Isn't it ironic how Cousin Oliver was initially introduced as a jinx, a whirlwind disaster that tore through the Brady house and shook up the entire household, and many people attribute the cancellation of The Brady Bunch to Cousin Oliver's introduction to the show? (The episode where he first comes to stay with The Brady's is on ME-TV right now.)

Do you feel that Cousin Oliver "ruined" the Brady Bunch, that this was the show's "jump the shark" moment, or do you think that the show had already run its course at that point?

Personally, with Greg going to college, I think it was time for the show to end. It would've been nice to have another season, but then there's always that awkward situation aging television shows find themselves in of whether Greg should still live at home and commute to school or live in the dorms and come to visit occasionally, take a year off of school and work, etc. I guess technically, they could've taken some liberties and extended Greg's senior year...pre-series finale, obviously. What do you think? Do you think something could've been done to extend the Brady Bunch into another season or possibly more? I think poor Cousin Oliver gets a bad rep since the show was already in a transition and would've probably ended at the same time with or without him.

I think the show ended at the right time especially if they were going to write Robert Reed out of the show.

Actually I think Robbie Rist brought some fresh energy and enthusiasm to the show which rubbed off on the rest of the cast. The addition of Oliver also gave the writers new stories to tell. However with Greg poised to go to college and Sherwood Schwartz ready to rid himself of Robert Reed it wa the right time for the show to end.

It wouldn't have been the same at all without Robert Reed.
I just think that sometimes Cousin Oliver gets a bad rep. It wasn't his fault that The Brady Bunch got canceled.

The addition of Cousin Oliver started a trend for shows with kids as they age. It happened on Dif'rent Strokes with Sam, Andrew on Family Ties and the birth of Jerry Garcia on Roseanne. I thought Cousin Oliver was a sign that The Brady Bunch was starting to go stale and Oliver was added to freshen up the plots.

Bottom line here is,the ratings were still there and did indeed warrant renewal for a season six,but lets face it,there really wasn't anywhere else for the show to wander.The previous point made about this in relation to Greg's graduation pretty much says it all.Some at the time of cousin Oliver's first appearance might have just seen this as going one goody-good Brady too far.....

What if instead of Cousin Oliver they had added a new Brady baby (as everyone initially thought Carol was pregnant.) So this would be Mike and Carol's child together? I think that's what they did on Step by Step, which was supposed to be the "modern" Brady Bunch. Then again, I don't think they liked to emphasize that Carol wasn't the biological mother of the boys and Mike wasn't the biological father of the girls after early season one. I wonder if they ever considered it though.

It wouldn't have been the same at all without Robert Reed.
I just think that sometimes Cousin Oliver gets a bad rep. It wasn't his fault that The Brady Bunch got canceled.
No it wasn't his fault and I actually didn't mind Robbie Rist. I liked him on MTM and also on the Saturday morning series Big John, Little John. He was everywhere in the 1970's. lol

The addition of Cousin Oliver started a trend for shows with kids as they age. It happened on Dif'rent Strokes with Sam, Andrew on Family Ties and the birth of Jerry Garcia on Roseanne. I thought Cousin Oliver was a sign that The Brady Bunch was starting to go stale and Oliver was added to freshen up the plots.

Actually, it dates back to the time Ernie was "adopted" by Steve Douglas on "My Three Sons" and Trisha joined the Stones on "The Donna Reed Show" ... and let's not forget Raven-Symone on "The Cosby Show!" All were added after the older children stopped being cute or wanted out of the series...

Actually, it dates back to the time Ernie was "adopted" by Steve Douglas on "My Three Sons" and Trisha joined the Stones on "The Donna Reed Show" ... and let's not forget Raven-Symone on "The Cosby Show!" All were added after the older children stopped being cute or wanted out of the series...

And especially don't forget Dodie from M3S as well. She was a definite extension of the "Cousin Oliver" trope before Cousin Oliver was around. Another (to me) annoying "Cousin Oliver" was Ricky Stevens in The Partridge Family. At least that show had the sense to drop him after about 10 episodes.

No it wasn't his fault and I actually didn't mind Robbie Rist. I liked him on MTM and also on the Saturday morning series Big John, Little John. He was everywhere in the 1970's. lol

He was also Dr. Zee on "Galatica 1980" and later in the 1980s, he voiced Whiz on "Kidd Video".:) :cool: And of course, he voiced Michelangelo in the 1990 classic "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie, as well as the equally classic and cool follow-up movies- "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time". :) :cool:

I don't think we as kids understood at the time the show was about to die but I hated cousin Oliver and thought his addition ruined the show. The audience of kids grew up with the show so you aged as the cast did but none of the loyal audience was Oliver's age and the show focusing on him lost its identity.