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Father Knows Best

1954 Ended 30m episodes

6.6/10 28 votes

ComedyFamily

Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.

Created by:: Ed James
Cast:: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray
Language:: English
Country:: United States of America
Network:: CBS

Episode guide

Seasons

7 available

Season 2

Episodes

Episode 28 selected

E01

Episode 1

Art of Salesmanship

1955-08-31 · 30m

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

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E02

Episode 2

Father's Private Life

1955-09-07 · 30m

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.

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E03

Episode 3

Lessons in Civics

1955-09-14 · 30m

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.

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E04

Episode 4

First Disillusionment

1955-09-21 · 30m

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

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E05

Episode 5

Woman in the House

1955-09-28 · 30m

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

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E06

Episode 6

New Girl at School

1955-10-05 · 30m

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

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E07

Episode 7

Kathy Makes Magic

1955-10-12 · 30m

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

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E08

Episode 8

Advantage to Betty

1955-10-19 · 30m

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.

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E09

Episode 9

The Big Test

1955-10-26 · 30m

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

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E10

Episode 10

Father Is a Dope

1955-11-02 · 30m

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.

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E11

Episode 11

Spirit of Youth

1955-11-09 · 30m

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.

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E12

Episode 12

Bud, the Ladykiller

1955-11-16 · 30m

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.

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E13

Episode 13

Margaret's Premonition

1955-11-30 · 30m

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.

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E14

Episode 14

Stage to Yuma

1955-12-07 · 30m

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

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E15

Episode 15

Bad Influence

1955-12-14 · 30m

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

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E16

Episode 16

Betty Hates Carter

1955-12-28 · 30m

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

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E17

Episode 17

Jim, the Tyrant

1956-01-04 · 30m

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.

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E18

Episode 18

Betty's Brother

1956-01-11 · 30m

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.

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E19

Episode 19

Betty Earns a Formal

1956-01-18 · 30m

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

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E20

Episode 20

The House Painter

1956-01-25 · 30m

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

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E21

Episode 21

Bud, the Wallflower

1956-02-01 · 30m

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

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E22

Episode 22

The Bus to Nowhere

1956-02-08 · 30m

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

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E23

Episode 23

Kathy, the Indian Giver

1956-02-15 · 30m

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

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E24

Episode 24

The Historical Andersons

1956-02-22 · 30m

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.

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E25

Episode 25

The Grass is Greener

1956-02-29 · 30m

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.’

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E26

Episode 26

The Persistent Guest

1956-03-07 · 30m

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

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E27

Episode 27

Family Reunion

1956-03-14 · 30m

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

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E28

Episode 28

Family Dines Out

1956-03-28 · 30m

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.

Current episode

E29

Episode 29

Bud, the Boxer

1956-04-04 · 30m

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.

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E30

Episode 30

Betty, Girl Engineer

1956-04-11 · 30m

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.

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E31

Episode 31

The Martins and the Coys

1956-04-18 · 30m

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.

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E32

Episode 32