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"Father Knows Best" (1954) More at IMDbPro »

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Episodes: All (98) | With full-length videos () | With videos () | See all videos (26) »

Season: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | unknown
Year: 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1977 | unknown

Season 1

Season 1, Episode 1: Bud Takes Up the Dance

Original Air Date—3 October 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 2 -- Jim sets out to teach his layabout kids a proper life ethic.

Season 1, Episode 2: Lesson in Citizenship

Original Air Date—10 October 1954
Jim Anderson, dismayed at his children's laziness, lectures them in the importance of good citizenship and cheerful volunteering. When each of them later heed his advice and try to do their part in the community, their efforts end up complicating his own life in unexpected ways.

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 3 -- Jim and Margaret disagree on whether Jim should buy Bud a motor scooter.

Season 1, Episode 3: The Motor Scooter

Original Air Date—17 October 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 4 -- Jim and Margaret go to the big football game every year. This year, Margaret finds she cannot go and Betty is promised the ticket—until Jim offers it to someone else.

Season 1, Episode 4: Football Tickets

Original Air Date—24 October 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 5 -- Bud feels beleaguered by his parents and siblings, and believes he is ready to take responsibility for his own life.

Season 1, Episode 5: Live My Own Life

Original Air Date—31 October 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 6 -- Jim wants to play badminton, but his kids see him as too old for such things.

Season 1, Episode 6: Grandpa Jim's Rejuvenation

Original Air Date—7 November 1954

Season 1, Episode 7: Bud's Encounter with the Law

Original Air Date—14 November 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 8 -- When Kathy writes a prize-winning Thanksgiving poem, Jim envisions his “Kitten” as the next Emily Brontë.

Season 1, Episode 8: Thanksgiving Day

Original Air Date—21 November 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 9 -- Jim and Margaret could use some time away from the house, so they plan a weekend getaway.

Season 1, Episode 9: Second Honeymoon

Original Air Date—28 November 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 10 -- Betty is falling hard for a new guy, and it upsets her father.

Season 1, Episode 10: Typical Father

Original Air Date—5 December 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 11 -- Margaret is sure she could never get Jim to agree to take dancing classes with her.

Season 1, Episode 11: Margaret Goes Dancing

Original Air Date—12 December 1954

Season 1, Episode 12: The Christmas Story

Original Air Date—19 December 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 13 -- When Kathy discovers an injured sparrow on the windowsill, the family takes the little bird in to nurse it back to health.

Season 1, Episode 13: Sparrow in the Window

Original Air Date—26 December 1954

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 14 -- After Kathy breaks another window, Jim is committed to teaching his kids about personal responsibility.

Season 1, Episode 14: Boy's Week

Original Air Date—2 January 1955

Season 1, Episode 15: A Friend of Old George's

Original Air Date—9 January 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 16 -- Bud is getting a reputation as a snob; his difficulty in talking with girls is being misinterpreted as standoffishness.

Season 1, Episode 16: Bud the Snob

Original Air Date—16 January 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 17 -- Jim demands that his family start living up to the promises they’ve made to people.

Season 1, Episode 17: The Promised Playhouse

Original Air Date—23 January 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 18 -- Feeling stressed out from all the pressure at work, Jim decides to give up his job, move to the country and become a farmer.

Season 1, Episode 18: Jim, the Farmer

Original Air Date—30 January 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 19 -- The Springfield newspaper is sponsoring a Father of the Year contest. The Anderson children set out to write the winning essay, but can't find the words to describe the "best father in the world."

Season 1, Episode 19: Father of the Year

Original Air Date—6 February 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 20 -- Money is tight and Jim lectures the family on fiscal responsibility. The very next day he is presented with an extraordinary opportunity to buy Margaret a mink coat for less than half the regular price, and he grabs it.

Season 1, Episode 20: The Mink Coat

Original Air Date—13 February 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 21 -- Margaret wages a campaign to get her cousin’s boyfriend to propose. Though Louise is hesitant to “trap” Tom, Margaret is sure she knows what to do and takes over.

Season 1, Episode 21: The Matchmaker

Original Air Date—20 February 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 22 -- Cousin Louise is getting married in the Anderson home. Margaret is going all-out on the wedding, and Jim is not happy about the bills. When a case of wedding jitters keeps Louise out of the rehearsal, Bud has to stand in for the bride.

Season 1, Episode 22: Bud the Bridesmaid

Original Air Date—27 February 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 23 -- After he runs into a friend who brags about his overachieving children, Jim wants to help inspire his own brood to acts of greatness.

Season 1, Episode 23: Proud Father

Original Air Date—6 March 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 24 -- The customers on Bud’s paper route have been complaining about him to his boss. When Mr. Collins tells Jim about it, Jim assures him that Bud will fulfill his duties if he gives him another chance.

Season 1, Episode 24: Father Delivers the Papers

Original Air Date—13 March 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 25 -- Kathy demands equal rights with Betty and Bud. Jim agrees and says that whatever Betty gets to do, Kathy gets to do too.

Season 1, Episode 25: No Partiality

Original Air Date—20 March 1955

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 1: Episode 26 -- Bud is slacking off—he’s not doing his chores and he’s put off memorizing a poem to recite in church. Margaret insists he skip his softball game and catch up on his work.

Season 1, Episode 26: Close Decision

Original Air Date—27 March 1955

Season 2

Season 2, Episode 1: Art of Salesmanship

Original Air Date—31 August 1955

Season 2, Episode 2: Father's Private Life

Original Air Date—7 September 1955

Season 2, Episode 3: Lessons in Civics

Original Air Date—14 September 1955

Season 2, Episode 4: First Disillusionment

Original Air Date—21 September 1955

Season 2, Episode 5: Woman in the House

Original Air Date—28 September 1955

Season 2, Episode 6: New Girl at School

Original Air Date—5 October 1955

Season 2, Episode 7: Kathy Makes Magic

Original Air Date—12 October 1955

Season 2, Episode 8: Advantage to Betty

Original Air Date—19 October 1955

Season 2, Episode 9: The Big Test

Original Air Date—26 October 1955

Season 2, Episode 10: Father Is a Dope

Original Air Date—2 November 1955

Season 2, Episode 11: The Spirit of Youth

Original Air Date—9 November 1955

Season 2, Episode 12: Bud, the Ladykiller

Original Air Date—16 November 1955

Season 2, Episode 13: Margaret's Premonition

Original Air Date—30 November 1955

Season 2, Episode 14: Stage to Yuma

Original Air Date—7 December 1955

Season 2, Episode 15: Bad Influence

Original Air Date—14 December 1955

Season 2, Episode 16: Betty Hates Carter

Original Air Date—28 December 1955

Season 2, Episode 17: Jim, the Tyrant

Original Air Date—4 January 1956

Season 2, Episode 18: Betty's Brother

Original Air Date—11 January 1956

Season 2, Episode 19: Betty Earns a Formal

Original Air Date—18 January 1956

Season 2, Episode 20: The House Painter

Original Air Date—25 January 1956

Season 2, Episode 21: Bud, the Wallflower

Original Air Date—1 February 1956

Season 2, Episode 22: The Bus to Nowhere

Original Air Date—8 February 1956

Season 2, Episode 23: Kathy, the Indian Giver

Original Air Date—15 February 1956

Season 2, Episode 24: The Historical Andersons

Original Air Date—22 February 1956

Season 2, Episode 25: The Grass Is Greener

Original Air Date—29 February 1956

Season 2, Episode 26: The Persistent Guest

Original Air Date—7 March 1956

Season 2, Episode 27: Family Reunion

Original Air Date—14 March 1956

Season 2, Episode 28: Family Dines Out

Original Air Date—28 March 1956
The Andersons face a dilemma when Betty promises a wealthy friend that they will attend an exclusive charity dinner on the same night that Bud needs the family to eat at the modest drugstore counter where he has just gotten his first job.

Season 2, Episode 29: Bud, the Boxer

Original Air Date—4 April 1956

Season 2, Episode 30: Betty, Girl Engineer

Original Air Date—11 April 1956

Season 2, Episode 31: The Martins and the Coys

Original Air Date—18 April 1956

Season 2, Episode 32: Dilemma for Margaret

Original Air Date—25 April 1956

Season 2, Episode 33: Hero Father

Original Air Date—2 May 1956

Season 2, Episode 34: Father, the Naturalist

Original Air Date—9 May 1956

Season 2, Episode 35: The Ten Dollar Question

Original Air Date—16 May 1956

Season 2, Episode 36: Adopted Daughter

Original Air Date—23 May 1956

Season 2, Episode 37: Betty's Graduation

Original Air Date—30 May 1956

Season 3

Season 3, Episode 4: Man About Town

Original Air Date—3 October 1956

Season 3, Episode 6: Spaghetti for Margaret

Original Air Date—17 October 1956

Season 3, Episode 9: The Old Days

Original Air Date—7 November 1956

Season 3, Episode 10: Whistle Bait

Original Air Date—14 November 1956

Season 3, Episode 15: The Angel's Sweater

Original Air Date—19 December 1956
Kathy is certain that the Andersons' Christmas Eve will be ruined by the visit of spinsterish Aunt Neva, but she learns a valuable lesson when she stops pouting long enough to listen to a Christmas story told by an elderly repairman.

Season 3, Episode 19: Brief Holiday

Original Air Date—16 January 1957

Season 3, Episode 20: The Lawn Party

Original Air Date—23 January 1957

Season 3, Episode 24: Trip to Hillsborough

Original Air Date—20 February 1957

Season 3, Episode 30: The Spelling Bee

Original Air Date—????

Season 3, Episode 33: Class Prophecy

Original Air Date—8 May 1957

Season 3, Episode 35: Margaret Disowns Her Family

Original Air Date—22 May 1957

Season 4

Season 4, Episode 5: Sentenced to Happiness

Original Air Date—23 October 1957

Season 4, Episode 7: The Indispensable Man

Original Air Date—6 November 1957

Season 4, Episode 8: Kathy's Big Chance

Original Air Date—13 November 1957

Season 4, Episode 11: Mister Beal Meets His Match

Original Air Date—1958
Betty reads a story she wrote for school involving her family. In the story a devil named Harry Beal is trying to get the children's souls, Jim fights him and agrees his soul in exchange for his kids. But will the family let him sacrifice his soul?

Season 4, Episode 14: Big Sister

Original Air Date—8 January 1958

Season 4, Episode 15: Calypso Bud

Original Air Date—15 January 1958

Season 4, Episode 16: Father's Biography

Original Air Date—22 January 1958

Season 4, Episode 17: The Rivals

Original Air Date—29 January 1958

Season 4, Episode 22: Country Cousin

Original Air Date—5 March 1958

Season 4, Episode 29: The Weaker Sex

Original Air Date—30 April 1958

Season 4, Episode 30: Jim, the Answer Man

Original Air Date—14 May 1958

Season 5

Season 5, Episode 8: Bud, the Caretaker

Original Air Date—3 November 1958

Season 5, Episode 10: Fair Exchange

Original Air Date—24 November 1958
Chanthini, an exchange student from India, spends a weekend at the Anderson home with her classmate Betty. The children struggle to make her welcome, but succeed only in making her feel like an outsider.

"Father Knows Best" (1954): Season 5: Episode 14 -- In an attempt to remind his family of the real meaning of Christmas, Jim decides the Andersons will cut down their own Christmas tree this year.

Season 5, Episode 14: The Christmas Story

Original Air Date—15 December 1958

Season 5, Episode 20: Hard Luck Leo

Original Air Date—26 January 1959

Season 5, Episode 22: Crisis Over a Kiss

Original Air Date—9 February 1959

Season 5, Episode 24: A Man of Merit

Original Air Date—23 November 1959

Season 5, Episode 29: The Art of Romance

Original Air Date—30 March 1959

Season 6

Season 6, Episode 4: The Impostor

Original Air Date—26 October 1959

Season 6, Episode 21: Jim's Big Surprise

Original Air Date—29 February 1960

Season 6, Episode 24: The $500 Letter

Original Air Date—21 March 1960

Season 6, Episode 29: Betty's Career Problem

Original Air Date—25 April 1960

Season 6, Episode 31: Not His Type

Original Air Date—16 May 1960

Unknown Season

Father Knows Best Reunion

Original Air Date—1977

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