Father Knows Best: Season 2

S2·E1 Mytharc

Art of Salesmanship

Aug 31, 1955

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

S2·E2 Core

Father's Private Life

Sep 7, 1955

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.

S2·E3 Core

Lessons in Civics

Sep 14, 1955

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, a

S2·E4 Core

First Disillusionment

Sep 21, 1955

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

S2·E5 Core

Woman in the House

Sep 28, 1955

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

S2·E6 Core

New Girl at School

Oct 5, 1955

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

S2·E7 Core

Kathy Makes Magic

Oct 12, 1955

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

S2·E8 Core

Advantage to Betty

Oct 19, 1955

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 p

S2·E9 Core

The Big Test

Oct 26, 1955

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

S2·E10 Core

Father Is a Dope

Nov 2, 1955

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 fa

S2·E11 Core

Spirit of Youth

Nov 9, 1955

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 the

S2·E12 Core

Bud, the Ladykiller

Nov 16, 1955

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.

S2·E13 Core

Margaret's Premonition

Nov 30, 1955

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

S2·E14 Core

Stage to Yuma

Dec 7, 1955

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

S2·E15 Core

Bad Influence

Dec 14, 1955

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

S2·E16 Core

Betty Hates Carter

Dec 28, 1955

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

S2·E17 Core

Jim, the Tyrant

Jan 4, 1956

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 intere

S2·E18 Core

Betty's Brother

Jan 11, 1956

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

S2·E19 Core

Betty Earns a Formal

Jan 18, 1956

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

S2·E20 Core

The House Painter

Jan 25, 1956

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

S2·E21 Core

Bud, the Wallflower

Feb 1, 1956

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

S2·E22 Core

The Bus to Nowhere

Feb 8, 1956

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

S2·E23 Core

Kathy, the Indian Giver

Feb 15, 1956

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

S2·E24 Core

The Historical Andersons

Feb 22, 1956

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.

S2·E25 Core

The Grass is Greener

Feb 29, 1956

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

S2·E26 Core

The Persistent Guest

Mar 7, 1956

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

S2·E27 Core

Family Reunion

Mar 14, 1956

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

S2·E28 Core

Family Dines Out

Mar 28, 1956

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.

S2·E29 Core

Bud, the Boxer

Apr 4, 1956

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, kn

S2·E30 Core

Betty, Girl Engineer

Apr 11, 1956

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.

S2·E31 Core

The Martins and the Coys

Apr 18, 1956

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.

S2·E32 Core

Dilemma for Margaret

Apr 25, 1956

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.

S2·E33 Core

Hero Father

May 2, 1956

Bud boasts to his friends, Sandy and Kippy, that his dad can get Duke Snider’s All-Stars to come to Springfield.

S2·E34 Core

Father, the Naturalist

May 9, 1956

Jim fights the elements to collect plants for Kathy's nature folder.

S2·E35 Core

The Ten Dollar Question

May 16, 1956

Jim makes a bet: the kid who doesn't tattle for one week will receive ten dollars.

S2·E36 Mytharc

Adopted Daughter

May 23, 1956

Kathy finds a receipt for $25 from the adoption center and believes she was adopted.

S2·E37 Mytharc

Betty's Graduation

May 30, 1956

While the family is readying for Betty’s graduation, Betty becomes conflicted about the event.