Unusual episode from LITB's final season in which Beaver appears on a teenage panel show on television. Admittedly, the plot is a bit of a tempest in a teapot (why doesn't it occur to anyone that the panel show was taped?) But the episode is still fun for its contemporary pop culture references and especially the quasi-parody of THE TWILIGHT ZONE embedded in the middle. The parody is very clever and even manages to mimic the music and cinematography of the ZONE.
The IMDb trivia page states that "Beaver on TV" may have more topical allusions than any other episode of the series. (Among them: MEET THE PRESS, ROUTE 66, Bennett Cerf, Jack Paar, and Jackie Kennedy.) It's as if the writers deliberately set out to make a self-referential episode about television. We even get to see the inside workings of the TV studio where the panel show is filmed. But beyond this, "Beaver on TV" manages to work in a serious theme: encountering disbelief when one speaks the truth. (This was, of course, a common theme on Rod Serling's show.) Beaver's classmates are snarky and mean to him when they think he lied about being on television, and one would have liked for them to be given some sort of comeuppance. But be that as it may, "Beaver on TV" is a lot of fun and definitely worth seeing.
The IMDb trivia page states that "Beaver on TV" may have more topical allusions than any other episode of the series. (Among them: MEET THE PRESS, ROUTE 66, Bennett Cerf, Jack Paar, and Jackie Kennedy.) It's as if the writers deliberately set out to make a self-referential episode about television. We even get to see the inside workings of the TV studio where the panel show is filmed. But beyond this, "Beaver on TV" manages to work in a serious theme: encountering disbelief when one speaks the truth. (This was, of course, a common theme on Rod Serling's show.) Beaver's classmates are snarky and mean to him when they think he lied about being on television, and one would have liked for them to be given some sort of comeuppance. But be that as it may, "Beaver on TV" is a lot of fun and definitely worth seeing.