Father Knows Best — 1954-1960 · 6 seasons · 203 eps

★ 7.4

Father Knows Best

1954-1960 6 seasons 203 episodes

★ 7.4 (2,909 votes) Bottom 46%

Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.

Episode Ratings Grid

Every episode at a glance, color-coded by rating. Rows are episode numbers within each season, columns are seasons.

Size: M

S1

S2 1-30

S2 31-37

S3 1-30

S3 31-37

S4 1-30

S4 31-33

S5 1-30

S5 31-38

S6 1-30

S6 31-32

E1

7.1

7.5

7.2

8.1

7.6

8.6

7.4

7.3

8.6

8.3

7.9

E2

7.9

7.4

7.7

7.5

6.8

7.5

7.2

7.8

6.5

8.0

7.2

E3

7.8

7.7

7.7

7.8

8.2

8.3

7.5

7.7

8.4

7.9

E4

7.6

7.8

7.4

7.9

8.0

7.9

7.4

6.7

8.1

E5

7.6

8.4

7.6

7.9

8.0

6.2

6.8

7.2

7.8

E6

7.7

7.7

7.7

8.1

7.1

7.6

7.2

8.6

7.4

E7

7.7

7.7

7.8

8.1

7.7

7.6

6.9

6.5

6.3

E8

7.1

8.1

7.6

8.1

8.1

8.0

7.2

E9

7.3

8.1

7.4

7.9

7.7

7.1

E10

7.7

7.3

7.3

7.9

7.3

8.2

E11

7.5

7.4

8.3

8.5

6.5

7.6

E12

8.3

7.9

7.7

5.9

6.7

7.1

E13

8.1

6.8

7.7

7.4

7.2

7.0

E14

7.9

6.6

8.1

6.8

7.9

6.0

E15

7.1

7.8

8.2

7.4

7.9

7.5

E16

7.7

8.1

7.7

7.8

7.0

7.7

E17

7.3

7.1

8.1

7.5

7.9

7.6

E18

7.8

7.6

7.7

6.9

8.1

7.7

E19

7.5

7.8

8.3

7.6

8.0

5.9

E20

7.5

8.0

8.1

7.5

7.6

5.0

E21

7.5

7.8

8.7

8.1

8.0

7.6

E22

7.5

8.2

8.3

7.5

8.1

8.2

E23

7.7

7.0

8.0

7.7

6.5

7.1

E24

7.9

7.9

7.5

7.2

8.0

7.9

E25

6.9

7.7

8.4

8.0

7.8

5.7

E26

7.9

8.7

8.1

8.2

8.0

7.4

E27

8.4

7.9

8.0

8.0

7.4

E28

7.3

7.9

7.8

8.0

8.6

E29

7.8

7.8

7.5

7.2

7.5

E30

5.7

8.2

7.2

8.3

7.1

Avg

7.6

7.6

7.9

7.6

7.6

7.3

Great

Good

Mid

Bad

Episode Power Rankings

The best and worst episodes at a glance. Use this to find must-watch episodes or ones you might want to skip.

🏆 Top Episodes

#1 8.7

S2E26 The Persistent Guest

#2

S3E21 8.7

Short Wave

#3

S4E1 8.6

Follow the Leader

4. S5E31 "Bud and the Debutante" 8.6
5. S5E36 "The Great Anderson Mystery" 8.6
6. S6E28 "Blind Date" 8.6
7. S4E11 "Mister Beal Meets His Match" 8.5
8. S2E5 "Woman in the House" 8.4
9. S2E27 "Family Reunion" 8.4
10. S3E25 "An Evening to Remember" 8.4

📉 Bottom Episodes

#203

S6E20 5.0

The Big Test Flashbabck

202. S6E25 "Adopted Daughter" 5.7
201. S2E30 "Betty, Girl Engineer" 5.7
200. S6E19 "Cupid Knows Best" 5.9
199. S4E12 "Kathy Makes a Wish" 5.9

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted chronologically. The colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for upward or downward trends to see if quality improved or declined over time.

Trend

Episode Engagement

Vote count shows how many people cared enough to rate. High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

Rating threshold:

86 Standouts

20 Infamous

55 Hidden Gems

42 Forgettable

Top Standout: S2E26 The Persistent Guest

Most Infamous: S2E30 Betty, Girl Engineer

Best Hidden Gem: S5E33 The Meanest Professor

Episodes plotted by rating vs. vote count. The vertical line marks the rating threshold (7.5). More votes = more engagement. Toggle above to compare against global or show-specific median.

Series Trajectory

A simplified view: one point per season. This smooths out episode-to-episode noise to show the overall arc of the series.

Trend

Season Momentum

Did each season build momentum or fizzle out? Green arrows mean the finale rated higher than the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows = bigger swings.

Season Consistency

Some seasons are reliable bangers. Others are hit-or-miss. Each dot is an episode. Tightly clustered dots mean consistent quality. Scattered dots mean a mixed bag.

Each dot is an episode. Clustered dots = consistent quality. Scattered dots = variable season. Hover for episode details.