Last week, I saw Better Luck Tomorrow, a very good film about overachieving but bored Asian high school kids in California, who turn to drugs and other forms of delinquency to feel alive. I was surprised to see Jerry Mathers as one of the high school teachers — after thinking about it, I’m pretty sure that I’ve only ever seen him play Beaver, either in the original Leave it to Beaver TV series, or one of the reunion shows. Or just in appearances as himself (except maybe for his cameo in Back to the Beach). I’ve always been a minor fan of the various Beaver shows, so the surprise was pleasant. But even better, as the end-of-film credits rolled, Jerry’s name was placed at the bottom of the cast list: “and Jerry Mathers as the biology teacher”. A nice nod to the original show, which also credted him at the end of the main cast list: “and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.”