After some delays, Arts Alliance America has done an incredible job with the release of "The Donna Reed Show" season 1, originally scheduled for release on April 22, 2008...tomorrow October 28 we will all get to spend some quality time again with the Stone Family. I have no affilation with the company but let me say this release is first rate....I have only watched the first episode, but it is clean and crisp with masters coming from the Reed estate and running a full 25:50! The 4 disc set comes in two double slimline clear cases in a cardboard slip cover with nice retro color silk screening on each disc...something the major companies have stopped doing, Paramount routinely issues sets with dull silver screening on the discs. As for the bonus material it is slim but the best is a nice original ABC network promo for the series found on disc 4. Arts promises season 2 in time for mothers day '09......again a beautiful job by a rather small company, if this had been released by the "larger" companies, my bet is that it wouldn't have been as nice and professional!

I just received mine in the mail and can't wait to start watching it. I sure hope all episodes are uncut.

I am really looking forward to seeing this show - I've never watched it before. I'll let you all know my thoughts when I've gone through the set!! :D

I need to place my order and have it sent to me!

ok--just ordered it! :)

Yea !!!!! After the disappointment with the Father Knows Best Season 1, I was hesitant to purchase The Donna Reed Show since I had recorded it off TV Land and already had a "cut" version.

Teeveecloset, after reading your post I just now ordered it and am looking forward to getting it in a few days. Thanks !!!!!

Yea !!!!! After the disappointment with the Father Knows Best Season 1, I was hesitant to purchase The Donna Reed Show since I had recorded it off TV Land and already had a "cut" version.

Teeveecloset, after reading your post I just now ordered it and am looking forward to getting it in a few days. Thanks !!!!!

No problem CJ, like to call'em as I see'em...lol....yes father knows best 1 had a few problems, but please don't give up on it yet, I understand season 2 coming nov. 11 from shout will be better and we need to always remember that it is nice to support the releases of "real classic" yet forgotten sitcoms that have a very strong, loyal but rather small audience....plus I'm really enjoying getting an episode of Robert Youngs' "Window on main street" again on season 2 as well.

No problem CJ, like to call'em as I see'em...lol....yes father knows best 1 had a few problems, but please don't give up on it yet, I understand season 2 coming nov. 11 from shout will be better and we need to always remember that it is nice to support the releases of "real classic" yet forgotten sitcoms that have a very strong, loyal but rather small audience....plus I'm really enjoying getting an episode of Robert Youngs' "Window on main street" again on season 2 as well.

Not really being a Father Knows Best fan, in my opinion the best thing on the DVD sets is the episodes of Window On Main Street. That was a classy show. If these episodes are well enough received, perhaps one day they'll issue the whole series.

Donna Reed? I never got into this show, not my cup of tea but I'm mildly curious to see some episodes. If they did a good job with the 1st season and the episodes are uncut, I might decide to order it but I'll have to think it over.

Despite the edits, I've enjoyed FKB season 1 and still am going through it. It's one of those shows I enjoy an episode or two then take out--it's not a marathon type show for me--if that makes sense.

I understand that ANOTHER episode of WINDOW ON MAIN STREET
comes with the FATHER KNOWS BEST 2 set.

I didn't truly realize how much I missed this show till I purchased the dvd and watched it again. I sure hope the rest of the seasons make it to DVD

I have one gripe with the season one set. Why is there an induced fade
at the end of each episode BEFORE the COLUMBIA logo comes on screen?
They fade on the TODON logo and are, thus, incomplete.

I have one gripe with the season one set. Why is there an induced fade
at the end of each episode BEFORE the COLUMBIA logo comes on screen?
They fade on the TODON logo and are, thus, incomplete.

This is an educated guess....they fade because the first 5 seasons or so are owned by the reed estate, the rest by Sony....columbia was a distributor, it is now no longer valid, so we can't expect to see logos from years gone past survive in this corporate world of mergers, etc. The Reed Estate is fully authorizing and working with this rather small DVD company, Arts Alliance America in releasing this series, so Columbia (a unit of the Coca-Cola Company) doesn't deserve a place on the dvd's. If and when the latter years of the series are released expect to see a Sony Logo. The days of seeing shows with original logos are over because corporate america is not going to give credit to competing distributors that are no longer affiliated with the series.

Not having seen The Donna Reed Show during its original run or in syndication, bought Season 1 based on all the comments I've read regarding how great the show was. Was 100% NOT disappointed -- enjoyed each and every episode of the show. What a great ensemble cast and cool seeing some familiar faces, not aware that were supporting characters -- Kathleen Freeman and Howard McNear (from The Andy Griffith Show) as the Stone's neighbors.

So glad we know approximately when Season 2 will be released. Can't Wait!!

Yeah this was a very well done set.The episodes looked great. All episodes are uncut too.
Any news on season 2 yet?

Yeah this was a very well done set.The episodes looked great. All episodes are uncut too.
Any news on season 2 yet?

It was originally planned for around mothers day 2009, but the distributor Arts Alliance America is a very small company and season one had a one year delay, so I'm guessing we won't see season 2 as originally scheduled.

It was originally planned for around mothers day 2009, but the distributor Arts Alliance America is a very small company and season one had a one year delay, so I'm guessing we won't see season 2 as originally scheduled.

Yeah I figured that it was not coming out for Mother's Day this year? Seeing as the month of May is not so far away now.

Every time I read a thread here, it makes me miss this show. I got to send in another request at my library to get this.

Gush darn it I guess I should of held out on buying this set. Was in Sam's Club today and they had The Donna Reed season 1 set for $19.96. I paid $34.99 for my copy back in Nov. Owell to late now. :eek:

Gush darn it I guess I should of held out on buying this set. Was in Sam's Club today and they had The Donna Reed season 1 set for $19.96. I paid $34.99 for my copy back in Nov. Owell to late now. :eek:

That news does not bode well for a season two release, when you find a previous season at a very low price at a sam's club type of store, that means many units were not originally sold, showing that it was not profitable for the distributor and now they are blowing them out just to get rid of them.

That news does not bode well for a season two release, when you find a previous season at a very low price at a sam's club type of store, that means many units were not originally sold, showing that it was not profitable for the distributor and now they are blowing them out just to get rid of them.

Exactly. Unfortunately this have proven to be true with a lot of tv shows. The Real McCoys, Have Gun Will Travel are two of my favorites that stopped after 3 seasons. If they had been released years earlier, the response would have been much better.

That news does not bode well for a season two release, when you find a previous season at a very low price at a sam's club type of store, that means many units were not originally sold, showing that it was not profitable for the distributor and now they are blowing them out just to get rid of them.

Ok then how do you explain Father Knows Best? I did not buy the season 1 DVD of Fathers Knows Best because of the edited episodes. But I finaly caved in when I scene Sam's had it for $19.99. Not to long after season 2 was announced on DVD.And now sopposedly season 3 is now due out this summer.
Grant it this is Shout and there policy is probably diffrent then Arts?
I'll be keeping my fingers cross about season 2 and on? I hate to think that Donna Reed Show will join the list of other abandon shows such as Diffrent Strokes,Growing Pains,Facts of Life,and many other shows.

Ok then how do you explain Father Knows Best? I did not buy the season 1 DVD of Fathers Knows Best because of the edited episodes. But I finaly caved in when I scene Sam's had it for $19.99. Not to long after season 2 was announced on DVD.And now sopposedly season 3 is now due out this summer.
Grant it this is Shout and there policy is probably diffrent then Arts?
I'll be keeping my fingers cross about season 2 and on? I hate to think that Donna Reed Show will join the list of other abandon shows such as Diffrent Strokes,Growing Pains,Facts of Life,and many other shows.

You nailed it, Shout Factory cannot be compared to Arts Alliance, they were working directly with the Reed estate, so there is a chance, but these smaller companies are having a very difficult time in this economy....look at what happened to Navarre. As stated by another poster Image also seems to have fallen off releasing classic TV as well.

I happily announce all my thoughts and theories proved WRONG....officially announced by www.tvshowsondvd.com on March 2, 2009.....SEASON 2 of "THE DONNA REED SHOW" will be released............drumroll please....................MAY 5, 2009.....by Arts Alliance under a new company name which escapes me at the moment!

Wonderful news!

If TV stations would air these classic shows, that would help sales. People will get to see the show either the first time, or the first time in ages. Needless to say, we cant count on TVLand for this.

If TV stations would air these classic shows, that would help sales. People will get to see the show either the first time, or the first time in ages. Needless to say, we cant count on TVLand for this.

This is true. Family Net is now showing My Three Sons and Happy Days, maybe they will be our next hope of getting classic on tv again.

I happily announce all my thoughts and theories proved WRONG....officially announced by www.tvshowsondvd.com on March 2, 2009.....SEASON 2 of "THE DONNA REED SHOW" will be released............drumroll please....................MAY 5, 2009.....by Arts Alliance under a new company name which escapes me at the moment!

Great news! Gush going have to put some pennys aside for the month of May.Alot of good stuff coming out out on DVD and Blu-Ray in May.

This is an educated guess....they fade because the first 5 seasons or so are owned by the reed estate, the rest by Sony....columbia was a distributor, it is now no longer valid, so we can't expect to see logos from years gone past survive in this corporate world of mergers, etc. The Reed Estate is fully authorizing and working with this rather small DVD company, Arts Alliance America in releasing this series, so Columbia (a unit of the Coca-Cola Company) doesn't deserve a place on the dvd's. If and when the latter years of the series are released expect to see a Sony Logo. The days of seeing shows with original logos are over because corporate america is not going to give credit to competing distributors that are no longer affiliated with the series.

I really hope to see the SG logos on season 2. There must have been some legal change somewhere because we saw them on FKB S2 and Partridge Family S4.

Ok then how do you explain Father Knows Best? I did not buy the season 1 DVD of Fathers Knows Best because of the edited episodes.

Hmm, funny all the eps I've seen have a running time of 25min. I didn't notice if they were edited. I'm happy with FKB season 1 and 2.

Thats it, I'm sending in another request to the library for this.

Hmm, funny all the eps I've seen have a running time of 25min. I didn't notice if they were edited. I'm happy with FKB season 1 and 2.

FKB S1 has half or more edited episodes. S2 has all unedited episodes and is a major improvement over S1.

DR S1 is all unedited. If they didn't do the crude cuts of the Screen Gems logo it would be a perfect set.

The low price at Sam's Club may not necessarily have anything to do with how sales were going at first. Other initial releases for series like Love, American Style and The Big Valley had low prices at Wal-Mart right off the bat, so they weren't any sort of closeouts to my knowledge. In fact, usually follow-ups come in due time -- and at higher (or "normal") prices.

Apparently it amounts to a low introductory price agreement in some cases, done to get the releases off to a good start. I hope that's the case with Donna. I used to watch the series religiously when it was carried on Nick at Nite and I miss its presence.

The low price at Sam's Club may not necessarily have anything to do with how sales were going at first. Other initial releases for series like Love, American Style and The Big Valley had low prices at Wal-Mart right off the bat, so they weren't any sort of closeouts to my knowledge. In fact, usually follow-ups come in due time -- and at higher (or "normal") prices.

Apparently it amounts to a low introductory price agreement in some cases, done to get the releases off to a good start. I hope that's the case with Donna. I used to watch the series religiously when it was carried on Nick at Nite and I miss its presence.
There were 2 or 3 seasons that weren't in the syndication package. Those are the ones I'm looking forward to. I don't think they've been shown since the original network run. One of them is the season where Bob Crane played Midge's husband, Dave, probably 1964-1965.

There were 2 or 3 seasons that weren't in the syndication package. Those are the ones I'm looking forward to. I don't think they've been shown since the original network run. One of them is the season where Bob Crane played Midge's husband, Dave, probably 1964-1965.




Are you sure?? When Nick at Nite showed this show, I remember seeing those episodes with Bob Crane.

I think there maybe 2 or 3 seasons that the Reed estate doesn't own the rights too, so we may have to depend on Sony for those.....in other words, forget it! :p

I think there maybe 2 or 3 seasons that the Reed estate doesn't own the rights too, so we may have to depend on Sony for those.....in other words, forget it! :p

I don't know if anyone else saw these, but a few years ago, Sony released 2-episode discs of classic tv shows on specially-marked General Mills cereals. Series such as Barney Miller and Donna Reed were included. I thought $2.99 for a box of cereal was a great price for a DVD, even just 2 eps, so I let my housemate eat the cereal, and I kept the DVD. For Donna Reed it included the season 8 eps "Four on the Floor" and "No More Parties". Season 8 may be the only season to which Sony has distribution rights as a successor to Columbia/Screen Gems.

Are you sure?? When Nick at Nite showed this show, I remember seeing those episodes with Bob Crane.
I did some research on TV.com. The probably "missing" seasons are S5 (62/63) and S6 (63/64). 63 was the first Bob Crane/Ann McCrea season. So probably S7 (64/65) was in the sydication pkg. and therefore shown on N@N. S6 was the season Fabares left and in a late season episode Patty Petersen joined the cast. I know for sure that episode was not on Nick.

So the syndication package probably consisted of S1 - S4 and S7 - S8.

I don't know if anyone else saw these, but a few years ago, Sony released 2-episode discs of classic tv shows on specially-marked General Mills cereals. Series such as Barney Miller and Donna Reed were included. I thought $2.99 for a box of cereal was a great price for a DVD, even just 2 eps, so I let my housemate eat the cereal, and I kept the DVD. For Donna Reed it included the season 8 eps "Four on the Floor" and "No More Parties". Season 8 may be the only season to which Sony has distribution rights as a successor to Columbia/Screen Gems.


I had that one....TV Land showed those over and over during the brief time it had Donna Reed on its schedule. I gave the disc to my g/f.

I had one of the first (now defunct) Donna Reed websites in the mid-90s and at that time the rumor was that Bob Crane's widow was involved in preventing the seasons with Bob from being released. She passed away in 2007.


DeepDiscount.com has the cover art up for season 2.

It would be nice to get all of this settled and see the whole series come out on DVD.

Donna Reed isn't the only series with rights issues plaguing the whole series--there's also Make Room for Daddy and The Joey Bishop Show.

I really believe the last 2 seasons of Donna Reed are owned and distibuted by Sony.

^That would explain why TV Land only aired episodes from those 2 seasons when TV Land briefly aired the show daily several years back.

I just got S1 out of the library and am truly enjoying it so far. :D

You're lucky that your library does that.......

my library.......HA!!!!!!!

You're lucky that your library does that.......

my library.......HA!!!!!!!
Yes, the CLEVNET system is awesome. Too bad they can't farm it out!!

The Thanksgiving episode was another surprise. The military father and son had the wife/mother who left. In 1958, was there another sitcom that uttered the term "ex-wife"?

The Thanksgiving episode was another surprise. The military father and son had the wife/mother who left. In 1958, was there another sitcom that uttered the term "ex-wife"?

How about in one of the episodes the term "assanine" (spelled wrong) is used, I couldn't believe it!

How about in one of the episodes the term "assanine" (spelled wrong) is used, I couldn't believe it!
I don't think I saw that one yet. :lol:

I don't think I saw that one yet. :lol:

I've only watched the first 10 episodes or so, but I'm might be confusing it with an episode of "Patty Duke", as I'm watching both at the moment...but I really believe it was said by Jeff in one of the first 10 episodes....I remember being shocked!

Jeff was very brash for a child on a sitcom--but that makes him refreshing for that time period.

Jeff was very brash for a child on a sitcom--but that makes him refreshing for that time period.
Yes, he was. Paul Petersen had the annoying little brother role NAILED.

And Shelly--the big ANNOYING older sister was nailed :D :lol:

Season two comes out July 24th.

Season two comes out July 24th.
Woohoo!! Thanks for the news. :D

Season two comes out July 24th.



Groovy

I finished the set this morning. Great stuff!! :D

That'll be next on my catch up list.......currently getting through Love Boat Season 1, volume 1. :lol:

Here in Michigan through the libraries we have something called MelCat. What that is is you can check out stuff through other libraries, and your local library will let you know when what you checked out has arrived. I tried to check out season one of this show but its only in use for that particuar library that has it :mad:


I will have to put in a second request for this. I saw a buddy of mine yesterday who works as the library A/V department. I should have gotten on his ass about this lol :D

Finally going through the rest of my set. I loved the episode with Howard McNear and Kathleen Freeman as the neighbors who ask the Stones to their anniversary supper--it's hilarious!!

Finally, finally after over 15 years I got a chance to see this. Yesterday looking around at the new releases at the library lo and behold what did I see. Season one and two of this show. I was totally stoked. About a year ago I requested Season One, so nice after a year to see my request being answered (I got a buddy of mine who works in the A/V department in the library so I wonder if he had something to do with it).

Anyhow I checked out season one and am already done with disc 1. Things about this show I had forgotten for instance that in the first season Alex had his office in the home. Watching this is like being 12 years old and watching this on Nick at Nick back around 1986. Its not that often I get to be a kid again. :)