Love this collection. Reminds me of the good ole daysLooking past the dated, sexism of the time, and acknowledging that it was not at all like some of the representations of the time. Heck no Beav, mothers in 1960 didn't wear high heels when cleaning house and in reality, they smoked cigarettes and probably had a lot of the same family problems that plague us today. But who isn't reminiscent or even jealous of the times. Boomer here, my father worked like a dog and so did my mother, at home and as my mom I could talk to and help me get out of trouble when dad was coming home and she gently explained to him the bad stuff we did that day. It took one middle class father to support the home, send us kids to private schools where we attended church, joined boy scouts and baseball teams. He bought in 1962 an Oldsmobile super 88 (look it up) and went from Nebraska to Seattle for the world's fair. After that, as a Hispanic man, he rose to general manager in a meat packing plant. So explain to me, before the civil rights era, before welfare and the pill and the sexual revolution and abortion, just how we were "victims of systemic racism" and why are we, in 2020, for the first time in American history, poorer than our parents.The clarity of audio and video is remarkable, with one fault.Jerry Mathers is a year older than me, now. He's seventy-one.I'm used to seeing LEAVE IT TO BEAVER in its, normal, aspect-ratio [black bars on both sides]. The picture has been "stretched" to fill the screen, but, it makeseveryone appear short & fat; circular objects look mashed down. To correct this, use your remote's aspect-ratio button to convertthe error by, simply, hitting the "NORMAL PICTURE" button.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The seller provided me with an, otherwise, EXCELLENT season ofa show I remember fondly: when "Beaver" was in each grade, theymatched mine, through the 8th grade.I wouldn't rate this as high as the first four seasons, most of the stories as just blah and Beaver seems more like a smart aleck than anything else. In fact everyone just seems to be going through the motions. Still better than anything on broadcast TV these days though.I used to watch this television series when I was a child. I remember some of the episodes from my childhood. It is nice to have them to watch again. One of the best television shows of all time. I loved the actors as I was about the same age as Beaver, Tony Dow was a great actor as were Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, and Ken Osmond. Also, I had a crush on Sue Randall who played miss Landers.I wanted this season as it has my two all time favorite episodes. Beaver's Fear and A Night in the Woods. Now I can see those anytime I wish. Good picture and sound quality.Leave It To Beaver's fifth season hit the airwaves on ABC on September 30, 1961. I wasn't around at the time, but fortunately, my parents dvr'd it for me. The show, in my opinion, is now at its best as Wally and Beav have grown up a bit and are now more concerned in school activities (such as sports and dancing), girls--even Beav (!) is starting to show some interest--and cars. I personally find these topics much more interesting plot points than fishing and playing cowboys.Let's take a closer look at Leave It To Beaver's cast, which remains unchanged.Jerry Mathers is Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver. You should recall by now (if you have been paying attention) he received his nickname from older brother Wally, who as a child could not pronounce Theodore. It came out as Beaver. Whatever. The Beav is now in the seventh grade, and quickly approaching his teen-age years--deepening voice included. Don't worry: all of the "little monsters" Beav calls his friends are all present and accounted for, as well as our young Theodore's very bad judgment...so you can rest assured the staus quo will remain as is. To Ward and June's consternation, I'm sure.Tony Dow is Wally Cleaver, the Beaver's older brother. Wally is now at Mayfield High--and is one of the school's top athletics stars--particularly in football and track. As I've said--and firmly believe--Wally is the Cleaver brother Ward and June (undoubtedly) have the most hope for. Still (this never changes), whenever trouble finds Beaver--Beaver usually then goes and finds Wally.I hope Wally went out of town for college.Ward and June Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley), are Wally and The Beav's parents, and are ever-present in each episode as they help their sons out with advice--or punishment--when the situation calls for it. I like that they are active parents, who are very concerned for their children's welfare--but have a sense-of-humor about it. You would have to, I would imagine.We never get any "solo episodes" featuring Ward and June, but they are not ever relegated to "filler," either. Yes, the stories revolve around their children's actions, but Ward and June are as important to the show's storyline at least as much as their children.* I even observed the other day, and mentioned this to thalia989, that Ward, and That 70's Show's Red Forman, actually have something in common: they both are the father to all of the children in their respective neighborhoods. Granted, Ward doesn't swear (honestly, can you picture Ward Cleaverswearing?)--or threaten to kick anyone's a**, but you get my point.The Cleaver family lives in fictional Mayfield, USA. A lot of the show's fan sites have speculated Mayfield is somewhere in Ohio due to the "nearby town references" Ward and June frequently make.Another rumor I have heard, er, read, is that Mayfield is taken from name of a dairy company headquartered in Chattanooga, TN. One of the show's creative consultants apparently was from Chattanooga (as was Hugh Beaumont).I have always guessed Wisconsin...but I don't stay up late at night worrying about it.Supporting CastKen Osmond is my hero, Eddie Haskell. We have to start with Eddie. He is the mischievous, wise-cracking "low-life" (he really isn't that bad) who is squeaky-clean Wally's best friend. At least that's what he keeps telling Wally. Whenever Beaver gets into serious trouble, Eddie--perpetually polite and well-mannered (around parents)--is usually the reason behind it.* In one of TVGuide's countless myriads of "lists," Eddie Haskell was ranked as the 2nd most memorable television character of all-time. At least that's what my younger brother, Beav-, er, mrronald, told me.* As I alluded to a moment ago, we do get glimpses, every now and then, of Eddie's good side. Just don't tell anyone.Frank Bank is Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford. He is a couple of years older than Wally, and is introduced to the series as a bully--but they later become friends. He isn't the brightest of people--in fact, by the show's third season, he is in the same grade as Wally and Eddie due to his having been held back in school (and also no doubt due to his character being a great asset to this show). Look for veteran actor Richard Deacon as Lumpy's father, Fred Rutherford, and Ward's best friend (and co-worker). I love how Lumpy always calls him, "Daddy."Stephen Talbot (now a PBS docu-filmmaker) is Gilbert Bates, another "friend" of Beav's who is constantly getting him into trouble (notice the theme yet, folks?). As I said earlier, Eddie gets a bad rap, but deep down he really isn't a bad guy--just extremely mischievious. Gilbert, however, seems to live the part of the bad guy. He plays the innocent role around parents, a la Eddie, but unlike Eddie, doesn't seem to have much of a conscience at all. Kind of scary, actually.Stanley Fafara plays Whitey Whitney, another of Beaver's, er, friends. He is short, loud (bordering on obnoxious), and like everyone else, seems to be able of making a fool out of the Beav...anytime, anywhere.The last "little punk" I am going to talk about is Richard Rickover, played by Richard Correll. Richard, along with Gilbert, is a piece of work--even Wally asks his brother how he can stand being friends with the guy. Richard is a smart-a**, gives Beaver's name and address to a cop when caught breaking windows (!!), and somehow manages to come up with new levels of obnoxiousness with each brand new episode. Interestingly, Jerry Mathers said in an online chat interview the two were best friends in real-life as LITB was being shot.---------------Selected Episode Synopses--------------------Spoilers Ahead-----Wally Goes Steady: Bill Boothby (Pat McCaffrie) gives Ward pause as he stops him in the locker room of their country club and comments on how their children, Wally and Evelyn Boothby, are spending quite a bit of time together. Mr. Boothby goes on to say we, "may be getting ourselves fitted for tuxedos in the near future."As you may imagine, as much as this makes Ward pause, Junereally freaks out.The Cleavers have no idea what to do, but one evening Wally, along with Evelyn, have dinner with (young twenty-somethings) Evelyn's older sister and brother-in-law (played by Ryan O'Neal). Wally discovers married life isn't as glamorous as he initially thought, and "cools it" a bit with Evelyn.* Evelyn Boothby (Mary Mitchel) is, in my "guy opinion," by far the most attractive girl Wally ever dates on this show. Shewill get a few more episode appearances, to be sure, but I wish she would have become a more regular (featured) member ofLITB's cast.Wally's Car: One of my favorite episodes. Wally, despite his not having a driver's license, spends 25 dollars on his first-ever car. Granted, it is a piece of junk--that doesn't run--but who cares? Wally's happy with his "piece of tin"...and figures he can, in the meantime, work on it and have it up and running when he doesfinally get his license.And, despite Wally's having never even taken an auto-mechanics class, everything will be fine. As he tells Beaver: "Beaver, when a guy turns 15 years old he automatically knows everything about cars."Whether that's true or not, Wally unfortunately does not know how to convince his parents to go along with his plan. Wally's car, parked out in front of the house starts causing problems...but Wally manges to get rid of the car (by selling it to his friends for parts) and makes enough money to have the car towed and make a profit on his initial investment.Wally's Weekend Job: Wally gets a job at the drug store making sodas and ice cream sundaes. All of the young ladies in Mayfield start turning up to swoon over Wally's dreaminess. As you may expect, Eddie and Lumpy get very jealous of all the attention Wally is receiving, and hatch a plan to "get even."Eddie overhears Mary Ellen Rogers (Pamela Baird) say she is having a slumber party and offers "to come by and give you girls a break." Mary Ellen replies that her father has said there better not be any boys coming her home that evening..."Especially you, Eddie Haskell! My father refers to you as that 'over-stimulated adolescent.' "Friends, this is as close as we will ever get to a sexual reference on this show.I believe you can figure out where all of this is going: Lumpy phones the drug store, says he is "Mr. Rogers," and orders ice cream for his daughter's party. Wally delivers it after work, and almost gets killed by Mary Ellen's father--especially with all of the girls "going ape" at the sight of him. Eddie and Lumpy, like they do, are hiding outside in the hedges watching the show--and taunt Wally as he hurriedly exits Mary Ellen's home. How the rest of all this plays out I'll leave up to you to find out...or, you may email me. Hmm. Some wise guy actually did.Beaver's Fear: Beaver is excited to be included with Wally and his friends as they visit the amusement park located in nearby Bellport.To get a special discount, Wally and Co. needed a fifth guy to come with them.However, Gilbert and Richard start talking about the amusement park's scary new roller coaster, The Big Dipper, and Beaver gets frightened and wants to back out. However, he decides instead to visit his friend, Gus, who tells him "he isn't afraid of the roller coaster--he's only afraid of being afraid." Beaver takes this advice to heart and ends up having a great time. Eddie ends up passing out on the roller coaster.* Gus, the Fireman (Burt Mustin) is a recurring character on LITB whom Beaver often seeks out for advice.Eddie Quits School: Oh, come on, you knew this episode was coming.Eddie quits school in exchange for an eighty-dollars-a-week job at the local gas station (a lot of money in 1961) and starts showing up with fancy clothes, money to "burn," and bragging about not having to attend school or do homework.However, are things as good for Eddie as they seem to be? Or, would he rather be back in school? Wally figures out the answer to this and "paves the way," so to speak, for Eddie to return to school without being embarrassed about it.Lumpy's Car Trouble: It is the day of the biggest track meet of the year, and Lumpy is one of several Mayfield High students who is driving the team upstate to the meet.It seems the team's bus has broken down "this week," and the school is paying its students ten cents a mile to drive the team up...Beaver says, "Knowing Lumpy, he'll probably go by way of California."However, Lumpy's car breaks down, too--the day of the meet--and Ward gets pressured into reluctanctly allowing Lumpy to drive his "square car" upstate to the meet.Wally won't get his license until Season Six.Ward tells the boys that they have to go straight up and straight back...and, nobody else can ride with them. So naturally, they stop and pick up Eddie Haskell--but he is the team's manager, so this is understandable.Mayfield High, because of Wally (who else?), wins the meet, but Lumpy insists on taking a shortcut home: the "Camelback Cut-off," and proceeds to flood the car's engine as he speeds through deep puddles.Unable to get Ward's car running, our heroes push (Eddie steers) it back to the main road--and then to a gas station to get it fixed. However, Ward, as he always manages to do, finds out about his children's misadventures and proceeds to blow (what's left of) his two son's minds.A Night in the Woods: Beaver, Gilbert, Whitey and Evelyn Boothby's younger brother, Alan (Mark Murray), have a big weekend camping trip planned, but Gilbert's father, at the last minute, has to attend a wedding and cannot take them. Nor can Ward--he's working this weekend. Beaver puts Wally on the spot in front of his parents and pressures him to take them. Thanks to said pressure, Wally reluctantly agrees.However, Eddie and Lumpy desparately need Wally in town on Sunday. It seems they have dates (which are very hard to come by for these two) lined up only if Wally agrees to come along, too. Wally tells them he cannot, as he is taking his brother and his friends camping. Eddie shows us his wisdom: "You're playing day-nursery in the woods with those little creeps? You'll be a couch case when you get back!"Wally doesn't relent, however, so Eddie and Lumpy are forced to use more drastic measures to get Wally back by Sunday afternoon...measures so drastic that Eddie almost gets himself killed...Brief SynopsesNo Time For Babysitters: Ward and June are going out Friday night. So is Wally. Problem: they cannot find a babysitter for the Beav but decide (after Beaver's pleading) to let him stay home alone. The Beav then brags it up to everyone how his parents and brother will be out Friday night--and he'll have the house to himself. However, unbeknownst to Beaver, June has found a baby-sitter, Judy (gorgeous (!!!!) Barbara Parkins of Peyton Place)...and here come disbelieving Gilbert and Richard!Wally's Big Date: The upstanding young men of Mayfield High have to ask out girls from a cross-town high school to a dance. The most "upstanding" young man of Mayfield High, Edward Haskell, manages to get Wally to "swap dates" with him. And, Wally's girl does turn out to be beautiful...and six inches taller than Wally. Uh-oh.Beaver's Ice Skates: Beaver begs Ward for a season pass to the local ice skating rink. No problem! Beaver then wants new ice skates. (Kinda/sorta) no problem. Beaver then insists he go by himself and purchase them. Problem!! The slimy, crooked salesman takes a pair of size 9 skates, turns the "9" upside down (yep, Beav wears size 6) and proceeds to destroy the Beav's "Dancing Queen" dreams. (Sorry)Wally's Chauffeur: Lovely Evelyn shows up again and presents a bit of a dilemma for Wally: he wants to go to the dance with her, but doesn't have a ride. Evelyn offers to borrow her father's car and drive them herself. You will recall, if you have been paying attention, that Wally Cleaver does not yet have his driver's license. Let's just say Wally isn't too "keen" at the thought of being driven to the dance by his date.* Just how many dances does Mayfield High have, anyway?Nobody Loves Me: Remember earlier when I said the Beav is growing up? This episode touches on this--and what it is like for a junior high male to go through, as the show's writers put it, "the awkward age."Wally Stays At Lumpy's: And Gilbert spends the night at Beaver's...despite Ward and June saying no to both ideas. However, Wally has to stay at Lumpy's to save his--Lumpy's--life (watch the episode for more info)...Beav and Gilbert are just trying to get away with something. Ward and June are upset when they find out they have been tricked, but their hands (for once) may be tied when it comes to punishing their sons.Beaver's Typewriter: Yes, we manage to get an episode that revolves solely around a typewriter. Beaver gets a new typewriter in the hopes of improving his "neatness" ...as it pertains to his assignments. However (there is always a "however"), he is slow in learning to type and, instead of falling behind in his asignments, he turns to Eddie (!) Haskell to type his lessons for him. "Gee, Eddie, I thought the only thing you were good for is being a creep."Beaver starts to feel guilty about Eddie doing his typing, and resolves his problem by determining to do his own typing for himself.The Yard Birds: It is a beautiful Saturday, but Wally and Beav cannot go anywhere until they get the yard cleaned up and garbage hauled away. The do get the yard cleaned up, but goof off so much as they do so that it is too late to call the junk man. No problem! Eddie, using Lumpy's car, tells the Cleaver brothers that he and Lumpy will tow the garbage off for them...and at a lesser price, too! This sounds great, but Eddie and Lumpy then decide to dump the garbage in a privately-owned vacant lot instead of the town dump. Some of Ward's magazines are part of said garbage. Hint, hint.Tennis, Anyone?: Wally meets an older girl (she's...22!! GASP!) at the local tennis courts, and starts meeting her every day for a "Love match" of tennis. Eddie and Lumpy are eating their hearts out, but does this new girl, Carole (Cindy Robbins), have an ulterior motive? Like making her 25-year-old boyfriend (whom she just had a fight with) jealous?One Of The Boys: Wally and Eddie are invited to join an exclusive club at school (independent of Mayfield High, that is), The Barons. The Barons consist of spoiled, lazy, rich kids who are a lot more "sophisticated" than Wally...and even Eddie. Ward and June don't want Wally to join, but agree to ultimately leave the decision up to their son.********************Season Five consists of 39 episodes in all, still ranging somewhere in the 25-26 minutes range. I must say that Shout! Factory did a great job in their restoring and remastering each episode...as they all look "razor" sharp. And, one special feature is also included: an internet (audio only) interview with Tony Dow, Ken Osmond and Frank Bank that lasts well over an hour.Okay, that's it for season five...except to say all of its episodes are (more than) worthy of repeat viewing...and please don't think I am referring to only the episodes reviewed here. One episode features a guest appearance by a MLB Hall of Famer. Another spotlights Wally and the Beav trying to make it big on Wall Street--with Eddie serving as their stock broker! And another episode...ah, forget it. Check Season Five out for yourself. Definitely five very strong stars.Thank you, as always, for reading.And, be ready to come right back for my review of the final season. I'm going to go all out!Leave It To Beaver--The Complete Fifth SeasonDVD Set Specs: Six DVD Discs*Aspect Ratio is 1.33:1*English Language (Dolby)*No Subtitles*Full Screen*Color*NOT RATED (for all ages)*Released December 14, 2010 by Shout! Factory*Run Time is 1020 minutesSeason 5 is another great season of Leave It To Beaver! I can't wait until March 1st for the last season to come out. My favorite episodes of Season 5 are The Long Distance Call and the one where Eddie gets sick on the roller coaster. Serves Eddie right :) . I love when he GETS way over his head like that. I like the other one because I've been a baseball fan. It was neat seeing Don Drysdale in an episode.My wife & I never watch the current new TV...it's soooooo smutty and has so much garbage whether bad language, sex, sodomy, or what ever. I want these companies to bring out MORE of the older TV like Beaver, Mister ED, Beverly Hillbillies and the like. I'm still waiting on Batman (with Adam West), Green Hornet, more Beverly Hillbillies, more Green Acres, Mayberry RFD...and cartoons like the Batman/Superman Hour, Herculoids, Mightor, Secret Squirrel, complete seasons of Underdog, Journey To the Center of the Earth, Fantastic 4 (1967), and Fantastic Voyage.