Viewer111

I really like the Donna Reed Show, but this episode of the Donna Reed show is the worst of any episodes in all eight seasons. Donna and Alex have minimal parts, and the actors seem bored with it. Trisha is about the only good spot in this ridiculous episode. The premise, weak and sexist as it is, revolves around Smitty and his new girlfriend. She is some kind of something with psychobabble. She insists women are the stronger sex, but Jeff and Scotty (same actor as who plays Jimmy in a different episode) object, but Smitty is just smitten. Their girlfriends (one played by Candy who plays various girls in the show) support the claim. The episode is a stupid battle of the sexes and the boys talk about dominating women. Utterly disgusting. No humor. No friendly banter, just ugly sexism. Totally different than the quality written in the vast majority of other episodes. Very weak. Stereotypes abound, and just meaningless drivel. The last three seasons of the show are very poor compared to the first five.

Megan Leavey is a very well made movie. The acting is superb. The filming is excellent. The story is engaging. This film portrays the horrors of PTSD and the consequences of war. That is true for the vets, as well as for the war dogs. The only downside I see, and it is major, but I am not sure how it could have been addressed in this movie, is that of the reasons why US service people and animals were ever deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The geo-political reasons and whatnot for destroying so many people are not addressed at all in this film, and maybe that is okay. Yet, I hate to see politicians yet again send fine people, and animals, into harms way on less than essential reasons. The veterans are to be applauded, but the politicians are not.

The Donna Reed show is a superb example of quality TV. It is a TV sitcom, but does not fall into the Trap of too much silliness, or too much slapstick, or too much junk. The writers did a fabulous job in making a show that seems like it has real people. The cast includes Donna Reed, Carl Betz, Shelly Fabres, in Paul Peterson who all interact beautifully. The chemistry of the cast is amazing, and over the numerous seasons you see them grow into fully developed characters. The era the show is set in is the late 1950s early to mid 1960s, but it is not locked into that era. The comedy is transcendent, and it's much more about relationships and everyday problems. Great writing, nice background music, fun story lines, and a host of secondary characters that add to the fun make this an excellent TV sitcom. Not nearly as sexist as some of the other shows of that era, and not nearly as stupid as some of the more modern TV sitcoms. The Donna Reed show is just fabulous. Highly recommended.