The Donna Reed Show: Season 5
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Donna Reed Show Season 4.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
Mister Nice Guy
Sep 20, 1962
Mary can't understand why her brother Jeff is being so polite to her - unless there is some ulterior motive behind his good behavior.
Mrs. Stone and Doctor Hyde
Sep 27, 1962
When Donna fills in for Alex's vacationing nurse, she is taken aback to find him an office tyrant.
To Be a Boy
Oct 4, 1962
Trying to save enough money to build a boat, Jeff and Smitty make a pact to give up dating. Then Jeff finds Mary's friend Joanne hiding under his bed.
Who Needs Glasses?
Oct 11, 1962
Jeff decides wearing glasses would make him look older, and sets out to prove he needs them.
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
Oct 18, 1962
Mary decides it's time to leave home, and moves into the college dormitory.
My Dad
Oct 25, 1962
Alex tries over and over to spend a day with Jeff,but his plans are always interrupted by emergency calls.Jeff later shows that he still loves his father by singing the song,""My D
Fine Feathers
Nov 1, 1962
Jeff discovers a lost bird.He thinks it might be a rare cockatoo and sends the story to the newspapers and audobon societies-only to find out that the bird is really a cockateel,no
Rebel With a Cause
Nov 8, 1962
Donna is selected to take part in a survey of housewives to dtermine how long they spend doing their household chores.
Big Star
Nov 15, 1962
Mary succeeds in helping a shy boy she knows become a singing star.
Man to Man
Nov 22, 1962
Alex and Jeff go camping in order to spend more time together, but the trip turns out to be a plot cooked up by Jeff to meet his friends.
The Winning Ticket
Dec 13, 1962
Jeff has a moral dilemma. He won a sports car with a raffle ticket he picked up off the ground after the original owner dropped it. Does Jeff keep the car or does he track down t
The Soft Touch
Dec 20, 1962
If Jeff wants to be able to afford to go to a special event this weekend, he had better collect on the loans he gave his friends. This prompts Donna to suggest that Alex collect f
Jeff Stands Alone
Dec 27, 1962
After a conversation with a telephone lineman, Jeff decides that it's about time he becomes independent himself. He tests himself by going to a strange town without any money to s
Just a Little Wedding
Jan 3, 1963
Mary's friend, Marcia, is getting married. She and her fiance want a small, simple wedding, but her mother, upon arriving in town, has other ideas.
A Woman' Place
Jan 10, 1963
When Donna decides to run for town council, Jeff and Mary agree to take care of the house. And how! But when Alex dreams about Donna's political future, as Mayor, perhaps Governor,
The Chinese Horse
Jan 17, 1963
At an auction a mysterious woman asks Donna to buy a huge Chinese horse statue and gives her the money for it, so Donna does buy it and takes it home. Mary, Jeff and Alex all wonde
The New Look
Jan 24, 1963
A boyfriend of Mary's calls her wholesome,and she doesn't know weather to take it as a compliment or an insult.
A Way of Her Own
Jan 31, 1963
A little girl named Trisha follows the Stones home from the park and says that she is one of the family.After a long effort to find her real parents,her uncle arrives.He realizes t
Three is a Family
Feb 7, 1963
Mary learns the joys and pains of having a little sister,as she has to baby-sit Trisha on a night when she'd planned to go on a date.
Big Sixteen
Feb 14, 1963
On Jeff's 16th birthday he has a big fight with his girlfriend. Then he falls for an older woman.
Pioneer Woman
Feb 21, 1963
Alex and Jeff spend the weekend at the cabin of Alex's friend Red. Donna and Mary follow them and prove that women can, ""rough it"" in the wilderness as well as men can.
The House on the Hill
Feb 28, 1963
Donna visits a reclusive woman who lives in an old Victorian house.She feels trapped in a haunted house after a while.
Where the Stones Are
Mar 7, 1963
The Stones all end up at Shelter Bay during ""mid-term vacation"", better known today as ""Spring Break"". Mary doesn't know the rest of the family is there; she thought it was jus
The Two Doctors Stone
Mar 14, 1963
Alex and Donna prepare to go away for the weekend, but Donna suspects Trisha will be sick. Donna sees Trisha eating bananas and she always saw Jeff eating bananas before he became
Everywhere That Mary Goes
Mar 21, 1963
A new boy at college has taken a shine to Mary. To Mary's consternation, he follows her everywhere and scares off any other boy who approaches her. Mary decides to find him anot
The Handy Man
Mar 28, 1963
There is a local handyman Trisha knows who loves fooling around and making children laugh.Trisha offers him to help fix the little things around the house that need fixing,but it t
Friends and Neighbors
Apr 4, 1963
Dr.Dave Kelsey,who has been more and more frustrated by his in-laws(or outlaws as he calls them)moves into the house next door with his wife Midge.Midge is a neophyte when it comes
Boys and Girls
Apr 11, 1963
While Jeff and Joanne are dating as seniors in high school and Mary and Scotty are dating in college, turns out Scotty would rather date Joanne, and Joanne would rather go out with
All Those Dreams
Apr 18, 1963
Pitcher Don Drysdale appears in this episode along with his real-life wife and daughter. On a trip to Chicago, Jeff is excited about seeing his pal, Don Drysdale, again. He is s
All Women Are Dangerous
Apr 25, 1963
A tale of Joyce and Sabrina in a classic contest, which one will get Jeff to ask her to the big dance? Will it be poor, helpless Joyce or the dominant Sabrina? They both ply Jeff i
The Big Wheel
May 2, 1963
Jeff buys an old bus at an auction and plans to use it as a school bus. However, it breaks down the first day-and no one can fix it. Trisha loves playing like she's driving the bus
Day of the Hero
May 9, 1963
Jeff makes a date with Rosemary for the senior prom. Smitty then lets Jeff know that Jeff has been nominated to run for Senior Class President. Now gorgeous Dolores wants Jeff to t