Father Knows Best

1Art of Salesmanship

30 minAug 31, 1955

Jim tries to encourage Bud to take after him in salesmanship.

2Father's Private Life

30 minSep 7, 1955

Jim 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.

3Lessons in Civics

30 minSep 14, 1955

A 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.

4First Disillusionment

30 minSep 21, 1955

Bud loses a job to a boy who fakes his resumé, which leads him to believe it is alright to do this himself

5Woman in the House

30 minSep 28, 1955

Margaret is forced to invite a woman over who makes her uncomfortable because she is Jim's friend's wife.

6New Girl at School

30 minOct 5, 1955

Bud learns that the girl he likes is dating his best friend.

7Kathy Makes Magic

30 minOct 12, 1955

Kathy gets a new magic set, from a trade with a friend, and becomes convinced she can truly wield magic.

8Advantage to Betty

30 minOct 19, 1955

Betty 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.

9The Big Test

30 minOct 26, 1955

Bud is accused of cheating because he is suddenly getting high grades in class.

10Father Is a Dope

30 minNov 2, 1955

After 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.

11Spirit of Youth

30 minNov 9, 1955

When 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.

12Bud, the Ladykiller

30 minNov 16, 1955

Bud 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.

13Margaret's Premonition

30 minNov 30, 1955

Margaret 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.

14Stage to Yuma

30 minDec 7, 1955

Tate Idsen saves a stagecoach from savage Indians in a flashback sequence.

15Bad Influence

30 minDec 14, 1955

Bud gets in trouble when his latest friend turns out to be a kleptomaniac.

16Betty Hates Carter

30 minDec 28, 1955

Betty is indignant when Jim arranges a date for her with an old insurance salesman buddy’s son, Carter.

17Jim, the Tyrant

30 minJan 4, 1956

Jim 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.

18Betty's Brother

30 minJan 11, 1956

Bud 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.

19Betty Earns a Formal

30 minJan 18, 1956

Betty gets a job to pay for a new, expensive formal for the Cinderella Ball at the country club.

20The House Painter

30 minJan 25, 1956

Jim has a bet with Betty and Margaret concerning human nature, integrity and the man painting their house—Mr. Everett.

21Bud, the Wallflower

30 minFeb 1, 1956

Bud seems determined not to go to a Senior/Freshman dance that is Sadie Hawkins-themed.

22The Bus to Nowhere

30 minFeb 8, 1956

Betty becomes irritable with her family as she goes through an existential crisis.

23Kathy, the Indian Giver

30 minFeb 15, 1956

Kathy is taught about fair trading from her father—and ends up trading her doll for a real baby.

24The Historical Andersons

30 minFeb 22, 1956

When Bud receives an assignment to write a term paper about a Revolutionary War hero, he ends up researching the life of a relative—Major Nathaniel Oliver Anderson.

25The Grass is Greener

30 minFeb 29, 1956

Jim’s old college friend, Charlie Bradley, a successful industrial tycoon, is in town. Charlie, along with Jim, were a part of a group known as The Four Musketeers, in college. Of the four, Jim appears to be the least ‘successful.’

26The Persistent Guest

30 minMar 7, 1956

Bud’s new friend, Fred, won't leave the Anderson house.

27Family Reunion

30 minMar 14, 1956

The family tries to think up excuses to keep from going to Margaret's family reunion.

28Family Dines Out

30 minMar 28, 1956

Betty tells a wealthy friend, Eloise Sanders, that she’s going to a charity dinner at a club. But it’s expensive and she hasn’t asked her father, yet.

29Bud, the Boxer

30 minApr 4, 1956

Bud gets in a tussle with a boy, Eddie, at school, then dreads facing him the next day because the kid wants to fight him. Jim makes Bud face him in a boxing ring to settle it, knowing that Bud will have to face Eddie, eventually. Later, Jim has Bud take boxing lessons.

30Betty, Girl Engineer

30 minApr 11, 1956

Betty takes a vocational guidance course and signs up to get practical experience to become an engineer, but she gets a lot of flack for it because she’s a girl.

31The Martins and the Coys

30 minApr 18, 1956

Jim and a family friend, Frank, fight over an insurance claim and dissolve their friendship over it. Betty and his son, Bob, are dating and this affects them, too.

32Dilemma for Margaret

30 minApr 25, 1956

Margaret is asked to represent her branch of the PTA by giving a speech, but later decides against doing so because of some mischief Betty gets into.

33Hero Father

30 minMay 2, 1956

Bud boasts to his friends, Sandy and Kippy, that his dad can get Duke Snider’s All-Stars to come to Springfield.

34Father, the Naturalist

30 minMay 9, 1956

Jim fights the elements to collect plants for Kathy's nature folder.

35The Ten Dollar Question

30 minMay 16, 1956

Jim makes a bet: the kid who doesn't tattle for one week will receive ten dollars.

36Adopted Daughter

30 minMay 23, 1956

Kathy finds a receipt for $25 from the adoption center and believes she was adopted.

37Betty's Graduation

30 minMay 30, 1956

While the family is readying for Betty’s graduation, Betty becomes conflicted about the event.