Father Knows Best: Season 2

Episode 1: Art of Salesmanship 1955-08-31 | 30 min Jim tries to encourage Bud to take after him in salesmanship. Episode 2: Father's Private Life 1955-09-07 | 30 min 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 3: Lessons in Civics 1955-09-14 | 30 min 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 4: First Disillusionment 1955-09-21 | 30 min Bud loses a job to a boy who fakes his resumé, which leads him to believe it is alright to do this himself Episode 5: Woman in the House 1955-09-28 | 30 min Margaret is forced to invite a woman over who makes her uncomfortable because she is Jim's friend's wife. Episode 6: New Girl at School 1955-10-05 | 30 min Bud learns that the girl he likes is dating his best friend. Episode 7: Kathy Makes Magic 1955-10-12 | 30 min Kathy gets a new magic set, from a trade with a friend, and becomes convinced she can truly wield magic. Episode 8: Advantage to Betty 1955-10-19 | 30 min 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 9: The Big Test 1955-10-26 | 30 min Bud is accused of cheating because he is suddenly getting high grades in class. Episode 10: Father Is a Dope 1955-11-02 | 30 min 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 11: Spirit of Youth 1955-11-09 | 30 min 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 12: Bud, the Ladykiller 1955-11-16 | 30 min 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 13: Margaret's Premonition 1955-11-30 | 30 min 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 14: Stage to Yuma 1955-12-07 | 30 min Tate Idsen saves a stagecoach from savage Indians in a flashback sequence. Episode 15: Bad Influence 1955-12-14 | 30 min Bud gets in trouble when his latest friend turns out to be a kleptomaniac. Episode 16: Betty Hates Carter 1955-12-28 | 30 min Betty is indignant when Jim arranges a date for her with an old insurance salesman buddy’s son, Carter. Episode 17: Jim, the Tyrant 1956-01-04 | 30 min 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 18: Betty's Brother 1956-01-11 | 30 min 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 19: Betty Earns a Formal 1956-01-18 | 30 min Betty gets a job to pay for a new, expensive formal for the Cinderella Ball at the country club. Episode 20: The House Painter 1956-01-25 | 30 min Jim has a bet with Betty and Margaret concerning human nature, integrity and the man painting their house—Mr. Everett. Episode 21: Bud, the Wallflower 1956-02-01 | 30 min Bud seems determined not to go to a Senior/Freshman dance that is Sadie Hawkins-themed. Episode 22: The Bus to Nowhere 1956-02-08 | 30 min Betty becomes irritable with her family as she goes through an existential crisis. Episode 23: Kathy, the Indian Giver 1956-02-15 | 30 min Kathy is taught about fair trading from her father—and ends up trading her doll for a real baby. Episode 24: The Historical Andersons 1956-02-22 | 30 min 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 25: The Grass is Greener 1956-02-29 | 30 min 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 26: The Persistent Guest 1956-03-07 | 30 min Bud’s new friend, Fred, won't leave the Anderson house. Episode 27: Family Reunion 1956-03-14 | 30 min The family tries to think up excuses to keep from going to Margaret's family reunion. Episode 28: Family Dines Out 1956-03-28 | 30 min 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 29: Bud, the Boxer 1956-04-04 | 30 min 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 30: Betty, Girl Engineer 1956-04-11 | 30 min 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 31: The Martins and the Coys 1956-04-18 | 30 min 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 32: Dilemma for Margaret 1956-04-25 | 30 min Margaret is asked to represent her branch of the PTA by giving a speech, but later decides against doing so because of some mischief Betty gets into. Episode 33: Hero Father 1956-05-02 | 30 min Bud boasts to his friends, Sandy and Kippy, that his dad can get Duke Snider’s All-Stars to come to Springfield. Episode 34: Father, the Naturalist 1956-05-09 | 30 min Jim fights the elements to collect plants for Kathy's nature folder. Episode 35: The Ten Dollar Question 1956-05-16 | 30 min Jim makes a bet: the kid who doesn't tattle for one week will receive ten dollars. Episode 36: Adopted Daughter 1956-05-23 | 30 min Kathy finds a receipt for $25 from the adoption center and believes she was adopted. Episode 37: Betty's Graduation 1956-05-30 | 30 min While the family is readying for Betty’s graduation, Betty becomes conflicted about the event.