7.0/1036 votes#1 - That's Show Business
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/1959
Mary 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.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Jerry Davis, Alfred Lewis Levitt
- 7.5/1042 votes
#2 - Sleep No More My Lady
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/1959
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.2/1038 votes
#3 - A Penny Earned
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/1959
Donna has trouble deciding whether or not buy a new dress.
Director: N/A
Writer: Tom August
- 7.0/1031 votes
#4 - A Friend Indeed
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1959
Jeff'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.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Tom August
- 7.0/1032 votes
#5 - The First Child
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 10/22/1959
Alex 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 6.8/1032 votes
#6 - Going Steady
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 10/29/1959
Mary wants to meet a boy, so she talks Jeff into going to his kid sister's party.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1030 votes
#7 - The Neighborly Gesture
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 11/5/1959
Alex is hurt that Jeff likes the new neighbor.
Director: N/A
Writer: John Whedon
- 7.4/1033 votes
#8 - Nothing Like a Good Book
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 11/12/1959
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.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: John Whedon
- 7.3/1034 votes
#9 - Flowers For the Teacher
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 11/19/1959
Jeff'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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.0/1029 votes
#10 - All Mothers Worry
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 11/26/1959
Jeff's friend, Phillip, has a problem. He wants to play football, but his mother is over-protective and won't let him.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1033 votes
#11 - Jeff Joins a Club
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 12/3/1959
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/1030 votes
#12 - The Punishment
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 12/10/1959
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 .
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1034 votes
#13 - A Difference of Opinion
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 12/17/1959
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.
Director: Ida Lupino
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1030 votes
#14 - The Homecoming Dance
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 12/24/1959
Alex and Donna chaperone Mary's date with a college man.
Director: Robert Ellis Miller
Writer: John Whedon
- 7.5/1028 votes
#15 - The Lucky Girl
Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 12/31/1959
Lately, 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1026 votes
#16 - The Broken Spirit
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 1/7/1960
Jeff 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.
Director: Lawrence Dobkin
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1033 votes
#17 - The Secret
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 1/14/1959
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."
Director: Norman Tokar
Writer: Nate Monaster
- 6.9/1029 votes
#18 - The New Mother
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 1/21/1960
Little 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: John Whedon
- 7.3/1039 votes
#19 - Just a Housewife
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 1/28/1960
Donna becomes offended by the way people seem to use the word ‘housewife’ condescendingly.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Nate Monaster
- 7.1/1031 votes
#20 - The Free Soul
Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 2/4/1960
Alex'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?
Director: Norman Tokar
Writer: N/A
- 6.7/1031 votes
#21 - The First Quarrel
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 2/11/1960
No description available
Director: Robert Ellis Miller
Writer: N/A
- 6.9/1029 votes
#22 - A Place to Go
Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 2/18/1960
Jeff and his friends get into trouble when they are discovered using an abandoned house as a hang-out. This prompts Donna and the other mothers to create a nice meeting place for the children.
Director: Norman Tokar
Writer: John Whedon
- 7.8/1032 votes
#23 - A Night to Howl
Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 2/25/1960
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 6.8/1028 votes
#24 - The Editorial
Season 2 Episode 24 - Aired 3/3/1960
No description available
Director: Lawrence Dobkin
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1032 votes
#25 - The Gentle Dew
Season 2 Episode 25 - Aired 3/10/1960
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.
Director: Norman Tokar
Writer: John Whedon
The Best Episodes of The Donna Reed Show Season 2
Every episode of The Donna Reed Show Season 2 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Donna Reed Show Season 2!
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...
Genres:ComedyFamily
Network:ABC
Season 2 Ratings Summary
"That's Show Business" is the best rated episode of "The Donna Reed Show" season 2. It scored 7/10 based on 36 votes. Directed by Oscar Rudolph and written by Jerry Davis, Alfred Lewis Levitt, it aired on 9/24/1959. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "Sleep No More My Lady".