The Donna Reed Show - Season 5

The Stone family is having growing pains, now that Mary is 18 and going to college. After several riffs, Mary decides it's time to leave home for the college dormitory for women. Mrs. Stone agrees, as she lived in the dorms and found it a benefit in growing up and learning. Tune in to see how each member of the Stone family reacts to Mary moving out.

Jeff discovers a lost bird. He thinks it might be a rare cockatoo and sends the story to the newspapers and audobon societies-only to find out that the bird is really a cockateel, not quite a cockatoo.

When Jeff finds the winning raffle ticket for a new sports car, he faces some adult sized responsibilities. Jeff sees a woman from behind drop a raffle ticket and before he can return it to her, she disappears. The only possible clue is her child's drewpy-drawers, but as Dr. and Mrs. Stone agree there are lots of children with drewpy-drawers. Jeff begins to learn the cost of owning and operating an expensive sports car (such as insurance). He also discovers how people now treat him differently from his boy and girls friends to prospective employers (he needs to pay for the car). When Jeff thinks he sees the child and woman again, he reaches a crossroad in his life. Tune in to see the path Jeff takes as he deals with this moral dilemma.

If Jeff wants to be able to afford to go to a special event this weekend, he had better collect on the loans he gave his friends. This prompts Donna to suggest that Alex collect from his deadbeat patients.

After a conversation with a telephone lineman, Jeff decides that it's about time he becomes independent himself. He tests himself by going to a strange town without any money to see whether or not he can make it on his own.

Another of Mary's college friends is getting married and this time, we're seeing the events leading up to the wedding (instead of the aftermath). While Mary's friend, Marcia, is from England, she is attending the college from which her late Father graduated. Her Mother has been traveling (the continent), since her husband died and has been out of communications. The couple to be has been trying to reach her in Rome, Paris, London, etc without success, but finally one of the cables reaches her and off to America she goes with her dog in tow. Meanwhile Mrs. Stone is putting together the wedding Marcia and her soon to be husband desire, which is a small (20 or so) friends and at the Stone's home. Once Marcia's Mother arrives in Hilldale, it is up to Mrs. Stone not only to save the wedding, but any relationship Mrs. Haversham hopes to have with the happy couple. Tune in to see how Mrs. Stone moves Mrs. Haversham from not accepting the bride's decision to marry to saving the day. Also you'll want to see how Mrs. Stone replies when asked, "how will you respond when it is Mary's turn?"

When Donna decides to run for town council, Jeff and Mary agree to take care of the house. And how! But when Alex dreams about Donna's political future, as Mayor, perhaps Governor, he decides he'd rather have her back home again.

At the annual unclaimed freight auction, a mysterious woman asks Mrs. Stone to buy a wooden Chinese horse statue and gives her $100 cash. She explains she has to meet her husband out front and doesn't wait for Mrs. Stone to reply. After a lively bidding war, Mrs. Stone wins it for $50, but she has no idea where or to whom she should deliver the horse. Thus begins an interesting adventure for the Stone family, especially when Jeff proposes an International spy ring shipped the horse from China (a Communist country during the cold war). Later in the episode some of what Jeff suggested seems to be coming true, but also more, too. Tune in to see how the Stones react and how it turns out. Do the Stones end up behind bars for helping spies destroy the United States of America, is there a harmless explanation, or something in between?

A little girl named Trisha follows the Stones home from the park and says that she is one of the family. After a long effort to find her real parents,her uncle arrives. He realizes that the orphaned Trisha loves being in a family and that the Stones are fond of her. He arranges it so Trisha can stay with the Stones. Thus a new family member is added.

The Stones all end up at Shelter Bay during "mid-term vacation", better known today as "Spring Break". Mary doesn't know the rest of the family is there; she thought it was just her and her girlfriends. Donna, Jeff, and Alex get to stay on a fishing boat named "Big Daddy", and boy, does Donna hook a big one!

Alex and Donna prepare to go away for the weekend, but Donna suspects Trisha will be sick. Donna sees Trisha eating bananas and she always saw Jeff eating bananas before he became ill. Alex's collegue Dave (Bob Crane) tries to convince them otherwise ... and it turns out that Jeff is the one who came down with a fever. Trisha had been eating bananas because of her promised treehouse and she had wanted to climb trees like a monkey.

A new boy at college has taken a shine to Mary. To Mary's consternation, he follows her everywhere and scares off any other boy who approaches her. Mary decides to find him another girl to protect.

There is a local handyman Trisha knows who loves fooling around and making children laugh.Trisha offers him to help fix the little things around the house that need fixing, but it turns out that he is clumsy and inept. Donna and Mary feel helpless as he wrecks much around the house,but soon afterwards the ice-cream man arrives. He knows much more about reapir work- and he hates kids. Donna makes a suggestion,which is followed. The ice-cream man ends up fixing everything around the house-while the handyman ends up delivering the ice cream,and singing to all the kids as they play and have fun.

Dr. Dave Kelsey, who has been more and more frustrated by his in-laws (or outlaws as he calls them) moves into the house next door with his wife Midge.Midge is a neophyte when it comes to household chores,so for the first week or so Donna helps her all she can-and Dave is truly grateful that the Stones have helped both of them settle down.

While Jeff and Joanne are dating as seniors in high school and Mary and Scotty are dating in college, turns out Scotty would rather date Joanne, and Joanne would rather go out with Scotty, got it? Then they all go to a college dance and Jeff and Mary wind up being the wallflowers. What can Jeff and Mary do?

Pitcher Don Drysdale appears in this episode along with his real-life wife and daughter. On a trip to Chicago, Jeff is excited about seeing his pal, Don Drysdale, again. He is supposed to get an interview with Don for the school paper. Jeff's excitement turns to disappointment when it appears that Don Drysdale can't deliver the interview.

A tale of Joyce and Sabrina in a classic contest, which one will get Jeff to ask her to the big dance? Will it be poor, helpless Joyce or the dominant Sabrina? They both ply Jeff in their own manipulative ways. Poor Jeff can't make up his mind. When he asks his family for advice, all he gets for an answer is "Why don't you toss a coin?"

Mary is going away to a new college in the fall. As part of her leaving, she is putting on a "large" outdoor formal party that will be in their backyard. At the same time, Jeff is flirting (again) with car ownership and ends up buying an "Hilldale Bus Lines" bus, which he hopes to use in various money making ventures. While Jeff was able to drive the bus home, unfortunately, it will no longer start. Tune in to see how Mary and Mrs. Stone deal with the bus, while attempting to save Mary's party.

Jeff makes a date with Rosemary for the senior prom. Smitty then lets Jeff know that Jeff has been nominated to run for Senior Class President. Now gorgeous Dolores wants Jeff to take her to the prom. What can Jeff do? He's already committed to Rosemary, or is he? Will Jeff actually dump Rosemary for Dolores?