DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Father Knows Best – Season One
By Patrick Luce
Apr 13, 2008, 13:05 GMT

Father Knows Best – Season One is simply the perfect collection for any fan of classic television.

The series started off as a radio sitcom for NBC in 1949, but made its way to television in 1954 for CBS. The series followed the lives of the Anderson family – the father, Jim (Robert Young); the mother, Margaret (Jane Wyatt); the son, James 'Bud' Anderson, Jr. (Billy Gray); daughter, Betty 'Princess' Anderson (Elinor Donahue), and daughter, Kathy 'Kitten' Anderson (Lauren Chapin).

Most of the season one episodes are rather formulaic and even a bit cheesy by today’s “reality” standards, but they still maintain a certain kind of charm. They normally begin with Jim coming home from a hard day at the General Insurance office, and having to solve the family’s problems that have been mounting throughout the day – like Bud dealing with having to take a girl to his first dance.

Although father may know best, many times it is the mother who provides several of the answers, and helps Jim get everything under control – normally before dinner and always before bedtime.

Most of the family drama comes from the three kids. Betty is dealing with being the oldest teen, and the conflicts that come with it. Bud is the average 14-year-old boy (well average for this time period on television), and often needs his father’s guidance to get him out of the mess he tends to create each episode.  Kathy is the heart of the show and provides most of the laughs. She has a natural charm and along with her mother gives the show most of its heart.

Young is perfect in his role, and seems to be the ideal father, and the model for all the television dads that have come since the show ran. Like Young, Wyatt set the standard for what audiences grew to expect out of the typical television mother. She is the perfect foil for Young and the two are believable as a married couple of three children.

The three kids also work well as siblings and seem to have all the rivalry that goes along with brothers and sisters. When Kathy (who is dynamite in every episode) finds out Bud is in trouble, she is right there to tease away. Betty may get angry at Bud annoying her, but is always ready to help if he has a problem (like learning to dance). These elements keep you entertained and helps sell the audience on the actors being a family dealing with normal problems.

The four-disc set comes loaded with special features that fans of the series will really love. The features include:

Daddy’s Girls – with all-new interviews from Lauren Chapin and Elinor Donahue about the series and playing the Anderson sisters
Robert Young’s Home Movies - gives a look at Robert Young’s real-life family with footage shot between the 1930s and the 1970s and narrated by Young’s grandson Bill Proffitt.
Behind the Scenes - color footage from the set of the show
24 Hours In Tyrantland – a special episode that was created for the U.S. government in 1959 to help sell U.S. Saving Bonds. The episode wasn’t aired on television, but was shown in schools, churches and civic groups.
Window On Main Street – The pilot episode of a series developed by Robert Young and Eugene Rodney after Father Knows Best went off the air.

The series will hold the attention of any fan of classic television or anyone who grew up in the time period. Thanks to the actors, the series still maintains the charm and laughs that made it a classic and the standard for family sitcoms that were to come.

Father Knows Best – Season One is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.