respectfully picture the many demanding roles a stay-at-home woman was expected to master – wife, mom, companion, housekeeper, cook, laundress, seamstress, PTA officer, choir singer, scout leader, etc. – all the while being "effervescent, immaculate, and pretty." Reed stated, "We started breaking rules right and left. We had a female lead, for one thing, a strong, healthy woman. We had a story line told from a woman's point of view that wasn't soap opera." In addition, Reed described her show, accordingly: "I would call The Donna Reed Show a realistic picture of small-town life – with an often humorous twist. Our plots revolve around the most important thing in America – a loving family." In its first year on the struggling ABC network, the show was up against Milton Berle's popular Texaco Star Theater and Reed ratings were low. ABC nearly cancelled the show, but it was renewed and ratings improved when the show was moved from Wednesday to Thursday nights. The series flourished for the next seven years, ranking #30 in 1961–1962 and #16 in 1963–1964. In a 1964 interview, Reed said, "We have proved on our show that the public really does want to see a healthy woman, not a girl, not a neurotic, not a sexpot...I am so fed up with immature 'sex' and stories about kooky, amoral, sick women." The opening credits showed Reed coming down the stairs to answer the telephone. She hands the receiver to Alex, then goes to the front door to hand the children their bag lunches and schoolbooks as they leave for school. Alex then leaves, kissing his wife good-bye. On some opening themes, he forgets to kiss Donna good-bye, but returns as she closes the door to give her a quick kiss. She closes the door and smiles happily. A late series variant showed Donna departing after her husband, possibly for shopping, church or community matters, or some other concern. Reed brought personal friends Esther Williams, Jimmy Hawkins, and Buster Keaton to the program in guest spots. On February 1, 1962, Fabares debuted her single "Johnny Angel" in the episode "Donna's Prima Donna". It rose to #1 and sold over a million copies. Petersen introduced his single "My Dad" eight months later on October 25, 1962. It peaked at #6. By 1962 Reed felt the writers were running out of fresh ideas and had exhausted plot devices. She also wanted