Another formula family show that was so popular in the 50's. No one I know thought these shows were realistic in any way. It was a good model for what a family wished they could be. Good cast, fairly well written, decent acting for the time. I don't think I would enjoy it much today except for a dose of nostalgia but blasting this show for being an unrealistic portrayal of the family is pointless.

The best all-round wholesome family show in the 50's. Always a moral and a lesson at the end of the episode.

In its time, this was a very popular show. As for being unrealistic, I dont think anything in real life can live up to any television show. People are drawn to the shows that portray things the way they wish they were or could be. Its so ironic that while the actors on this show were busy being America's favorite family, Robert Young who played the dad was an alcoholic, Billy Grey who played the son was using drugs, and Lauren Chapin the youngest daughter, was being brought up by an abusive mother and molested by her father, and tried to kill herself at the age of 10.

I never had seen it growing up, but since it was on tvland at one time, I had watched it and really liked it. I thought Cathy was so cute. They had the model parents like Wally and Beaver on "Leave it to Beaver." It's nice to see shows like that for a change. Television has enough bad shows that aren't even fit for adults let alone kids. They need to get back to the clean-cut shows like these that are good for everyone. Shows that had good morals. I wish it was back on tv again.

Funny how around my house, my kids don't seem to buy into the title of this show much.

All you people who talk about how unrealistic a view this is of family life make me laugh..you probably weren't even alive when this show came out! I wasn't either, but I am smart enough to know that in the 50's you weren't allowed to show anything on TV..not even a married couple sleeping in one bed! This show is great and actually pretty dang funny I just think the movie is going to be one of those cheesy Tim Allen films that I probably won't see.

For it's time it was a great family show

I don't whether to call this show "junk" or "crap." Totally unrealistic view of American family life that never existed. Sugar-coated escapist dreck that successfully propagandized large segments of the TV viewing public into thinking this was a portrayal of the ideal American family. In retrospect we look at this nonsense, chagrined that we could have ever been naively taken in by it back when. Dad's a benign and ineffectual turd, Mom's a snob, older Sis is a self-impressed prig, Bud's a douchebag and Kitten is a brat you just want to drown in the toilet bowl. The Andersons, as a whole, are enough to make anyone with a sense of taste, self-esteem, and a brain in one's head to vomit painful chunks. This is American pop culture at its most inane.

People who try to rate this show from a 2002 perspective are making a mistake. I was a teenager back in the time this show was popular and I can tell you that life was lots simpler then and that the small crises faced by the Anderson family were believable to their audiences. No, the kids were not openly into sex and drugs (I am not saying that these factors did not exist in the '50s) but most families did not have to contend with them or the very different pressures of life in 2002. Father Knows Best may look "boring" to present audiences but don't put down previous generations likes and dislikes - your own kids will probably be doing the same to you when their turn comes.

havent seen it in years, however, remember it being one of the best. Great role models for parents, children that weren't disrespectful.Great writing that many times tugged at your heart. Two of my favorites were the following episodes. 1) kathy(kitten)throws a spelling bee for a less fortunate student 2). Bud can only talk on the telephone with a mask. In today's standards of humor, I'm sure this is viewed as dated or unreal, but it gave the viewer a great feeling without belittling others. Just my view..

This is one of my favorite shows.

Everyone performed well on the show. (Robert Young & Elinor Donahue were my favorites, but I liked them all.) I think most people scoff at this show simply because they don't like the title. But the title was probably meant to be a light-hearted joke anyway, because the father wasn't remotely dictatorial. Others in the family disagreed with him routinely. Things didn't go his way. That was the basis of the comedy. But underneath it all, there was a mutual love and respect between "Father" and the rest of the family. That's probably what really annoys people. We're constantly being told how overly "idealistic" this family was - that we need more "realistic" portrayals of the American family on television. But the pendulum has swung much too far: now we act as though every real family is made up of smart-mouth people arguing with each other all the time. The family I grew up in certainly had its flaws, but it resembled the Anderson family much more than the kind you see on TV these days.

What we have here is a simple case of glorifying the past to condemn the pressent. Do you honestly think that society was this perfect back in the 1950s? It's impossible! No family is that perfect because no human being is that perfect. Alot of the problems that we have in modern society today were more than likely also prevalent in the 1950s, only now the media isn't afraid to deal with them. And it is possible to deal with real social issues in a clean, family oriented way; Full House succeeded in that, Family Matters succeeded in that, Step by Step succeeded in that, The Cosby Show succeeded in that, Family Ties succeeded in that. But give me a break! As far as I can recall, the biggest crisis in 1950s family sitcoms was when Beaver broke a window! The families in these shows just had it way too easy. The fact that all of the families in these shows were in so tightly with the friends of their children for one creates a false illusion that it is easy taking care of children. Oh please! All I had to do is watch my cousin's daughter for one day to know that this simply is not true! I am certainly not suggesting that all 1950s sit coms are bad; the Honeymooners and I Love Lucy were hilarious. But these sit com families are just too perfect to be fun. To sum up, I enjoy clean shows, but there is clean and there is unrealistic. This show, unrealistic.

I agree with Errol 100% on this. I admit that I gave "Ozzie and Harriet" a bad review only because I thought it was one of the most poorly acted shows of its time. But the content and character of 50's sitcoms are not in the least bit objectionable to me. "Father Knows Best" was a good show with easy going (opposed to cynical) wit, good natured comedy, decent writing and acting. I didn't even see the title as a put down of the rest of the family - instead I saw it as a light hearted referene to the idea that sometimes father really did know best and other times well, not so much! To sum up, these old shows, if taken in the way they were generally meant to be seen had a kindness and warmth that you very rarely find on television anymore.

We have become so jaded. Along with "Ozzie & Harriet" and "Leave It To Beaver" this is one of the first mentioned by cynics who want to mock the supposed idealism of the 50s. I think the title itelf is part of what makes people cringe. It's just not right anymore to imply that a father would know best about anything! But if we can somehow set aside our modern day mind-set that demands sarcasm every time we see a happy family, we see a warm, funny uplifting show. As with all shows, some episodes were not as good as others. But the best episodes were nothing less than great.