The opening routinely stressed the universality of Henry's zany experiences. For example, the announcer led into the episode "The Tuxedo" by saying, "Whatever and whenever the Golden Age was, it is less important to most people than the teen age-a time of life made notable by typical American boys like Henry Aldrich and all their mishaps." Adolescence normally involves a tension between conformity and individuation, but Henry's awkward attempts to be a dutiful son/student/friend/worker as well as an independent individual seldom seem rooted in common experience. Unlike his listeners, he never matured beyond 16. Certainly he honored his parents: the show began with the memorable call from mother Alice ("Hen-ry! Hen-ry Aldrich!"), which Henry answers with an obedient, "Coming, Mother." Talking to father, lawyer Sam Aldrich, Henry resorts to elaborate but ungrammatical politeness: "Do you wish to speak to I, Father?" He tries to carry out their wishes by not leaving doors open, by cooperating with his sister Mary, and by babysitting a rambunctious tyke. Yet he inevitably upsets family order. Once Sam borrows Henry's bicycle and thoughtfully leaves a note on the rake with which his son had promised to beautify the yard. As usual, Henry forgets the leaves, doesn't see the note, and, assuming someone has stolen the bike, calls the police. By the show's end, friends, neighbors, and strangers share his teenage turmoil.

     School situations likewise do little to develop Henry as a character. He once masters the Latin pluperfect subjunctive; most other times, his academic milestones mark unpredictable gaffes: when he spills glue on the shop floor and sees his teacher lose his shoe in the mess, or when he is caught on a fire escape by the principal as he tries in vain to return a teacher's grade book that his pal mistakenly picked up because it resembles a mystery story. Friendship and romance also seemed to change before Henry could understand them. A note from a girl in the next town flatters him so that he rents a costume, intending to escort her to a dance. After seeing her picture, he fobs her off on a rival who also takes his costume. The urge to make money, too, is thwarted by poor information. He buys a furnace-starting concession. The seller neglects to tell him that the owners are in Florida, a fact Henry learns from a postcard sent by the owners to his family. Unfortunately, he has already wrecked the furnace, restarted mail and milk deliveries, and burned a box of the owner's papers. Although Henry mishandles his duties, his good will eventually moderates any possibilities for serious harm.

     The plots often center on Henry's quest to acquire some object: a misplaced watch given by his aunt Harriet, who wants to see it again; a tuxedo so he can attend the prom; a straw hat; an antique toy to replace the one he broke in his girlfriend Kathleen's home; a motor scooter that he will receive if he can pass his history test. His cravings for material goods parallel those of the normative middle-class citizen, but his missteps lighten greed with humor. Popular formulas for success often mislead Henry. He thinks he might get rich raising rabbits; he imitates the generosity he·•s seen in a film and, like the hero of Thornton Wilder's Heaven's My Destination, creates chaos; he writes to a Charles Atlas-type muscle developer but misplaces the letter that details his puny dimensions. Henry's ambitions do not liberate him; rather, they entangle others. His father spends some uncomfortable hours trapped in a phone booth; a friend crouches miserably in a basement cubbyhole; his chum Homer Brown, unwittingly engaged to Agnes, finds that Henry's solution is worse than commitment.

     Although The Aldrich Family provided lasting memories, the cast changed frequently. At least three mothers, seven sisters, seven directors, and three fathers appeared. House Jameson, barely in charge as would-be patriarch Sam, had more authority as Renfrew of the Mounted. Ezra Stone was the best­ known Henry-his reedy voice captured the nearly out-of-control mood that characterized each program. After Stone was called to military service from 1941 to 1944, Norman Tokar, Raymond Ives, Bobby Ellis, and Dickie Jones filled in until his return. Clifford Goldsmith relied on seven other writers, but his benign vision of adolescence still shaped their versions. Only Jackie Kelk remained consistent, playing Homer (a role that was a shift for Kelk, who had played the self-confident Terry on Terry and the Pirates and helpful Jimmy Olson on Superman).

     Several shows copied the Aldrich formula of a well-mean­ ing youngster who inadvertently confounds normalcy: Archie Andrews and That Brewster Boy echoed the male adolescent's turmoil; Junior Miss, A Date with Judy, Maudie's Diary, and Meet Corliss Archer presented the female version. A series of 11 Henry Aldrich movies between 1939 and 1944 made visual his arrested adolescence, but the film versions employed other actors (Jackie Cooper in the first, Jimmy Lydon in the rest). Likewise, the 1949-53 television program used five Henrys (most notably Bobby Ellis), though it retained Jameson as father, Kelk as Homer, and Leona Powers as Mrs. Brown.