I saw "Do You Trust Your Daughter", one of the last episodes of the series, and I gotta say it's one of the best episodes I've seen. It's the episode where Patty and her dad have an argument, she refuses to speak to him, Dad plays a song he sang her as a kid, Patty starts crying and hugs her dad. It seemed you were eavesdropping on a real dad and daughter (helped by the wise choice to not use a laugh track for most of the episode). What did you think of this episode, and do you wish Patty Duke did more of these serious episodes?

I also like this episode. It's applicable even to today's parent-child interaction.
As I said in another post, though, I think the series went overboard on the Poppa and Patty moments, really ignoring Mommo's role. She was relegated to the kitchen and knitting. I know this was the standard for sitcoms of the day, but even Margaret Anderson (Father Knows Best) and other TV mothers had a more involved role. The thing is that Natalie seemed the most intelligent of tv mothers.
But this is a good episode and I would have liked to have seen how they tackled more serious topics for the time. What do you think some more serious topics could have been from that time. I wasn't born then.

I wonder if this episode would have worked with Mommo instead of Poppo. It seems like Patty Lane was a Daddy's girl.

Maybe not this episode. In general though it was scripted as very father oriented. I'm all for fathers, but Poppo was king in this show.

Maybe not this episode. In general though it was scripted as very father oriented. I'm all for fathers, but Poppo was king in this show.

It was definately all about Poppo even the reunion movie had a cute father-daughter moment.

The only Jean Byron-centric episode that I can think of is the one from the first season where Natalie thinks no one appreciates her other than that she was relegated as a supporting parent while Martin takes charge.

Now that I think of it, the mom in 50s/60s sitcoms was usually much more genial and less prone to strong discipline than the dad. Take this episode; Dad wants to make Patty's punishment clear while Mom hedges. Maybe the writers thought an episode where Mom dished out the "tough love" wouldn't fit in with the viewers' expectations for the characters.

I wonder if this episode would have worked with Mommo instead of Poppo. It seems like Patty Lane was a Daddy's girl.


pretty much. In fact Cathy was a Daddy's girl.

is that the one where she goes on a date or something and her parents tell her to be home at a certain time, she is but there's some sort of mix-up and they think she disobeyed them, then when she says she didn't her father (I REFUSE to say "mommo" & "poppo" cause they sound STUPID!) thinks she's lying?
If it is, you're right; that IS a good one. I remember seeing it years ago on Nick at Nite.

is that the one where she goes on a date or something and her parents tell her to be home at a certain time, she is but there's some sort of mix-up and they think she disobeyed them, then when she says she didn't her father (I REFUSE to say "mommo" & "poppo" cause they sound STUPID!) thinks she's lying?
If it is, you're right; that IS a good one. I remember seeing it years ago on Nick at Nite.
Yes that's the one.

I ecspecially liked that last scene where her father's singing to her and apologizing and saying he loves her then after he walks out she starts to cry.

That reminds me of that tender scene in THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES episode "Getting Settled when Jed says to Elly Mae "You're th' livin' pitcher o' yore maw!" and hugs her.

You just can't help saying "AWWW!" at both scenes.

This is a good episode, I like it also. I wonder if this episode was written specifically for Patty to showcase her talents as a dramatic actress, it is so different from any other episode of the series. In my opinion, that scene at the end where Poppo apologizes to Patty goes a little over the top with the schmaltz and drama, but it's effective nonetheless, a real tearjerker.

pretty much. In fact Cathy was a Daddy's girl.

Ahh yes globe-trotting reporter Kenneth Lane forgotten about him :lol:

This is a good episode, I like it also. I wonder if this episode was written specifically for Patty to showcase her talents as a dramatic actress, it is so different from any other episode of the series. In my opinion, that scene at the end where Poppo apologizes to Patty goes a little over the top with the schmaltz and drama, but it's effective nonetheless, a real tearjerker.

There was barely a laugh track and the silence in some scenes was odd/tense moments for this sitcom.

I'm in the minority but this is one of my least favorite episodes. Patty was generally a good kid and always did the right thing and rarely, if ever, lied to her parents but Martin defaults to her being a liar right away? I guess I can understand his position because all of the evidence pointed to Patty lying but I felt like the episode didn't fit in with the season. Season 1 seemed to err on the side of 50s sitcoms - kinda schmaltzy with lessons or morals and more of dramaedy. Season 2 was kind of middle of the road but Season 3 was where I felt the show became more wacky, zany and sitcom-y. Patty just lost her mind (in a good way) and there was more physicality.

It's still a good episode but like someone else said, the lack of a laugh track made certain scenes odd and tense. Also, Martin seemed especially stubborn in it which kinda rubbed me the wrong way.