Playback is currently unavailable for S2 E1 · That's Show Business. Episode details remain available below.
The Donna Reed Show
Revolves around typical family problems, such as firing a clumsy housekeeper, throwing a retirement bash for a colleague, and finding quality time away from the children.
- Cast:
- Donna Reed, Carl Betz, Paul Petersen, Patty Petersen
- Language:
- English
- Country:
- United States of America
- Network:
- ABC
Episode guide
Seasons
Season 2
Episodes
E01
Episode 1
That's Show Business
1959-09-24 · 30mMary 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.
Current episode
E02
Episode 2
Sleep No More My Lady
1959-10-01 · 30mDonna 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.
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E03
Episode 3
A Penny Earned
1959-10-08 · 30mDonna has trouble deciding whether or not buy a new dress.
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E04
Episode 4
A Friend Indeed
1959-10-15 · 30mJeff'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.
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E05
Episode 5
The First Child
1959-10-22 · 30mAlex 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.
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E06
Episode 6
Going Steady
1959-10-29 · 30mMary wants to meet a boy, so she talks Jeff into going to his kid sister's party.
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E07
Episode 7
The Neighborly Gesture
1959-11-05 · 30mAlex is hurt that Jeff likes the new neighbor.
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E08
Episode 8
Nothing Like a Good Book
1959-11-12 · 30mDonna 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.
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E09
Episode 9
Flowers For the Teacher
1959-11-19 · 30mJeff'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.
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E10
Episode 10
All Mothers Worry
1959-11-26 · 30mJeff's friend, Phillip, has a problem. He wants to play football, but his mother is over-protective and won't let him.
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E11
Episode 11
Jeff Joins a Club
1959-12-03 · 30mJeff finds out the reason why he wasn't made a member of a club: He is friends with a boy no one else likes.
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E12
Episode 12
The Punishment
1959-12-10 · 30mDilemma 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 .
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E13
Episode 13
A Difference of Opinion
1959-12-17 · 30mDonna 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.
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E14
Episode 14
The Homecoming Dance
1959-12-24 · 30mAlex and Donna chaperone Mary's date with a college man.
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E15
Episode 15
The Lucky Girl
1959-12-31 · 30mLately, 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.
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E16
Episode 16
The Broken Spirit
1960-01-07 · 30mJeff 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.
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E17
Episode 17
The Secret
1959-01-14 · 30mMary 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."
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E18
Episode 18
The New Mother
1960-01-21 · 30mLittle 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.
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E19
Episode 19
Just a Housewife
1960-01-28 · 30mDonna becomes offended by the way people seem to use the word ‘housewife’ condescendingly.
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E20
Episode 20
The Free Soul
1960-02-04 · 30mAlex'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?
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E21
Episode 21
The First Quarrel
1960-02-11 · 30mDonna and Alex advise a newly married couple after their first big argument.
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E22
Episode 22
A Place to Go
1960-02-18 · 30mJeff 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.
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E23
Episode 23
A Night to Howl
1960-02-25Mary 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.
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E24
Episode 24
The Editorial
1960-03-03 · 30mJeff 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 25
The Gentle Dew
1960-03-10 · 30mAlex 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 26
The Fatal Leap
1960-03-17 · 30mAlex'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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 27
The Perfect Pitch
1960-03-24 · 30mDonna makes Jeff take trumpet lessons when she discovers he has perfect pitch. Jeff would rather be on the track team.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 28
Pickles for Charity
1960-04-07 · 30mWhen 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 29
Mary's Growing Pain
1960-04-14 · 30mMary 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 30
Alex Runs the House
1960-04-21 · 30mDonna 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 31
The Career Woman
1960-04-28 · 30mDonna'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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 32
Jeff, the Financial Genius
1960-05-05 · 30mJeff starts swapping possessions to pay off his debts.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 33
Mary's Crusade
1960-05-12 · 30mMary 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 34
The First Time We Met
1960-05-19 · 30mDonna 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 35
The Gossip
1960-05-26 · 30mDonna 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 36
Love's Sweet Awakening
1960-06-02 · 30mSixteen- 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?
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 37
The Wedding Present
1960-06-10 · 30mAunt 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?
Watch progress · Not trackedEpisode 38
Cool Cat
1960-06-18 · 30mJeff 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedCast
Donna Reed
Donna Stone
Carl Betz
Alex Stone
Paul Petersen
Jeff Stone
Patty Petersen
Trisha Stone
