The Donna Reed Show
The Fireball
TV Flash files “The Fireball” as hour 139 of 275 in the TV Flash guide — The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966) on ABC, season 4, episode 26, aired 1962-03-15, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E26: listed hour 139 of 275 in the The Donna Reed Show guide, hour 26 of 39 in season 4. It aired 1962-03-15 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Wide Open Spaces” (S04E25). Next is “Once Upon a Timepiece” (S04E27).
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Fireball sit in the The Donna Reed Show guide?
S04E26 is listed hour 139 of 275 — hour 26 of 39 in season 4, season 4 episode 26.
When did The Donna Reed Show S04E26 air?
The Fireball aired 1962-03-15 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Reed running the Stone household — pearls, competence, the doctor-dad frame. Fabares-era teen-pop spillover is the extra flash.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Donna Reed Show puts mid-century motherhood on a star contract: pearls, competence, and a suburban sitcom that centered a glamorous woman instead of using her as the punchline. A 2026 viewer watches the glossy family-hour bargain later satire needed — and Reed's proof that domestic polish could still win Emmys.
The pearls are the contract. Donna Stone's competence living room ran on ABC from 1958 to 1966 — 275 episodes, eight seasons — mid-century motherhood as a star vehicle, a glamorous woman centered instead of used as the punchline. Donna Reed steered a doctor's household (Carl Betz as Dr. Alex Stone) through teen crises and neighborly comedy while becoming a producing force. Shelley Fabares's *Johnny Angel* proved the show could mint a pop idol from the daughter role; Paul Petersen's Jeff kept the other half of the…
Filed against
- Donna Reed as Donna Stone
Donna Reed put mid-century motherhood on a star contract as Donna Stone — pearls, competence, and a suburban sitcom that centered a glamorous woman instead of using her as the punchline. The Donna Reed Show made the family hour look like…
- Carl Betz as Dr. Alex Stone
Carl Betz played Dr. Alex Stone on The Donna Reed Show — mid-century motherhood on a star contract, pearls and competence, a suburban sitcom that centered a glamorous woman instead of using her as the punchline. The glossy family-hour…
- Shelley Fabares as Mary Stone
Shelley Fabares played Mary Stone on The Donna Reed Show — the daughter in a 1950s suburban sitcom that put mid-century motherhood on a star contract instead of a punchline. Pearls, competence, family-hour gloss. TV Flash files her as the…
- Paul Petersen as Jeff Stone
Paul Petersen played Jeff Stone on The Donna Reed Show, 1950s mid-century motherhood on a star contract — pearls, competence, a suburban sitcom that centered a glamorous woman instead of using her as the punchline. TV Flash files him as…