Joan and Jim Nash are a married couple who live in an old, turreted house in Ridgemont, New York, with their four rambunctious sons (Kyle, Joel, and identical twins Trevor and Tracy), a very tolerant live-in maid, and an enormous Old English sheepdog named Ladadog. Jim is a college English professor. Joan—who abhors everything having to do with homemaking and housework—is a freelance newspaper columnist whose columns focus on the humorous side of family life.[1] Joan tries to keep things organized, but her family can be demanding. Chaos regularly breaks out, and the antics of the boys, the dog, her husband and the neighbors, as well as her own indifference to domestic chores, give her plenty of inspiration for her column, much to Jim's embarrassment.
In its first season, the show did fairly well in the ratings. It was scheduled on Tuesday nights opposite the second half of two veteran series on prime-time television, Rawhide on CBS and Combat! on ABC. In its second season, Please Don't Eat the Daisies was moved to Saturday nights, where it faced strong competition against the second half of The Jackie Gleason Show. The ratings fell, and NBC canceled the series in spring 1967.
Joan writes a newspaper article that she believes will not have her name on it. Unfortunately, everyone in town finds out her secret identity, and she gets in trouble with Jim, who is not as amused by what she wrote as the rest of the town. This is the only black-and-white episode of the series.
To avoid the household chaos, Joan retreats to the house's bell tower to write. While she's up there, someone removes the ladder, leaving her stranded.
The Nashes recall the hectic early years of Joan and Jim's marriage.
56
26
"Professor, Please!"
Bruce Bilson
William Cowley
April 1, 1967 (1967-04-01)
Joan and Jim clash when a mystery woman comes between them.
57
27
"A Matter of Concentration"
Bruce Bilson
William Cowley & Robert Stambler
April 8, 1967 (1967-04-08)
Jim suffers from wounded pride after Joan buys gifts for everyone.
58
28
"The Day the Play Got Away"
Bruce Bilson
Ed Adamson
April 22, 1967 (1967-04-22)
Jim's sabbatical begins an ordeal of self-doubt for him: He can't concentrate on his writing, and his replacement has taken over his pet project.
References
^ abcBrooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present (first edition), pages 499-500, Ballantine, 1979
^Maltin, Leonard, Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide, 1991 Edition, page 900, Plume, 1990