Lassie - Episode

It is noteworthy that this episode - the final episode in Season 5 - pivots around Todd Ferrell's character "Boomer" and his dog "Mike" because ... this is also the last time both actor and dog will be in the Lassie series. Boomer and Mike were dropped from Season 6 without explanation, leaving the audience to wonder what had happened. It may well be that Ferrell, who was 2 years older than Jon Provost ("Timmy") was outgrowing Timmy at too rapid a rate, and their "friendship" would look funny with one obviously teen actor and one still diminutive. It may well be that to prevent any similar occurrence with other actors brought into the series, from the beginning of Season 6 until the end of the Timmy and Lassie series Timmy would share his adventures with several different friends, but there would be no more regular recurring friend Timmy's own age. Todd Ferrell went on to appear in several other series in the 1960's, but apparently none after that time frame. What a shame, because I honestly loved Boomer and his dog. No other child actors in the series from then on ever managed to have even half the likability and humor that the team of Boomer and Mike had in Season 5.