I watch shows that promote morals and family values, the Brady Bunch included. But do the Brady's go to far? Among the shows I watch, all will show that its okay to avoid the truth if it avoids hurting someone's feelings. Sometimes the character's will just avoid coming right out with the truth and sometimes they will even "lie," although I think they are good lies.

The Brady's obviously feel differently. Carol and Mike basically came out and told Aunt Jenny that Jan thought she was an ugly dog. Aunt Jenny claimed she dragged it out of them, but if they really wanted, Carol and Mike could have lied. And in today's episode, Jan is confident she is a no talent loser. In turn, the kids did poorly in events just to make Jan feel she was a winner. Carol and Mike made Greg tell Jan the truth. That was cruel. Couldn't they just have advised the rest of the kids to stop deceiving Jan and leave well enough alone rather than Jan knowing she could only beat everyone because they lost on purpose? Boy, wouldn't that feed into someone's inferiority complex. Mike and Carol, can I be honest with you.....?

Lesson: Learn how to be a liar, and do it well. ;) Okay, at least spare people when necessary.

Edited: all the Aunt Martha's were changed to Aunt Jenny--the right name.

Originally posted by Cashodeen
Carol and Mike basically came out and told Aunt Martha that Jan thought she was an ugly dog. Aunt Martha claimed she dragged it out of them, but if they really wanted, Carol and Mike could have lied.

I must admit that I would have handled that situation differently myself. I would have told Jan to be nice to Aunt Jenny (not Martha) during the visit, or else she would find herself grounded for a while. Telling Aunt Jenny that Jan thought she was ugly was very uncool. On the other hand, Jenny was too busy name-dropping to be offended, I guess.

That's it! Aunt Jenny, not Martha. I thought Martha sounded weird when I typed it, but I'm so used to everyone on tv having an Aunt Martha, I fitted it in there. Thanks for the correction.

Anyhow, yes, Aunt Jenny was so into talking about all her famous friends, Mike and Carol's explanation didn't phase her. Mike and Carol always end up doing the right thing--or at least something that turns out right in the end.

honeymooners and leave it to beaver had an aunt martha

Yes, you're right. And I think the Brady's actually mentioned an Aunt Martha once. Was it Aunt Martha that Carol stayed with while Alice hurt her ankle? Maybe not...

Lucy mentioned an Aunt Martha, although if I remember correctly it was fictional. The salad dressing she and Ethel marketed was called "Aunt Martha's Old Fashioned Salad Dressing."

I'm sure there are plenty more shows with Aunt Marthas.

I thought Martha was Carol's friend. We only heard of her through her telephone conversations.

Even though I have seen all of the episodes, I don't ever recall ever there being an *Aunt* Martha on the series.

There was another aunt of Carol's mentioned in "The Big Sprain" (Alice's foot "played Chinese Checkers and lost"), Mary to be specific. (I hope Growing Up Brady got it right!)

Originally posted by James


Even though I have seen all of the episodes, I don't ever recall ever there being an *Aunt* Martha on the series.


There never was an Aunt Martha on The Brady Bunch but there was an Aunt Martha on Leave it to Beaver. That may be who Cashodeen was thinking of when she replied to this thread and just got the two shows mixed up.

Aunt Mary was the relative Carol stayed with when Alice sprained her ankle. However there WAS an Aunt Martha mentioned, in "Lost Locket, Found Locket". When Carol and Mike were discussing Jan's mystery present, Carol thought it might be from Aunt Martha. I'm assuming this was a different person than the Martha mentioned in a couple of other early episodes (Carol was helping Martha alter a dress over the phone at one point).

I never did like Aunt Jenny...

So she knows a bunch of third world dictators...are we supposed to be impressed?? "Oh, and this necklace was a gift from Pol Pot, the Cambodian leader who slaughtered umpteen million people..."
"Wow Aunt Jenny, you sure do get around"

And that dinner at the Brady's house...on the living room floor...hey Aunt Jenny, don't know if you're aware of this, but in the United States of America, we have what we call CHAIRS...and TABLES....we don't HAVE to sit on the floor every time we eat a meal...just because they sit on the floor in all of those primitive cultures you love so much, doesn't make it right, and it doesn't mean the Brady's have to!!

I guess the Brady's weren't that impressed either, because we never saw them eat on the living room floor again...no way they're gonna let Aunt Jenny shove these primitive cultures down their throats!!

One other thing about the look-alike angle...Ya think Aunt Jenny EVER looked as good as Jan did in the 5th season? Not bloody likely...

Originally posted by TV Guy
Aunt Mary was the relative Carol stayed with when Alice sprained her ankle. However there WAS an Aunt Martha mentioned, in "Lost Locket, Found Locket". When Carol and Mike were discussing Jan's mystery present, Carol thought it might be from Aunt Martha.
Wow, you have a good memory. I've seen every episode about a hundred times and I never remember an Aunt Martha being mentioned. The Aunt Martha on LITB is mentioned all the time. The next time I see the locket ep, I'll have to watch for that.

Originally posted by Mijada
There never was an Aunt Martha on The Brady Bunch but there was an Aunt Martha on Leave it to Beaver. That may be who Cashodeen was thinking of when she replied to this thread and just got the two shows mixed up.

I didn't get the two shows mixed up but I did get mixed up since so many shows mention Aunt Martha's, like I said in my second post.

And I knew an Aunt Martha was mentioned somewhere on the Brady Bunch! But this time I mixed Martha with Mary. Thanks, TV Guy!

Originally posted by Tweety
I never did like Aunt Jenny...

So she knows a bunch of third world dictators...are we supposed to be impressed?? "Oh, and this necklace was a gift from Pol Pot, the Cambodian leader who slaughtered umpteen million people..."
"Wow Aunt Jenny, you sure do get around"

And that dinner at the Brady's house...on the living room floor...hey Aunt Jenny, don't know if you're aware of this, but in the United States of America, we have what we call CHAIRS...and TABLES....we don't HAVE to sit on the floor every time we eat a meal...just because they sit on the floor in all of those primitive cultures you love so much, doesn't make it right, and it doesn't mean the Brady's have to!!

I guess the Brady's weren't that impressed either, because we never saw them eat on the living room floor again...no way they're gonna let Aunt Jenny shove these primitive cultures down their throats!!

One other thing about the look-alike angle...Ya think Aunt Jenny EVER looked as good as Jan did in the 5th season? Not bloody likely...

LOL, Tweety. I think they sat on the floor to eat because they were eating Japanese food, and it has been a custom in Japan to eat on the floor.

I thought it was lame of her giving some pretty worthless gifts to some of the kids, and then she gives an autographed Wilt Chamberlain basketball to Bobby. She did give Houdini handcuffs to Peter, but what was up with the gifts she gave to Marsha and Jan? Don't give gifts out to a bunch of people unless they are all close in value.

And finally, who would really believe Imogene Coca ever looked like Eve Plumb? LOL.

Originally posted by Cashodeen


LOL, Tweety. I think they sat on the floor to eat because they were eating Japanese food, and it has been a custom in Japan to eat on the floor.

I thought it was lame of her giving some pretty worthless gifts to some of the kids, and then she gives an autographed Wilt Chamberlain basketball to Bobby. She did give Houdini handcuffs to Peter, but what was up with the gifts she gave to Marsha and Jan? Don't give gifts out to a bunch of people unless they are all close in value.

And finally, who would really believe Imogene Coca ever looked like Eve Plumb? LOL.

Thanks Cashodeen...actually, as I was writing my comment, I was trying to remember what gifts Aunt Jenny actually gave to the kids, and I drew a total blank...I forgot about the Chamberlain and Houdini gifts...thanks for reminding me!

I do remember that it's a Japanese custom to eat on the floor...in fact, the family was even attempting to eat with chopsticks, as I recall...the Brady's first and only exposure to Japanese culture...

I know that Jan felt relieved when she finally met Aunt Jenny and found out how "cool" she was...but if I were Jan at the time, I'd still have been really, really worried about my future....

And how conflicted Jan must have felt...I mean, when she had a crush on Clark Tyson, her parents decided that he (Clark) didn't pay much attention to Jan because of the way she looked...and to prove their point, they had Jan dress up in a pretty dress and then...POW...Clark falls for her like a ton of bricks...thereby proving that looks are, indeed, all important...

So which is it? What's the lesson here? Either looks are all important (as we learned in the Clark Tyson episode) or they're not important at all (as with Aunt Jenny)...Jan must have decided to do her best in the looks departement, because she became a total babe in Season 5! But did she ever have a date that year? I don't remember one...Marcia yes, Jan no....

One other thing that probably worried Jan about Aunt Jenny...Jenny never got married...she pretended that she just "never had the time" but I think we all know the real reason she remained a spinster...

Originally posted by Tweety

And how conflicted Jan must have felt...I mean, when she had a crush on Clark Tyson, her parents decided that he (Clark) didn't pay much attention to Jan because of the way she looked...and to prove their point, they had Jan dress up in a pretty dress and then...POW...Clark falls for her like a ton of bricks...thereby proving that looks are, indeed, all important...

So which is it? What's the lesson here? Either looks are all important (as we learned in the Clark Tyson episode) or they're not important at all (as with Aunt Jenny)...Jan must have decided to do her best in the looks departement, because she became a total babe in Season 5! But did she ever have a date that year? I don't remember one...Marcia yes, Jan no....


Well, I remember how Marcia tried to steal Clark from Jan by flouncing through the family room while they were studying. During season five, when boys showed interest in Jan, Marcia probably scared them off by showing them a picture of Imogene Coca. "Look, Doug Simpson, here's what Jan's going to look like in a few years. Now, I'm the one you should be really interested in..."

LOL, Tweety and TV Guy, you two are hilarious!

And excellent point you brought up, Tweety, about the contadiction with looks. I forgot all about that stuff going on in the Clark episode. And what was with Marsha in that episode, "flouncing through," as TV Guy said? She was nuts. Definitely wouldn't put it past her to show a picture of Aunt Jenny to drive off the guys that wanted to go out with Jan in season 5! There should have been an episode in season 5 where Jan and Marsha are fighting over a guy or something... and this time Marsha should have been burned. I know in the final episodes, Sherwood was pressed for time to write them, but how hard would it have been to come up with a storyline like that? Replace the UFO one for heaven sakes. Let Marsha's ego get stomped on for once.

I agree!

I think one of the meanest things I ever heard Marcia say to Jan was, "Jan, it's not my fault if boys don't find you attractive."

What a bitchy thing to say! Did you see the look on Jan's face when Marcia said that? She looked as if she had been struck, and what does Marcia do? She just goes back to brushing her hair as if nothing happened.:mad:

I never did like Aunt Jenny...

So she knows a bunch of third world dictators...are we supposed to be impressed?? "Oh, and this necklace was a gift from Pol Pot, the Cambodian leader who slaughtered umpteen million people..."
"Wow Aunt Jenny, you sure do get around"



:lol: That is pretty damn funny!

I didn't get the two shows mixed up but I did get mixed up since so many shows mention Aunt Martha's, like I said in my second post.

And I knew an Aunt Martha was mentioned somewhere on the Brady Bunch! But this time I mixed Martha with Mary. Thanks, TV Guy!
MARTHA!!! MARTHA!!!!! MARTHA!!!!!That's all I hear all day long...:wave:

I agree!

I think one of the meanest things I ever heard Marcia say to Jan was, "Jan, it's not my fault if boys don't find you attractive."

What a bitchy thing to say! Did you see the look on Jan's face when Marcia said that? She looked as if she had been struck, and what does Marcia do? She just goes back to brushing her hair as if nothing happened.:mad:

It seems likely that the caricature of Marcia that appeared in the Brady Bunch movies of the 90s was based on this scene. It was probably the nastiest thing that Marcia said in the whole series, and when she followed it w/ brushing her hair, that was the look that Marcia (and Moesha also) had through the movies.

Here's another example of Mike and Carol being too worried about "the truth". When they discovered Bobby was really Cindy's secret admirer, they insisted that Bobby tell Cindy the truth. Bobby was right though - HIS way was better. Cindy was happy, the boy was happy he made a new friend, no harm done. If Bobby tells Cindy the truth, he feels bad and Cindy is mad at him for tricking her and hurt that she really doesn't have a secret admirer. Way to go, Mike and Carol. :rolleyes: