The Brady Bunch - General Discussion

[legaleagle53]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

All this over pig tails?  My mom used to do the same thing to our hair when we were kids.

It's just that they looked ridiculous on Susan (especially in the third season) and were only done in order to copy Family Affair.  Susan hated them, and she was no doubt glad when she was finally allowed to adopt a more age-appropriate hairstyle (the braids in the fourth season weren't much better, in my opinion) in the final season.

[Jacqs]

Buffy and Cindy met in The Trouble with Girls Elvis movie. And of course before the Internet, Susan got a lot of "i thought you were dead" from people that confused Buffy and Cindy.

[Waterston Fan]

5 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

It's just that they looked ridiculous on Susan (especially in the third season) and were only done in order to copy Family Affair.  Susan hated them, and she was no doubt glad when she was finally allowed to adopt a more age-appropriate hairstyle (the braids in the fourth season weren't much better, in my opinion) in the final season.

Susan hated the look but no one listened. 

[Jacqs]

4 hours ago, Waterston Fan said:

Susan hated the look but no one listened. 

Ken Levine (MASH) mentioned that whenever the actors complained about a script, in the next one, the writers would include a winter scene in heavy coats, knowing the warm weather.

[mmecorday]

Quote

Susan hated them, and she was no doubt glad when she was finally allowed to adopt a more age-appropriate hairstyle (the braids in the fourth season weren't much better, in my opinion) in the final season.

The braids were horrible! Wearing her hair in that style day after day couldn't have been very good for her follicles. It's a wonder she still has hair today.

I absolutely HATE the episode about Jan's allergies! Eve Plum's exaggerated "A-A-A-CHOO!" gets the hell on my nerves. It's almost as bad as her screaming about that stupid locket.

[Katy M]

49 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

The braids were horrible! Wearing her hair in that style day after day couldn't have been very good for her follicles. It's a wonder she still has hair today.

I absolutely HATE the episode about Jan's allergies! Eve Plum's exaggerated "A-A-A-CHOO!" gets the hell on my nerves. It's almost as bad as her screaming about that stupid locket.

Definitely not a fan of the braids, but I think they looked better on her than Melissa Gilbert.

[Jacqs]

7 hours ago, Katy M said:

Definitely not a fan of the braids, but I think they looked better on her than Melissa Gilbert.

Everyone rags on MSA (Bobby's Millicent) but Gilbert was the real disaster. Absolute;y cringe-worthy.

[Dr. Acula]

The Brady kids were the original snowflakes.  They're each so perfectly special.  

[Dr. Acula]

Who else despises Carol?  Marriage is supposed to be a partnership, but she contributes nothing but various holes for Mike to play with. 

She, and her three whiny barnacles, drain Mike of every last nickel he earns, and still retain a paid housekeeper.  What exactly does she do all day, while Alice raises six kids and does all the housework?  Carol's a disgrace to women.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Wow.

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, Dr. Acula said:

Who else despises Carol?  Marriage is supposed to be a partnership, but she contributes nothing but various holes for Mike to play with. 

She, and her three whiny barnacles, drain Mike of every last nickel he earns, and still retain a paid housekeeper.  What exactly does she do all day, while Alice raises six kids and does all the housework?  Carol's a disgrace to women.

Is that true of all stay-at-home mothers, or just Carol Brady?

[Dr. Acula]

12 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Is that true of all stay-at-home mothers, or just Carol Brady?

Just the ones who pay a housekeeper, with the money their husbands earn, to do their job.

[legaleagle53]

19 minutes ago, Dr. Acula said:

Just the ones who pay a housekeeper, with the money their husbands earn, to do their job.

You do remember that Alice tried to quit when the Bradys were first married, right?  And that the entire family (not just Carol) campaigned hard for her to stay to the point that they went over-the-top in doing so? If you had had your way, we'd have never seen Alice again after that episode!

[GHScorpiosRule]

Carol was also very active in the PTA. 

[legaleagle53]

10 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Carol was also very active in the PTA. 

And in other community projects.  She helped spearhead the anti-smoking campaign and the "Save Woodland Park" campaign, and she was on the committee that approved "Romeo and Juliet" for the school play -- which is why she could fire Marcia from the cast when Marcia turned into the Diva from Hell.

She also frequently helped Alice with the cooking and the grocery shopping (and supervised the girls on outings, such as for Marcia's merit badge quests) and she also drove Alice around town whenever Alice asked her to.  AND she also instructed Alice NOT to constantly pick up after the kids so that they would learn to pick up after themselves.  So it's not as though Carol just lay on the couch eating chocolates all day and barked orders while watching Alice do all the work.

[merylinkid]

First of all 6 kids is a LOT of work.   Just the laundry alone would keep you pretty busy.   Also although there were vacuum cleaners, etc., housework is still a lot of work (granted there weren't a lot of toilets to scrub in the Brady household).   In that time period, if you were of a certain income bracket, you had paid help.   Maybe not a live in.   Maybe just someone who came in a couple times a month to do the heavy cleaning.   But given the Brady's neighborhood and apparent income (they never complained about budgeting except when it came to the phone), the kids didn't wear hand me downs, they had vacations for family of 9 that would not be cheap, they were clearly well to do.   So there was hired help.

[Jacqs]

shallow, vain, diva Marcia complaining about having to wear hand-me-downs (or nothing at all: "Your father's not going to be happy you're wearing his favourite fertiliser barrel") would have been interesting.

[Snow Apple]

I thought having a housekeeper was kind of weird, especially after most of the kids grew old enough for chores. But this is a sitcom. It seemed common for 70's sitcoms to have help. They act as the comic and the voice of reason. How cold would it be to fire Alice in a sitcom? They love her even when the kids were acting like brats. I can see kids treating family like that.

And we don't actually see how much Carol does all day, just like we only get glimpses of Mike and the kids at work and school. 

[mmecorday]

Quote

shallow, vain, diva Marcia complaining about having to wear hand-me-downs (or nothing at all: "Your father's not going to be happy you're wearing his favourite fertiliser barrel") would have been interesting

Marcia had some really pretty clothes. I loved the emerald green mini dress with the black piping that she wore to Cousin Gertrude's wedding and later when she hosted the Boosters' meeting on the back patio. She had a light blue mini dress paired with a matching bolero jacket that looked really nice on her. I loved the pink peasant top with the scoop neckline too.

 

Quote

And we don't actually see how much Carol does all day, just like we only get glimpses of Mike and the kids at work and school. 

I think Carol kept herself busy. With that many mouths to feed, I imagine she spent a lot of time at the supermarket. And we often saw her in the kitchen prepping meals. Carol never struck me as being a slouch when it came to work or mothering. The kids could be brats, but for the most part they were good-hearted and hard working.

Edited September 19, 2018 by mmecorday
my brain is tired

[Katy M]

15 hours ago, JacquelineAppleton said:

shallow, vain, diva Marcia complaining about having to wear hand-me-downs (or nothing at all: "Your father's not going to be happy you're wearing his favourite fertiliser barrel") would have been interesting.

Marcia's the oldest girl, though.  She wouldn't have had had hand-me-downs.  Jan would have been like, Why is Marcia the only one to get new clothes? 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Bobby is the only one I remember getting hand-me-downs. First season when he saw Cinderella and decided to run away because he thought no one loved him. That Alice wasn’t a “step” like Carol and the girls were.

[mmecorday]

In that same episode, Jan inherited Marcia's light blue cardigan. Carol suggested dying it a different color so that it would look brand new.

[Sader87]

Nobody knew that Mike was an architect on Jeopardy the other night....very sad day.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 9/14/2018 at 10:51 PM, JacquelineAppleton said:

Reminds me of how Colin Baker (Doctor Who) queried what was happening with a confusing plot point, and was told to go away and act.

 

On 9/14/2018 at 11:02 PM, legaleagle53 said:

Also known as every conversation ever held between Robert Reed and Sherwood Schwartz.

HA!  Great line, LegalEagle.

On 10/19/2018 at 1:30 PM, Sader87 said:

Nobody knew that Mike was an architect on Jeopardy the other night....very sad day.

So here is a question for all of you regarding Robert Reed.

We all know the fights and arguments he had, and the stress on the set of Reed believing that the slapstick writing was beneath his skills and classic training.

BUT. . .

If he could see the future, and know that the Brady Bunch would go on to entertain and bring comfort to families for years and even generations to come, then would Robert Reed have felt differently playing the role?

Edited October 23, 2018 by TheLastKidPicked

[GHScorpiosRule]

41 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

If he could see the future, and know that the Brady Bunch would go on to entertain and bring comfort to families for years and even generations to come, then would Robert Reed have felt differently playing the role?

But he was alive long enough to see how popular it was. He even agreed to reprise his role in the godawful Brady Sisters, the Christmas movie and short-lived revival.

[TheLastKidPicked]

17 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

But he was alive long enough to see how popular it was. He even agreed to reprise his role in the godawful Brady Sisters, the Christmas movie and short-lived revival.

You are right about that.

To put a finer point on it, there are several interviews floating around where people have said,

"My parent's were always fighting.  My step-sister hated me. . . 

The only escape was coming home from school and watching Brady Bunch.  For a half an hour I could watch the Brady's and pretend they were my family."

As Ghscorpiosrule points out, Bob Reed DID live long enough to realize all of this.  I hope it eventually made him proud of the Brady Bunch.

[Jacqs]

Reed kept irritating SherLloyd even on The Bradys, though. Had it not been cancelled, Reed would've been canned.

By the way, Jaclyn Berstein did *not* convince physically as Marcia's daughter in that series. Berstein was of Jewish extraction, and looked it, while the Bradys are not meant to be Jewish. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, JacquelineAppleton said:

Reed kept irritating SherLloyd even on The Bradys, though. Had it not been cancelled, Reed would've been canned.

The show was cancelled because it sucked. Trying to be a drama-turning Marcia into an alcoholic, Bobby paralyzed, and Cindy involved with her boss who was...married?

And for all the complaints Reed may have had, he still showed up for every episode and gave a 100%. He didn’t appear in the introduction to Oliver and the series finale. And like I said before-for all his dissatisfaction with the original series, he was willing to reprise his role for that horrid variety show, spin-off, movie and revival.

[legaleagle53]

10 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

The show was cancelled because it sucked. Trying to be a drama-turning Marcia into an alcoholic, Bobby paralyzed, and Cindy involved with her boss who was...married?

Cindy's boss wasn't married.  As I recall, he was divorced and had two teenage children who would have had Cindy as their stepmother if the relationship had continued to get as serious between her and their father as it appeared to be getting.

Edited October 24, 2018 by legaleagle53

[Jacqs]

Cindy was about 28-29 in The Bradys. Only about a decade older than her boss's children, which could have caused some problem had they become Cindy's step-children.

[GHScorpiosRule]

9 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Cindy's boss wasn't married.  As I recall, he was divorced and had two teenage children who would have had Cindy as their stepmother if the relationship had continued to get as serious between her and their father as it appeared to be getting.

Thanks. I couldn’t quite remember hence my putting a question mark at the end of that sentence.

[TheLastKidPicked]

18 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And for all the complaints Reed may have had, he still showed up for every episode and gave a 100%.

Sherwood Schwartz agrees with you:

From ABC The Real Mike Brady--    Schwartz, who had also produced Gilligan’s Island, loaded every Brady script with gags and pratfalls. Reed, who wanted a more realistic show, often clashed with the show’s creator.

“He wound up on a show that he didn’t want to do in the first place, and it became more and more difficult for him” says Schwartz, referring to Reed’s more serious acting style and preference for a different kind of family comedy,

But, says Schwartz, “He was a good actor. So whatever he chose to do after arguing and fussing and so forth, he would do well.”

[Jacqs]

he loved the cast. 

[ByaNose]

Well, this is HUGE! Maureen & Eve in the same picture. Alert the media. It’s part of HGTV buying The Brady House. Progress!  I say, progress? LOL!!! 

 

https://tvline.com/2018/11/01/a-very-brady-renovation-hgtv-the-brady-bunch-reunion/

[legaleagle53]

I thought Maureen and Eve buried the hatchet years ago.

And I do have to say that they've all aged extremely well, even if it IS a little weird seeing them as 50-and 60-somethings when to me, it really doesn't seem that long ago that they WERE kids!

Edited November 2, 2018 by legaleagle53

[mmecorday]

I just had a feeling when HGTV bought the house, the network had some sort of Brady cast reno project planned. I'm glad I was right! We can only hope that Charlie stops by with wallpaper samples. This show could be a lot of fun!

[ByaNose]

10 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I just had a feeling when HGTV bought the house, the network had some sort of Brady cast reno project planned. I'm glad I was right! We can only hope that Charlie stops by with wallpaper samples. This show could be a lot of fun!

and, Doug Simpson. BMOC!

[Vixenstud]

11 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

I thought Maureen and Eve buried the hatchet years ago.

When I saw the HGTV stuff on Entertainment Tonight I was frankly shocked 'cause I thought they still weren't speaking.

[mmecorday]

Oh, I'm sure the cast is being well compensated for this.

[Jacqs]

1 hour ago, mmecorday said:

Oh, I'm sure the cast is being well compensated for this.

"they drove up to my house with a dump truck full of money! I'm not made of stone!"

[MarkHB]

I know they're going 70's style, but it would be awesome if Mike (Bobby) did a Brady- inspired concrete counter / backsplash in the kitchen. That's what he does for a living now and the pics I've seen were pretty impressive.

I'd also love to see Johnny Whitaker make an appearance, just because where did he go?

[VCRTracking]

RIP Ken Berry. In an alternate timeline "Kelly's Kids" got picked up for a series and there was a fourth or fifth season episode where the family goes out to a disco and their dad shows off some sweet moves on the dance floor.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So A Very Brady Christmas was on MeTV tonight. And I don’t recall if I mentioned this goof the last time we discussed it. I remember it aired in 1988, and I missed it because I was in India for my Christmas break.

First, Mike and Carol had been married for 19 years, and not the 20 Mike said at dinner. Small nitpick I know, but the show premiered in 1969 and that was the day they got married.

I still think Cindy acted like a whiny brat. Carol did NOT tell her to come home. She told her that their trip to Greece and Japan had been cancelled and they would like for her to come home for Christmas since all the other kids would be there too. I didn’t hear any demands or ultimatums.😒😒😒😒

And I guess she was too much of a wuss/coward to say she had made plans with friends? Though maybe my own experience is influencing me, but I would love to be able to get together with my family for the holidays. And Cindy was in grad school, right? She should be around 25 or 26. I can’t see her putting college off considering her whining about how she always does what she’s told. Plus, she and Bobby are the same age and he dropped out of grad school. But the movie kept saying she was finally graduating from college.

Wow. Bobby lies for over a year to his parents. So much for the lessons about being honest and truthful sticking.

And on a purely shallow note, I just don’t understand how Marcia fell in love with another whiny loser like Wally. Jan and Greg were the best in this movie, with Peter, second.

And compared to the 🌲 they had in their one and only Christmas episode, which nearly topped the ceiling, the tree they got this time was half the size.

But I won’t lie-I started 😭 when we got the flashback to Cindy and Mike, where Cindy said “He’s SANTA CLAUS!” and continued through when Carol started singing in the present and Mike came out from the cave-in.

[ByaNose]

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 1:55 AM, VCRTracking said:

RIP Ken Berry. In an alternate timeline "Kelly's Kids" got picked up for a series and there was a fourth or fifth season episode where the family goes out to a disco and their dad shows off some sweet moves on the dance floor.

with Carey Wong, Todd Lookinland (Mike's younger brother) and, Billy "Pop" Atmore. It wasn't a horrible premise but it was Season 5 (the last) and, The Brady Bunch was already played out. I liked Ken Berry. I grew up watching him on F Troop & Mayberry RFD.

[Jacqs]

I would have traded in the horrible Brady Brides etc for a season of Kelly's Kids or an in-character reunion of My Three Sons or Bewitched.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 12/2/2018 at 6:53 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

So A Very Brady Christmas was on MeTV tonight.

I was hoping that somebody else saw it as well!

On 12/2/2018 at 6:53 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And on a purely shallow note, I just don’t understand how Marcia fell in love with another whiny loser like Wally.

Don't be sorry.  Just be Wally!

[ByaNose]

I watched the Christmas episode today. For some reason, I haven’t watched this one in years. Usually, I skip it. I’ve never been a fan of Season 1. Anyway, the one thing I’ve always wondered was why they only did one Christmas episode? I guess it was a thing in the early days where tv shows only did one Christmas themed show. I think The Parteidge Family only had one, too. The tree they used looked real which I appreciated. I think later on tv shows starting to use fake trees for practical purposes. The kids are sooooo young. Especially, Mike Lookinland & Susan Olson. Florence did a nice job singing Oh Come All Ye Faithful. 

[Waterston Fan]

I bought the DVD of this movie and saw it twice and I admit, I wish they had some behind the scenes stuff in the DVD but glad it is out on DVD. 

[Jacqs]

Marcia and Jan in the show were played by actual teens, but Marcia and Jan in the movies were well into their twenties (and Jan was almost pushing thirty).

It wasn't parodying anything, because as i said, in the real show, the actors were actual teenagers.

[Katy M]

On 12/2/2018 at 8:53 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And I guess she was too much of a wuss/coward to say she had made plans with friends? Though maybe my own experience is influencing me, but I would love to be able to get together with my family for the holidays. And Cindy was in grad school, right? She should be around 25 or 26. I can’t see her putting college off considering her whining about how she always does what she’s told. Plus, she and Bobby are the same age and he dropped out of grad school. But the movie kept saying she was finally graduating from college.

Cindy was never that bright, she may have just kept failing all her classes.

On 2/22/2019 at 3:14 AM, Jacqs said:

Marcia and Jan in the show were played by actual teens, but Marcia and Jan in the movies were well into their twenties (and Jan was almost pushing thirty).

It wasn't parodying anything, because as i said, in the real show, the actors were actual teenagers.

I don't think that keeps it from being a parody.