Father Knows Best (1954)
Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.
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Episode 1 - Art of Salesmanship
Release Date: 1955-08-31Jim tries to encourage Bud to take after him in salesmanship.
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Episode 2 - Father's Private Life
Release Date: 1955-09-07Jim comes home tired one day and is harangued by the kids. So, he and Margaret set up new rules to give him some time to relax—but it ends up backfiring.
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Episode 3 - Lessons in Civics
Release Date: 1955-09-14A new highway is getting built, and for that the old community hall is going to be pulled down. That's something Jim wouldn't like to see since the hall is a historical monument, and also, memories from his youth are connected with this hall. Everyone from the family sees how much the hall means to Jim, and they use different ways to organize help.
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Episode 4 - First Disillusionment
Release Date: 1955-09-21Bud loses a job to a boy who fakes his resume, which leads him to believe it is alright to do this himself
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Episode 5 - Woman in the House
Release Date: 1955-09-28Margaret is forced to invite a woman who makes her uncomfortable because she is Jim's friend's wife.
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Episode 6 - New Girl at School
Release Date: 1955-10-05Bud learns that the girl he likes is dating his best friend.
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Episode 7 - Kathy Makes Magic
Release Date: 1955-10-12Kathy gets a new magic set, from a trade with a friend, and becomes convinced she can truly wield magic.
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Episode 8 - Advantage to Betty
Release Date: 1955-10-19Betty has recently taken up tennis at school and is chosen for a photo shoot for the paper. This causes friction between her and her doubles partner, Eula, who is the team’s best player.
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Episode 9 - The Big Test
Release Date: 1955-10-26Bud is accused of cheating because he is suddenly getting high grades in class.
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Episode 10 - Father Is a Dope
Release Date: 1955-11-02After commenting on a sitcom (“Father Does It Again”) the family watches together one night, Jim speaks about how TV fathers are often portrayed as dumb in comparison with their families. Later, he plans on going hunting and starts believing that Margaret and the kids are secretly trying to get him to stay.
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Episode 11 - Spirit of Youth
Release Date: 1955-11-09When Jim gets an invitation to a dance for his class reunion—class of ‘33—the kids start behaving as if their parents are ancient. Then, when the kids at their alma mater treat them the same, Jim and Margaret deal with the thought of getting older.
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Episode 12 - Bud, the Ladykiller
Release Date: 1955-11-16Bud gets irritated by a girl (whom he refers to as “Dumb Dora”) who has a crush on him, hurts her feelings when his irritation leads to cruelty, and must make amends.
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Episode 13 - Margaret's Premonition
Release Date: 1955-11-30Margaret has a premonition of danger for Jim’s upcoming business trip, and tries to get Jim to postpone it. But Jim believes it’s a bunch of superstitious nonsense, and insists on going anyway.
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Episode 14 - Stage to Yuma
Release Date: 1955-12-07Tate Idsen saves a stagecoach from savage Indians in a flashback sequence.
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Episode 15 - Bad Influence
Release Date: 1955-12-14Bud gets in trouble when his latest friend turns out to be a kleptomaniac.
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Episode 16 - Betty Hates Carter
Release Date: 1955-12-28Betty is indignant when Jim arranges a date for her with an old insurance salesman buddy’s son, Carter.
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Episode 17 - Jim, the Tyrant
Release Date: 1956-01-04Jim comes home early from work, after a long, hard day, and expects to gain comfort from his family, but is quickly disillusioned when they all are too absorbed in their own interests and tasks to pay attention to him. This just makes his mood more sour and he declares at dinner that if he must, he will become a tyrant. This leads to unwelcome consequences.
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Episode 18 - Betty's Brother
Release Date: 1956-01-11Bud is having trouble in school and the family are hard-pressed to find out why. Eventually, Jim and Margaret come to the conclusion that, since he’s entered high school, he’s lost his confidence over being constantly compared to Betty and her accomplishments.
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Episode 19 - Betty Earns a Formal
Release Date: 1956-01-18Betty gets a job to pay for a new, expensive formal for the Cinderella Ball at the country club.
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Episode 20 - The House Painter
Release Date: 1956-01-25Jim has a bet with Betty and Margaret concerning human nature, integrity and the man painting their house—Mr. Everett.
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Episode 21 - Bud, the Wallflower
Release Date: 1956-02-01 -
Episode 22 - The Bus to Nowhere
Release Date: 1956-02-08The last few days Betty has no fun, she's sullen and does nothing. No one gets through to her, not even her parents. Betty faces a personal crisis when she has to find answers, basically, to the meaning-of-life question. The only way out for her is to put Bud's story (which he has written as an assignment) into reality: Enter a bus and go as far as the money takes her.
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Episode 23 - Kathy, the Indian Giver
Release Date: 1956-02-15 -
Episode 24 - The Historical Andersons
Release Date: 1956-02-22 -
Episode 25 - The Grass is Greener
Release Date: 1956-02-29 -
Episode 26 - The Persistent Guest
Release Date: 1956-03-07Bud new friend won't leave the Anderson house because he has no family.
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Episode 27 - Family Reunion
Release Date: 1956-03-14The family tries to think up excuses to keep from going to Margaret's family reunion.
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Episode 28 - Family Dines Out
Release Date: 1956-03-28 -
Episode 29 - Bud, the Boxer
Release Date: 1956-04-04 -
Episode 30 - Betty, Girl Engineer
Release Date: 1956-04-11Betty decides to become an engineer. Doyle: Roger Smith. Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Billy Gray, Lauren Chapin.
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Episode 31 - The Martins and the Coys
Release Date: 1956-04-18Betty and her boyfriend refuse to see again after Jim and his father fight.
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Episode 32 - Dilemma for Margaret
Release Date: 1956-04-25Margaret admits before the PTA that she can't control her children.
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Episode 33 - Hero Father
Release Date: 1956-05-02Former baseball star Duke Snider appears in this episode. Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, Lauren Chapin. Sandy: Tommy Ivo. Bramer: Kenneth Tobey. Kippy: Paul Wallace.
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Episode 34 - Father, the Naturalist
Release Date: 1956-05-09Jim fights the elements to collect plants for Kathy's nature folder. Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray.
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Episode 35 - The Ten Dollar Question
Release Date: 1956-05-16The family member who doesn't tattle for one week will receive ten dollars.
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Episode 36 - Adopted Daughter
Release Date: 1956-05-23Kathy finds a receipt for $25 from the adoption center and believes she was adopted.
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Episode 37 - Betty's Graduation
Release Date: 1956-05-30