Father Knows Best

1954
4.8
96 reviews
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Father Knows Best: Season 1 episodes (26)

1 Bud Takes Up The Dance
10/3/54
Bud uses an old book to teach himself to dance in time for his very first date and his very first dance.
2 Lesson In Citizenship
10/10/54
Jim sets out to teach his layabout kids a proper life ethic.
3 The Motor Scooter
10/17/54
Jim and Margaret disagree on whether Jim should buy Bud a motor scooter.
4 Football Tickets
10/24/54
Jim and Margaret go to the big football game every year. This year, Margaret finds she cannot go and Betty is promised the ticket-until Jim offers it to someone else.
5 Live My Own Life
10/31/54
Bud feels beleaguered by his parents and siblings, and believes he is ready to take responsibility for his own life.
6 Grandpa Jim's Rejuvenation
11/7/54
Jim wants to play badminton, but his kids see him as too old for such things.
7 Bud's Encounter With The Law
11/14/54
Kathy's on a tear, throwing everything she can get her hands on into her new "spaceship," a/k/a the family washing machine.
8 Thanksgiving Day
11/21/54
When Kathy writes a prize-winning Thanksgiving poem, Jim envisions his "Kitten" as the next Emily Brontë.
9 Second Honeymoon
11/28/54
Jim and Margaret could use some time away from the house, so they plan a weekend getaway.
10 Typical Father
12/5/54
Betty is falling hard for a new guy, and it upsets her father.
11 Margaret Goes Dancing
12/12/54
Margaret is sure she could never get Jim to agree to take dancing classes with her.
12 The Christmas Story
12/19/54
In an attempt to remind his family of the real meaning of Christmas, Jim decides the Andersons will cut down their own Christmas tree this year.
13 Sparrow In The Window
12/26/54
When Kathy discovers an injured sparrow on the windowsill, the family takes the little bird in to nurse it back to health. Jim promises her it will get well—and worries what will happen if it doesn’t.
14 Boy's Week
1/2/55
After Kathy breaks another window, Jim is committed to teaching his kids about personal responsibility. Then Jim himself gets a parking ticket he thinks is unfair. He takes his fight to court and finds out that his judge is none other than Bud, appointed to sit in during his high school’s “Boy’s Week.”
15 A Friend Of Old George's
1/9/55
The family has a lovely dinner and special event planned for Kathy's birthday. She's been looking forward to it, but an uninvited visitor upsets the best-laid plans.
16 Bud The Snob
1/16/55
Bud is getting a reputation as a snob; his difficulty in talking with girls is being misinterpreted as standoffishness.
17 The Promised Playhouse
1/23/55
Jim demands that his family start living up to the promises they've made to people.
18 Jim The Farmer
1/30/55
Feeling stressed out from all the pressure at work, Jim decides to give up his job, move to the country and become a farmer.
19 Father Of The Year
2/6/55
The Springfield newspaper is sponsoring a Father of the Year contest. The Anderson children set out to write the winning essay, but can't find the words to describe the "best father in the world."
20 The Mink Coat
2/13/55
Money is tight and Jim lectures the family on fiscal responsibility. The very next day he is presented with an extraordinary opportunity to buy Margaret a mink coat for less than half the regular price, and he grabs it.
21 The Matchmaker
2/20/55
Margaret wages a campaign to get her cousin's boyfriend to propose. Though Louise is hesitant to "trap" Tom, Margaret is sure she knows what to do and takes over.
22 Bud The Bridesmaid
2/27/55
Cousin Louise is getting married in the Anderson home. Margaret is going all-out on the wedding, and Jim is not happy about the bills. When a case of wedding jitters keeps Louise out of the rehearsal, Bud has to stand in for the bride.
23 Proud Father
3/6/55
After he runs into a friend who brags about his overachieving children, Jim wants to help inspire his own brood to acts of greatness.
24 Father Delivers The Papers
3/13/55
The customers on Bud's paper route have been complaining about him to his boss. When Mr. Collins tells Jim about it, Jim assures him that Bud will fulfill his duties if he gives him another chance.
25 No Partiality
3/20/55
Kathy demands equal rights with Betty and Bud. Jim agrees and says that whatever Betty gets to do, Kathy gets to do too.
26 Close Decision
3/27/55
Bud is slacking off-he's not doing his chores and he's put off memorizing a poem to recite in church. Margaret insists he skip his softball game and catch up on his work, but Jim sneaks him out.

About this show

Maybe he didn't always know best, but beginning in 1954 insurance salesman Jim Anderson (Robert Young) of Springfield, Ohio, was America's favorite head of household.

Ratings and reviews

4.8
96 reviews
Stephen “Dezz's husband” Crawford
December 21, 2014
More seasons and seasons of The Donna Reed show. I was so happy to see Father Knows Best on here, I like Leave It To Beaver and Bewitched but those shows are always available be it on Netflix or at the store so am glad to see these 4 seasons. Granted it was before I was born but you don't see tv like this much less reality. The kids are relatable they aren't perfect but they aren't complete jerk like the disrespect on tv 2day*mrs.crawford.
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Norma Jacobs
March 8, 2018
I have always loved this show, I still watch it everyday! I would give it a 10 rating if I could! Life just seemed so much simpler in those days. I cry when I watch certain shows, I and laugh a lot @ other shows, but I love the morals and values that are deeply played out by each character in each episode! Families today could learn a lot by watching this show! We live in a very sad world. Respect is a thing of the past! Family ties don`t compare too how it was back then! 😂😂
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Dallas Lakey
February 21, 2015
since the other old shows aren't. I watched every episode and I wish that there were more seasons of it. It's too bad that they took it off of TV.
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