He's really overbearing at times. Every other episode has either or both scenes of Ward losing his temper or Beaver doing something bad his friends talk him into. Seeing beaver being talked into something stupid and/or Ward losing his temper almost every episode is really getting old. These broken record plots needed changing.