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The Best Episodes of The Donna Reed Show

Every episode of The Donna Reed Show ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Donna Reed Show!

The Best Episodes of 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...

Seasons8

  1. Background image for With This Ring
    8.2/10(14 votes)

    #1 - With This Ring

    S8:E2

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for The Big League Shock
    8.1/10(21 votes)

    #2 - The Big League Shock

    S8:E10

    Jeff's friend Bill was high school valedictorian, but as a freshman in college now is only making B's and C's. How can the Stone family help?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for A Very Merry Christmas
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - A Very Merry Christmas

    S1:E14

    Donna searches for the mysterious person who puts on a Christmas party in the children’s ward at the hospital every year. The quintessential comedian Buster Keaton guest stars.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for By-Line - - Jeffrey Stone
    7.9/10(17 votes)

    #4 - By-Line - - Jeffrey Stone

    S8:E27

    Jeff and Smitty try to get Leslie Gore, who is appearing in town, to record their new song.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for A Night to Howl
    7.8/10(34 votes)

    #5 - A Night to Howl

    S2:E23

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Jeff, the Financial Genius
    7.8/10(30 votes)

    #6 - Jeff, the Financial Genius

    S2:E32

    Jeff starts swapping possessions to pay off a debt. Zack: Mike Montgomery. Mrs. Pruitt: Marjorie Winters. Alvin: Mike Peters. Sprague: Percy Helton. Paul Petersen.

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    Director:Hy Averback
    Writer:Unknown
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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Donna Reed Show

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  8. Background image for Boy Meets Girl Machine
    7.8/10(17 votes)

    #7 - Boy Meets Girl Machine

    S8:E3

    Jeff balks at organizing the freshman-sophomore party until he meets his lovely co-chairman.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Do It Yourself Donna
    7.8/10(17 votes)

    #8 - Do It Yourself Donna

    S8:E18

    Donna and Alex spend weeks attempting to assemble a complicated stereo set for Jeff's birthday—unaware that Jeff and Smitty sneak in every night to repair the mess.

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    Director:Lee Philips
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for The Secret
    7.7/10(36 votes)

    #9 - The Secret

    S2:E17

    Mary 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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  11. Background image for The Gentle Dew
    7.7/10(34 votes)

    #10 - The Gentle Dew

    S2:E25

    Alex 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.

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    Director:Norman Tokar
  12. Background image for Pop Goes Theresa
    7.7/10(22 votes)

    #11 - Pop Goes Theresa

    S8:E1

    Jeff has finally gotten a date with Theresa, a new girl who has an over-protective father. One taste of freedom makes Theresa go wild, and her father puts all the blame on Jeff.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Jeff Joins a Club
    7.6/10(36 votes)

    #12 - Jeff Joins a Club

    S2:E11

    Jeff 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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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Charge
    7.6/10(16 votes)

    #13 - Charge

    S8:E6

    Why can't the Stones get a Lesley Store credit card? The Stone's application for a card was rejected. But don't monkey around with Donna Stone! She'll figure out how to get one!

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Sam Locke
  15. Background image for How to Handle a Woman
    7.6/10(21 votes)

    #14 - How to Handle a Woman

    S8:E16

    Jeff and his friends try to prove men are the stronger sex by dominating their girlfriends.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Sleep No More My Lady
    7.5/10(45 votes)

    #15 - Sleep No More My Lady

    S2:E2

    Donna 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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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for The Neighborly Gesture
    7.5/10(32 votes)

    #16 - The Neighborly Gesture

    S2:E7

    Alex is hurt that Jeff likes the new neighbor.

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    Director:Unknown
  18. Background image for The Perfect Pitch
    7.5/10(36 votes)

    #17 - The Perfect Pitch

    S2:E27

    Donna makes Jeff take trumpet lessons when she discovers he has perfect pitch. Jeff would rather be on the track team.

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    Director:Norman Tokar
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Pickles for Charity
    7.5/10(34 votes)

    #18 - Pickles for Charity

    S2:E28

    While Alex was the ""belle of the ball"" with his fantastic dancing at the Woman's Medical Auxiliary Dance, the dance cost 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. Donna will sell 54 jars of her famous pickle recipe at fifty cents per jar and donate the money to the Auxiliary. Will Donna's plan work?

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    Director:Norman Tokar
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Alex Runs the House
    7.5/10(31 votes)

    #19 - Alex Runs the House

    S2:E30

    Donna is away and Alex has to manage the house and children.

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    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for The Career Woman
    7.5/10(34 votes)

    #20 - The Career Woman

    S2:E31

    Donna'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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Cool Cat
    7.5/10(30 votes)

    #21 - Cool Cat

    S2:E38

    Jeff 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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Nothing Like a Good Book
    7.4/10(35 votes)

    #22 - Nothing Like a Good Book

    S2:E8

    Donna 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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    Director:Oscar Rudolph
  24. Background image for The Punishment
    7.4/10(32 votes)

    #23 - The Punishment

    S2:E12

    Dilemma 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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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for A Difference of Opinion
    7.4/10(36 votes)

    #24 - A Difference of Opinion

    S2:E13

    Donna 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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    Director:Ida Lupino
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for The Homecoming Dance
    7.4/10(33 votes)

    #25 - The Homecoming Dance

    S2:E14

    Alex and Donna chaperone Mary's date with a college man.

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Best Episodes Summary

"With This Ring" is the best rated episode of "The Donna Reed Show". It scored 8.2/10 based on 14 votes. Directed by Lawrence Dobkin and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/23/1965. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Big League Shock".