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I first became aware of The Donna Reed Show from a very early age, although it was never shown in reruns in the area where I lived. At age 7, I became intrigued when Louise Lasser actually made mention of the show on her series (the polar opposite of Donna-- the outrageous and controversial but equally loveable Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman). In one MHMH segment, Mary whined how she always wanted to, but never could, get her house to look like the house on The Donna Reed Show. And from there a lifelong fascination was born! Around 1991, I became bitten by the nostalgia bug after buying my first very own TV and VCR, whereupon I began taping weekday afternoon reruns of old favorites such as Alice and Bewitched. When I got home from work, I could revel in a wonderful retro buzz while reliving my childhood memories and spending time with some old TV friends. Before long, I was wondering what ever happened to forgotten chestnuts such as The Patty Duke Show, My Three Sons, the black-and-white episodes of Bewitched, and of course, The Donna Reed Show. (Living in Canada, at the time the aforementioned shows had not been seen here in more than a decade). The answer came on a Friday night in July 1991, while watching a new sitcom on ABC called Hi Honey, I'm Home which was produced by Nick at Nite and was the first original cable series to air simultaneously on network television. As part of the deal, Nick at Nite was allowed to show one commercial for their own network during those ABC telecasts. And a cute, catchy little jingle it was. It was then I discovered that those lost favorites were not lost at all if you lived south of the (US/Canada) border. They were all available for nightly consumption on a U.S. cable network called Nick at Nite! There they all were--Patty, Donna, Dobie, Samantha, Oliver and Lisa Douglas and more! My passion for those great old shows was so intense I was the first in my neighborhood to own a satellite dish, so I would be able to access Nick at Nite and other U.S. cable channels and start archiving episodes of my old favorites on VHS. (Though I now wish I had them all on DVD...oh well *sigh*...) Unfortunately, Donna's run had ended by the time I got the mini-dish installed in 1995, so I only managed to capture the first season on tape when it was run on TV Land in Spring/Summer 2002. For any DVD information, please click here. In 1992, I began collecting books, magazines, photos, and any memorabilia related to my favorite shows. Donna items were rather scarce, aside from a few paper doll sets and record albums by the cast, so my collection mostly consists of press photos and magazines. Once I finally honed my HTML skills, I decided it was time to create this site and share my Donna collection with the world. Updates will be performed as time permits and as my collection grows, so please check back frequently. I hope I have done Donna and the show justice and that you feel just as welcome and safe here as you would in Hilldale! Regards and happy surfing,
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Welcome
to my bright and cheery little Donna Reed Show Web Site! I have
created this site in appreciation of one of the most innocent, squeaky-clean,
yet captivating and lovable sitcoms in the Classic TV genre. The
Donna Reed Show was a star vehicle for the beautiful and elegant
Academy Award-winning actress Donna Reed, with her TV hubby and offspring
played by Carl Betz, Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen, respectively.
The series ran on ABC from 1958-66 and became a retro favorite in the
late '80s and early '90s on U.S. cable's Nick at Nite.
