Mary Treen

[Neil]

Decades runs "The Donna Reed Show" right after The Lucy Show and I caught an episode this morning "The Beaded Bag" from TDRS's 1st season 1958.  The saleswoman at the store selling said beaded bag was none other than Mary Treen as.........MISS WINTERS!!, the same name as the character she played in "Lucy Fights the System".  I checked IMDB figuring the episode was written by "System"'s Bob O'Brien but it wasn't.  "Miss Winters" is also the name of the expectant mother who gave birth and  ruined Lucy Collins's Dean Martin reservation for 8 down to 1.  (also a Bob O'Brien script).   Though void of any engaging plot lines, The Donna Reed Show is imminently watchable. But if it wasn't for the laugh track (actually a "giggle track" and they giggle at every other line) , would we know it was a comedy?  Though it only cracked the top 30 twice, it ran an incredible 8 seasons and produced 275 episodes.