The Best Episodes of The Donna Reed Show Season 1

In the premiere episode, Donna hopes to get away to a ski weekend with her brood, but pediatrician husband Alex's on-call schedule makes this tricky, especially since one of his young patients, Eddie Barclay (played by one of the Corcoran siblings of Disney film and TV fame; sister Noreen was on "Bachelor Father" with John Forsythe), has a mysterious illness and Alex doesn't want to leave him in the care of another doctor.

Director: N/A

Writer: Phil Leslie

Jeff gets a black eye from a boy who mocks Donna's acting in a local play. So, Donna tries to teach Jeff how to box.

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Donna tries to prove women can outsmart men when Dr. Stone is called away to treat a patient.

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Writer: Jay Sommers

Alex tries to prove his independence when Donna buys a suit for him.

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Jeff wants a uniform for the team picture, but is told he must work for the money to buy it.

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A baby is abandoned at the Stone’s place.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Whedon

Donna spreads herself thin, running between three places on the same night, for her family.

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Mary has a crush on the school basketball star, George, who wants to take her to the prom, but hasn’t asked her because he can't dance.

Director: James V. Kern

Writer: N/A

Donna tries to get a famous concert pianist to perform at a benefit, and, at the same time, Jeff is trying to raise money for a football tackling dummy. These two seemingly unrelated projects intertwine.

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A problem child takes refuge at the Stone’s house, and Donna tries to get through to him.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Whedon

Alex is judge at a Beautiful Baby contest run by Donna's club.

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Writer: N/A

When Donna longingly admires a lovely, expensive bag at a store, the saleswoman (along with a female friend of hers) schemes to coax Alex into getting it for her for a birthday gift. But Alex is suspicious that Donna is pulling the strings behind the scenes, instead of being forthright about it.

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Charismatic Uncle Fred visits the Stone family and a brouhaha ensues.

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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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Mary's Junior prom is imminent, and she has trouble deciding between two boys on the football team who might ask her. She also dangles another nice boy on a string. But, eventually, the resultant consequences of her selfish decisions come to fruition.

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After nosy neighbor Mrs. Wilgus (the inimitable Kathleen Freeman) alerts Donna and Alex about Mary having a noisy party while they were out, the kids get lectured about being the children of a doctor, and that they should behave accordingly. Not too long after this, Jeff takes a ride from Mary's troublemaker friend Tommy Hendricks, who doesn't have a license and has taken his father's car out for a joyride, and they get into a minor accident while fleeing a cop.

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David Barker finagles a return to the Stone’s home for his birthday celebration.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Whedon

Mr. Popkin won't let Alex treat Joey because he has no money. So, Donna hires him to do repairs around the house, but Alex fires him. Then Donna tries another method to help him get the finances he needs.

Director: N/A

Writer: Jerry Davis

Jeff becomes jealous and insecure about his parent’s love—feeling that they care about Mary more than him.

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Writer: N/A

When Mary comes home utterly dejected from a terrible first date, Donna and Alex each, in “Rashomon”-style, tell her about their first date.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Whedon

Donna decides that Alex’s obstetrician friend, Beau, is a lonely bachelor in need of a mate, so she tries to pair him and her good friend Celia (who has recently broken up with her boyfriend) up.

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Donna and Alex help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Wilbur & Celia Wilgus, only for Donna to get caught up in a misunderstanding later.

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Donna is worried when Jeff comes home with a report card full of Cs.

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David Barker is brought to Alex to be treated for rabies, and is invited to stay the night. Later, Jeff is left in charge of David, as everyone else will be gone.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Whedon

Donna keeps getting praised for being an excellent wife and mother—so much so, that she, illogically, becomes a bit paranoid that people really mean something negative about her beneath the surface of their words, and fears her kids are taking advantage of her.

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