All things, both good and bad, must eventually come to an end. That's one of the cruel truths of the world. No matter how much we love something, no matter how hard we want to hold onto it, at some point, it's time to say goodbye. That's the case for pets, stamp collections, treehouses, and even sitcoms. Our favorite shows all wrap it up and call it a day.

But one legendary show could have gone on longer, at least according to the people making it. Apparently, there was an effort to extend Leave It to Beaver for a few further seasons. And why not? The stuff that made the show special was still all right there. Wally and Beaver were still brothers, and Ward and June were still parents. The stories would've written themselves! Who knows the adventures Beaver could've gotten into in college and beyond?

Eventually, they rebooted the series with The New Leave It to Beaver, proving there was still meat on the narrative bone. The audience would've been there, too. So, why did the show end?

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A 1983 Buffalo News interview with the Beaver himself, Jerry Mathers, sheds light on the production issues that led to the show's premature demise. ABC, which aired Leave It to Beaver from 1958 onward, wanted to make a radical shift in '63. The network proposed moving the show to an hour-long format. More to our point, though, ABC wanted to begin filming the show in color.

"At the time," said Mathers, "we had two days of rehearsal and three days of filming, which gave us a lot of what made it so well-written."

That time and attention translated to the screen. Leave It to Beaver remains popular, in part, because of the care that the writers and producers gave each story. The actors then had the space they needed to hone each scene until it was family portrait perfect.

"Due to the technology of color [in 1963], we were going to have to eliminate the two days of rehearsal and film it in six straight days.

"The producers really felt that would jeopardize the quality of the show and they said, 'We've had a good show, we've been on for six seasons; why try to squeeze two more years out of it and sacrifice quality?'."

But think of what could've been! Beaver goes to prom! Wally gets a job at a bank, or whatever! And all of it could've been in vibrant color picture! 

What do you think? Were we robbed of two seasons of TV's greatest family sitcom? Or were we better off leaving the show where it ended? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below!