Father Knows Best: Season One

Father Knows Best. . . .but Shout Factory does not!
Father Knows Best was a wonderful television program. A review of the show would get 5 stars. These reviews are not supposed to be testimonials or nostalgic trips back to one's childhood; they should be reviews of the product. That is the reason I am awarding this product a single star. There is no excuse whatsoever for a company to give the buying public edited versions of tv shows that have been in existence for so many years. I wrongfully assumed that since the Young family trust gave its blessing to this project that the dvd set would be top notch and first class. Shout Factory could not even present episode number one in its original form. The first show was barely 22 minutes with complete opening sequence and closing credits. The editing to trim the show by the three minutes was done with a hatchet that a child of four could notice. I suppose this is better than no Father Knows Best at all, but not by much. My advice is to check the manufacturer of dvd's and make sure...

Thunderous Applause!!
I grew up in a very difficult, unconventional family during the 1950s that was anything but conservative. Nothing about it resembled the "average, American middle-class" family - the Anderson's - depicted so flawlessly on Father Knows Best. My family didn't look like the Anderson's, they didn't sound like the Anderson's, and they certainly didn't act like the Anderson's.

Nonetheless, I loved everything about that TV family just because it was so completely foreign to my life. I was totally, hopelessly captivated by their perfectly rosy lives. It wasn't that I wanted the Anderson's to be my family, I just loved visiting them each week, sort of like going to another planet without needing a space ship.

I grew up to be a liberal feminist, so nothing about my adult life now resembles the Anderson's in the least, even now. But, I STILL love them! I love the warmth, the messages, and even the strong patriarchal structure. In fact, that is exactly what distinguishes...

Not a Buyer
This show was a wonderful classic production that I have been eagerly anticipating for more than a year. I was all prepared to purchase it the day of release when I saw the reviews saying that the company distributing the shows on DVD had chosen not to give us the full, unedited shows as orginally broadcast. Reviewers used the term "butchered" and that was enough for me to decide that I would NOT purchase this DVD set after all. So, Shout Factory listen up - the consumers want quality, full broadcast versions - not what you edit to fit on a minium amount of space! I urge all fans of "Father Knows Best" to wait for the best!

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