Line #11 Series/FatherKnowsBest


1	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/father-knows-best_359.jpeg]]
2
3	->''"Scott Paper Company takes pleasure in presenting...\
4	Creator/RobertYoung...\
5	[[AndStarring And]] Creator/JaneWyatt...\
6	With Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin...\
7	In '''Father Knows Best'''"''
8	-->-'''Original opening narration from the second season'''
9
10	''Father Knows Best'' was the stereotypical 1950s DomCom TV show about [[NuclearFamily the average American home with 2.5 children]]. It aired from 1954 to 1960, [[ChannelHop channel-hopping]] from Creator/{{CBS}} to Creator/{{NBC}} and then back to CBS again during its run.
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12	Creator/RobertYoung played Jim Anderson, an insurance agent; Creator/JaneWyatt (who would later go on to play Spock's mother Amanda in the original ''Series/{{Star Trek\|The Original Series}}'') was Jim's wife, Margaret; Billy Gray played Bud, the wisecracking teenage son; Elinor Donahue appeared as the typical teenage daughter, Betty; and Lauren Chapin as the youngest girl, Kathy (nicknamed "Kitten.")
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14	The story revolved around the various issues the family got involved in. It is also noteworthy for being a complete subversion of the trope it supposedly represents. Like most sitcoms of its time, it originated as a radio program that lasted from 1949 to 1954, around the time the television version aired.
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16	This is the show that marked veteran actors Robert Young and Jane Wyatt’s transition from the big screen to the small screen. Young would also become famous for his portrayal as a doctor and the title character in ''Series/MarcusWelbyMD''.
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18	A pair of [[ReunionShow reunion movies]] featuring the TV cast were made in 1977.
19	----
20
21	!! This Work Contains These Tropes:
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23	* AffectionateNickname: Jim sometimes calls Betty "Princess" and Kathy "Kitten".
24	* BollywoodNerd: The episode "Fair Exchange" sees the Andersons taking in an Indian foreign exchange student, who teaches the family about India while she learns about America.
25	* BreakingTheFourthWall: At the end of "Father Delivers the Papers", when an elderly neighbor mistakes Margaret for his daughter, Ruthie:
26	-->'''Old Man''' [''to Margaret, who he mistakes for his daughter'']: Do what your papa says, your papa knows best.\
27	'''Jim''': "Papa knows best"? Now what in the world ever put a fool idea like that in his head?
28	* BumblingDad: Jim complains about this trope while watching a show called ''[[ShowWithinAShow Father Does It Again]]'', claiming that such a "stumblebum" husband [[ThisIsReality could only exist on TV.]] Afterwards, he becomes convinced that his family is using sitcom-like tactics to keep him from going on a hunting trip.
29	* CowboyEpisode: Season 2's "Stage to Yuma" has Robert Young play a passenger riding the titular stage in 1860 Arizona. Noteworthy for Young being the only cast member to appear, as in the intro he mentioned that the rest of the family was "on vacation" and that this was presented as a special dramatic presentation.
30	* DarkerAndEdgier: The radio program is notably much (well, marginally) edgier than the television series. For example, Jim was a DeadpanSnarker ([[JerkWithAHeartOfGold with a heart of gold]], of course), Betty was more of a BrattyTeenageDaughter compared to her TV incarnation, Bud was a DumbassTeenageSon and Kathy was significantly [[BrattyHalfPint more annoying.]] The only consistent character throughout both versions was [[WomenAreWiser Margaret]], though the radio version [[NotSoAboveItAll had her moments.]]
31	* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Jim can be seen smoking a pipe on occasion.
32	* EverytownAmerica: Springfield.
33	* FunnyForeigner: Mexican-American gardener Frank "Fronk" Smith (played by Natividad Vacío), a recurring character whose naivety resulted in quite a few comedic situations.
34	* GirlOfTheWeek: Boy version. On the radio show, Betty seems to have a new boyfriend or love interest every couple of episodes.
35	* HappilyMarried: Jim and Margaret never have any marital problems throughout the series.
36	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: By the end of the show in 1960, Lauren Chapin was almost 15 but Kathy was still wearing little girl's dresses and hairstyle.
37	* RedScare: The episode "24 Hours In Tyrant Land" has a sequence where the family lives in a [[DirtyCommunists horribly repressive government]], to teach them the value of democracy.
38	* SleepingSingle: Jim and Margaret are shown sleeping in separate beds.
39	* SoundToScreenAdaptation: The TV show was adapted from a radio show.
40	* StandardFiftiesFather: Jim Anderson is the complete embodiment of this trope, and quite possibly the TropeMaker.
41	* TheFifties: The show's 6-year run from 1954 to 1960 in suburban Springfield.
42	* TitleDrop: In "Father Delivers the Papers", when Jim takes over an injured Bud's paper route and learns how hard it actually is, Margaret is seated on an elderly neighbor's front porch, and he mistakes her for his daughter Ruthie:
43	-->'''Old Man''' [''from inside the house'']: Is that you, Ruthie? Ruthie, are you out there with that rattle-brained harum scarum again?\
44	'''Margaret''' [''jokingly'']: Yes, I am.\
45	'''Jim''': I beg your pardon?\
46	'''Old Man''': Well, send him on his way and come in here. This is no night for you to be sitting outdoors. Do what your papa says; ''your papa knows best''.\
47	'''Jim''': [[BreakingTheFourthWall "Papa knows best?"]] Now what in the world ever put a fool idea like that in his head?
48	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Kathy, who tended to get into playful brawls with neighborhood boys, and Betty, who almost always wears dresses when attending high school and college later on.
49	* UsedToBeATomboy: Seems to run in the family. Margaret claims to have been a tomboy when she was younger. Betty is rather athletic and occasionally has boyish interests, and is even called a tomboy early on, but is also fond of socializing and wearing nice dresses. Kathy is mostly a tomboy, but becomes slightly more girlish as the series goes on, especially with her interest in boys.
50	* VerySpecialEpisode: "24 Hours In Tyrant Land" was actually comissioned by the US government to be used as [[RedScare anti-Communist propaganda.]]
51	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Inspired the TropeNamer. Creator/MattGroening said he always assumed as a child that the show was set in his nearby town of Springfield, Oregon. He replicated this effect in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' by setting it in a Springfield with no specified state.
52	* WomenAreWiser: Margaret, in both versions of the show.

Context Series / FatherKnowsBest