The SAFE detergent commercial episode

[Ireneparalegal]

If I was Carol and had to deal with a husband who was wanting to be honest, I would have just done the laundry and told him that SAFE worked best. I wouldn't have gone thru all that they did to see which detergent was best. Mike was kinda being anal abt the whole thing. I wouldn't have missed out on a chance to do a commercial.

I also wonder how much of Robert Reed was really being shown here. I mean, Robert was always anal abt things being done honestly, correctly, etc. so I wonder how much input he had in this particular episode.

BTW: Jan's face when the kids are staring into the camera for the director, is the funniest. It makes me laugh everytime I see it. Her mouth open and her eyes have a dreamy kinda look...LOL

[Jack1000]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

If I was Carol and had to deal with a husband who was wanting to be honest, I would have just done the laundry and told him that SAFE worked best. I wouldn't have gone thru all that they did to see which detergent was best. Mike was kinda being anal abt the whole thing. I wouldn't have missed out on a chance to do a commercial.

I also wonder how much of Robert Reed was really being shown here. I mean, Robert was always anal abt things being done honestly, correctly, etc. so I wonder how much input he had in this particular episode.

BTW: Jan's face when the kids are staring into the camera for the director, is the funniest. It makes me laugh everytime I see it. Her mouth open and her eyes have a dreamy kinda look...LOL

This is the one episode along with "You're Never Too Old." that I can't stand. Barry's book Growing Up Brady, talked in great detail about Reed's hatred for the episode. He thought Skip Farnam was so absurdly out of place and the whole big deal with Carol being overly happy about the one-word sounding soap names was crap. I TOTALLY agree with Bob about this episode. For starters:

1. Bob talked about how it would be riddiculous for a family of nine to allow six kids to dirty their clothes to test a landry soap.

2. Skip Farnam, I see, as a one-dimensional idiot! He reminds me of a druggied out crazy 60's hippie. Why would the cool clean conservative Brady clan care about a nut like that!???

3. The charactor of Myrna Carter is totally useless. Reed said, (according to GUB) "No method actress would use phrases like "lots of engery", "bigger than life." (etc.)

4. Bob found that the scene with Alice forgetting which pile of clothes was washed with which soap was totally unbelivable.

5. You think you're gonna get to see the family actually do a commercial, but they don't even get past the rehersal. Bob thought that this was such a let down.

If Mr. Farnam wasn't such a dork, and his charactor could have had some substance that could relate to the lives of the Brady family in a positive way, perhaps this episode could have been better. But Farnum's stupid 60's "spaced out" attitude and making a big deal over a laundry soap, produces an episode that is very poorly written with people like Farnam that no regular viewers of the show would care about.

Bob's friend Tam Spiva served as Script Editor for this episode. Any other episode where Spiva is a script editor is a gem, so you can only imagine how aweful the original script could have been! How can you go from such classics as "Juilet is the Sun", "My Sister Benedict Arnold", and "Her Sister's Shadow", which were aired at around this time to crap like "And Now A Word From Our Sponsor?" Talk about a let down in quality of writing!!!

What was the writer smoking smoking when they did this episode? (BTW, the writer for this travesty of an episode was Albert Lewin.) Look at Reed's face that shows pure disgust when they are rehersing the commercial scenes. It shows just how bad this episode really is.

Jack

[Ireneparalegal]

I never thanked u for the above info. Thanx.

[BuddyHinton]

This "Safe Soap" episode seems like it is hated by most but I've always liked it. The dirtying of the clothes I didn't like, but I did like Skip (I mean, this is a TV show and not reality right? I loved the sterotypical "way out" director, I found him over the top but in a good way I loved his reactions to the "square" Brady Bunch), I liked how they were found "out shopping", I liked how the kids had all these big plans for the money. I just watched the Benedict Arnold episode with Peter, now that's a stinker.

[Sheriff Andy Taylor]

Hey, Buddy Hinton. What do you think of this joke about this Brady Bunch episode that has to do with SAFE Detergent "commercial". Warning: watching this episode when not using SAFE Detergent can cause your own clothes to get dirty!

What do you think?

Sheriff Andy Taylor

[BuddyHinton]

I've heard better.

[TV Guy]

I usually agree with Jack, but I disagree with him here. "And Now a Word from Our Sponsor", may be silly, but it's a hoot, what with Skip and his hippie-isms, and Meeeeerna Carter. "Now, Mom, you're here at the counter makin' with the greenery, and Pops, you come flippin' in and lay the flakes on the little lady". Very funny.

I save my disdain for boring episodes like "Alice's September Song", or anything with Cousin Oliver.

[BuddyHinton]

"Now, Mom, you're here at the counter makin' with the greenery, and Pops, you come flippin' in and lay the flakes on the little lady". Very funny.

I laughed just reading this! HA!! Yes, funny stuff.

[passionsfan79]

I never did like that episode.

[snl 70s show fan]

i cant stand the safe ep. but i bet robert reed did put his script to good use in his bathroom because it was useless anywhere else