There was all the talk about Robert Reed (Mike Brady) not being in the final episode of the series - Hair-brained Scheme - but there was another Brady episode that didn't have the father present - Goodbye, Alice, Hello.

Did Robert Reed have a problem with this episode, which would explain his absence? Alice leaving the Brady home is quite a turning point in the series, and you would think the father would have something to say about it. I've read Barry Williams' autobiography on the series, and there's no mention of Reed having issues with the episode, and personally I don't see why he would -- the premise is not that far-fetched. The kids were, for a brief time, really being kids. Nasty, spiteful, and remorseless. Real non-Brady like, but real.

Any reason Reed was not there for this episode?

There was all the talk about Robert Reed (Mike Brady) not being in the final episode of the series - Hair-brained Scheme - but there was another Brady episode that didn't have the father present - Goodbye, Alice, Hello.

Did Robert Reed have a problem with this episode, which would explain his absence? Alice leaving the Brady home is quite a turning point in the series, and you would think the father would have something to say about it. I've read Barry Williams' autobiography on the series, and there's no mention of Reed having issues with the episode, and personally I don't see why he would -- the premise is not that far-fetched. The kids were, for a brief time, really being kids. Nasty, spiteful, and remorseless. Real non-Brady like, but real.

Any reason Reed was not there for this episode?


Someone else may have a better memory about this that I, but it seems to me that Reed had honored a commitment to appear in another show (Mannix, maybe?) and that may have taken too much time... I know they would sometimes shoot at odd hours to accommodate Reed's or Henderson's schedules, but I'm really not sure why he was not in that episode.

But that would be my guess, probably just another commitment elsewhere. I don't think it had anything to do with the content of that episode. Heck, if Reed had refused to appear in every episode that was dumber than this one, he wouldn't have been in more that 5 or 10 shows in the entire run... I thought this episode was pretty good, and like you said, realistic. It was exaggerated to the point of ALL the kids suddenly turning on Alice due to circumstantial 'squealing' evidence, but it was still a good episode.

Guys,

Here is an earlier thread that talks in more detail about this very topic:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=152613&highlight=Goodbye+Alice

Jack

Heck, if Reed had refused to appear in every episode that was dumber than this one, he wouldn't have been in more that 5 or 10 shows in the entire run...
ROTFLMAO

Ouch!

Granted, there were a lot of silly episodes, but you have to also admit that there was some real feeling in there as well. Especially the part Reed played - he was stern, fair, attentive, and funny. A great dad, and his scripts were very decent - by TV standards in those days, and in ours.

I think that, before Reed died in the 90's, he grew to respect and be proud of that little show. Hindsight is everything.

Granted, there were a lot of silly episodes, but you have to also admit that there was some real feeling in there as well. Especially the part Reed played - he was stern, fair, attentive, and funny. A great dad, and his scripts were very decent - by TV standards in those days, and in ours.

I think that, before Reed died in the 90's, he grew to respect and be proud of that little show. Hindsight is everything.


Oh I agree... I'm not sure there's been a TV Dad that was a good as Robert Reed since that time, certainly not in any sitcom.

My comment was kind of half-joking really..."Buttmunker's" original post was asking why Reed wasn't in "Goodbye Alice, Hello", and the poster wondered if it had to do with Reed's objection to the episode's content. I was just saying (in a roundabout way) that I thought this episode was pretty good, and they did a lot of episodes that were a lot worse (for example, why on earth would Reed agree to appear in the episode in which he and Florence Henderson play their own grandparents??? Who did the makeup on that show, did they have to hire a Jr. High School Drama Department crew?), so I didn't think that Reed's absence was indicative of any displeasure with this episode...

Reed was really an amazing actor...he was so real on the Brady Bunch, especially when he had those heart to hearts with any of the kids... he was fantastic.. and boy, did he love those kids, in real life!

Reed was excellent in that role. I know he was embarassed by it for so many years, but I hope before he died that he realized how much his presence elevated the quality and believability of the show.

Yeah, I liked him too.. Too bad he didn't do the negotations with the lawyers to have his picture on Brady Bunch Merchandise instead of his daughter and her lawyers...