Saw this episode on TV Land tonight, but i've always wondered, was there ever any explanation as to why Robert Reed was missing from this episode? Seems like it had a script which he wouldnt object to.

I don't know...

It's odd that "Dad" would be missing from the two of the biggest things that happened in the Brady family - Alice moving out and his son's graduation.

Robert Reed was barred from the set,he didn't like the plotline of Bobby selling the hair tonic-he thought it was outdated and complained a little too much so Sherwood Shawartz wrote him out of the script and then had him barred when he wouldn't leave-he wouldn't let the gaurds remove him forcibly in front of the kid though.I don't think there was anything about Alice moving out though.

Robert Reed was barred from the set,he didn't like the plotline of Bobby selling the hair tonic-he thought it was outdated and complained a little too much so Sherwood Shawartz wrote him out of the script and then had him barred when he wouldn't leave-he wouldn't let the gaurds remove him forcibly in front of the kid though.I don't think there was anything about Alice moving out though.

No, they didn't remove him from the set, just the script. Bob had showed up on the first shoot day and Sherwood said, "Bob, you're not going to be in this episode I spoke to your agent. I think you might be a disturbance especially to the kids. I think you should go." Bob said, "I am not going anywhere. Whether or not I am in this episode, I am interested to see how it turns out."

Bob was on the set but out of camera range at all times for "The Hair Brained Scheme." (He stood offside in a corner and sulked for 4 days while the episode was being shot.) Paramount called Sherwood and said, should we remove him from the set? Sherwood said no, because he felt it would be too hard for the kids to take that. So that is how they shot that episode.

Jack

I think the episode where Bobby fell out of the tree house didn't feature Marcia but she was mentioned. Perhaps Reed was on holiday during the shooting of Goodbye, Alice, Hello? Was there anything in the dialogue, like Carol saying 'Mike is away on a business trip?'...

No, I don't think Mike was mentioned at all when Alice left.

There were two episodes that I know Robert Reed did not appear the final episode when Bobby was selling the hair tonic and it turned Greg's hair orange and the other one was when the kids were giving the Alice the cold shoulder and she did leave and her friend Kay took over but Alice returned at the end of the episode the kids went to the diner she worked at and made up with her and brought her home.

Robert Reed also did not appear in the pie fight scene in the episode in which Cousin Oliver first came to live with the Bradys. He was in the earlier scenes of that episode, but not the pie fight scene at the end. I'm wondering if Robert thought it was too silly and refused to appear in that scene?

No, they didn't remove him from the set, just the script. Bob had showed up on the first shoot day and Sherwood said, "Bob, you're not going to be in this episode I spoke to your agent. I think you might be a disturbance especially to the kids. I think you should go." Bob said, "I am not going anywhere. Whether or not I am in this episode, I am interested to see how it turns out."

Bob was on the set but out of camera range at all times for "The Hair Brained Scheme." (He stood offside in a corner and sulked for 4 days while the episode was being shot.) Paramount called Sherwood and said, should we remove him from the set? Sherwood said no, because he felt it would be too hard for the kids to take that. So that is how they shot that episode.

Jack

I always thought the script could have been better in regards to Mike not being there at the graduation. It's not like Mr. Brady to miss a big event like this! Instead of Carol saying that it was a shame that Mike had to be out of town and miss the graduation, the script could have had Mr. Brady waiting in the car (off-camera) while Carol and the family come in to the house at the end. Carol could have said something like, "Well, go ahead and get changed now, Greg. Your father is waiting in the car, and he's going to take us all out to celebrate!" Something like that maybe. Of course, it would have been even better if Robert Reed would have agreed to appear in at least the final scene. If he didn't like the script, fine. But at least make an appearance in the show's final scene - in which Greg graduates! The next time we would see Mr. Brady, he was singing and dancing on "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour"!

nobody knew that Hair-brained Scheme was going to be the final episode. Sherwood Schwartz was building up a premise to have Mr. Brady away on business for the sixth season, so he was building the groundwork for that premise.

It would have been awkward to have Mr Brady in that episode if you think about it. Alice's leaving was a relational issue.

Mr Brady never dealt with relational issues. He was more concerned with matters of business, money, ethics, right and wrong, etc.

His character would not have fit anywhere in that episode.

In 'The Dropout' Jan and Cindy didn't appear in the episode at all. Unless they appear in the DVD?

In 'The Dropout' Jan and Cindy didn't appear in the episode at all. Unless they appear in the DVD?

I am pretty sure Jan and Cindy were with Marcia when they were in their ballet suits in the kitchen during the scene where Greg made that energy drink, only to take one whiff of it and push it aside.

I am pretty sure Jan and Cindy were with Marcia when they were in their ballet suits in the kitchen during the scene where Greg made that energy drink, only to take one whiff of it and push it aside.

I am pretty sure that is the case as well.

Jack

I am pretty sure that is the case as well.

Jack

Oh, that's right.. I forgot about that part...

The next episode then, one where Gregg gets a job then loses it at Mike's firm?:wave:

It would have been awkward to have Mr Brady in that episode if you think about it. Alice's leaving was a relational issue.

Mr Brady never dealt with relational issues. He was more concerned with matters of business, money, ethics, right and wrong, etc.

His character would not have fit anywhere in that episode.

But Mr. Brady was in the first season episode in which Alice was going to leave because she didn't think she belonged in the family anymore when the kids started going to Carol for their problems. Mr. Brady came up with the plan on how to get Alice to stay: show her that she is definitely needed when all sorts of problems suddenly come up with the family. He even let Peter and Bobby get mud all over his tuxedo! :lol:

thanks for the info

Robert Reed also did not appear in the pie fight scene in the episode in which Cousin Oliver first came to live with the Bradys. He was in the earlier scenes of that episode, but not the pie fight scene at the end. I'm wondering if Robert thought it was too silly and refused to appear in that scene?

His last scene in that episode is where his model gets wrecked. :mad:

With regard to Goodbye Alice, Hello and Robert Reed's absence,

He thought Greg and Peter would have been old enough to tell Carol about the broken lamp and accept any punishment given to them. (Remember, Bobby reminded them in an earlier season, "Mom always said, don't play ball in the house! Well I am sure that applies to Frisbee throwing as well! LOL!)

Maybe Reed thought Alice getting emotional was over the top. As well

I agree with Reed's reasoning about other episode scenes, but not this one. This was a very well done episode, in fact, they didn't even need Robert Reed in this episode and it worked very well!

Jack

With regard to Goodbye Alice, Hello and Robert Reed's absence,

He thought Greg and Peter would have been old enough to tell Carol about the broken lamp and accept any punishment given to them. (Remember, Bobby reminded them in an earlier season, "Mom always said, don't play ball in the house! Well I am sure that applies to Frisbee throwing as well! LOL!)

Maybe Reed thought Alice getting emotional was over the top. As well

I agree with Reed's reasoning about other episode scenes, but not this one. This was a very well done episode, in fact, they didn't even need Robert Reed in this episode and it worked very well!

Jack


That's a good theory, about Reed thinking that Alice's behavior in this episode was over the top, emotionally... especially considering that she'd been with Mike and the boys for a long time before Mike and Carol got married.

And yes, Greg and Peter were DEFINITELY old enough to take responsibility for what they did. For them to try to hide what happened was not realistic.

But I agree that this episode was just fine without him. In fact, I usually have to be reminded that he was omitted from it. Everything went very smoothly despite Reed's absence.

That's a good theory, about Reed thinking that Alice's behavior in this episode was over the top, emotionally... especially considering that she'd been with Mike and the boys for a long time before Mike and Carol got married.

And yes, Greg and Peter were DEFINITELY old enough to take responsibility for what they did. For them to try to hide what happened was not realistic.

But I agree that this episode was just fine without him. In fact, I usually have to be reminded that he was omitted from it. Everything went very smoothly despite Reed's absence.

And Reed's friend, Tam Spiva, was script editor. This is significant because what Reed used to do when he and Sherwood would fight over scripts would be, Robert would do his own script rewrites, send them to at the time the head of Paramount, Doug Cramer, and would say, "This is the scene or line that Sherwood and I are in conflict about. Than he would present Doug with his revision notes asking if they were better? And most of the time, Doug would approve of Robert's changes, and because Doug was the president at Paramount, Sherwood had to go along with what Doug wanted.

However, when Doug left, Robert would send rewrites to Sherwood and almost nothing would be done. The studio brought in Tam Spiva, who was friends with Reed, and Tam would do his own edits of the scripts. Reed was pleased with that. Point is that, almost all Brady Bunch episodes with Tam Spiva as script editor are very good to outstanding. The one exception to this is the God Awful, "And Now A Word From Our Sponsor" which will make you appreciate the Fast Forward and skip functions on your DVD! hahaha!

Jack