User Reviews

Wally is lovesick over Ginny Townsend, a pretty blonde upperclassman. Eddie urges him to talk to her, but Wally is content to admire her from afar. When June finds Wally mooning around the house listening to love themes on the phonograph, she becomes determined to do something to bring Wally out of this state. Unbeknownst to Wally, she invites Ginny to a family picnic. Wally is mortified. On the picnic, it turns out Ginny is an eccentric bundle of allergies: she's allergic to everything from chicken to sunlight. Wally becomes pretty well cured of his infatuation.

And so Wally learns not to fall in love with an image; love is about more than just looking good. This is an important moral lesson, and although we might question Wally's behavior here (why is he cold towards the object of his adoration when she's sitting right next to him?), this is still a solid episode.

Wally is off to school wearing a jacket and tie! Why, Ward figures it's a girl. It is: Ginny Townsend who passes Wally every day on the way to her history class. Wally has it bad. He tells Eddie he likes looking at Ginny the way some people look at the Mona Lisa. Eddie says Wally better see his guidance counselor.

Ward says in his younger days he had a crush on Loretta Mish. Her father sold Hupmobiles in Shaker Heights. I was always curious about Ward's references to his youth and growing up on a farm. Ward would have been about my dad's age, and Shaker Heights was a fairly upscale suburb even during my dad's youth. Anyway, Ward tries to explain to June about "love" when you're a 16-year-old boy and you have a crush on a dream girl. Those "crushes" while intense are short-lived. Ward's crush on Loretta ended when he saw her cleaning fish. This concept is intrinsic to The Great Gatsby. What helps destroy Gatsby is his unwillingness to see Daisy as just a woman of flesh and blood. A similar theme appears in Studs Lonigan (James T. Farrell)

At home Wally is listening to love themes on the record player. June is upset. Wally might be in love. Wally is sixteen. Wally might get hurt. Wally is too young. June really has a problem. Wally does confide in Beaver and tries to explain to Beaver how he feels, but Beaver concludes it's mush. And Beaver in his own way gives Wally some good advice.

Unfortunately, Beaver mentions the name to June. June says he met the mother in a store, they just moved here from Indianapolis. AND JUNE CALLS INFORMATION TO GET THE FAMILY'S PHONE NUMBER. Poor, poor Wally. June has arranged for Ginny to go with the Cleavers on a picnic. Ward believes June has made a horrific mistake. When she announces this to Wally, she says to Ward, "He didn't have much to say." Ward retorts, "Caesar probably had little to say to Brutus."

On the drive out to the picnic, Wally and Ginny sit in the back with Beaver kibitzing from the front seat. We discover Ginny has food allergies, sunlight allergy, and is concerned about her weight. June claims, as she talks with Ward, she has learned a lesson about interfering in her children's lives. We'll see, June apologizes to Wally for asking Ginny, but Wally says it was OK. He learned he needs to look beneath the surface, a girl being good-looking isn't enough. At least we hope then, Wally won't share the fate of a Gatsby.

The story starts out at the breakfast nook with Wally looking and smelling like a "very distinguished member of the junior class". Wally's attention to his appearance puts June on the warpath and she does her whole clueless routine where she asks her smart and worldly husband questions with large eyes like why's the sky blue or where do all roads go or in this case, why's Wally so dressed up? Ward clues her in and tells her it's because he likes a girl.

Wally makes it to school and his difference in fashion is also not lost on best friend Eddie Haskell. Wally tells Eddie about his crush, senior transfer student, Miss Ginny Townsend. Wally is staked outside of Ginny's history class just so he can be in her presence. Eddie can't understand what this will accomplish but he risks being late to class to be with his pal. Ginny breezes down the hall, grinning and speaking to everyone she sees except Wally and Eddie standing across the hall.

Wally's at home daydreaming about Ginny and listening to love songs on the HIFI at a very loud volume. Too bad Walkman's hadn't been invented yet because June breaks into Wally's daydream to tell him that he can talk to her about anything. Wally runs from the room like it's on fire.

The family has planned a picnic at Friends Lake. After learning the name of Wally's crush and having met the girl's mother at her bridge club meeting, June cluelessly calls up the Townsend home to invite Ginny on the picnic before asking Wally's permission. June tells Wally the bad news and poor Wally gets sick a few times and can't speak to Ginny in the car; these scenes are hilarious!

Ginny seemed like a bubble head but through no fault of her own, she's allergic to chicken and the sun and for that, that's the end of Wally's infatuation and communication with Ginny Townsend. The fake scenes wizzing by as Ward drives were dizzying.

Pretty lame until the car ride to the lake, and the picnic chatter. Then it gets hysterical. Wally is so uptight with his date. He's got the personality of a doorknob. Wally finds out Ginny (Linda Bennett) is more uptight than he is. Classic Wally line, "a girl like Ginny doesn't even know a chicken has parts".

(*Wally quote*) - "You know something, Beaver? You're a slob!"

Wally Cleaver has got a colossal crush on the new girl at school, Jenny Townsend.

In Wally's eyes Jenny is absolute perfection. To him this radiant beauty can do no wrong.

Well, all it takes for Wally to finally wake up to the reality about Jenny is for June to invite her (without consulting him) on a picnic (with the rest of the Cleaver clan) up to Friend's Lake.

To say that Jenny turned out to be nothing but a flake would truly be an understatement.

And, so, once again Wally remains unsoiled by females (aka. A "virgin").