FATHER KNOWS BEST: FATHER OF THE YEAR (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about the Anderson family -- Jim and Margaret and their children Betty, Bud, and Kathy.
A contest for the local “Father of the Year” award is being held, and the Anderson kids struggle to come up with a submission of 25 words or less in favor of their father. Jim calls Margaret; he is hopeful that he will win “Father of the Year.” Margaret gives the kids advice about what they could write, but it doesn’t help much. Jim arrives home to find the kids still in thought; he tries but cannot offer much in the way of advice.
At dinner, Bud argues with Jim because his friend Joe wants to take him up to his uncle’s farm for the weekend; Jim counters that Joe is a terrible driver and is concerned for Bud. Frustrated, Bud excuses himself from the table. After dinner, Betty and Kathy are working on their “Father of the Year” essay when a gift comes for Betty: a fancy brooch from a boy she hardly knows who professes his “undying love” to her. Jim wants to return it, but Betty scoffs at this idea and runs upstairs. Kathy tries to write the “Father of the Year” essay but won’t write anything complimentary unless Jim raises her allowance. She also pressures Jim into trying out a bit of yoga, but the effort doesn’t go well.
The next morning, Jim and Margaret discuss Jim’s recent actions with the kids. He goes down to the jeweler to find out the price of Betty’s new pin and finds out that the boy who sent it sent five identical pins to five other girls, professing his love for them as well. Jim decides to hide this information from Betty. Later Jim encounters Bud in his office, who says that the trip to Joe’s uncle’s farm was a “frame-up:” a hired hand recently quit and Joe and Bud were to be used as cheap labor. Bud apologizes to Jim for arguing and Jim forgives him.
Jim returns home to find that Betty in a foul mood; she discovered that five other girls were wearing the pin she was given. Jim says he returned the pin that morning; this news makes Betty feel much better. Later, Jim talks to Margaret about how he feels he’s drifting apart from the children, but just then they return with their submission for “Father of the Year:” a heartfelt message calling him their “guidepost on the road of life.” Jim is touched by this sentiment. The episode ends with the Anderson family sitting down to dinner, arguing as usual. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: February 6, 1955 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:25:22
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:57351
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1954-1955 / 1958-1960; NBC - 1955-1958
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Eugene D. Rodney … Producer
- William D. Russell … Director
- Roswell Rodgers … Writer
- Paul West … Writer
- Ed James … Based on characters created by
- Robert Young … Cast, James "Jim" Anderson
- Jane Wyatt … Cast, Margaret Anderson
- Elinor Donahue … Cast, Betty "Princess" Anderson
- Billy Gray … Cast, James "Bud" Anderson Jr.
- Lauren Chapin … Cast, Kathy "Kitten" Anderson
- William Fawcett … Cast, Trumble