The Impractical Joker - 01/01/71

[Bachu]

Tiger makes two appearances in this episode.

In a nice sense of continuity Mike mentions the slumber party Marcia had a few episodes back.

During the scene when Mike is picking shoes, belts and handbacks; right at the end of the scene it looks like Mike is about to speak before we cut to Myron scampering out of the doorway.

During Mikes close up when talking to the boys in the living room about missing Myron the wall behind Mike should really be a blank wall but it looks like they had his close up using the rock wall next to the front door.

When Greg talks to Alice in the kitchen we can see that Barry Williams is now as tall as Ann B Davis.

The boys talk about checking under the house for Myron and the exterminator sprays under the house. My impression is that some American homes are built a few feet off the ground (no British homes that I can think of are built in this way) and this would now suggest that the cellar the Bradyhouse had last week no longer exists???

Eve demonstrates that she is quite an effective cryer like Maureen is.

The astroturf moves when Greg reaches into the dog house to pick up Myron.

Robert Reed wrote a memo about this episode stating that a fake ink spot would not work on a piece of clothing.

This is one of my favourite episodes and it also gives a nice look at the layout of the upstairs landing and how the boys and girls room connects with it.

[Smartboy]

Why would a fake ink spot not work on a piece of clothing?

[biffbronson]

Originally Posted by Bachu

The boys talk about checking under the house for Myron and the exterminator sprays under the house. My impression is that some American homes are built a few feet off the ground (no British homes that I can think of are built in this way) and this would now suggest that the cellar the Bradyhouse had last week no longer exists???

Spraying under the house probably meant that the exterminator entered a crawl space, which is an unfinished area undeneath (usually with a dirt floor) where plumbing, electrical lines, and heating/air conditioning related equipment may be found. A home the vintage of the Bradys' likely had a crawl space under part of the house, with an adjoining basement under the remainder. So it could have still had the "cellar."

Older U.S. homes tended to have either full basements or "Michigan" basements. But I believe crawl spaces had become common by the late '60s'; certainly in the '70s onward they were prevalent. My older brother's home from circa 1973 has both a basement, with about a 7 foot ceiling, and crawl space -- which is accessed through an opening in one of the basement walls. Other homes are built on concrete slabs.

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

Spraying under the house probably meant that the exterminator entered a crawl space, which is an unfinished area undeneath (usually with a dirt floor) where plumbing, electrical lines, and heating/air conditioning related equipment may be found. A home the vintage of the Bradys' likely had a crawl space under part of the house, with an adjoining basement under the remainder. So it could have still had the "cellar."

Older U.S. homes tended to have either full basements or "Michigan" basements. But I believe crawl spaces had become common by the late '60s'; certainly in the '70s onward they were prevalent. My older brother's home from circa 1973 has both a basement, with about a 7 foot ceiling, and crawl space -- which is accessed through an opening in one of the basement walls. Other homes are built on concrete slabs.

What is a "Michigan" basement?

[Bachu]

Originally Posted by Smartboy

Why would a fake ink spot not work on a piece of clothing?

Because a fake ink spot will look like a piece of plastic. It would work when left on a table or worktop but clothing would soak up the ink and cause more of a stain so either the joke does not work or Alice is too thick to realize that the first ink spot was fake and that the second was real.

Thanks Biff for the explanationabout crawl spaces. I think Australian homes have these too. Perhaps it is something that homes in hotter climates have???

[Jude The Obscure]

Did the Bradys ever discuss having a basement or cellar?

[Bachu]

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

Did the Bradys ever discuss having a basement or cellar?

I don't think so, other than Peter mentioning it in passing in the same way Mike or Carol once mentioned the attic was 2 feet tall before it suddenly grew a few seasons later.