The Donna Reed Show: The Complete First Season

[cheeriosinabowl]

Donna Reed must have been every man's dream back in the day ...

She had it all --- class, beauty, smarts, humour.

DONNA, WHERE ARE YOU ???

[MetalSamamon]

I got a question for everyone out there...I was watching T.V. and caught part of an episode of The Donna Reed Show where Shelley Fabares was singing a song that had the lyrics, "He's my true love" on it, but I can only remember that much of it and I can't find the song anywhere or any info about it. Can anyone tell me what the name of the song is? Thanks!

[safepethaven]

@MetalSamamon try the lyrics for "Johhny Angel" or just google the key words shelley fabares song lyrics

[blinko656]

God she was great! Im doing a tribute now as we speak using 'Donna Donna'

by Dion, we will see if it works. In a nice way she was a dream of every man. :)

[burtonrules123]

donna reed is my dream wife without question

[OldeSkool1]

Hulu has full episodes of this and a lot of 60's programs.

[OldeSkool1]

I'd like too chime in on all this "clean and wholesome" crap from self-righteous people like watching anything else is a bad thing. Some of us open-minded folks enjoy both "wholesome" and "unwholesome" entertainment I just hate the superior air of people when choose the former.

[TheJivebunny09]

I grew up in the fifty's and 60's and it sure is't like that anymore. The Jive Bunny recommends this. The old sitcoms had clean wholesome fun like Donna Reed, I Love Lucy, The Waltons and Bonanza I loveed the horror movies like the Twilight Zone and One Step Beyond . The Jive Bunny remembers the good old TV Days J.B,

[1812sue]

I couldn't agree with you more .. when you watch these shows you just feel good and smile I LOVE THEM

[frankd1965]

I remeber Donna Reed from the the 1954 film "From Here To Eternity" She own an Oscar in the film including her co-star Frank Sinatra.

[TrotskyL]

Yes, parents should indeed show this to their children. Especially to girls. After all, today's little girls should learn from great role models like Donna Reed just how limited and impoverished their lives should be, circumscribed by cooking, cleaning and diapering that is.

[baredd79]

I wished i lived back then when women were all thin and not fat slobs like they are now. Sorry ladies, but you know it's true and the truth always hurts.

[pnull]

I remember a longer more "upbeat" version of the opening.

[MrKingsRow]

Wonderful show and Lady...have this on DVD...need to get season two now! :)

[MrUltraTJ]

Gorgeous Lady

[GatorsNation]

I grew up watching this series during the original days of Nick at Nite in the 80's. Shows from the 50's just seemed to take your mind away from all the troubles in reality, yet the shows seemed so unreal to themselves as if no one ever argued or had normal household problems that weren't easily corrected. The 50's seen the Korean War with Vietnam right behind it in the 60's. Nevertheless, you could always tune into these shows to take your mind away from all the stresses of reality.

[SWEJEHTKCUF]

this is befor niggers where invented

[halbie71]

Trivia question-Who was their good friend? Answer- Bob Crane who later stared in "Hogan's Heroes"

[claudia39c]

Fell in love with Donna Reed many years ago in A Wonderful Life.She was a stuunner.

[bjoh249]

What a sharp contrast 50s TV families were to the white trash families that dominate TV today.

[OhMyHoofHearted]

Donna Reed was HOT!

[StripperDVD]

What made Donna Reed do this show? She had won the Academy Award a few years before and could have still had a great film career. This show put an end to her movie career.

[RayPointer]

What "made" her do this show was that her movie career had ended much like Lucille Ball's, AGE. It is apparent that Donna was a competent actress, and television embraced her in a way the movies could not. She became very wealthy from doing this show, and helped launch the careers of others as well. She also presented an elegance and class in her role that made it a pleasure to watch among so many other things about this show. Why did she do it indeed!

[fcatf6]

Loved watching this show 20 odd years ago on "Nick at nite". Sure wish they still played the old classics.

[MsTexas73]

SERIOUS...they're FINALLY releasing this on DVD? No joke?

[SveJeDoJaja]

its intressting to see how the time has change the womens.... donna played a happy housewife and mother... now womens have childs and works in their house, but they works in jobs too and are sometimes more successful than their mans ^^

[caliguy92]

Sorry to correct you but The Donna Reed Show was only one of very few shows that showed a housewife, mother, and a worker...Her Reed's character sometimes worked as a nurse on the show...

[SveJeDoJaja]

@caliguy92 i have no idea that she works as a nurse =) thanks for the info... i like donna reed, but i'm also glad to see that the time changes the womens =)

[ringoffire82]

If only it had been Alexa instead of Alex...perfect,,,

[mayoje74]

I love these opening credits. It's like being transported back into my grandparents generation. They had one of those black rotary phones. I remember it was SOOOO loud it used to scare me when it would ring. My grandmother also has an old lamp from the '40s that looks very much like that lamp/vase in front of the stair case.

[calimar28]

I love white America. This is the way it should be again.

[teehonky]

you said a mouthful....if i could invent a minority hole in space ....

[sheLovesG]

Thank you.

[markape1]

I used to luv this show! Check out my tvc I filmed with some kids playing a prank on a lady: PRANKSTERS IN THE PARK

[theagelesswonder]

Haven't seen re-runs of this show for at least 20 years. I agree with you Paradiseshow1988. I was born in the very early 80's and remember watching this show along with some of the others you mentioned.

[suspekt29]

This show was the shit. I haven't seen re-runs of this on Nick at Night in over 15 years

[RayPointer]

I don't quite get the intent of that remark.

But it's a reflection of what may be wrong with our society. Lack of respect andunderstanding of the use of language in a public forum.

[store275]

Paul Peterson was HOT when he became an older teenager!!

[tripjet999]

Yeah, if "wholesome" includes gratuitous use of the tobacco and alcohol drugs!

[paradiseshow1988]

Parents need to cancel their cable subscriptions and instead spend that money building a library of clean wholesome classics like Donna Reed, Family Affair, Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, Flipper, Little House, The Waltons, Dr. Quinn, The Cosby Show, Bewitched, etc. Today's kids can appreciate good shows if they're exposed to them early enough.

[Snookiebutt]

I agree in spite of what tripjet999, that was the culture back then...can't erase the smoking and stuff, just learn and teach from it.

[RayPointer]

This is something I have been stating for several years now, especially with the digital switchover, which has been a big disaster. With current network programming at such a trashy level, people can and should create their own programming in order to maintain the types of family values that people wish to display in their homes. This is one way of doing it. These show also reflect what

life treid to be 50 years ago, civil and ethical. Why can't we act that way today?

[TrotskyL]

Little girls should also learn to conform to impossible body images and a masquerade of femininity. After all, everyone knows that all real women always look their best, weigh no more than 130 lbs, vacuum in their best dresses and high heels, never lose a temper with their kids or look tired, sad or disheveled.

[gotch09]

@TrotskyL But wouldn't that encourage the old "barefoot and pregnant" crap?

[TrotskyL]

@gotch09 Of course it would! My previous comments was a sarcastic reply to a person who posted that "Parents need to cancel their cable subscriptions and instead spend that money building a library of clean wholesome classics like Donna Reed..." Apparently, this lady or gentleman feels that back in the 50's we had better values. Just to put it in perspective, rates of domestic violence then were as high, if not higher than today. And to make it worse, it was all hidden.

[gotch09]

@TrotskyL Well, duh. No offense, but you're preaching to the choir here.

[TrotskyL]

@gotch09 Many people who enjoy reminiscing tend to forget the terrible things that existed in those days: rampant racism, segregation, poverty, institutionalized misogyny, etc. In addition, they make a mistake of confusing a TV representation of people and events with an objective reality that existed then. They say "wholesome", but that is far from the truth. In the 50's, just as it is today, there existed adultery, teenage pregnancy, divorce, etc. "Wholesome" is merely an ideal, not a reality.

[Sheboggie1]

@TrotskyL Institutional mysogyny?! Women controlled virtually all the household spending, including major purchases, which is why so many car commercials were aimed at women, and punitative divorce laws made men pay alimony through the nose if they decided leave, plus women virtually always got custody of children. Sheesh! Talk to a guy who got a divorce in the '50's, and let him tell you about institutional mysogyny!

[TrotskyL]

@gotch09 Moreover, the very content of this "wholesome" ideal should be interrogated. Can divorce be justifiably viewed as a moral issue, or is it rather a matter of individual rights to liberty and self-determination and thus, separate from questions of morality and ethics? Since rights to education and employment are basic human rights, shouldn't women be at liberty to exercise these rights without interference and censure by a society?

[VenusInFurs]

@TrotskyL You know, it doesn't matter what kind of content one watches on YouTube there's always going to be someone like you that makes it their business to piss in everyone's cornflakes simply because they're miserable and want others to be as well.

Bottom line: People watch television shows to escape reality and all that it entails. If you don't want to do that, go watch clips of MSNBC or something and leave the rest of us in peace.

[mickram23]

@TrotskyL

Yes divorce is an individual right and should be seen as a release from a relationship that isn't working. But that should be a total release, including any benefits (money?) that that relationship provided. You shouldn't be able to demand a release from the bad but still expect the good, don't you agree?

[mickram23]

@TrotskyL

Yes divorce is an individual right and should be seen as a release from a relationship that isn't working. But that should be a total release, including any benefits (money?) that that relationship provided. You shouldn't be able to demand a release from the bad but still expect the good, don't you agree?

You mention 'liberty and self determination' which to me suggests a total severance so I would assume you do?

[mickram23]

@TrotskyL

Also, 'rights to education and employment' unfortunately are not 'basic human rights' otherwise there would be no uneducated or unemployed people. And why do you specify that women should be able to excercise the rights to divorce? Should men not have the same rights too?

[TrotskyL]

And little girls should certainly learn that 'father knows best,' because he is a man, a master of the house. And a good woman, like Donna Reed for instance, is the one who always waits on her man hand and foot, has no identity or life of her own, and is always deferential to a man. Yes, indeed, what a great role model for girls!

[gotch09]

@TrotskyL Hey things were radically different back then.

[TrotskyL]

And after that, we should start showing them the footage of Taliban beating and killing women. And of fathers murdering their daughters in "honor killings". Because father, after all, knows best!

[burtonrules123]

@paradiseshow1988 TOTALL AGREE. cable TV today has gone from bad to WORSE. at the very least, the 90's had some good alteratives for families, but now....just forget. i think alot of people have had enough with taking what hollyweird has been churning out the last 10 or so years and it starting to wise up. the more people complain about the lack of quality television today, the more better wholesome family shows we may get. i understand sex sells, but when TV starts looking like PORN, thats BAD!

[burtonrules123]

@paradiseshow1988 you forgot Little House!

[Ariamaluum]

@paradiseshow1988. I saw this show on cable on Nicklodeon.Those shows you mentioned, the woman is either the dominant or lead character on those shows. Its still the same even in the corrupted shows.

[Pasquier82]

I only know her from the Dallas so I started to watch her earlier films when she was young(er). She substituted Barbara Bel Geddes well for a year.

[SHRINA17]

She was such a beautiful woman!

[whizbang47]

Entertaining stuff was taped over or is tied up in lawsuits, like Ira Gallen's library. But boy do we ever have this kind of rot.

[tolstoyman2]

I hear they are going to release the ULTRA-RARE Fourth Season!!! Not syndicated...Should sell a bunch..

[gottogosome]

2nd season due May 5, 2009

[poohlooty]

i love mary

[JimNauseam]

Schwing!

[RichHartley1970]

Flat out favorite episode of Donna Reed was when she thought Jeff and Mary weren't "cultured" enough, so she bought Jeff "David Copperfield" Mary a Tchaikovsky LP, and a copy of "War and Peace" to read to Alex. When the family lost interest, Donna tried to read "War and Peace" in two days to give a report on it to this woman "Lydia Langley" who would have book discussions at her home. Just hilarious of her trying to read "War and Peace" through the backrest bars of a chair as she dusted it.

[RichHartley1970]

Donna is totally cool!

[wattever333]

Betz is totally hot!

[petchinka]

I remember the Donna Reed show on tv which I really loved. It's hard to believe that she played the different role as a "hooker" in the movie with Frank Sinatra and Montgomery Cliff

[RichardSimmons4u]

Now that she's home alone, she can watch one of my exercise videos.

[u2ups]

Ya know it's on Netflix.....

OMG....

[4MaryAnna]

Hey Paul Petersen,I just want to say you're great!All the help you've given over the years to other child actors,and when some of them got in trouble,you'd give them kindness and a helping hand.

I don't know if you have a son or not,but I just want to say:Paul,now HERE is a MAN!

Mary-

[novemberunderground]

DOnna Reed - MILF

[visor109]

"Well, for heaven sakes, Mary!

[ImissedThe1950s]

I cant WAIT to buy it!!!!

[tolstoyman2]

So they are going to release this on DVD? I hope they have a BUNCH of value-added stuff...That is what makes it special and separates the good boxed sets from the average...Have you seen the Get Smart add- ons? Excellent...

I loved the Donna Reed Show on Nick at Night..

[audiophile55]

Doesn't it make you wish that TV was as wholesome nowadays? All we get now are filthy, disgusting, profane hateful people arguing and screaming at each other on these so-called "sit coms". I wish things were like they were back then. Moral.

[greg2356m]

I just loved The Donna Reed Show! When I was little in the 60's I never was interested in Night Time TV. However, one summer evening when I was 10 and half years old, I came in from playing outside and happened to caught my Mom watching summer reruns of The Donna Reed Show on the ABC Network. Well, Donna Reed's face was on the screen and I was hooked just from seeing that Sweet Gorgeous Face!! From that day on I was a Huge Fan & caught up by watching all the Morning Reruns of this show on ABC.

[RizMil]

Two of my favorite family series were The Donna Reed Show - and - My Three Sons. I'm thrilled to see that this is finally making it to DVD. I hope they can release every single season.

[ftsjr]

My earliest memories of this show are when it was broadcast on weekday mornings, always opening with the ringing phone. The late 50's were a time of much optimism, and shows like this one, Ozzie & Harriet, Father Knows Best etc. were symbolic of that era of innocence. It's wonderful news that DONNA REED will once again stir up memories of a happier time.

[lastochkas]

THIS IS FANTASTIC NEWS! I HEARD THAT THIS COMPANY WILL BE RELEASING THE FIRST FIVE SEASONS OF THE DONNA REED SHOW OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. IT IS ABOUT TIME...AND ALSO WE WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO SEE THE EPISODES NOT AIRED ON EITHER NICK AT NIGHT OR TVLAND IN SYNDICATION. IN FACT, THIS ROLLOUT WILL INCLUDE THE VERY RARE SEASON FOUR- WHICH HAS CLASSIC EPISODES (JOHNNY ANGEL INCLUDED)- NOT AIRED SINCE THE ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATES IN THE EARLY 1960's!!! CLASSIC TV HEAVEN!

[ftsjr]

That's GREAT news!!

[gymnastix]

While I too enjoyed & watched "The Donna Reed Show" on ABC Thursday nights growing up, then later on ABC daytime (and in syndication on Nick At-Nite), I think it's a bit disingenuous to assert that "Donna Stone" was America's "favorite mom." What about "Lucy Ricardo," who was so popular that more Americans watched her give birth to "Little Ricky" than watched the inaugural of Dwight Eisenhower, a bona fide war hero, as its 34th president?

[gymnastix]

And I think fans of "Leave It To Beaver" might also take exception to this self-anointment in the name of public relations, when one "June Cleaver" of "Mayfield" was also a pretty beloved, maternal unit to boys names of "Wally" and "The Beav."

After all, it's not every mother who may vacuum the home in one's high heels and pearls, remaining fresh as a daisy to prepare tuna fish sandwiches for the likes of cretins known as "Lumpy" and "Eddie Haskell!"

[gymnastix]

And what about "Sophia Petrillo" on "The Golden Girls?" Who was it that established the premise "favorite moms" had to be mothers only to small children?

Also, much as I look forward to the home video release of this venerated TV program, I don't hold enough optimism that the production company releasing it will see the project through all eight seasons of commercial release.

[gymnastix]

Both "Beaver" and "Hazel," also originally Screen Gems productions, languished after double and singular season releases, respectively, as has Fran Drescher's "The Nanny."

Furthermore, there's no guarantee such releases will be in the proper forms, as both the aforementioned, esteemed "Lucy" & "The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet" issued seriously-edited products not in their original, network broadcast formats; in the case of "O & H" actually resorting to use of syndicated prints as masters.

[gymnastix]

One thing's for sure, if fans of these classic TV programs don't actually go out and purchase these releases with their dollars (as opposed to bootleg-burning as a mass demonstration of their collective reverence), producers of home video are going to get the wrong message and keep creating products which appeal to only the under-30 segment of the populace.

For as one Bob Dylan once sang (badly), "Money doesn't talk--it swears!"

[gymnastix]

And as one "Ray Barone" once quoted his favorite Chinese restaurateur--

"Haba na-da!"

("Have A Nice Day!")

[mikebythesun]

Great news indeed. I have such great memories of watching Nick at Night every night - Donna Reed, Dennis the Menace... It will be nice to have these on DVDs so my kids can experience it.

[johneangel1965]

Great News! I hope they release more than one season per year though!!!

[Spramped1]

Someone is finally listening... this is such great news!

[tennesseegator]

Yay!

[countrygirltori]

I am soo excited!

[gottogosome]

Thanks for releasing it.