Product Details

• Actors: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, Lauren Chapin
• Directors: William D. Russell, James Neilson, Peter Tewksbury
• Format: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Shout! Factory
• DVD Release Date: April 1, 2008
• Run Time: 660 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0012Q3SZ0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,940 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Father Knows Best: Season One" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

FATHER KNOWS BEST:SEASON ONE - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Father Knows Best. . . .but Shout Factory does not!, April 3, 2008

By 

Mike Dudley (Harrisburg, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Father Knows Best: Season One (DVD)

Father Knows Best was a wonderful television program. A review of the show would get 5 stars. These reviews are not supposed to be testimonials or nostalgic trips back to one's childhood; they should be reviews of the product. That is the reason I am awarding this product a single star. There is no excuse whatsoever for a company to give the buying public edited versions of tv shows that have been in existence for so many years. I wrongfully assumed that since the Young family trust gave its blessing to this project that the dvd set would be top notch and first class. Shout Factory could not even present episode number one in its original form. The first show was barely 22 minutes with complete opening sequence and closing credits. The editing to trim the show by the three minutes was done with a hatchet that a child of four could notice. I suppose this is better than no Father Knows Best at all, but not by much. My advice is to check the manufacturer of dvd's and make sure that Shout Factory had nothing to do with it. Otherwise, you will receive less than you hoped for and less than you paid for.

131 of 145 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thunderous Applause!!, January 18, 2008

By 

E. Hornaday (Lawrenceville, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Father Knows Best: Season One (DVD)

I grew up in a very difficult, unconventional family during the 1950s that was anything but conservative. Nothing about it resembled the "average, American middle-class" family - the Anderson's - depicted so flawlessly on Father Knows Best. My family didn't look like the Anderson's, they didn't sound like the Anderson's, and they certainly didn't act like the Anderson's.

Nonetheless, I loved everything about that TV family just because it was so completely foreign to my life. I was totally, hopelessly captivated by their perfectly rosy lives. It wasn't that I wanted the Anderson's to be my family, I just loved visiting them each week, sort of like going to another planet without needing a space ship.

I grew up to be a liberal feminist, so nothing about my adult life now resembles the Anderson's in the least, even now. But, I STILL love them! I love the warmth, the messages, and even the strong patriarchal structure. In fact, that is exactly what distinguishes Father Knows Best from the other 50s all-white family shows, like Leave It To Beaver and the Donna Reed Show. Those other shows focus on the children, but it was the Dad that was paramount in this show - how he responded to his family and how they responded to him. So, major kudos to Shout!Factory for this wonderful release.

Father Knows Best was first a radio series on NBC Radio in 1949 before finally moving to CBS TV after more than four years. A Screen Gems production, the series aired from October 3, 1954 to May 23, 1960 for a total of 203 episodes. The series ended while it was still number 6 in the ratings. (Young left the series in 1960 at the height of the show's popularity, but reruns continued to air in prime time for another three years, on CBS from 1960-1962, and on ABC from 1962-1963. Following this, reruns were shown on ABC-TV in the early afternoon for several years.)

The Anderson family of Springfield, Mo., includes hardworking General Insurance agent Jim (Young), his levelheaded and lovely wife, Margaret (Jane Wyatt - who later became a cultural icon when she portrayed Spock's mother, Amanda, on Star Trek), and their kids, sophisticated teen Betty "Princess" (Elinor Donahue), befuddled James "Bud" Jr. (Billy Gray) and precocious Kathy "Kitty" (Laurin Chapin). Both Jim and Margaret where portrayed as responsible, caring parents, with Jim usually guiding the family (especially the children) through everyday problems and Margaret supporting them. Jim and Margaret always treated their children's youthful transgressions with authority, empathy and wisdom.

This first-ever DVD release of the series was endorsed and produced in tandem with the heirs of Robert Young and producer Eugene B. Rodney, co-proprietors of the TV series.

Father Knows Best: Season One DVD box set features all 26 classic episodes on four discs plus the never-before-seen episode 24 Hours in Tyrantland, which was created for the U.S. government in 1959, new cast interviews of the "kids," Young's Home Movies, rare "behind-the-scenes" color footage, and the pilot episode of Young's TV series Window On Main Street.

Season One Episodes (1954-1955) are: Bud Takes Up The Dance; Lesson In Citizenship; Motor Scooters; Football Tickets; Live My Own Life; Grandpa Jim's Rejuvenation; Bud's Encounter With The Law; Thanksgiving Day; Second Honeymoon; Typical Father; Margaret Goes Dancing; The Christmas Story; Sparrow At The Window; Boy's Week; A Friend of Old George's; Bud the Snob; The Promised Playhouse (Apparently, this episode was not intact in the archives, but was loaned for inclusion here by a private collector in Dallas who had a 16mm copy!); Jim The Farmer; Father of The Year; The Mink Coat; The Matchmaker; Bud the Bridesmaid; Proud Father; Father Delivers The Papers; No Partiality; and Close Decision.

DVD Special: 24 Hours In Tyrantland, the never-before-seen episode created especially for the U.S. government. In 1959 the U.S. Department of the Treasury paid to have a special episode produced. It was never broadcast, but was shown in schools, churches and civic groups for the purpose of selling U.S. Savings Bonds. When Betty, Bud and Kathy don't want to help sell U.S. Bonds, Jim teaches them a lesson by making them spend a day living under a tyrannical dictator - him!

I know, I know, Mrs. Anderson always dressed to the nines and NEVER worked out of the house, she and her husband slept in twin beds, their eldest daughter was nicknamed "Princess" and everything that was already perfect in their whiter-that-white world ended up even more perfect by the end of each episode. But, there was real love in the Anderson house. I know there was because my little-kid-self felt it. So, it may not be politically correct, but I rejoice in this show's release and look forward with eager anticipation to pulling my chair up to the Anderson's table for a very long-overdue home-cooked dinner.

Let's hope additional Season Sets on DVD of this TV Classic are forthcoming.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a Buyer, April 10, 2008

By 

Videodog "Videodog" (sunnyvale) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Father Knows Best: Season One (DVD)

This show was a wonderful classic production that I have been eagerly anticipating for more than a year. I was all prepared to purchase it the day of release when I saw the reviews saying that the company distributing the shows on DVD had chosen not to give us the full, unedited shows as orginally broadcast. Reviewers used the term "butchered" and that was enough for me to decide that I would NOT purchase this DVD set after all. So, Shout Factory listen up - the consumers want quality, full broadcast versions - not what you edit to fit on a minium amount of space! I urge all fans of "Father Knows Best" to wait for the best!