The TV Zone

Now you can show the kids and grandkids why that “father knows best” line is such a pop culture staple.

TV’s archetypal 1950s family half-hour “Father Knows Best” gets an official authorized DVD release on April 1 -- and it’s no April Fools’ joke. High-quality distributor Shout! Factory has taken on the challenge of making star-producer Robert Young’s vintage title fresh again, as they’ve done with “That Girl,” “McHale’s Navy” and fellow family-values icon “Ozzie & Harriet.”

The Season 1 box set due April 1 includes not just the first 26 TV episodes from 1954-55 (the show had previously run five seasons on radio), but also new interviews with younger cast members, behind-the-scenes home movies, a bizarre unaired made-for-the-government episode called “24 Hours in Tyrantland” (Welcome to the cold war!), and more. It’s all on four discs at a reasonable list price of $35.

[Photo from Lauren Chapin’s web site, laurenknowsbest.com.]