To Be Honest I Think The Brady Bunch Wasnt Funny - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

LucyCompanyPhan · 09-28-2001, 09:12 PM

i thought all the jokes were the same. Yea, sometimes once or twice in a show Bobby or Cindy would say something Funny, but i think it was very MAGOO!! i thought Alice was the only funny one and the brady bunch singing was probley the worst thing i ever heard of!

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I <3 LUCY!
Lucy" I saw a sign that said take one so i took one.After that i took anything even if it didnt say take on. I took a bright new bicycle, a shiny new penny. I even took a little boy... yeah but my mommy made me take him back."

James · 09-29-2001, 12:43 PM

Personally I think "The Brady Bunch" is very funny. Shows made today don't even hold a candle to TBB. It is, in fact, the only show left on N@N I find watchable, especially when I consider the "new" shows coming to the network!

blackbiped · 09-29-2001, 01:59 PM

I started watching "The Brady Bunch" again when the first movie came out. I wanted to familiarize myself with the episodes again so that I could appreciate the way they were spoofed in the movie. Then I found myself enjoying the series itself in a new way, recognizing its campy elements while still appreciating the characters and situations. That combination makes "The Brady Bunch" one of my favorite sitcoms even though the actual scripted jokes are seldom laugh-out-loud funny.

Robert Tilton · 09-29-2001, 08:54 PM

See its not like a one liner Jay Leno or Seinfeld type comedy But the funny part of the Bunch is its portrayal of Brady Life. What with the clothes, styles, 70s memorabilia, and what have you.

I recommend www.jumptheshark.com as a good picture of what makes Brady Life funny. Notice how many times Cousin Oliver is mentioned, not to mention other Brady Things.

Righteous is the Brady Grid for thus is the Kingdom of Paramount.

So its not Ha Ha Funny (most of the time) but its Funny Peculiar.

Right 4:00 on the dubdown.

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Riches & Glory are in the vow of faith! Send a check or money order for at least $1000, preferably to my account in Zurich; I have a ski lodge up there!

Robert Tilton · 09-29-2001, 09:05 PM

The comedy in Brady Life comes from its Brady Living, whether its Mike's perm or the crazy 70s styles or even Cousin Oliver!

Brady Grid is Righteous for Thus is the Kingdom of Paramount.
www.jumptheshark.com Brady Bunch board gives you a good idea of how funny Brady Life is, for indeed its not Ha Ha Funny but more like Ha Ha Peculiar.

Right 4:00 on the dubdown and

Something suddenly came up when Sherwood Schwartz made BB. A great show of CheeseWiz Living that's almost Real in its wackiness. I mean Mike's an architect and yet the house don't match up, Marcia is supposed to be the Pretty one, the cool girl, etc and yet Jan wins Most Popular Girl; stuff like that. The biggest running jokes about BB are the No Toilet business, Johnny Bravo, Cousin Oliver, and the thing is:

All Kids of All Nations at 1st just enjoy the show as a kids show. Shoot I gave up backyard football games w/my friends for Brady Bunch but then you grow up and notice the wacky stories and sub-stories about the show like the whole Brady House thing and so forth.

Its Growing Up Brady. Amen.

------------------

Riches & Glory are in the vow of faith! Send a check or money order for at least $1000, preferably to my account in Zurich; I have a ski lodge up there!

Montana Ponine · 09-29-2001, 10:28 PM

I personally thought the Brady Bunch was funny..maybe not as funny as some other shows but it was a great sitcom...I love it for some reason.

blackbiped · 09-30-2001, 02:05 AM

"I love it for some reason" reminds me of something my nephew said. I got him into "The Brady Bunch" and he likes it even though he usually thinks stuff like that is dumb. One night we were watching a Brady marathon and he asked me "Why is this show so good?" So he liked it even though he couldn't figure out why.

TV Guy · 10-01-2001, 11:19 AM

I really like the show, but I generally don't find it that funny, with the exception of a few episodes or good lines here and there. There's just something very comforting about it.

hch · 11-01-2001, 10:23 PM

"The Brady Bunch" was great for what it was, but now wwhen you look at it, you think, "What in the world?" It seems that the Brady Bunch came from the 1950's instead of the 1970's because of the subtlety of the situations. The 1970's were a period of turmoil and controversy and the Bradys are worried about things that aren't worth a hill of beans. I think that one of the reasons was that, and I learned this in "Pop-Up Brady", they kept contemporary issues like war and the youth generation's real problems out of the show by getting rid of the current newspapers and magazines because they were thinking about syndication and that sort of thing would get old real quickly.

And there was the annoying "laugh track"! Most sitcoms of the 1970s were filmed in front of a live audience like "AitF" or "Happy Days" and "The MTM show". I guess it was better that way because it provided a better lighting and made the show more "realistic", but I would prefer a studio audience in attendance because laugh tracks are so impractical and outdated. They are still used in some shows today, but laugh tracks are so lame.

mamamiasweetpeaches · 01-30-2002, 09:25 PM

I have to agree that a lot of its appeal is its campy-ness/kitchy-ness factor. I watched it as a kid but I wasnt in love with it....maybe a few episodes. Now its a classic to me.Sometimes even in a "so bad its good"way. And a lot of the fun in watching it is in the fashions,hairstyles,shoes....etc.The "far out"lingo.Even their standards of Big Brady Problems("Buddy Hintons teathing me!)all seem to come from a kinder simpler time.I watch with my nieces and they go "Did people REALLY dress like THAT?!" Its fun.

Jack1000 · 03-11-2002, 10:05 PM

I disagree with the post. I thought the Brady Bunch was funny! Once you got past the "slapstick elements" of the first season and a couple of episodes like that after that ("And Now a Word From Our Sponser...."Skip Farnum....ugh!) The Brady Bunch was a cult classic that is just as enjoyable today as ever! The scene in "Peter and the Wolf" with his phoney mustache IS hilarious and I still laugh at many lines in "Getting Greg's Goat." Many classic funny lines! I think Alice was probably the funniest, although when I watched the series growing up I remember not caring for her and today I can't understand why. Maybe it was, her humor was more "adult oriented" on what was a basically, kids sitcom and maybe some small children didn't understand that type of humor. Here are my favorite funny quotes:

Carol: "Alice, how come we buy the same things every week?"

Alice: "I think it's because we got the same kids every week!" (What episode is this from?)

Carol: (reacting to Bobby's drumming) "Alice, Bobby hasn't improved at all has he?"

Alice: "Mrs Brady, every day he plays just a little worse than the day before. And today he's playing like tomorrow!"

Marcia: "But I doodled George Washington, I didn't doodle Mrs. Denton!"

Peter: (talking about hero's) "Personally, I like George Washington, now there's a hero!

Bobby: "Yea, some chance I have of growing up 7 foot 2....and Black!"

Tiger32 · 03-12-2002, 12:25 AM

I think the Brady Bunch was perhaps the most overrated sitcom of all-time. But for some reason it still has mass appeal, otherwise we would not be discussing it.

My critique of the show is largely due to the poor writing. If the writing had been better, then perhaps I would look back at the show more favorably.

boechsner · 03-14-2002, 07:39 PM

The Brady Bunch is one of my all-time favorite shows and it has nothing to do with humor. I personally don't find myself laughing out loud as often as I do with shows like The Jeffersons, Good Times, The Golden Girls or Everybody Loves Raymond but still there are moments. (mustache scene in Peter and the Wolf, the entire episode: Confessions, Confessions, Alice's reactions in To Move or Not to Move, Bonnie Boland's character in And Now a Word from Our Sponsor, Bobby's dream in The Winner, the pizza/frog scene in Greg Gets Grounded ... to name a "very" few)

I grew up in the late 80's and early 90's with this show, and the reason I love it is because it's a perfect world where the problems are not too earth shattering. You can escape to the Brady world and live for 30 minutes (Actually 22 minutes, 25 if you have the Columbia House tapes) and who wouldn't want to live in the Brady world.

Yes, the Brady Bunch makes me laugh and personally, I find the laugh track to be perfect for this show. The writing was fantastic. There were a number of writers who had extensive experience on other classic sitcoms and they were superb. However, the overall wholesomeness of the show is what attracts me. It's interesting that shows that are wholesome seem to be the shows that have a large portion of people loving it and a large portion of people hating it. I think The Brady Bunch has just the right amount of "sweetness" to it that allows people to love it. Now, everyone has different levels of "sweetness" tolerance. For me, The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best and Full House are way to sickening sweet for me. The Brady Bunch, is just right.

SoFl123 · 03-17-2002, 04:13 AM

to be honest, i like this show alot better than what they air on network television today. all network shows seem to be the same. they need something new.

Jack1000 · 03-18-2002, 02:32 AM

Would you all agree that the best writing in Brady Bunch was when Robert Reed started his influence on the scripts/storylines? Do you consider Sherwood Schwartz to be a "slapstick writer" of comody? (This is what Reed often thought of Sherwood...they NEVER got along) Do you think Robert Reed was overly critical about the "realism" of the show? (Which he thought there never was enough of)

How would you have made the writing better?

09-28-2001, 09:12 PM	#1
LucyCompanyPhan Hollywood Senior Member Join Date: Sep 25, 2001 Location: a far away place in sitcomville Posts: 2,254	To Be Honest I Think The Brady Bunch Wasnt Funny i thought all the jokes were the same. Yea, sometimes once or twice in a show Bobby or Cindy would say something Funny, but i think it was very MAGOO!! i thought Alice was the only funny one and the brady bunch singing was probley the worst thing i ever heard of! ------------------ I <3 LUCY! Lucy" I saw a sign that said take one so i took one.After that i took anything even if it didnt say take on. I took a bright new bicycle, a shiny new penny. I even took a little boy... yeah but my mommy made me take him back."

03-11-2002, 10:05 PM	#11
Jack1000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 05, 2001 Posts: 2,055	Funny Brady Quotes! I disagree with the post. I thought the Brady Bunch was funny! Once you got past the "slapstick elements" of the first season and a couple of episodes like that after that ("And Now a Word From Our Sponser...."Skip Farnum....ugh!) The Brady Bunch was a cult classic that is just as enjoyable today as ever! The scene in "Peter and the Wolf" with his phoney mustache IS hilarious and I still laugh at many lines in "Getting Greg's Goat." Many classic funny lines! I think Alice was probably the funniest, although when I watched the series growing up I remember not caring for her and today I can't understand why. Maybe it was, her humor was more "adult oriented" on what was a basically, kids sitcom and maybe some small children didn't understand that type of humor. Here are my favorite funny quotes: Carol: "Alice, how come we buy the same things every week?" Alice: "I think it's because we got the same kids every week!" (What episode is this from?) Carol: (reacting to Bobby's drumming) "Alice, Bobby hasn't improved at all has he?" Alice: "Mrs Brady, every day he plays just a little worse than the day before. And today he's playing like tomorrow!" Marcia: "But I doodled George Washington, I didn't doodle Mrs. Denton!" Peter: (talking about hero's) "Personally, I like George Washington, now there's a hero! Bobby: "Yea, some chance I have of growing up 7 foot 2....and Black!"

03-12-2002, 12:25 AM	#12
Tiger32 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 624	I think the Brady Bunch was perhaps the most overrated sitcom of all-time. But for some reason it still has mass appeal, otherwise we would not be discussing it. My critique of the show is largely due to the poor writing. If the writing had been better, then perhaps I would look back at the show more favorably.
	Last edited by Tiger32; 03-14-2002 at 08:06 PM.

09-29-2001, 12:43 PM	#2
James Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 07, 2001 Location: Dayton, Ohio, USA Posts: 6,370	Personally I think "The Brady Bunch" is very funny. Shows made today don't even hold a candle to TBB. It is, in fact, the only show left on N@N I find watchable, especially when I consider the "new" shows coming to the network!

09-29-2001, 01:59 PM	#3
blackbiped Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 15, 2001 Location: Texas Posts: 50	I started watching "The Brady Bunch" again when the first movie came out. I wanted to familiarize myself with the episodes again so that I could appreciate the way they were spoofed in the movie. Then I found myself enjoying the series itself in a new way, recognizing its campy elements while still appreciating the characters and situations. That combination makes "The Brady Bunch" one of my favorite sitcoms even though the actual scripted jokes are seldom laugh-out-loud funny.

09-29-2001, 08:54 PM	#4
Robert Tilton Man of Barnes Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 29, 2001 Location: North Carolina Posts: 437	See its not like a one liner Jay Leno or Seinfeld type comedy But the funny part of the Bunch is its portrayal of Brady Life. What with the clothes, styles, 70s memorabilia, and what have you. I recommend www.jumptheshark.com as a good picture of what makes Brady Life funny. Notice how many times Cousin Oliver is mentioned, not to mention other Brady Things. Righteous is the Brady Grid for thus is the Kingdom of Paramount. So its not Ha Ha Funny (most of the time) but its Funny Peculiar. Right 4:00 on the dubdown. ------------------ Riches & Glory are in the vow of faith! Send a check or money order for at least $1000, preferably to my account in Zurich; I have a ski lodge up there!

09-29-2001, 09:05 PM	#5
Robert Tilton Man of Barnes Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 29, 2001 Location: North Carolina Posts: 437	The comedy in Brady Life comes from its Brady Living, whether its Mike's perm or the crazy 70s styles or even Cousin Oliver! Brady Grid is Righteous for Thus is the Kingdom of Paramount. www.jumptheshark.com Brady Bunch board gives you a good idea of how funny Brady Life is, for indeed its not Ha Ha Funny but more like Ha Ha Peculiar. Right 4:00 on the dubdown and Something suddenly came up when Sherwood Schwartz made BB. A great show of CheeseWiz Living that's almost Real in its wackiness. I mean Mike's an architect and yet the house don't match up, Marcia is supposed to be the Pretty one, the cool girl, etc and yet Jan wins Most Popular Girl; stuff like that. The biggest running jokes about BB are the No Toilet business, Johnny Bravo, Cousin Oliver, and the thing is: All Kids of All Nations at 1st just enjoy the show as a kids show. Shoot I gave up backyard football games w/my friends for Brady Bunch but then you grow up and notice the wacky stories and sub-stories about the show like the whole Brady House thing and so forth. Its Growing Up Brady. Amen. ------------------ Riches & Glory are in the vow of faith! Send a check or money order for at least $1000, preferably to my account in Zurich; I have a ski lodge up there!

09-29-2001, 10:28 PM	#6
Montana Ponine Tragically Beautiful Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 18, 2001 Location: Sondheimville Posts: 4,529	I personally thought the Brady Bunch was funny..maybe not as funny as some other shows but it was a great sitcom...I love it for some reason.

09-30-2001, 02:05 AM	#7
blackbiped Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 15, 2001 Location: Texas Posts: 50	"I love it for some reason" reminds me of something my nephew said. I got him into "The Brady Bunch" and he likes it even though he usually thinks stuff like that is dumb. One night we were watching a Brady marathon and he asked me "Why is this show so good?" So he liked it even though he couldn't figure out why.

10-01-2001, 11:19 AM	#8
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	I really like the show, but I generally don't find it that funny, with the exception of a few episodes or good lines here and there. There's just something very comforting about it.

11-01-2001, 10:23 PM	#9
hch Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 07, 2001 Location: Montross, VA 22520 Posts: 983	"The Brady Bunch" was great for what it was, but now wwhen you look at it, you think, "What in the world?" It seems that the Brady Bunch came from the 1950's instead of the 1970's because of the subtlety of the situations. The 1970's were a period of turmoil and controversy and the Bradys are worried about things that aren't worth a hill of beans. I think that one of the reasons was that, and I learned this in "Pop-Up Brady", they kept contemporary issues like war and the youth generation's real problems out of the show by getting rid of the current newspapers and magazines because they were thinking about syndication and that sort of thing would get old real quickly. And there was the annoying "laugh track"! Most sitcoms of the 1970s were filmed in front of a live audience like "AitF" or "Happy Days" and "The MTM show". I guess it was better that way because it provided a better lighting and made the show more "realistic", but I would prefer a studio audience in attendance because laugh tracks are so impractical and outdated. They are still used in some shows today, but laugh tracks are so lame.

01-30-2002, 09:25 PM	#10
mamamiasweetpeaches Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 30, 2002 Location: Middle Village,NY Posts: 390	I have to agree that a lot of its appeal is its campy-ness/kitchy-ness factor. I watched it as a kid but I wasnt in love with it....maybe a few episodes. Now its a classic to me.Sometimes even in a "so bad its good"way. And a lot of the fun in watching it is in the fashions,hairstyles,shoes....etc.The "far out"lingo.Even their standards of Big Brady Problems("Buddy Hintons teathing me!)all seem to come from a kinder simpler time.I watch with my nieces and they go "Did people REALLY dress like THAT?!" Its fun.

03-14-2002, 07:39 PM	#13
boechsner Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2000 Location: Green Bay, WI Posts: 2,212	The Brady Bunch is one of my all-time favorite shows and it has nothing to do with humor. I personally don't find myself laughing out loud as often as I do with shows like The Jeffersons, Good Times, The Golden Girls or Everybody Loves Raymond but still there are moments. (mustache scene in Peter and the Wolf, the entire episode: Confessions, Confessions, Alice's reactions in To Move or Not to Move, Bonnie Boland's character in And Now a Word from Our Sponsor, Bobby's dream in The Winner, the pizza/frog scene in Greg Gets Grounded ... to name a "very" few) I grew up in the late 80's and early 90's with this show, and the reason I love it is because it's a perfect world where the problems are not too earth shattering. You can escape to the Brady world and live for 30 minutes (Actually 22 minutes, 25 if you have the Columbia House tapes) and who wouldn't want to live in the Brady world. Yes, the Brady Bunch makes me laugh and personally, I find the laugh track to be perfect for this show. The writing was fantastic. There were a number of writers who had extensive experience on other classic sitcoms and they were superb. However, the overall wholesomeness of the show is what attracts me. It's interesting that shows that are wholesome seem to be the shows that have a large portion of people loving it and a large portion of people hating it. I think The Brady Bunch has just the right amount of "sweetness" to it that allows people to love it. Now, everyone has different levels of "sweetness" tolerance. For me, The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best and Full House are way to sickening sweet for me. The Brady Bunch, is just right.

03-17-2002, 04:13 AM	#14
SoFl123 TTTTT Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 19, 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 583	to be honest, i like this show alot better than what they air on network television today. all network shows seem to be the same. they need something new.

03-18-2002, 02:32 AM	#15
Jack1000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 05, 2001 Posts: 2,055	Would you all agree that the best writing in Brady Bunch was when Robert Reed started his influence on the scripts/storylines? Do you consider Sherwood Schwartz to be a "slapstick writer" of comody? (This is what Reed often thought of Sherwood...they NEVER got along) Do you think Robert Reed was overly critical about the "realism" of the show? (Which he thought there never was enough of) How would you have made the writing better?