Beaver and Gilbert
- Episode aired Mar 19, 1959
- 30m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
156
YOUR RATING
Beaver meets the new kid in town, Gilbert Gates, who likes to tell tall tales.Beaver meets the new kid in town, Gilbert Gates, who likes to tell tall tales.Beaver meets the new kid in town, Gilbert Gates, who likes to tell tall tales.
Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode marks the debut of Stephen Talbot as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver's friend Gilbert. In this debut Gilbert's last name is Gates. In all future episodes he is Gilbert Bates with the exception of one episode in season 5, Beaver's English Test (1961) where he is Gilbert Harrison.
- GoofsGilbert's last name has changed several times throughout the series. He it is Gates, later it's Bates, and still later, once in awhile, it's Harrison.
- Quotes
June Cleaver: Did you win?
Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver: Nah, we lost.
Ward Cleaver: 6 to 2.
Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver: Yeah. Mr. Driscoll, our science teacher, was umpirin'.
June Cleaver: Well, isn't he fair?
Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver: Oh yeah, he's fair. But he's more fair to the other team.
Featured review
It's not the bragging that's the issue so much...
... instead, for me, it was the bullying that made Gilbert look so bad in this introductory episode.
Gilbert Gates is the new kid in school, and he lives across the street from Beaver. When Beaver goes over to see Gilbert, he claims he is training for the 1968 Olympics, that his father is in the FBI and has been shot in the line of duty before, and that Gilbert has been to the North Pole. Beaver is immediately fascinated with this guy, buying whole these wild stories. But then the next day Gilbert stands Beaver up when they had planned to go to the movies. It turns out Gilbert has gone to the movies with Larry and Whity instead, and later is out front playing football with them. Then when Beaver goes over to play with them at Ward's urging, Gilbert starts bullying Beaver and turns the other two kids against him too. What goes on here? Watch and find out.
This episode was a rare uneven one for LITB. Beaver is showing extreme gullibility that I'd understand if an adult was telling these wild tales, but not another kid his own age! And why would Gilbert suddenly just turn on Beaver when they had been getting along so well. No reason was given for that turn of events. The Gilbert of this episode doesn't act like the Gilbert of any subsequent episode, and thus his bully persona just seemed like a wild departure.
I did like how Ward handled Beaver though. He managed to keep him from being babied by June without angering her, and at the same time gave Beaver some good advice concerning the situation and other similar situations that might crop up in the future.
Gilbert Gates was played by Stephen Talbot, son of actor John Talbot, who also played in a couple of LITB episodes. If you are a classic movie fan you'll recognize John Talbot as a star of some of the Warner Brothers precode films of the early 1930s.
Gilbert Gates is the new kid in school, and he lives across the street from Beaver. When Beaver goes over to see Gilbert, he claims he is training for the 1968 Olympics, that his father is in the FBI and has been shot in the line of duty before, and that Gilbert has been to the North Pole. Beaver is immediately fascinated with this guy, buying whole these wild stories. But then the next day Gilbert stands Beaver up when they had planned to go to the movies. It turns out Gilbert has gone to the movies with Larry and Whity instead, and later is out front playing football with them. Then when Beaver goes over to play with them at Ward's urging, Gilbert starts bullying Beaver and turns the other two kids against him too. What goes on here? Watch and find out.
This episode was a rare uneven one for LITB. Beaver is showing extreme gullibility that I'd understand if an adult was telling these wild tales, but not another kid his own age! And why would Gilbert suddenly just turn on Beaver when they had been getting along so well. No reason was given for that turn of events. The Gilbert of this episode doesn't act like the Gilbert of any subsequent episode, and thus his bully persona just seemed like a wild departure.
I did like how Ward handled Beaver though. He managed to keep him from being babied by June without angering her, and at the same time gave Beaver some good advice concerning the situation and other similar situations that might crop up in the future.
Gilbert Gates was played by Stephen Talbot, son of actor John Talbot, who also played in a couple of LITB episodes. If you are a classic movie fan you'll recognize John Talbot as a star of some of the Warner Brothers precode films of the early 1930s.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content