Season 2

E1. Art of Salesmanship

Aug 31, 1955 · 30m

Jim tries to encourage Bud to take after him in salesmanship.

E2. Father's Private Life

Sep 7, 1955 · 30m

Jim comes home tired one day and is harangued by the kids. So, he and Margaret set up new rules to give him some time to relax—but it ends up backfiring.

E3. Lessons in Civics

Sep 14, 1955 · 30m

A new highway is getting built, and for that the old community hall is going to be pulled down. That's something Jim wouldn't like to see since the hall is a historical monument, and also, memories from his youth are connected with this hall. Everyone from the family sees how much the hall means to Jim, and they use different ways to organize help.

E4. First Disillusionment

Sep 21, 1955 · 30m

Bud loses a job to a boy who fakes his resumé, which leads him to believe it is alright to do this himself

E5. Woman in the House

Sep 28, 1955 · 30m

Margaret is forced to invite a woman over who makes her uncomfortable because she is Jim's friend's wife.

E6. New Girl at School

Oct 5, 1955 · 30m

Bud learns that the girl he likes is dating his best friend.

E7. Kathy Makes Magic

Oct 12, 1955 · 30m

Kathy gets a new magic set, from a trade with a friend, and becomes convinced she can truly wield magic.

E8. Advantage to Betty

Oct 19, 1955 · 30m

Betty has recently taken up tennis at school and is chosen for a photo shoot for the paper. This causes friction between her and her doubles partner, Eula, who is the team’s best player.

E9. The Big Test

Oct 26, 1955 · 30m

Bud is accused of cheating because he is suddenly getting high grades in class.

E10. Father Is a Dope

Nov 2, 1955 · 30m

After commenting on a sitcom (“Father Does It Again”) the family watches together one night, Jim speaks about how TV fathers are often portrayed as dumb in comparison with their families. Later, he plans on going hunting and starts believing that Margaret and the kids are secretly trying to get him to stay.

E11. Spirit of Youth

Nov 9, 1955 · 30m

When Jim gets an invitation to a dance for his class reunion—class of ‘33—the kids start behaving as if their parents are ancient. Then, when the kids at their alma mater treat them the same, Jim and Margaret deal with the thought of getting older.

E12. Bud, the Ladykiller

Nov 16, 1955 · 30m

Bud gets irritated by a girl (whom he refers to as “Dumb Dora”) who has a crush on him, hurts her feelings when his irritation leads to cruelty, and must make amends.

E13. Margaret's Premonition

Nov 30, 1955 · 30m

Margaret has a premonition of danger for Jim’s upcoming business trip, and tries to get Jim to postpone it. But Jim believes it’s a bunch of superstitious nonsense, and insists on going anyway.

E14. Stage to Yuma

Dec 7, 1955 · 30m

Tate Idsen saves a stagecoach from savage Indians in a flashback sequence.

E15. Bad Influence

Dec 14, 1955 · 30m

Bud gets in trouble when his latest friend turns out to be a kleptomaniac.

E16. Betty Hates Carter

Dec 28, 1955 · 30m

Betty is indignant when Jim arranges a date for her with an old insurance salesman buddy’s son, Carter.

E17. Jim, the Tyrant

Jan 4, 1956 · 30m

Jim comes home early from work, after a long, hard day, and expects to gain comfort from his family, but is quickly disillusioned when they all are too absorbed in their own interests and tasks to pay attention to him. This just makes his mood more sour and he declares at dinner that if he must, he will become a tyrant. This leads to unwelcome consequences.

E18. Betty's Brother

Jan 11, 1956 · 30m

Bud is having trouble in school and the family are hard-pressed to find out why. Eventually, Jim and Margaret come to the conclusion that, since he’s entered high school, he’s lost his confidence over being constantly compared to Betty and her accomplishments.

E19. Betty Earns a Formal

Jan 18, 1956 · 30m

Betty gets a job to pay for a new, expensive formal for the Cinderella Ball at the country club.

E20. The House Painter

Jan 25, 1956 · 30m

Jim has a bet with Betty and Margaret concerning human nature, integrity and the man painting their house—Mr. Everett.

E21. Bud, the Wallflower

Feb 1, 1956 · 30m

Bud seems determined not to go to a Senior/Freshman dance that is Sadie Hawkins-themed.

E22. The Bus to Nowhere

Feb 8, 1956 · 30m

Betty becomes irritable with her family as she goes through an existential crisis.

E23. Kathy, the Indian Giver

Feb 15, 1956 · 30m

Kathy is taught about fair trading from her father—and ends up trading her doll for a real baby.

E24. The Historical Andersons

Feb 22, 1956 · 30m

When Bud receives an assignment to write a term paper about a Revolutionary War hero, he ends up researching the life of a relative—Major Nathaniel Oliver Anderson.

E25. The Grass is Greener

Feb 29, 1956 · 30m

Jim’s old college friend, Charlie Bradley, a successful industrial tycoon, is in town. Charlie, along with Jim, were a part of a group known as The Four Musketeers, in college. Of the four, Jim appears to be the least ‘successful.’

E26. The Persistent Guest

Mar 7, 1956 · 30m

Bud’s new friend, Fred, won't leave the Anderson house.

E27. Family Reunion

Mar 14, 1956 · 30m

The family tries to think up excuses to keep from going to Margaret's family reunion.

E28. Family Dines Out

Mar 28, 1956 · 30m

Betty tells a wealthy friend, Eloise Sanders, that she’s going to a charity dinner at a club. But it’s expensive and she hasn’t asked her father, yet.

E29. Bud, the Boxer

Apr 4, 1956 · 30m

Bud gets in a tussle with a boy, Eddie, at school, then dreads facing him the next day because the kid wants to fight him. Jim makes Bud face him in a boxing ring to settle it, knowing that Bud will have to face Eddie, eventually. Later, Jim has Bud take boxing lessons.

E30. Betty, Girl Engineer

Apr 11, 1956 · 30m

Betty takes a vocational guidance course and signs up to get practical experience to become an engineer, but she gets a lot of flack for it because she’s a girl.