Official Synopsis:
Maybe he didn't always know best, but beginning in 1954 insurance salesman Jim Anderson (Robert Young) of Springfield, Ohio, was America's favorite head of household. Father Knows Best premiered on CBS in October 1954 and has been part of the American cultural fabric ever since. The program's depiction of a "typical" mid-century, middle-class, Midwestern American family is fondly remembered by many of us who grew up watching the show and rather enviously thinking: "Oh. So this is what happens in all the other houses." Margaret Anderson (Jane Wyatt) charmed us as the levelheaded domestic diva who stood faithfully behind the strong and benevolent father. Their three children-sophisticated teen Betty (Elinor Donahue), chronically befuddled 14-year-old brother "Bud" (Billy Gray) and precocious little sister Kathy (Lauren Chapin) - faced the challenges of growing up right alongside of us. And in episode after episode, Jim and Margaret treated their children's youthful transgressions with authority, empathy and wisdom. By the end of each half hour, we'd all learned our lesson. Join Jim and Margaret and "Princess", "Bud" and "Kitten" in their first year as everyone's favorite '50s family in Family Knows Best.

Disc 1:
- Bud Takes Up The Dance
- Lesson In Citizenship
- The Motor Scooter
- Football Tickets
- Live My Own Life
- Grandpa Jim's Rejuvenation
- Bud's Encounter With The Law

Disc 2:
- Thanksgiving Day
- Second Honeymoon
- Typical Father
- Margaret Goes Dancing
- The Christmas Story
- Sparrow In The Window
- Boy's Week

Disc 3:
- A Friend Of Old George's
- Bud The Snob
- The Promised Playhouse
- Jim The Farmer
- Father Of The Year
- The Mink Coat

Disc 4:
- The Matchmaker
- Bud The Bridesmaid
- Proud Father
- Father Delivers The Papers
- No Partiality
- Close Decision

  
Our Take:
I can understand how Father Knows Best might not be what today’s audiences are into, but for me this show is a fascinating glimpse of life in an era before I was born. It’s interesting both in terms of how TV shows were produced as well as for what life was like back in the 50’s. The whole Ward & June Cleaver dynamic is just so vastly different from the way the world is today that I find it infinitely entertaining to see what life was like back in the day. Granted, it’s a fictionalized representation, but Father Knows Best is obviously grounded in some societal truths.

Father Knows Best is the prototypical family sitcom; while the families would change over the years, Father Knows Best laid the groundwork for most every sitcom to follow it over the next half-century. Credit Robert Young and Jane Wayatt for much of that success; the pair have a nice chemistry (despite the stuffy trappings of the 50’s) that makes the pair fun to watch on screen. Even though each episode gives us moral lessons and a feel-good ending, Father Knows Best is still a pretty solid show. I can’t say it’s as funny to me as it probably was to audiences in the 50s, but I can definitely see its appeal.

Father Knows Best: The First Season comes with some very cool extra features. Here’s what’s included:

* New Cast Interviews - Actresses Elinor Donahue and Lauren Chapin talk about being on the show.
* Robert Young's Home Movies (10 minutes) – Narrated by Young’s grandson, these movies feature a wide range of interesting footage from home and more.
* Rare "Behind The Movies" Color Footage (3 minutes) – Some very cool footage of the cast rehearsing.
* 24 Hours In Tyrantland – A special episode created for the U.S. government to promote the sale of War Bonds, this never-aired on TV propaganda piece is the real gem of the extras.
* Window On Main Street – The pilot episode of Robert Young's very next TV series after Father Knows Best.

Father Knows Best: The First Season is a historically significant set, and even if the show isn’t the greatest sitcom of all time it’s certainly one of the most important. I give Shout Factory kudos for not just dumping this set out there with no extra features, but rather compiling a truly complete set. In fact, there’s an episode on this set that wasn’t supposed to make the cut. One episode was missing and was going to be re-cut from a flashback episode from a later season, but a fan realized he had the missing show and it has been included in the set. That’s the kind of care and attention that you don’t always get from the major studios. Fans of the show should be very pleased with this release.

Overall Picture:
Show: B
DVD: A

- Mike Spring

Editor