Do You Consider 'The Partridge Family' A Copy Cat Of 'The Brady Bunch?'...

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by IllinoisTVFan

I've watched recently the last season of both shows and I would have to agree. The Brady Bunch could have lasted maybe another year or two but the Partridge Family by then was getting drawn out. I think part of it is because while both shows were very much alike the Partridge Family had a music aspect the Brady Bunch didn't (though later on they would add music). Early Partridge Family songs like I Think I Love You pretty much still hold up (I still hear this one quite a bit on the oldies station)but most of season 3 and 4's songs really don't.

The people responsible for coming up with music for The Partridge Family were under a lot of pressure to keep churning out the albums. So eventually the quality of the music began to suffer. The first three albums are classics, especially Sound Magazine. I was disappointed with the Christmas album when it came out, starting with that album is where signs of dents in the armor began to surface.

I think The Brady Bunch could have continued for an additional 2 or 3 seasons. There were problems with Robert Reed, he didn't approve of some scripts and he did not want to participate in what ended up as the last episode of the series where Greg dyes his hair orange by accident. The ongoing issues with Robert Reed might have been a factor which led to the shows cancellation. The Brady Bunch Variety Hour showed that there was still a demand for the Brady clan, but they should have just continued on with The Brady Bunch, the variety hour was terrible.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by caro

I have the interview with Bob Claver. He has worked on other shows before and I think he knows what he us talking about.
Bob said he was surprised the show came back for a fourth season.
Yes, David was on the full 3rd and 4th season.
Things like the record sales and memorabilia were slowing down.
He said the show ran it's course.
David never quit.

What if Claver's version is wrong? And I don't think Cassidy's popularity was "slowing down" in 1973; if anything, it was rising.

[caro]

The show was up against All in the Family and TV was changing. I think that David at age 24 was too old to be a teen idol. That is what I don't get. Robin Williams, Alan Alda, Tom Hanks, and John Travolta were all sitcom stars. David and Shirley make believe that being on a sitcom ended a serious career. It didn't stop some people. Why not say I was in the right place at the right time and leave it at that?

[LittleRickyII]

I've only ever heard that The Partridge Family was inspired by the Cowsills family, and the show was loosely based on them. It makes no sense to me that they would be trying to copy The Brady Bunch because The Brady Bunch never got big ratings. Big hit shows get copied, not minor successes. And besides, I see no similarities between the two, other than that they were about fairly large families. But one was a blended family with two parents, and the other was a non-blended family with one parent. And the focus was on the fact that they were also musicians. The plots of The Partridge Family were also more issues oriented and topical. The Brady Bunch was just a rehash of storylines that had been done countless times before on other family sitcoms, and unfortunately with too much Sherwood Schwartz silliness and lame comedy lines.

[Steve Carras]

Originally Posted by caro

The show was up against All in the Family and TV was changing. I think that David at age 24 was too old to be a teen idol.

You think HE was too old to be a teen-idol by then, how about (before the Family's debut), BOBBY SHERMAN!!! The oldest teen idol ("Little Woman","Easy Come, Easy Go"), then in 1969-1970, at 30 (born around 1940-1944)-David Cassidy back then was around 20, much younger (b.4/12/1950)! As a guy I loved Susan Dey..

[caro]

I think even now people are pushing it. I was amazed when I found out the guy from Glee who died was over 30. I personally think that the more you hang on to this the worse it gets for your later career. Miley Cyrus at age 20 is starting to rebel against it.

[McGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by old grouch

Actually, the Bradys copied the Partridges by forming their own singing group.

That's what I was thinking!

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by IllinoisTVFan

I love both the Partridge Family and the Brady Bunch and they are more alike than different. Many of the plots are very similar and there were other examples of being similar, for instance both adding young children the last season. However, the like mentioned the Partridge Family was based on the Cowsills and the Brady Bunch was based on a movie (can't remember if it was Yours, Mine and Ours or With 6 You Gte Eggroll).

I own all four seasons of the Partridge Family and the fourth season was definitely in decline. The music wasn't as good or memorable and the plots were starting to be absurd. I feel the show was starting to rebound the end of season 4 but by then it was too late.

The Brady Bunch was Sherwood Schwartz' original creation, based on an LA Times article about blended families that he read back around 1965. He had already tried to sell his show to all 3 networks, and all 3 rejected him for different reasons, which are documented in most Brady Bunch books, including Sherwood & Lloyd Schwartz' "Brady Brady Brady".
Schwartz had come up with the title "Yours and Mine" and registered the title with the Writer's Guild long before the movie "Yours, Mine and Ours" was released in 1968.
When that movie's producers complained about the impending sitcom "Yours and Mine", Schwartz told Paramount & ABC's lawyers that he had chosen & registered his title long before the movie was made and told them to be grateful that he was not going to sue the movie's producers. However he did decide that the sitcom title had to change, so he tested both "The Brady Bunch" and "The Brady Brood", and "The Brady Bunch" tested better as a title, so it was chosen as the sitcom's new title.

[icecream]

Not at all. The Partridge Family is much better than The Brady Bunch.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by old grouch

Actually, the Bradys copied the Partridges by forming their own singing group.

And UNLIKE Greg Brady, Keith Partridge could actually sing!

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

And UNLIKE Greg Brady, Keith Partridge could actually sing!

Don't be dissing Johnny Bravo!

[HelloLarry]

I love both shows but if I had to compare, I think of the two the Partridge Family was a more well written show. The writing on the Brady Bunch was more juvenile while the writing on the Partridge family had a more adult feel. I think that has to do with the fact that you had more tv veterans writing for the show. Some of the dialog that Reuben had and the by play between him and Danny or Danny and Keith well...they are more clever. The insults between Keith and Laurie are hysterical.

When the Brady Bunch started out, there were more dramatic elements to the show (again for what it was) in blending the two families and the issues that revolved around that. As the show progressed, it got to be a little less believable which is why one can understand how Robert Reed got so frustrated.

Again, I'm trying to keep this in perspective because we're not talking All in the Family or MASH here but I just think when you compare, the writing was a little more hip on the Partridge Family. David Cassidy plays Keith very much like John Ritter played Jack Tripper in that he was always played for a fool and he did such a good job in that role.

In the last season of both shows, you are bringing in younger kids (let's not forget cousin Oliver) so both shows ran their course by the time they ended.

[1960'sTVfan]

I listened to the Partridge Christmas album again during the holidays, it's OK but I still think it could have been better. Shopping Bag and Notebook have a few good songs. Crossword Puzzle is the worst Partridge album. Bulletin Board comes back a little and has a few good songs. The first three albums are by far the best, they are classics.

I don't think Partridge Family copied from Brady Bunch, I compare Partridge Family to The Monkees more than The Brady Bunch. When comparing Partridge Family and Brady Bunch as TV shows, I've always liked Brady Bunch better, I think it's a funnier show. Partridge Family TV show just never really appealed to me. I like the first three Partridge record albums and that's about it.

[MacLeaper]

The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch are both great shows- but I don't consider either to be a copy of each other. Yes, perhaps there are some similarities- they did air around the same time and centered around a family- and both families sung at times- but singing was the primary focus with The Partridge Family through the whole series. It was more of a side thing for fun with The Brady Bunch.
So, no- neither series is a copycat.

[comedyfreak]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

I think the Partridge Family was really an adult show by stealth. The main characters - Shirley, Reuben, Keith, Laurie, and Danny - all interacted on an adult level. Chris and Tracey are around if needed, the way a lot of shows do (like Richie Petrie). I'd say the Brady Bunch was written at a level somewhere between the ages of the two older kids and the two middle ones.

Precisely, that's why I could identify more with The Brady Bunch. The Partridge's singing was always a bore to me. Two different shows that don't copy one another.