Five Common Brady Misconceptions

[TMC]

http://www.manic-expression.com/apps...misconceptions

#5. Only one Bathroom and no toilet for Nine People

I don't get this, back in the old days no one was allowed to show a toilet on TV. This was something Archie Bunker changed. But why do the Brady's get singled out for this? Obviously they have one and there are jokes about the Brady's going to the bathroom sprinkled through the series. For instrance in the Grand Canyon trip we see the Brady's making a pit stop for one of the younger kids (I don't remember who). I do understand making fun of the fact six kids shared one bathroom, that's fair, but folks we know Mike and Carol have their own bathroom as well as Alice. And in A very Brady Christmas we find out there is another one under the stairs. Isn't it safe to assume there is a toilet there somewhere? My real question is this, who is watching this show wondering about the location of the toilet??? Really?

#4. Alice

Some argue that Alice is not realistic. They say a normal housekeeper would be raiding the liquor cabinet or something. Uh, yeah why is that? Many people have housekeeers in the world who become like a part of the family. People forget that Alice has known the kids, especially the boys, for a majority of their lives. Of course she is close to them! She also acts as an honorary aunt. Don't believe me? Watch the episode where she gives Jan a locket and tell me that isn't true. Yeah of course Alice is the comic relief which means she gets the funny lines and involved in silly situations. But I don't think she is as unrealistic as people think, in fact she may be the more down to earth character since in many episodes she can figure things out the rest of the family can't. Like how the cigarettes got into Greg's jacket, or how to get Marcia in to see Davey Jones. Then people raise other questions like what does she get paid (she is a live in maid so most of her paycheck goes to groceries I would imagine since I doubt she is charged rent)? and when in the world did she eat dinner (umm, ok that's a good one)? God love Anne B.Davis, and how I didn't put her in my list of my favorite characters baffles me. Um, we'll say she was #21.

#3. Cousin Oliver killed the show

Well, not entirely. Yeah adding him did nothing to help the series which was quickly cancelled six episodes later, but here's the thing. The show was on its way out before he joined the cast. I mean, in that season we had an episode about Bobby and Peter tracking a UFO, a backdoor pilot which hardly had the Brady's in it, an episode set at an amusement park, an episode where the family puts on a backyard production of Snow White, and the classic episode where Greg steals a goat which proceeds to run around the house. To put it simply, the show was on its last legs that year before Cousin Oliver was ever brought in. I am quite sure if he had never been added, there still would never have been a sixth season. Did I mention the episode about Peter and his double? Robbie Rist has always had that rep as the thing that killed the show. In fact, in a Brady episode of "The Weakest Link" when Robbie was voted off Anne Robinson commented "You will not get the chance to ruin this fine show, as you have so many others before".

#2. "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"

First of all, she only said that once. In the 90's Melanie Hutsell created a character based on Jan Brady in the Brady Bunch live show and on Saturday Night Live. To be fair, the impression was funny. But for some reason many people think that Jan actually acted the way Ms.Hutsell portrayed her. That was an exageration. Jan did have problems on the show, no question, but it bothers me people remember the parody rather than the actual character. Yeah some of her problems when she was the focus were a bit out there. She makes up an imaginary boyfriend, wears a black wig for no real reason, and in one episode she even has an inner monologue with herself. But I always felt she had some of the more realistic problkems of the kids, it's hard growing up as a middle child! But when she was not being a classic middle child or the focus of the episode she was as normal as the rest of them. In fact of the three girls I like Jan the best because she was the most down to Earth. She isn't shallow like Marcia or dumb like Cindy. Why is she always singled out as the weird one? Peter was much worst in my opinion, unable to hold a job or take any responsibility. I have no problem with how Eve Plumb reacts when people ask her to repeat that famous phrase, I wouldn't appreciate it either especially since she isn't the one who made it famous. A lot of people are hard on Eve Plumb because she tends to resist her Jan image. I respect her for being willing to achnoledge her role but refusing to let it be all she is known for. I mean, it's not as if William Shatner stopped working after he did Star Trek or Ted Danson refused to try new things after he was done with Cheers. They love their fans but want to be know for more than just that one character.

#1. They are so happy ALL THE TIME

Ok, I am going to try to make this clear. First of all, in terms of sitcom families yeah The Brady Bunch is on their own level. They are like Full House or Cosby, a happy family not that realistic and you can't take it to seriously. But what really bothers me is that people hate the show because the family is always "happy all of the time". Um, have you ever really watched an episode? The kids have fights, argue, competes, can be angry with each other, place bets on each other to fail, play mean jokes on each other, will turn against each other, will tell on each other, and be down right mean spirited. Seriously, all of these things happen in episodes. True, it never lasts and everyone is happy in the end. But they are not happy every second. They also experience sadness and pain, Marcia has some major dramatic scenes where she is crying and depressed. Jan had near psychotic episodes, Bobby almost ran away in one episode and was crushed by an unintentionally hurtful comment by Sam in another, Cindy wasn't very happy after what Buddy Hinton said to her. Mike has gotten downright angry at some of the kids at times. Even Greg was devastated when it turned out he wasn't such a good pitcher. And what the kids do to Alice in one episode borders on just plain cruel! It wasn't always roses and sunshine. But people focus on the happy endings in every episode, how the family always happily does stuff together, and how every story gets neatly wrapped up before the closing credits. You know why that happened? IT'S A TV SHOW! I always feel that people who felt this way may have been people who, and god bless them if they did, had a tough time growing up with a dysfunctional family. They can't conceive of a family who is happy even on TV. What is wrong with that? It does happen in the world.

[Jack1000]

#3. Cousin Oliver killed the show

Well, not entirely. Yeah adding him did nothing to help the series which was quickly cancelled six episodes later, but here's the thing. The show was on its way out before he joined the cast. I mean, in that season we had an episode about Bobby and Peter tracking a UFO, a backdoor pilot which hardly had the Brady's in it, an episode set at an amusement park, an episode where the family puts on a backyard production of Snow White, and the classic episode where Greg steals a goat which proceeds to run around the house. To put it simply, the show was on its last legs that year before Cousin Oliver was ever brought in. I am quite sure if he had never been added, there still would never have been a sixth season. Did I mention the episode about Peter and his double? Robbie Rist has always had that rep as the thing that killed the show. In fact, in a Brady episode of "The Weakest Link" when Robbie was voted off Anne Robinson commented "You will not get the chance to ruin this fine show, as you have so many others before".

Good points,

I should add that the very early episodes of Season 5 contain pure gems! Peter and The Wolf and Getting Greg's Goat among my favorite episodes of the series! I agree that Olver did not necessarily kill the show, but maybe brought it down a tad faster than had he not been added.

What would have been REALLY funny is in the Hawaii episodes, Professor Whitehead names one of the Tiki's in the cave, "Oliver." It would have been really funny if cousin Oliver had been a part of the family than, and got in the cave to go exploring, and he's hiding in the cave! Professor Whitehaead asks Tiki "Oliver. "Should we believe them, Oliver?" (About the Tiki they found) and Cousin Oliver, hiding off camera, shocks Professor Whitehead and yells out, "Believe them! Professor, believe them!!!" hahahaha!

Jack

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by Jack1000

Good points,

I should add that the very early episodes of Season 5 contain pure gems! Peter and The Wolf and Getting Greg's Goat among my favorite episodes of the series! I agree that Olver did not necessarily kill the show, but maybe brought it down a tad faster than had he not been added.
...

Jack

I agree with your choices there, although "Peter and the Wolf" had to go back to that rusty 3-point lesson that had been overdone in the series, IMO.

As far as Jan goes, I agree that Peter ended up more messed up, and that carried through to the sequel movies & series, where Peter was often unemployed and seemed to be messing around with lots of women too.

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by TMC

http://www.manic-expression.com/apps...misconceptions

On the first point, although no toilet was ever seen in the kids' bathroom, a toilet was definitely heard in S5. In "My Brother's Keeper", Peter & Bobby divided the room down the middle, and Bobby bragged that only his side had access to the bathroom, and proved it by going into it and flushing the unseen toilet, just as loudly as Archie Bunker ever had.

[JMFabiano524]

#2....this, this, oh a thousand times this. And it was mutated further by Jan's portrayal in the '90s Brady Bunch movies.

[Yong Fang]

Alice was not a lesbian. She actually had a boyfriend, Sam the butcher. I think they actually wrote in the Sam character so people would not think that Alice was, well.....a lesbian.

[sixfingers]

Back in the day a lot of people thought they lived in Oregon. not sure where that came from.

It is pretty strongly implied in several episodes that they live in the Los Angelas area, though they never mention the city, unlike their contemporary sister show, Partridge Family, where the mythical San Pueblo is mentioned in just about every episode. Or eight is a enough, where Sacramento is mentioned several times in most episodes.

People often say that the Dittmeyers are never shown, but we do see Mr. Dittmeyer once.

BTW, a toilet is partially shown in Kelly's Kids, but it is not on the Brady Bunch set.

[sixfingers]

As for Oliver killing the show, I'd say it is more accurate to say that he failed to save it. He was brought on to try to appeal to younger viewers in a last ditch effort to keep the show going and it didn't work.

The Partridge Family had an annoying new character too, but nobody blames him, or his sister, for that shows demise.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by sixfingers

As for Oliver killing the show, I'd say it is more accurate to say that he failed to save it. He was brought on to try to appeal to younger viewers in a last ditch effort to keep the show going and it didn't work.

The Partridge Family had an annoying new character too, but nobody blames him, or his sister, for that shows demise.

That horrible kid Ricky from The Partridge Family was a billion times worse than Cousin Oliver of Brady Bunch. Whenever dumb Ricky would sing at the end of a Partridge Family episode, he gave me a massive headache.