Bathroom Scene Issue

A Bathroom Scene Nearly Got the Show Banned

One show was nearly banned from airing a bathroom scene. Although Leave it to Beaver survived nearly a decade long, that one bathroom scene could’ve been its doom right from its pilot.

According to Fox News, the intended pilot episode saw Beaver and his brother Wally buying a pet alligator. Mathers said that the two brothers decided to put the reptile in the toilet since they knew it needed water.

Mathers recalled that shows weren’t allowed to show a bathroom or toilet on television at the time. The star continued to say that the showrunners had to fight every censorship to keep the scene in the show, finally reaching a compromise to show the toilet tank’s back.

The censorship debate caused the episode to be delayed, and a different episode aired as the pilot. Mathers noted that Leave it to Beaver set a precedent for other TV shows by being the first to air a bathroom scene.

Leave it to Beaver is meant to teach its audiences that good education, a happy marriage, and a good career were the prerequisite for a comfortable and fulfilled life. The show presented its viewers with a “recipe” of some sorts to life and showed the importance of going to school and having a stable future.

The children’s parents are also aware of their duty to instill morals and values in their children. They are in every word of the sense models of the late ’50s parenting. However, they practice an egalitarian form of parenting as opposed to the authoritative one portrayed in shows such as Father Knows Best at the time.

In the final season, viewers get to see Wally prepare to attend college while Beaver begins adjusting for high school.

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