The Donna Reed Show · S2 · E6
Going Steady
Mary wants to meet a boy, so she talks Jeff into going to his kid sister's party.
About this episode
Mary wants to meet a boy, so she talks Jeff into going to his kid sister's party.
Season 2
1That's Show Business
30 minSep 24, 1959
Mary does a kind deed by encouraging a shy, insecure fellow student, Kenny, to appear in the school play. When she does, he ends up being paired with her in a dance number. But she regrets her good deed because she’s worried about how they’ll appear next to each other, as he’s shorter than her.
2Sleep No More My Lady
30 minOct 1, 1959
Donna is too excited to sleep because Alex is giving a speech at a convention. While trying to sleep on the plane, Alex gives Donna a tranquilizer to help her sleep, which leads to an embarrassing chain of events.
3A Penny Earned
30 minOct 8, 1959
Donna has trouble deciding whether or not buy a new dress.
4A Friend Indeed
30 minOct 15, 1959
Jeff's 'friend' Doug keeps getting him into trouble at school, and Jeff silently takes the blame for him because he knows Doug's mother constantly picks on him and wonders why he can't be more like Jeff, who behaves like an innocent cherub at their house.
5The First Child
30 minOct 22, 1959
Alex must contend with overly anxious new parents who constantly call him in a state of panic, thinking that there is something wrong with their baby.
6Going Steady
30 minOct 29, 1959Now viewing
Mary wants to meet a boy, so she talks Jeff into going to his kid sister's party.
7The Neighborly Gesture
30 minNov 5, 1959
Alex is hurt that Jeff likes the new neighbor.
8Nothing Like a Good Book
30 minNov 12, 1959
Donna mistakenly accepts an invitation to 'culture vulture' Lydia Langley's cocktail party, at which Lydia mentions that she also conducts a book discussion group. She goads Donna into joining it and then reporting on Tolstoy's "War and Peace" at her first meeting. Donna then attempts to immerse the whole family in culture.
9Flowers For the Teacher
30 minNov 19, 1959
Jeff's class has a new teacher, Miss McGuinness. The boys in particular complain that she is too strict, so Donna meets with the new teacher to get matters settled.
10All Mothers Worry
30 minNov 26, 1959
Jeff's friend, Phillip, has a problem. He wants to play football, but his mother is over-protective and won't let him.
11Jeff Joins a Club
30 minDec 3, 1959
Jeff finds out the reason why he wasn't made a member of a club: He is friends with a boy no one else likes.
12The Punishment
30 minDec 10, 1959
Dilemma in the Stone household: How to discipline the children without having Donna look like a villian by meting out the punishments, or having Donna look like a squealer when Alex does .
13A Difference of Opinion
30 minDec 17, 1959
Donna gets cornered into accepting an invitation from a couple that neither she nor Alex really care for. Alex refuses to go, sparking an argument that they try to keep quiet from the children.
14The Homecoming Dance
30 minDec 24, 1959
Alex and Donna chaperone Mary's date with a college man.
15The Lucky Girl
30 minDec 31, 1959
Lately, all Donna has been hearing is how wonderful Alex is, and how lucky she is to be his wife. After a while, this gets Donna wondering if what people really mean is that Alex got the short end of the stick by marrying her.
16The Broken Spirit
30 minJan 7, 1960
Jeff causes problems for everyone else in the house due to his selfishness and inconsideration for others. Because of this he gets a lecture, which he blows off. But then these same issues end up making him go overboard on being a model son when he fears the repercussions of hurting someone.
17The Secret
30 minJan 14, 1959
Mary gets an engagement ring and a phone call from Matt, a freshman at UCLA, but doesn't tell anyone in the family about the ring or why Matt is calling. So what's going on? As Donna says, "Alex, our daughter has a secret."
18The New Mother
30 minJan 21, 1960
Little David Barker is very excited. His father is getting married and he hopes this means he can leave military school and live in a real home, but things don't work out the way David thought they would.
19Just a Housewife
30 minJan 28, 1960
Donna becomes offended by the way people seem to use the word ‘housewife’ condescendingly.
20The Free Soul
30 minFeb 4, 1960
Alex's Uncle Dan takes a break from traveling all over the world. Jeff likes the idea of going to Alaska, Saudi Arabia, Malaya, Australia, and doing whatever he wants, just like Uncle Dan. Jeff decides to join him. Will Donna and Alex allow him to go? Would you believe, yes?
21The First Quarrel
30 minFeb 11, 1960
Donna and Alex advise a newly married couple after their first big argument.
22A Place to Go
30 minFeb 18, 1960
Jeff and his friends get into trouble when they are discovered breaking into an abandoned house. This prompts Donna and the other mothers to create a nice meeting place for the children.
23A Night to Howl
Feb 25, 1960
Mary gets scared of how people get in ruts and seem to lose their sense of wonder and magic as they get older. She shares this feeling with her parents, who decide to do something spontaneous and go out for the evening.
24The Editorial
30 minMar 3, 1960
Jeff makes editor at the school paper. Excited about his first editorial, he decides to write about how he believes some teachers assign too much homework. But his topic is rejected.
25The Gentle Dew
30 minMar 10, 1960
Alex lays down the law when Jeff and Mary slack off on their responsibilities at home and their schoolwork. Now Alex is furious when it appears that Mary didn't come home from a bowling date with Roger on time.
26The Fatal Leap
30 minMar 17, 1960
Alex's wild room-mate from college is getting married, and Alex is invited to the bachelor party. Donna doesn't like this idea at all.
27The Perfect Pitch
30 minMar 24, 1960
Donna makes Jeff take trumpet lessons when she discovers he has perfect pitch. Jeff would rather be on the track team.
28Pickles for Charity
30 minApr 7, 1960
When the Woman's Medical Auxiliary Dance costs more to produce than the income from ticket sales provided, each member agrees to contribute $27 using her skills in moneymaking to make up the budget shortfall.
29Mary's Growing Pain
30 minApr 14, 1960
Mary suffers a lack of confidence when Roger shows up at her door, before a ski trip she and her friends are supposed to go to together, and informs her she’s now going with Tooey and Babs, as he wants to drive Darlene’s new car up there. She later develops a crush on a young intern working with her father.
30Alex Runs the House
30 minApr 21, 1960
Donna goes away to be with Jeff, who’s on Spring vacation at uncle Bill’s farm, and Alex has to manage the house and Mary.
31The Career Woman
30 minApr 28, 1960
Donna's old school mate, who has been a single career woman all these years, is now engaged to a doctor. She visits Donna to see what life is really like for a doctor's wife.
32Jeff, the Financial Genius
30 minMay 5, 1960
Jeff starts swapping possessions to pay off his debts.
33Mary's Crusade
30 minMay 12, 1960
Mary vows not to go to the school dance unless Ellen has a date for the dance. Ellen is rather plain so Mary goes to work to transform Ellen into a glamorous young lady.
34The First Time We Met
30 minMay 19, 1960
Donna and Alex have different stories about how they first met. Also, Donna plays matchmaker to a new doctor in town and a pretty nurse at the hospital.
35The Gossip
30 minMay 26, 1960
Donna tells Emily, the town gossip, that Kay Watson is having a baby. Then Donna learns from Alex that Kay is keeping it a secret so that she can stay working longer. Donna is crushed, knowing that she may have let Kay's secret out.
36Love's Sweet Awakening
30 minJun 2, 1960
Sixteen- year-old Petie is home from military school and visiting the Stone family. Petie and Mary have been friends for years, but seeing how beautiful Mary has become, he would now like to be more than just friends. As Alex puts it, "Springtime has come to Petie!" How can Petie catch Mary's eye?
37The Wedding Present
30 minJun 10, 1960
Aunt Lettie is coming to visit, so Donna and Alex try to find the wedding present she gave them so she would be certain to see it. It would help if they could just remember what it was! And by the way, Alex, can Donna buy a $250 Porcelain Dresden figurine?
38Cool Cat
30 minJun 18, 1960
Jeff wants to keep a cat that followed him home, so can Harry the Cat stay? The Stone family will decide by using the democratic process.
Guest stars

