The Brady Bunch - General Discussion

[Max fan]

On 6/1/2014 at 5:15 PM, merylinkid said:

Ehh teenage girls.   I know I was one once.   We shall not discuss what MY room walls were covered in.    Of course, your average girl does not have your latest celeb crush showing up on your doorstep.   Mostly we were content to have an picture that was signed by an assistant and a form letter telling how wonderful we were for writing.

Maybe if our housekeeper were friends with our crushes Mother's housekeeper ! LOL!  How cool was it that Alice was friends with Lucille Ball's housekeeper and could set it up that Desi Jr. could come to the house to meet Marcia? 

[Max fan]

On 7/14/2017 at 1:23 PM, VCRTracking said:

Well here's a screencap:

Sitcoms either want a little kid to be super precocious and smart, making wisecracks a 40 year old comedy writer would think, or make them dumb.

I was never very fond of "The Hustler"  (Pool table) episode ! I like Bobby and I like Jim Backus (loved him as Thurston Howell ) but this Brady Bunch episode was one of the worst IMO! 

[Max fan]

Did anyone here like the last ep. "The hair-brained scheme" ? I actually think it was a really good episode! Even though Robert Reed wasn't in it. I found it funny and entertaining! Greg's hair turning orange!! Funny because nowadays that wouldn't even be that big of a deal , the way the young people are all into different color hair and all! 

[Katy M]

10 hours ago, Max fan said:

Did anyone here like the last ep. "The hair-brained scheme" ? I actually think it was a really good episode! Even though Robert Reed wasn't in it. I found it funny and entertaining! Greg's hair turning orange!! Funny because nowadays that wouldn't even be that big of a deal , the way the young people are all into different color hair and all! 

For anyone who remembers VH-1's Pop Up Videos, they did a Pop Up version of this episode.  So, for some reason all I remember about it is that Carol called the FDA and then we learn via the popups that the FDA has never regulated hair tonic.   I will never understand the randomness of my memory.

[VCRTracking]

On 1/23/2018 at 8:21 PM, Max fan said:

Did anyone here like the last ep. "The hair-brained scheme" ? I actually think it was a really good episode! Even though Robert Reed wasn't in it. I found it funny and entertaining! Greg's hair turning orange!! Funny because nowadays that wouldn't even be that big of a deal , the way the young people are all into different color hair and all! 

Robert Reed wasn't in it but I found this bit of trivia at this link:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/08/what-star-of-a-tv-series-was-written-out-of-the-shows-final-episode/

 

Quote

Little did the viewing audience know, but as the episode was filmed, Robert Reed was present and standing a few feet off-camera. It was reported that Reed was disgusted by the inane episode and having been written out of it, stood off to the side, making faces as the show was filmed.

Casually watching a season 5 episode right now and in a scene where Carol is talking to Mike in his den while he's at his drafting board, I just noticed the way he's just casually handling his pencil. For someone who was such a stickler for accuracy and gave Sherwood Schwartz a lot of grief for not being believable, the way he thinks an architect draws is ridiculous! He's not making sure he has straight lines with a ruler of T square. He's just dashing off marks on the paper.

[legaleagle53]

6 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Robert Reed wasn't in it but I found this bit of trivia at this link:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/08/what-star-of-a-tv-series-was-written-out-of-the-shows-final-episode/

 

Casually watching a season 5 episode right now and in a scene where Carol is talking to Mike in his den while he's at his drafting board, I just noticed the way he's just casually handling his pencil. For someone who was such a stickler for accuracy and gave Sherwood Schwartz a lot of grief for not being believable, the way he thinks an architect draws is ridiculous! He's not making sure he has straight lines with a ruler of T square. He's just dashing off marks on the paper.

Which shows you how over the show he was at that point.  And I can buy that bit of passive-aggressive behavior from Robert during the filming of the final episode. As I recall, Sherwood Schwartz had already banned him from the set because he was tired of Robert's crap and only allowed him to be present for the last episode because Robert didn't want the kids (whom he had come to regard as his own kids) to film the last episode without his being there for them.  In other words, Sherwood only allowed it for the kids, NOT for Robert.

Edited January 29, 2018 by legaleagle53

[VCRTracking]

6 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Which shows you how over the show he was at that point.  And I can buy that bit of passive-aggressive behavior from Rober during the filming of the final episode. As I recall, Sherwood Schwartz had already banned him from the set because he was tired of Robert's crap and only allowed him to be present for the last episode because Robert didn't want the kids (whom he had come to regard as his own kids) to film the last episode without his being there for them.  In other words, Sherwood only allowed it for the kids, NOT for Robert.

In the article I linked to above Robert also wasn't in the episode where Alice quit because the kids froze her out for being a snitch because he didn't think Alice would leave over that. I believe it though because she had become so much more to the family by that point and Ann B. Davis sells it in her performance. I do love that because Mike was gone, Carol had to be the one demanding her who broke the lamp and who left the record player on so she goes from being Alice's friend to "lady of the house" admonishing her servant!

[Maverick]

Reed's script complaints dated back to the early seasons.   He refused to do the episode where the Brady's get a pay phone, citing it would be impossible to get one installed in a residence.  Schwartz had to call the phone company and have them confirm it could be done to shut him up.  If Reed were going throw these hisssy fits, he should have done it over something important...like Cousin Oliver.

The Cincinnati Kids was on today.  Something else Reed should have complained about:  the fact Mike only had half an hour to get the plan.  Uh, yeah right.  It takes 20 minutes for him to even get to the kids and within 10 minutes they've scoured the park (no way Jan and Marcia would be allowed to be running alongside the cars like that), found the plans and relay-raced them to entrance.

[legaleagle53]

9 hours ago, Maverick said:

Reed's script complaints dated back to the early seasons.   He refused to do the episode where the Brady's get a pay phone, citing it would be impossible to get one installed in a residence.  Schwartz had to call the phone company and have them confirm it could be done to shut him up.  If Reed were going throw these hisssy fits, he should have done it over something important...like Cousin Oliver.

The Cincinnati Kids was on today.  Something else Reed should have complained about:  the fact Mike only had half an hour to get the plan.  Uh, yeah right.  It takes 20 minutes for him to even get to the kids and within 10 minutes they've scoured the park (no way Jan and Marcia would be allowed to be running alongside the cars like that), found the plans and relay-raced them to entrance.

As I recall, that's also the episode that nearly ended in tragedy because of a design flaw in the roller-coaster ride that would have decapitated the cast if they had ridden it before the flaw was discovered and fixed.

[Maverick]

The roller coaster was fine.  It was the camera production had mounted to the car to film the scene. Reed noticed it looked unsafe and made them do a test run.  The camera hit an overhang and would have killed anyone riding it. 

[merylinkid]

2 hours ago, Maverick said:

The roller coaster was fine.  It was the camera production had mounted to the car to film the scene. Reed noticed it looked unsafe and made them do a test run.  The camera hit an overhang and would have killed anyone riding it. 

This is why Reed's complaints got listened to.    He cared about the end product and safety.    he wasn't always right but he was invested in putting on a good show.

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

This is why Reed's complaints got listened to.    He cared about the end product and safety.    he wasn't always right but he was invested in putting on a good show.

And he loved those kids as if they were his own. And they loved him back.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So, "The Elopement" was on yesterday, and it was really...a head scratcher, and okay, Carol earned an eye roll from me, when she was trying to figure out if Alice and Sam were eloping by showing her pictures from her and Mike's honeymoon. Hello!!! Did she forget that both she and Mike felt so guilty over what happened at the wedding and the yelling and screaming, that they rounded up all the kids, Fluffy (who was never seen again), Tiger AND Alice, to join them on their honeymoon? 

[VCRTracking]

On 1/28/2018 at 8:48 PM, Maverick said:

The Cincinnati Kids was on today.  Something else Reed should have complained about:  the fact Mike only had half an hour to get the plan.  Uh, yeah right.  It takes 20 minutes for him to even get to the kids and within 10 minutes they've scoured the park (no way Jan and Marcia would be allowed to be running alongside the cars like that), found the plans and relay-raced them to entrance.

I also think because they were going be running a lot in the episode, they had Maureen and Eve put their beautiful long hair up in those ugly buns the entire episode! They looked like school marms running around! I wish they had their down at first and then when later in the day their seen with them up. Or better yet before they get ready to run they bun up their hair. That would have been kind of badass!* Also the Bradys are probably the only family I know that wear long pants to an amusement park! Another thing, ever since I was a kid I how like when they're at a picnic table how everybody sounded weird. I realize now it's because an amusement park would be noisy as hell and so loud any dialogue they recorded there would be unintelligel so they had to ADR(additional dubbing recording) later and that's why it sounded strange.

 

*Seriously, the more I think about it the angrier I get that I didn't get to see Season 5 Jan and Marcia running around in 70s shorts with their hair down!

Edited January 30, 2018 by VCRTracking

[Mrs. Hanson]

I saw an interview (sorry if this has been said already) that Sherwood Schwartz was going to make Carol Brady a widow if the show returned.  He wanted Robert Reed gone.  Has anyone mentioned how RR was a pill with the scene where Alice and Carol were making strawberry jam?  He objected to the line "It smells like strawberry heaven!" as strawberries don't smell when they are cooking, they are odorless.  SS was like, "dude.....just read the line!"  

[Katy M]

41 minutes ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

I saw an interview (sorry if this has been said already) that Sherwood Schwartz was going to make Carol Brady a widow if the show returned.  He wanted Robert Reed gone.  Has anyone mentioned how RR was a pill with the scene where Alice and Carol were making strawberry jam?  He objected to the line "It smells like strawberry heaven!" as strawberries don't smell when they are cooking, they are odorless.  SS was like, "dude.....just read the line!"  

He was clearly just ahead of his time, anticipating the day of the internet when audiences would nitpick stuff like this apart.

[Waterston Fan]

I have to admit, would we be picky about the strawberries smelling when cooking now if Robert never said anything? 

Glad the show ended when it did, can't imagine how the kids would have felt if Mike was killed off. 

[VCRTracking]

10 hours ago, Waterston Fan said:

I have to admit, would we be picky about the strawberries smelling when cooking now if Robert never said anything? 

Glad the show ended when it did, can't imagine how the kids would have felt if Mike was killed off. 

If the show had retained the semi-dramatic tone of the first season it might have dealt with it in the proper way but it became such a light, fluffy show after five years I can't imagine it either.

It's probably because I hadn't actually seen the episode in a long time but I didn't know until today that Rita Wilson was in the episode where Greg had to judge who would  make the cheerleading team! She was Pat Conway, the girl who Greg picked over Marcia and his girlfriend. Watching it today, she really was better than either of them! Their high school had such a a lame cheer(the movie Wildcats had way better cheers), that only Pat's enthusiasm and energy made it work. Marcia's audition was okay. Greg's girl did her cheer so half heartedly it was like she wants the other team to win! She probably thought "I'm dating one of the judges so I got this one in the bag. I don't even have to try!"

Her future husband Tom Hanks noticed her when it orignally aired:

http://people.com/movies/tom-hanks-recalls-watching-wife-rita-wilson-on-the-brady-bunch/

Edited February 10, 2018 by VCRTracking

[reggiejax]

On 10/24/2016 at 4:50 PM, reggiejax said:

You mean, flip the script and have the kids meet some female celebrities? Come to think of it, they never DID do that, did they? All of the celebs were male!

Well, there was BeBe Gallini. Granted she was fictional, and frankly not much of a role model, and...what was the question again? ;)

As for the matter of height, or lack thereof, Greg was a bit short, but to be fair, Barry Williams was only 15 when this was filmed. And he was also standing next to Don Drysdale, who was 9 feet tall (6'6", actually). Robert Reed was also in that scene, and he was a tall drink of water too. Barry Williams would ultimately grow to be about 6 feet tall. That would definitely be short for today's MLB pitchers, but wouldn't stick out so much back in the 70's and 80's, when Greg Brady would have conceivably played. That is if he didn't bomb out at his next game and completely give up baseball to the point where it was never mentioned again.

And TBB did have their fair share of celebrities and athletes show up, but only two were Dodgers, Wes Parker and Don Drysdale. The other athletes I recall were Deacon Jones of the L.A. Rams, and Joe Namath, who would become a Ram, but was still a N.Y. Jet when he appeared on the show.

[reggiejax]

On 10/24/2016 at 2:14 PM, chick binewski said:

Well, the Imogene Coca episode. Of course, she didn't play herself. And of course they spent most of the show slamming her looks.

If I remember correctly, only Jan slammed her looks. In that episode, Jan found an old picture of Imogene Coca's character (I want to say aunt Ginny) where she was a dead ringer for Jan. But then Jan saw how she grew up to look and got upset. But of course the rest of the episode was all about showing how cool and interesting her character was, and most importantly to Jan, how many suitors she seemed to have. 

You know, Jan was kind of an idiot, wasn't she? 

[BlancheDevoreaux]

On 7/15/2017 at 8:14 AM, Snow Apple said:

I found my people.

Baton Rouge, SCUBA, and that AU is the symbol for gold (from The Facts of Life) were all learned from sitcoms and never to be forgotten.

"AU! Come back with my gold watch!"

On 1/23/2018 at 9:36 PM, Max fan said:

I was never very fond of "The Hustler"  (Pool table) episode ! I like Bobby and I like Jim Backus (loved him as Thurston Howell ) but this Brady Bunch episode was one of the worst IMO! 

It really was terrible.  I agree with the poster who said that the Bobby-centric episodes were some of the worst and I think that one was my least favorite of the Bobby episodes.  Just bad.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 2/2/2018 at 1:41 PM, Mrs. Hanson said:

I saw an interview (sorry if this has been said already) that Sherwood Schwartz was going to make Carol Brady a widow if the show returned.  He wanted Robert Reed gone.  Has anyone mentioned how RR was a pill with the scene where Alice and Carol were making strawberry jam?  He objected to the line "It smells like strawberry heaven!" as strawberries don't smell when they are cooking, they are odorless.  SS was like, "dude.....just read the line!"  

I go back and forth on Robert Reed.  On the one hand, I understand and appreciate the fact that he was a Shakespearean trained actor and that playing a role just for the gags was beneath him.  And he did champion the more heartfelt episodes.

The other side of me has worked long hours, at difficult jobs, for very little pay.  And has seen many deserving actors never recieve the "big break".  And that side of me agrees with Sherwood Schwartz,  

"Just hit your mark, say your line, and cash your paycheck!"

[Katy M]

31 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

I go back and forth on Robert Reed.  On the one hand, I understand and appreciate the fact that he was a Shakespearean trained actor and that playing a role just for the gags was beneath him.  And he did champion the more heartfelt episodes.

The other side of me has worked long hours, at difficult jobs, for very little pay.  And has seen many deserving actors never recieve the "big break".  And that side of me agrees with Sherwood Schwartz,  

"Just hit your mark, say your line, and cash your paycheck!"

Maybe a "pick your battles" approach would have served everyone better.  

[Mrs. Hanson]

31 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

I go back and forth on Robert Reed.  On the one hand, I understand and appreciate the fact that he was a Shakespearean trained actor and that playing a role just for the gags was beneath him.  And he did champion the more heartfelt episodes.

The other side of me has worked long hours, at difficult jobs, for very little pay.  And has seen many deserving actors never recieve the "big break".  And that side of me agrees with Sherwood Schwartz,  

"Just hit your mark, say your line, and cash your paycheck!"

I hear you - I go back and forth, too.  I saw a special where he went back to his hometown (in Ohio?) and taught Shakespearean acting to drama students.  He hated the role of Mr Brady yet agreed to those awful sequels as he loved the kids and did not want them to be out of work.

So I am on the side of Sherwood Schwartz, too.  What is so wrong with being remembered as a beloved dad in a much loved sitcom?

[legaleagle53]

20 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

I hear you - I go back and forth, too.  I saw a special where he went back to his hometown (in Ohio?) and taught Shakespearean acting to drama students.  He hated the role of Mr Brady yet agreed to those awful sequels as he loved the kids and did not want them to be out of work.

So I am on the side of Sherwood Schwartz, too.  What is so wrong with being remembered as a beloved dad in a much loved sitcom?

Because actors like to be remembered for more than just one or two roles, and also because being typecast is an actor's worst nightmare because it limits the number of opportunities that come his or her way.  That's why even the kids later rebelled for many years against always being known only as "the Brady kids."

It reminds me of something I read recently about Agnes Moorehead.  While she really enjoyed playing Endora on Bewitched for eight years, she was always quick to remind people that she had had a long, successful career in radio, on stage, and in movies long before she ever started playing Endora.  In other words, she, like Robert, wanted to be recognized for her entire body of work over the span of her career, not just for one role.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I thought Robert Reed's complaint about playing Mike Brady, and by extension, being unhappy with the frothy show The Brady Bunch became, was that he thought it would be more serious? Like a social experiment about blended families? Anyway, I don't hold it against him, and he did continue to do that HORRID and HORRIBLE variety show, the short-lived Brady Sisters...agreeing to return the Very Brady Christmas, which then was green lit for a new show, which did become quasi-serious with Bobby being paralyzed after the NASCAR accident, and making Marcia (WORST RECAST EVER!) an alcoholic.

But then, before the reunions, he was well known for playing scheming murderers on soaps, cop procedurals (Search for Tomorrow, Hunter, Charlie's Angels).  Even did his fair share of showing up on The Love Boat! So I don't think he thought this show was beneath him or anything like that.

[Mrs. Hanson]

6 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I thought Robert Reed's complaint about playing Mike Brady, and by extension, being unhappy with the frothy show The Brady Bunch became, was that he thought it would be more serious? Like a social experiment about blended families? Anyway, I don't hold it against him, and he did continue to do that HORRID and HORRIBLE variety show, the short-lived Brady Sisters...agreeing to return the Very Brady Christmas, which then was green lit for a new show, which did become quasi-serious with Bobby being paralyzed after the NASCAR accident, and making Marcia (WORST RECAST EVER!) an alcoholic.

But then, before the reunions, he was well known for playing scheming murderers on soaps, cop procedurals (Search for Tomorrow, Hunter, Charlie's Angels).  Even did his fair share of showing up on The Love Boat! So I don't think he thought this show was beneath him or anything like that.

I loved every cheestastic minute of the version where Bobby was quasi paralyzed.  Loved it!!!  Robert Reed was on a serious legal drama, The Defenders.  I do remember him in Rich Man Poor Man as well!!  He was in Roots as well.  And Roots was HUGE......like no one went anywhere (no VCR's!) as no one wanted to miss it.  I remember vividly going to a friend's slumber party and thinking "Are they going to think I am a total dork for being 12 and wanting to watch Roots?"  LOL! - we all watched, btw.

[GHScorpiosRule]

13 minutes ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

  He was in Roots as well.  And Roots was HUGE......like no one went anywhere (no VCR's!) as no one wanted to miss it.  I remember vividly going to a friend's slumber party and thinking "Are they going to think I am a total dork for being 12 and wanting to watch Roots?"  LOL! - we all watched, btw.

That's right! So many Good TV Dads were awful people! Mike Brady, Papa Walton was a slave trader! And ooooh! Mike Brady is on Murder, She Wrote as a scheming EVUHL, unscrupulous divorce lawyer!!!!!

[Mrs. Hanson]

14 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

That's right! So many Good TV Dads were awful people! Mike Brady, Papa Walton was a slave trader! And ooooh! Mike Brady is on Murder, She Wrote as a scheming EVUHL, unscrupulous divorce lawyer!!!!!

Andy Griffith in "A Face in the Crowd" - yikes.  Robert Young (Father Knows Best) battled a drinking problem off set and stories are such that he was not a nice man, perhaps due to his drinking.  He, too, did not like the wholesome apple pie image.  Marcus Welby was mean?  Say it ain't so!!!

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 2/20/2018 at 1:01 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I thought Robert Reed's complaint about playing Mike Brady, and by extension, being unhappy with the frothy show The Brady Bunch became, was that he thought it would be more serious? Like a social experiment about blended families?

You might be right about that, and it would explain why he pushed for more serious episodes.

It is a credit to his acting ability that he still put on a great show.  After all the arguments and discussions about the pay phone, he did a great job of showing the humor of Mike Brady speaking with a very important client from the kitchen pay phone, and having to scramble for more dimes!  

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 12/26/2017 at 7:04 PM, Waterston Fan said:

I feel like Cindy for sure, everyone expect me to do what they want me to do

Bobby must have felt this way as well, since he was keeping his race car driving a secret from them.

I enjoyed the dinner conversation when each of the kids stood up, one by one, and said,  "You must be talking about ME, Dad.  Because . . ." and they would admit that their lives were not quite as pefect as they were pretending.

[MarkHB]

20 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

You might be right about that, and it would explain why he pushed for more serious episodes.

It is a credit to his acting ability that he still put on a great show.  After all the arguments and discussions about the pay phone, he did a great job of showing the humor of Mike Brady speaking with a very important client from the kitchen pay phone, and having to scramble for more dimes!  

The way I've heard it, Sherwood Schwartz always wanted his shows to be about something more.  TBB was about a blended family, Gilligan was about putting all these people from different classes and walks of life and forcing them to work together.  But at the end of the day, he was a gag writer, and however high-minded his initial intentions might have been (and I think they truly were), gag-driven comedy was where his soul led them.  And they made money for the network and the production companies, so THEY weren't going to complain.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 2/23/2018 at 7:25 AM, MarkHB said:

The way I've heard it, Sherwood Schwartz always wanted his shows to be about something more.

And he got his chance.  You can still see episodes of The Bradys online.  This started out as a series of made for TV movies but then changed to become a weekly series of one hour episodes.  They were not afraid to take on serious issues:

Bottoms Up (Episode 4):   

Everything seems to be going well for the Bradys: Jan has taken over management of her father's architectural firm; Wally is serving as Mike's right-hand man; Cindy may have a job promotion; and each of the Brady boys are busy with their jobs. Marcia feels left out and - when she is unable to get any job interviews - wallows in self-pity. When her parents' advice doesn't pan out this time, Marcia finds the only thing she can turn to is the bottle. Which she does ... repeatedly. In a drunken haze, she winds up embarrassing Mike at a press conference.

Wow!

[Maverick]

It's actually the reverse.  The Bradys started a series with a 6 episode trial season.  The show infamously bombed and was later sold into syndication as 3 two hour movies comprised of combing 2 of the episodes. One was titled The Brady 500.  In addition to Marcia's alcoholism, they did with other issues like Jan's infertility and Bobby being paralyzed in a race car accident. 

 I could maybe see a less comedic take on the family with all the kids being adults, but I'll never understand why they thought doing so many heavy stories would work with this crew.  It's like the family was cursed by a Time idol possessed by a demon all of a sudden.  

[TheLastKidPicked]

14 minutes ago, Maverick said:

It's actually the reverse.  The Bradys started a series with a 6 episode trial season.  The show infamously bombed and was later sold into syndication as 3 two hour movies comprised of combining 2 of the episodes.

Thank you, Maverick!

18 minutes ago, Maverick said:

I'll never understand why they thought doing so many heavy stories would work with this crew. 

Did you hear that the producers agree with you?  Apparently, viewers were expecting a comedy and not the heavy stories and this suprised the network.

Their solution?

Lay a laugh track under some of the dialogue.  If you watch any of the episodes, it's jarring to hear the laughter after a straight line.

[Maverick]

 I haven't seen those in forever.  I didn't remember the laugh track.   The mind boggles.  

[Katy M]

4 hours ago, Maverick said:

It's like the family was cursed by a Time idol possessed by a demon all of a sudden. 

They couldn't outrun that Hawaiian curse forever.  Stupid Bobby and his idol.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So. "Father of the Year" was on this weekend, and again, it didn't fail to make me ugly cry when Mike realized why Marcia disobeyed him, and was caught climbing up the trellis so she could mail her entry before the deadline.  Episodes like this, I can understand, or think this is what Robert Reed meant when he thought this show would be more serious. Because Marcia states, ..."even though he's only been her father for a short time, no better or realer dad than" Mike; or that "even when he punishes me, it's because I deserve it."

BUT. Here's the one thing, as an adult that I can't ignore, but have to, because it adds to the drama of it all. Did mailmen come and collect mail late at night? I mean, I'm pretty certain the mail for that day had already been collected and delivered, and Marcia already missed the deadline, because it would have been picked up the next day! Or did she just luck out, and since it was a local contest, the letter arrived the same day it was collected?

I know, I know, suspension of disbelief, and drama of Marcia being punished and not being able to go skiing...But the end of the episode makes up for it all. But it still bothers me!!

[MarkHB]

I know that, back when the Post Office was allowed to be good, we had collections as late as 9 Pm, and I'm far from a major city. I can fan wank that someplace like Bradyville could have had mail pickup at 11.

[Jacqs]

The Liberation of Marcia Brady is so hypocritical... there are plenty of episodes where Marcia uses sexual/romantic appeal and her femininity to manipulate people and get what she wants. Yeah, i know, I know, male writers... but it's still upsetting,

[legaleagle53]

14 hours ago, JacquelineAppleton said:

The Liberation of Marcia Brady is so hypocritical... there are plenty of episodes where Marcia uses sexual/romantic appeal and her femininity to manipulate people and get what she wants. Yeah, i know, I know, male writers... but it's still upsetting,

What the feminists will tell you in response is that it's OK for her to do it because she's doing it on HER terms and HER terms only, and anyone who is upset by it is guilty of slut-shaming her.  It's not as though the guys she comes on to like that are coming on to HER like that, after all -- THAT would be "sexual harassment."

[Katy M]

16 hours ago, JacquelineAppleton said:

The Liberation of Marcia Brady is so hypocritical... there are plenty of episodes where Marcia uses sexual/romantic appeal and her femininity to manipulate people and get what she wants. Yeah, i know, I know, male writers... but it's still upsetting,

I know I'm probably behind the times but I think it's OK for some stuff to be all boys or all girls.  But, the part that really irritates me about that episode is that Peter had no desire to be a Sunflower girl, and IIRC, was embarrassed the whole time.  Find a better way to make your (perfectly valid, IMO) point.

[Jacqs]

the worst thing about 1970s show like the Bunch is the way they use: Boy: Can you do (stereotypically male thing)? Girl: "Sure, can you have a baby? as the typical "devastating feminist putdown", even though that excludes trans men and non-binary people.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well color me STOOPID. For all these many, many years, I always thought that the episode of Marcia falling in puppy love with Harvey Clinger(!) was the season premiere of the second season, and not the one where Greg met Don Drysdale and then got all arrogant, thinking he'd be the next Don Drysdale and neglected his school work. And it wasn't even the second, but the third episode. And here I thought MeTV was messing up and airing out of order! But they didn't air the fourth episode this weekend--which was the one where Greg made the film of the first Pilgrims. Wonder if they'll air it next weekend?

Anyhoo, we got the one with Greg and Marcia babysitting, and Carol, Mike and Alice just looked so BAD when they proved, despite telling Marcia and Greg otherwise, that they didn't trust them to take care of Cindy/

And we got the wonderful Slumber Party episode! Maureen really was good at the UGLY CRYING. I always laugh at Principal Randolph's (the great E.G. Marshall) dead pan delivery of "Unfortunately, yes" to Mike's question of whether Miss. Dittmeyer actually looked like the drawing Marcia made.

And then the episode where Greg, 14 years old, wants to start saving up for a car, and works at Mike's office and loses the designs; borrrring episode.

[Snow Apple]

I grew up with a local station that always run the Harvey Clinger episode as the 2nd season premier too. Right after Marcia meets Dezi Arnez Jr. 

MeTv running in the correct order is throwing me off and it's a bit upsetting. LOL

[GHScorpiosRule]

7 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I grew up with a local station that always run the Harvey Clinger episode as the 2nd season premier too. Right after Marcia meets Dezi Arnez Jr. 

MeTv running in the correct order is throwing me off and it's a bit upsetting. LOL

????????????

[madpsych78]

Watching the musical numbers in various episodes in Seasons 3 - 5. My favorites were Good Time Music and Sunshine Day. The only thing I really didn't like about Good Time Music were the girls' dresses. My least favorite was Time to Change because it was very clear that they dubbed a completely different voice for Chris Knight. I also noticed that in Keep On, when the boys sang their verse it looked like Greg wasn't singing at all because it was unison whereas Greg should have been an octave lower than everyone else.

[VCRTracking]

Currently watching a Murder She Wrote set in Nashville guest starring Florence Henderson as a country music star friend of Jessica Fletcher's. It's so awkward seeing Florence try to pretend to be a Country singer like Tammy Wynette but singing Broadway-style with a Southern accent!  It's from the  fall of 1990 so it was after the short-lived The Bradys ended(but she still has the same permed out hair). I think the show tried to do what later shows like This is Us and Parenthood(the 2000s version) did better. It was just weird to see the characters so serious and frankly, some of the cast's dramatic chops weren't up to the standard a Sterling K. Brown or Lauren Graham.

Edited May 7, 2018 by VCRTracking

[magicdog]

Jan always seemed to have the most issues of all the kids didn’t she?

FTR, Coca played Carol’s Aunt Jenny.  You know it was never mentioned how she became so rich or knew so many celebs of the day (she was invited to a party on Ari’s yacht after all !

[Blergh]

They never say which of Carol's parent's Aunt Jenny was the sister of . Hence; we don't know whether she was a Tyler or Hutchinson. Moreover, she somehow didn't make it to Marcia and Jan's Wedding in 1981 (and no one seemed to have missed her) despite supposedly her being Jan and Carol's fave eccentric relative (and Miss Coca still living and working at that time). So, no there were lines of her having to run off to meet Harrison Ford one of that era's biggest celebs.   FWIW, Miss Coca's mother's maiden name WAS Brady!