Should it have ended when it did? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

James · 02-05-2001, 03:42 AM

Should "The Brady Bunch" have ended when it did? Or were there fans out there that wanted to see Greg, Marcia, and the rest go through college?

BradyFan27 · 09-26-2006, 11:59 AM

Yep, cuz then Mike would be no more.

Scoobiedoo30 · 09-26-2006, 12:20 PM

I Think The Brady Bunch ended when it did since Robert was not Hasppy Robert Reed was not even in The Series Finale.

scott_bolger2001 · 09-26-2006, 07:02 PM

I think it might have been intresting to see how things went on from that point, but the show did have a five year run and ended at an as logically as possible point (Greg's Grad). Most of the children were no longer children, so the show was really starting to lose most of its original structure though, and besides, when you go at a show long enough, the writers just naturally run out of ideas anyway, some faster than others.

Tweety · 09-28-2006, 08:33 PM

Six episodes was MORE than enough for Cousin Oliver!

Would they have kept that punk around for a sixth season?

I've seen some interviews with Robbie Rist recently (one was given in a link in one of these threads), and I'm actually glad to see that he seems to be very happy these days... he seems to have a great sense of humor about his eternal link with the demise of the Brady Bunch, and I'm glad he can joke about it today.

The show really was at its end in 1974, and they did, imo, end it at the right time (i.e. with Greg graduating from high school in the last episode). I think it would have been just too strange without Robert Reed.

The only thing that would have made a sixth season worth it is if Kym Karath could reprise her role as Kerry Hathaway, and hung out with Jan a lot more

But, seriously, yes, I think they ended it at the right time.

TV Guy · 09-29-2006, 01:19 PM

In betwen the end of the regular series and the variety hour, there was talk of a two-hour TV-movie that would have taken the Bradys on vacation to Europe or someplace. This talk began right after the show hit syndication and did so well. I would have liked to have seen that, because the kids would have still been young enough for it to work.

gilligan fanatic · 09-29-2006, 01:48 PM

I am glad it ended when it did. It would have been very stale. Now maybe a spinoff with Greg might work. "Brady Goes to College" because that way the whole family could visit every once in a while one or two at a time.

Jack1000 · 09-29-2006, 03:15 PM

Yes,

It appears from all reports that everyone wanted out and the difficulty in working with Robert Reed, contractual demands for everyone, and the stress, would have been too much. This is certainly true for the kids, who by Season 5 were doing their music tours, requests for interviews. They became more "celeb oriented" than this regular nice little sitcom about family problems and growing up.

If Robert Reed would have been killed off or replaced, the show would not have survived. The kids were now entering or well into teen years and weren't kids anymore. Cindy would have been about 13, and Sherwood might have still tried to keep her "cute" and "stupid." But the antics that work for a six year old that people think are funny and cute, aren't funny and cute when your dealing with teenagers.

This was the mistake that was often unlearned on other sitcomes like Leave it to Beaver. Jerry Mathers was 14-15 at the end, and the producers still had him doing things in selected episodes of Seasons 5-6 that would be better suited for an 8-10 year old.

When the stars of the series were designated children and are no longer children, after all the storylines have been told, it's time to move on.

Jack

Rich3 · 10-01-2006, 12:40 PM

It couldn't have gone on the way it was. The kids outgrew the show. It would have had to change drastically.

The real star of the show was Sherwood Schwartz, the creator. When he gave it up, it was over. The actors could have gone on to another show if they had truly been popular or talented enough as a whole. But the group as a whole was nothing without their leader.

friendsfan77 · 10-01-2006, 04:52 PM

IMO, instead of having Oliver on, they should have been working on ways to have a proper finale.

Tweety · 10-01-2006, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by friendsfan77

IMO, instead of having Oliver on, they should have been working on ways to have a proper finale.

At the time that the final episodes for season five were being written, the writers did not know that this would be the show's final season. In fact, Barry Williams has said that, because the show was cancelled during the summer (after the last episode had been filmed), the cast never got to really say good bye to each other on the set, as they had gone their separate was for the summer, assuming they would be back in the fall.

I think that, had the writers know that this would be the last season, they probably could have done some kind of a respectable final episode. But everyone at the time thought they would get another season.

And actually, I don't think that most shows, at that time, knew when they would be ending... popular shows such as Gilligan's Island, Gomer Pyle, Green Acres, Beverly Hillbilies, Petticoat Junction never had a 'series finale', because they were cancelled without advance notice to the actors and writers. Happened all the time back then.

In terms of shows that had a final episode, and KNEW it was the final episode, there were very few... "The Dick van Dyke Show" and "The Fugitive" were two examples, but they were definitely the exception, not the rule. I don't know of any other shows, really, that knew in advance what their final episode would be... that in itself might be a good topic for a discussion board.

Rich3 · 10-01-2006, 08:13 PM

The Partridge Family had even less of a finale. The actors were not even contacted, or at least some of them weren't. They didn't find out it was cancelled until they tried to go back to the studios after the summer break.

Tweety · 10-01-2006, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich3

The Partridge Family had even less of a finale. The actors were not even contacted, or at least some of them weren't. They didn't find out it was cancelled until they tried to go back to the studios after the summer break.

I can just see the guard at the gate now... "I'm sorry Mr. Bonaduce...I can't let you in...you don't work here any more!"

mykel · 10-03-2006, 05:43 PM

D'oh!

CTLucyfan · 10-03-2006, 09:13 PM

I think there have been a number of shows throughout history that have gone on longer than it should. Also, with Robert Reed unhappy and unwilling to continue, I don't see any sense in continuing. Just like on All In the Family, the show really went down hill when Edith died (and on to Archie Bunker's Place). That is one of the best shows of all time that simply went on too long.

02-05-2001, 03:42 AM	#1
James Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 07, 2001 Location: Dayton, Ohio, USA Posts: 6,370	Should it have ended when it did? Should "The Brady Bunch" have ended when it did? Or were there fans out there that wanted to see Greg, Marcia, and the rest go through college?

09-26-2006, 12:20 PM	#3
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	should it have ended when it did *I Think The Brady Bunch ended when it did since Robert was not Hasppy Robert Reed was not even in The Series Finale.*
	__________________ Who Dat

09-26-2006, 07:02 PM	#4
scott_bolger2001 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Posts: 179	I think it might have been intresting to see how things went on from that point, but the show did have a five year run and ended at an as logically as possible point (Greg's Grad). Most of the children were no longer children, so the show was really starting to lose most of its original structure though, and besides, when you go at a show long enough, the writers just naturally run out of ideas anyway, some faster than others.
	__________________ "Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip its been." Come Visit The Brady Kids Homepage!

09-29-2006, 01:48 PM	#7
gilligan fanatic Born to Be Bad Forum Fanatic Join Date: May 06, 2001 Location: down by the Lagoon Posts: 9,954	I am glad it ended when it did. It would have been very stale. Now maybe a spinoff with Greg might work. "Brady Goes to College" because that way the whole family could visit every once in a while one or two at a time.
	__________________ Matt Filmaf ~ Twitter ~ Last.FM

09-29-2006, 03:15 PM	#8
Jack1000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 05, 2001 Posts: 2,055	Yes, It appears from all reports that everyone wanted out and the difficulty in working with Robert Reed, contractual demands for everyone, and the stress, would have been too much. This is certainly true for the kids, who by Season 5 were doing their music tours, requests for interviews. They became more "celeb oriented" than this regular nice little sitcom about family problems and growing up. If Robert Reed would have been killed off or replaced, the show would not have survived. The kids were now entering or well into teen years and weren't kids anymore. Cindy would have been about 13, and Sherwood might have still tried to keep her "cute" and "stupid." But the antics that work for a six year old that people think are funny and cute, aren't funny and cute when your dealing with teenagers. This was the mistake that was often unlearned on other sitcomes like Leave it to Beaver. Jerry Mathers was 14-15 at the end, and the producers still had him doing things in selected episodes of Seasons 5-6 that would be better suited for an 8-10 year old. When the stars of the series were designated children and are no longer children, after all the storylines have been told, it's time to move on. Jack
	Last edited by Jack1000; 09-29-2006 at 08:11 PM.

09-26-2006, 11:59 AM	#2
BradyFan27 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 26, 2006 Posts: 65	Yep, cuz then Mike would be no more.

09-28-2006, 08:33 PM	#5
Tweety Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 18, 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 6,804	Six episodes was MORE than enough for Cousin Oliver! Would they have kept that punk around for a sixth season? I've seen some interviews with Robbie Rist recently (one was given in a link in one of these threads), and I'm actually glad to see that he seems to be very happy these days... he seems to have a great sense of humor about his eternal link with the demise of the Brady Bunch, and I'm glad he can joke about it today. The show really was at its end in 1974, and they did, imo, end it at the right time (i.e. with Greg graduating from high school in the last episode). I think it would have been just too strange without Robert Reed. The only thing that would have made a sixth season worth it is if Kym Karath could reprise her role as Kerry Hathaway, and hung out with Jan a lot more But, seriously, yes, I think they ended it at the right time.

09-29-2006, 01:19 PM	#6
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	In betwen the end of the regular series and the variety hour, there was talk of a two-hour TV-movie that would have taken the Bradys on vacation to Europe or someplace. This talk began right after the show hit syndication and did so well. I would have liked to have seen that, because the kids would have still been young enough for it to work.

10-01-2006, 12:40 PM	#9
Rich3 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 10, 2005 Posts: 689	It couldn't have gone on the way it was. The kids outgrew the show. It would have had to change drastically. The real star of the show was Sherwood Schwartz, the creator. When he gave it up, it was over. The actors could have gone on to another show if they had truly been popular or talented enough as a whole. But the group as a whole was nothing without their leader.

10-01-2006, 04:52 PM	#10
friendsfan77 - Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 02, 2004 Location: Duluth, GA Posts: 3,165	IMO, instead of having Oliver on, they should have been working on ways to have a proper finale.

10-01-2006, 08:13 PM	#12
Rich3 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 10, 2005 Posts: 689	The Partridge Family had even less of a finale. The actors were not even contacted, or at least some of them weren't. They didn't find out it was cancelled until they tried to go back to the studios after the summer break.

10-03-2006, 05:43 PM	#14
mykel Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 28, 2005 Posts: 177	D'oh!

10-03-2006, 09:13 PM	#15
CTLucyfan Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 18, 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 64	I think there have been a number of shows throughout history that have gone on longer than it should. Also, with Robert Reed unhappy and unwilling to continue, I don't see any sense in continuing. Just like on All In the Family, the show really went down hill when Edith died (and on to Archie Bunker's Place). That is one of the best shows of all time that simply went on too long.