Ozzie is brimming with enthusiasm about appearing in the PTA pageant's play, until he learns that his role is the front end of Robin Hood's horse.

The Play's the Thing

Ozzie Nelson

Harriet Nelson

David Nelson

Ricky Nelson

Monetary System

Door Key for David

David has a rival, and his name is Will Thornberry - his next door neighbor.

The Rivals

Ozzie and Harriet read the newspaper and talk about Nancy Walker.

The Poet

Ozzie decides to diet so he can fit into a pair of size 33 pants.

The Pills

Ozzie quickly regrets advising David against allowing people to take advantage of his good nature.

The Fall Guy

On Halloween night, Ozzie and Thorny make plans to attend a non-costume party as Satan and a Scotsman. Meanwhile Ricky and David attend a Halloween Party at school and the Nelson household is besieged by children demanding candy - or else.

Halloween Party

Ozzie has tickets to the Riviera Ballet, but Harriet doesn't want him to go because the actresses will be wearing skimpy bathing suits.

Riviera Ballet

David gets a babysitting job and Ozzie is worried about David and the baby.

David the Babysitter

Ricky receives a perfumed letter from his neighbor, Julie Thornberry, inviting him to his first dance.

Rick Goes To A Dance

Having come home the previous day from Aunt Ellen's without any Thanksgiving leftovers, Ozzie and the boys become obsessed with a craving for more turkey

Day After Thanksgiving

Ozzie is outraged after he doesn't receive a timely 'thank you' for the birthday gift he sent to Thorny.

Thorny's Gift

Harriet decides to try a new hair style but it doesn't go over well with the Nelson men. Ozzie gently tries to suggest he wants her to go back to the look he's used to.

Harriet's Hairdo

The boys want to earn extra money for Christmas, so Ozzie gives them permission to look for work.

The Boys' Christmas Money

Ozzie and David receive Christmas gifts after Christmas from Grandma Nelson.

The Late Christmas Gift

Ozzie becomes upset, and increasingly obsessed, by a newspaper tribute to him that messes up his name.

Newspaper Write-up

Ozzie and Thorny's discussion about basketball escalates until they challenge each other to a game. They include their sons in the grudge match but then begin having second thoughts.

Basketball Players

Ozzie discovers his family worrying about different things, and admonishes them, as well as rationalizing them out of their concerns. But later he reads a magazine article and seems to have trouble fighting off worry himself.

Stop Worrying

Ozzie wants to establish that he's head-of-the-household, and Harriet wants to be a good wife. Marital strife ensues.

The Tuba Affair

While discussing The Rover Boys' books with Thorny, Ozzie takes off to check out a book at the library, hoping to prove Thorny wrong. But when he's caught with a big book, one of his boys' teachers is convinced he knows a lot about the Peloponnesian War and asks him to lead a book discussion. Ozzie is just too proud to admit the truth and decides to learn everything he can before the PTA meeting.

The Rover Boys

David and Ricky finally get their own separate rooms - with hilarious results.

Separate Rooms

Ozzie and Harriet are concerned that David will blow all the money he's saved on a new girl he's taking to a Valentine's Day dance.

The Valentine Show

There's a new traffic signal, and no one knows who should take the credit or get the blame.

The Traffic Signal

Ozzie soon regrets a flirtatious moment shared with his dentist's new southern belle receptionist.

The Dental Receptionist

Ozzie painstakingly rehearses for a speech.

The Speech

While in Herb Dunkle's empty office, Ozzie teaches Ricky how to crack a safe.

The Safecrackers

Andy Beesley gives Ozzie a new outlook on life: Enjoy life, while you can. Ozzie takes this philosophy to heart and sends the family on a spending spree down at The Emporium - a spending spree he soon regrets.

Brother Beesley's Philosophy

Fearing that Ozzie is coming down with a cold, Harriet orders her husband to spend the evening convalescing and then goes shopping with a friend. Ozzie manages a rapid recovery when Thorny reminds him of a date they made to go bowling.

The Bowling Alley

It's spring, and love is in the air, so Ozzie wants to surprise Harriet by having a bunch of violets delivered to her. When orchids show up, instead, Ozzie suspects they're from an old rich boyfriend of Harriet's.

The Orchid and the Violet

Hasty Tasty Pancake Company is offering a double-your-money-back guarantee, so Ricky decides to apply for a refund.

The Pancake Mix

Ozzie has some fast talking to do, after Harriet falls under the impression that he was taken in by an attractive young door-to-door saleswoman.

Whistler's Daughter

To prove a point, Ozzie starts a rumor in the neighborhood by tricking his best friend Thorny into believing that the fish are biting like crazy in Mud Basin.

The Fish Story

Ozzie finds out from Thorny that he is taking adult education courses at the local high school in the evenings. So Ozzie decides to take some classes and Harriet signs up too.

Night School

Ozzie tries to teach Ricky and David how to get a good deal in the swap trades they make with friends.

The Traders

Ozzie gets roped into agreeing to fight Thorny in a boxing exhibition match to be held at an evening Boy Scout rally.

Boxing Matches

David is given his first house key and the responsibility that goes with it.

David and Ricky would like an increase in their allowances so Ozzie develops a point system regarding household chores. He includes every family member but regrets it as it points out that one person is doing very little of the tasks.

Harriet encounters an older man who worked at an amusement park she and Ozzie frequented when they dated. She invites him to dinner where he thinks Ozzie is named Walter, then spends the evening telling stories about Harriet and Walter.

Who's Walter?

Ozzie and Harriet try to kill each other's cat with curiosity.

Curiosity

Ozzie is stuck in his conservative routine, until he has a chat with the ever-exuberant Emmy Lou.

Oscillating Ozzie

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 through March 26, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and television for a few years. The series stars Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson, and their young sons, David and Eric "Ricky" Nelson. Don DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons' friendly neighbor "Thorny".

The Play's the Thing

Seasons14

Season 1 Episodes39

Cast4

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Episode Summary