Father Knows Best

Season 2

37 episodes

  1. 1. Art of Salesmanship

    30m · Aug 31, 1955

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

  2. 2. Father's Private Life

    30m · Sep 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.

  3. 3. Lessons in Civics

    30m · Sep 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.

  4. 4. First Disillusionment

    30m · Sep 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

  5. 5. Woman in the House

    30m · Sep 28, 1955

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

  6. 6. New Girl at School

    30m · Oct 5, 1955

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

  7. 7. Kathy Makes Magic

    30m · Oct 12, 1955

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

  8. 8. Advantage to Betty

    30m · Oct 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.

  9. 9. The Big Test

    30m · Oct 26, 1955

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

  10. 10. Father Is a Dope

    30m · Nov 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.

  11. 11. Spirit of Youth

    30m · Nov 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.

  12. 12. Bud, the Ladykiller

    30m · Nov 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.

  13. 13. Margaret's Premonition

    30m · Nov 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.

  14. 14. Stage to Yuma

    30m · Dec 7, 1955

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

  15. 15. Bad Influence

    30m · Dec 14, 1955

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

  16. 16. Betty Hates Carter

    30m · Dec 28, 1955

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

  17. 17. Jim, the Tyrant

    30m · Jan 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.

  18. 18. Betty's Brother

    30m · Jan 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.

  19. 19. Betty Earns a Formal

    30m · Jan 18, 1956

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

  20. 20. The House Painter

    30m · Jan 25, 1956

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

  21. 21. Bud, the Wallflower

    30m · Feb 1, 1956

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

  22. 22. The Bus to Nowhere

    30m · Feb 8, 1956

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

  23. 23. Kathy, the Indian Giver

    30m · Feb 15, 1956

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

  24. 24. The Historical Andersons

    30m · Feb 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.

  25. 25. The Grass is Greener

    30m · Feb 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.’

  26. 26. The Persistent Guest

    30m · Mar 7, 1956

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

  27. 27. Family Reunion

    30m · Mar 14, 1956

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

  28. 28. Family Dines Out

    30m · Mar 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.

  29. 29. Bud, the Boxer

    30m · Apr 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.

  30. 30. Betty, Girl Engineer

    30m · Apr 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.

  31. 31. The Martins and the Coys

    30m · Apr 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.

  32. 32. Dilemma for Margaret

    30m · Apr 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.

  33. 33. Hero Father

    30m · May 2, 1956

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

  34. 34. Father, the Naturalist

    30m · May 9, 1956

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

  35. 35. The Ten Dollar Question

    30m · May 16, 1956

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

  36. 36. Adopted Daughter

    30m · May 23, 1956

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

  37. 37. Betty's Graduation

    30m · May 30, 1956

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