The Donna Reed Show was a staple of ABC's primetime lineup for 8 seasons (1958-66), a slice of life comedy about what was then considered the average American family. Reed, as Donna Stone, was the moral center as a housewife and loving parent to her two children, son Jeff (Paul Petersen) & Mary (Shelley Fabares), while husband Alex (Carl Betz) was the family bread-winner as a pediatrician.
After 4 seasons of 30 or more episodes per year, Reed wanted to end the series so she and husband/producer Tony Owen could spend more time at home. ABC & Screen Gems instead gave her a contract extension. Fabares scaled back her appearances after the 5th season to concentrate on films and music. Before headlining CBS' Hogan's Heroes, Bob Crane joined the cast around season 6 or 7. Around that same time, I think, reruns began airing on weekday mornings on ABC, a practice that would continue into the 80's with other popular primetime shows (i.e. Bewitched, Happy Days).
Here's the intro:
Paul Petersen took his shot at the charts via the series as well, but while he, too, cracked the top 10, he didn't reach #1.
After the series ended, it wasn't long before Carl Betz returned, this time in the courtroom drama, Judd For The Defense, which ran for 2 seasons (1967-9), also for ABC. Shelley Fabares made a TV comeback opposite Craig T. Nelson in Coach several years later.
Rating: A.
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