Donna spreads herself thin, running between three places on the same night, for her family.
Overview
Revolves around typical family problems, such as firing a clumsy housekeeper, throwing a retirement bash for a colleague, and finding quality time away from the children.
Episodes
S01E01 Weekend Trip
September 24, 1958 30 min
In the premiere episode, Donna hopes to get away to a ski weekend with her brood, but pediatrician husband Alex's on-call schedule makes this tricky, especially since one of his young patients, Eddie Barclay (played...
Donna tries to get a famous concert pianist to perform at a benefit, and, at the same time, Jeff is trying to raise money for a football tackling dummy. These two seemingly unrelated projects intertwine.
When Donna longingly admires a lovely, expensive bag at a store, the saleswoman (along with a female friend of hers) schemes to coax Alex into getting it for her for a birthday gift. But Alex...
Donna searches for the mysterious person who puts on a Christmas party in the children’s ward at the hospital every year. The quintessential comedian Buster Keaton guest stars.
Mary's Junior prom is imminent, and she has trouble deciding between two boys on the football team who might ask her. She also dangles another nice boy on a string. But, eventually, the resultant consequences...
After nosy neighbor Mrs. Wilgus (the inimitable Kathleen Freeman) alerts Donna and Alex about Mary having a noisy party while they were out, the kids get lectured about being the children of a doctor, and...
Mr. Popkin won't let Alex treat Joey because he has no money. So, Donna hires him to do repairs around the house, but Alex fires him. Then Donna tries another method to help him get...
Donna decides that Alex’s obstetrician friend, Beau, is a lonely bachelor in need of a mate, so she tries to pair him and her good friend Celia (who has recently broken up with her boyfriend)...
David Barker is brought to Alex to be treated for rabies, and is invited to stay the night. Later, Jeff is left in charge of David, as everyone else will be gone.
Donna keeps getting praised for being an excellent wife and mother—so much so, that she, illogically, becomes a bit paranoid that people really mean something negative about her beneath the surface of their words, and...
Donna and Alex dine at a young couple’s home. The couple are still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage, and the experience gives Donna pangs of nostalgia.
When Buzz Barry, teenage idol (played by James Darren), comes to Hilldale to sing at a concert, he falls ill with the measles and the concert is canceled, leaving Mary and her friends devastated. Then...
Mary’s friend Babs confides in her that her parents are having troubles and may be divorcing soon. And, though she’s exaggerating, Donna is unaware of this and problems ensue in their family as a result.
Alex's roommate, Biff Jameson, comes to Hilldale, and though he charms the family and dazzles Jeff, Alex confesses to Donna that his old pal seems to be off from what he used to be.
Donna gives a speech, at a PTA meeting, on parent/child relationships urging parents to trust their child. Her advice, of course, ends up being tested.
After a particularly long week, Donna and Alex long for a weekend alone without kids. But when they get it, it’s not quite how they imagined it would be.
Alex insists Jeff pay back money he owes to develop good character for when he is an adult. Meanwhile, Donna decides to try to get the past due money owed to Alex by his patients.