The Donna Reed Show

1958 • ABC
4.4
50 reviews
TV-PG
Rating
Eligible
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Season 1 episodes (37)

1 Weekend Trip
9/24/58
In the premiere episode, Donna hopes to get away to a ski weekend with her brood, but pediatrician husband Alex's on-call schedule makes this tricky, especially since one of his young patients, Eddie Barclay, has a mysterious illness and Alex doesn't want to leave him in the care of another doctor. Not wanting to disappoint Mary and Jeff (who are both experts at verbally matching wits and insults with one another, as any normal siblings would be), Donna takes charge of things throughout, getting another doctor to take Alex's calls and pinpointing the origins of Eddie's illness to fear of the school bully.
2 Pardon My Gloves
10/1/58
Jeff gets a black eye from a boy who mocked Donna's acting in a local play, so Donna tries to teach Jeff how to box.
3 The Hike
10/8/58
Donna uses "Girl Scout ingenuity" to prove that women are just as capable as men out in the wilderness when she takes Jeff and his friends on a camping trip.
4 Male Ego
10/15/58
Mary's speech about a Mother's Sacrifice brings alot of attention to Donna and leaves Alex feeling unappreciated.
5 The Football Uniform
10/22/58
Jeff wants a uniform for the team picture. Jeff must work for the money to buy it.
6 The Foundling
10/29/58
A woman abandons her child at the Stones' place.
7 Three Part Mother
11/5/58
Donna tries to go to 3 places on the same night.
8 Change Partners and Dance
11/12/58
Mary would like George, the basketball star, to ask her to The Varsity Prom, but there are a couple of problems. First problem: George doesn't know how to dance. Second problem: George develops a crush on Donna.
9 Dough Re-Mi
11/19/58
Donna tries to get a concert pianist to perform at a benefit at the same time Jeff is trying to raise money for a football tackling dummy.
10 Guest in the House
11/26/58
An ex-patient seeks refuge at the Stones.
11 The Baby Contest
12/3/58
Alex is judge at a Beautiful Baby contest run by Donna's club.
12 The Beaded Bag
12/10/58
Donna is insulted that Alex thinks she used feminine wiles to get him to give her a beaded bag for her birthday.
13 The Busy Body
12/17/58
Uncle Fred brings trouble to the Stones.
14 A Very Merry Christmas
12/24/58
Donna is fed up with how nowadays no one has the true Christmas spirit anymore. Seems like everyone is more concerned with receiving rather than giving. Her faith in mankind is restored when she discovers just who has been secretly giving the Christmas parties for the children's ward all these years.
15 Mary's Double Date
12/31/58
Mary's Junior prom is coming up, She feels two boys on the football team are two possible dates to choose from. She waits until the day of the prom to decide.
16 Jeff's Double Life
1/7/59
After nosy neighbor Mrs. Wilgus (the inimitable Kathleen Freeman) alerts Donna and Alex about Mary having a noisy party while they were out, the kids get lectured about being the children of a doctor, and that they should behave accordingly.
17 Nothing but the Truth
1/14/59
David Barker returns to the Stones home for his birthday.
18 It's the Principle of the Thing
1/20/59
Mr. Popkin is an overly proud man who won't let Alex treat his son until he has enough money to pay for the treatment. No credit or charity for him! Donna tries to help Mr. Popkin earn the money first by hiring him to do odd jobs around the house and then by marketing a toy he invented.
19 Jeff vs. Mary
1/28/59
Jeff feels his parents love Mary more. How can Donna get him to realize that they do love him as much as Mary?
20 Have Fun
2/4/59
Mary comes home from a date in tears. Donna And Alex tell 2 different stories on how they met each other on their first date.
21 Donna Plays Cupid
2/11/59
Donna tries to get Bo and Celia to fall in love.
22 Love Thy Neighbor
2/18/59
Donna And Alex help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Willber & Celia Wilgus only to find that Celia walked out.
23 The Report Card
2/25/59
Donna feels that Jeff is just an average Student.
24 Boys Will Be Boys
3/4/59
David Barker is brought to Alex to be treated for rabies only to learn that student bit David.
25 The Ideal Wife
3/10/59
Everyone praises Donna,"the ideal wife," so much that she goes on a rampage and purposely loses her temper at people. After a day of this she regrets her tirade and apologizes to all.
26 Mary's Campaign
3/18/59
Mary is running for class vice president, and may drive her family crazy trying to win the election.
27 The Flowered Print Dress
3/25/59
At a dinner party, Donna is so impressed with attentiveness shown to each other by a newlywed couple, Donna is determined that she and Alex recapture those romantic ways.
28 April Fool
4/1/59
Buzz Barry, teen singing sensation, comes to Hilldale to perform at the Civic Auditorium, but at the last minute, the show is cancelled due to Buzz getting the measles. Buzz is now holed up at the Stone residence to recover, and Mary is forbidden to tell anyone that he is staying at her home.
29 The Parting of the Ways
4/8/59
The Stones campaign to help the Keplers' marriage backfires on them!
30 The Hero
4/15/59
Alex's roommate Biff Jameson comes to Hilldale but Alex and Donna have trouble finding out what he does for a living.
31 Do You Trust Your Child?
4/22/59
Donna gives advice on how raise children, and then she is sorely tested to follow her own advice when it comes to Mary dating an intense boy named Leonard whose family is addicted to early elopements.
32 Grateful Patient
4/29/59
Alex takes advantage of a tip on the market.
33 The Testimonial
5/6/59
Donna plans a testimonial for the retiring Dr. Jason. Problem is that he really doesn't want to retire yet.
34 Miss Lovelace Comes to Tea
5/13/59
A housekeeper is hired by the Stones while Donna is busy managing the Have a Heart Hilldale campaign.
35 Tomorrow Comes Too Soon
5/20/59
Donna wants a day alone without kids. But are she and Alex ready for that?
36 Advice to Young Lovers
5/27/59
Mary gets advice on how to handle love.
37 Operation Deadbeat
6/3/59
Alex collects money Jeff owes.

About this show

Originally airing on ABC-TV from 1958-1966, THE DONNA REED SHOW became one of the most popular family situation comedy series in television history during its eight season run. Starring Academy Award-winning actress Donna Reed as homemaker Donna Stone, Carl Betz as her pediatrician husband Alex, Shelley Fabares as daughter Mary, and Paul Petersen as son Jeff, The Donna Reed Show is a humorous and heartwarming slice of Americana that earned a legion of new fans in reruns on Nick at Nite, TV Land and MeTV.

Ratings and reviews

4.4
50 reviews
Quincy Mefford
January 23, 2020
The Donna Reed Show is awesome, a lot of Heaven in this messed up, tore up world, you can't go wrong with Donna Reed, good memories to, family I wish I could back too then, The World Was Young and So Were We, Billie McPeak Mefford
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Mary Jo Berger
January 11, 2016
I really wish today's world was like back then. Families were closer, mothers stayed home and raised their own kids. They taught manners, morals and integrity. It starts at home ♡
23 people found this review helpful
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Jonathan Pick
May 4, 2021
Watched this show as a kid on Nickelodeon in the 1980s. Good wholesome entertainment, but before you buy this show in its entirety, note that one episode is mssing.
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