Series SeasonSeason 2 episodes1955

Father Knows Best

Season 2

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Episodes

Each episode has its own detail page.

Episode 130 min1955-08-31

Art of Salesmanship

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

Episode 230 min1955-09-07

Father's Private Life

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.

Episode 330 min1955-09-14

Lessons in Civics

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.

Episode 430 min1955-09-21

First Disillusionment

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

Episode 530 min1955-09-28

Woman in the House

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

Episode 630 min1955-10-05

New Girl at School

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

Episode 730 min1955-10-12

Kathy Makes Magic

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

Episode 830 min1955-10-19

Advantage to Betty

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.

Episode 930 min1955-10-26

The Big Test

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

Episode 1030 min1955-11-02

Father Is a Dope

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.

Episode 1130 min1955-11-09

Spirit of Youth

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.

Episode 1230 min1955-11-16

Bud, the Ladykiller

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.

Episode 1330 min1955-11-30

Margaret's Premonition

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.

Episode 1430 min1955-12-07

Stage to Yuma

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

Episode 1530 min1955-12-14

Bad Influence

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

Episode 1630 min1955-12-28

Betty Hates Carter

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

Episode 1730 min1956-01-04

Jim, the Tyrant

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.

Episode 1830 min1956-01-11

Betty's Brother

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.

Episode 1930 min1956-01-18

Betty Earns a Formal

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

Episode 2030 min1956-01-25

The House Painter

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

Episode 2130 min1956-02-01

Bud, the Wallflower

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

Episode 2230 min1956-02-08

The Bus to Nowhere

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

Episode 2330 min1956-02-15

Kathy, the Indian Giver

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

Episode 2430 min1956-02-22

The Historical Andersons

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.

Episode 2530 min1956-02-29

The Grass is Greener

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.’

Episode 2630 min1956-03-07

The Persistent Guest

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

Episode 2730 min1956-03-14

Family Reunion

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

Episode 2830 min1956-03-28

Family Dines Out

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.

Episode 2930 min1956-04-04

Bud, the Boxer

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.

Episode 3030 min1956-04-11

Betty, Girl Engineer

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.

Episode 3130 min1956-04-18

The Martins and the Coys

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.

Episode 3230 min1956-04-25