Brady Living Room Appears on Mannix - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

jehobden · 04-06-2017, 02:57 AM

I've been watching a Me-TV rerun of Mannix now, "Who Is Sylvia?", and although the establishing exterior was of a different house, the show's opening scene was set in the Brady living room. Joe Mannix arrived at a party there from the front door, which still had the intercom box outside. and the same stairs brought the lady of the house down to the party. The sliding glass doors from the dining room were there too, but none of the Bradys' famous artwork. The previous episode had Mike Brady (Robert Reed as Lt. Adam Tobias) smoking!

What would Mrs. Johnson (from "Where There's Smoke") say?

Alex Cooper · 04-06-2017, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jehobden

I've been watching a Me-TV rerun of Mannix now, "Who Is Sylvia?", and although the establishing exterior was of a different house, the show's opening scene was set in the Brady living room. Joe Mannix arrived at a party there from the front door, which still had the intercom box outside. and the same stairs brought the lady of the house down to the party. The sliding glass doors from the dining room were there too, but none of the Bradys' famous artwork. Thr previous episode had Mike Brady (Robert Reed as Lt. Adam Tobias) smoking!

What would Mrs. Johnson (from "Where There's Smoke") say?

Oh my gosh; that is weird! Like you said, different decor, but it's so totally the Brady abode. BB episode "The Big Sprain" aired just the night before this Mannix episode, according to imdb. Yeah, they saved some money not having to construct a new set, but did they think viewers of the time would not notice, or was it a fun in-joke? Surely there had to be some people who watched both shows.

Smartboy · 04-06-2017, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jehobden

I've been watching a Me-TV rerun of Mannix now, "Who Is Sylvia?", and although the establishing exterior was of a different house, the show's opening scene was set in the Brady living room. Joe Mannix arrived at a party there from the front door, which still had the intercom box outside. and the same stairs brought the lady of the house down to the party. The sliding glass doors from the dining room were there too, but none of the Bradys' famous artwork. Thr previous episode had Mike Brady (Robert Reed as Lt. Adam Tobias) smoking!

What would Mrs. Johnson (from "Where There's Smoke") say?

Because I have never watched Mannix I do not really know the situation. However, I find your ideas to be very interesting. I like the Mrs. Johnson character and I find what you wrote about her to be very amusing!

bellczar · 04-07-2017, 12:53 AM

Are you sure Reed was really smoking in that "Mannix" ep? I'm currently viewing the first season of "The Defenders," and whenever Reed's character (Kenneth Preston) is seen with a cigarette, he's not really smoking it.

To see a fuller portrayal of the Brady house, see the horribly stupid movie "Bug."

jehobden · 04-09-2017, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bellczar

Are you sure Reed was really smoking in that "Mannix" ep? I'm currently viewing the first season of "The Defenders," and whenever Reed's character (Kenneth Preston) is seen with a cigarette, he's not really smoking it.

To see a fuller portrayal of the Brady house, see the horribly stupid movie "Bug."

He had a burning cigarette in his hand. As to whether or not he ever actually put it to his lips & inhaled, I don't recall.

Here are pics from that Mannix episode from a great Brady blog:
http://verybradyblog.blogspot.com/20...pisode-68.html

yayaya · 04-09-2017, 06:21 PM

I used to watch Mannix back during its original run. I thoroughly remember watching that particular episode and realizing right away it was the set of the Brady home. Being a viewer of The BB, it was hard to not notice the interior since it was shown in almost every episode of the show. It is so recognizable.

FYI if anyone ever watches the movie Mommie Dearest take note of the kitchen during the soap opera scene. You will notice the Happy Days kitchen set is used.

The show Two and a Half Men had a set that was far too similar to the set used on Laverne & Shirley during the California episodes. At least the layout was exactly the same.

RetroTVNitekatt · 04-12-2017, 03:54 PM

The set also turned up on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and even earlier, the FAMILY AFFAIR (Federson leased space from Desilu/Paramount) set turned up several times as well.

It saves on the budget when you can use a redress of a standing set.

omg65 · 04-12-2017, 04:02 PM

Nice find. I really never watched Mannix so I never knew about this.

RetroTVNitekatt · 04-12-2017, 11:22 PM

It's not that hard to take an existing set and add different prop pieces, drapes,furniture, perhaps a fake wall and/or door.

On of the The Brady Living Room set MISSION:IMPOSSBLE shots - they put up fake walls to cover the stairs,kitchen, the wall with the blinds to Mike's Den and added some set pieces. The give-a-way is the front door and sliding glass window.

jehobden · 05-08-2019, 04:23 PM

The Brady living room came back for at least 1 more appearance on the series finale of Mannix. "Hardball" originally aired Apr. 13, 1975, and it had a great cast, including William Windom, Jim Hampton, and John Ritter.

Windom plays the leader of a gang of drug dealers, with Hampton a cowardly member of his gang, and Ritter plays a young man in love with Windom's character's daughter, who doesn't believe that her dad's a crook. Ritter's character double-crosses the gang & tries to take the $ from the latest deal, which he wants to share with his girlfriend. The living room of the house where she & her dad live is the Brady living room (more than a year after the last Brady episode aired), though the woman's bedroom is not the Brady girls' bedroom.

For another Brady tie-in, the gang takes hostages from a court buliding, lncluding a young woman played by Tina Andrews, who played 1 of Marcia's friends in "Getting Davy Jones". I looked up Ms. Andrews' bio on IMDB, and she was born in 1951, 5 years before Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia. I guess she looked young enough to be a Jr. High student at the time, and it helped that she was already over 18 by the time her Brady episode was filmed and allowed the producers to avoid child labor laws in her case.

jehobden · 10-19-2019, 04:30 PM

The Brady living room showed up on MANNIX again in a Season 5 episode called "The Danford File". Jessica Walter again comes down the stairs as she did in "Who Is Sylvia?". You can see pics from this episode here:

https://verybradyblog.blogspot.com/2...or-mannix.html

TV Guy · 10-28-2019, 12:04 AM

This a still from my favorite repurposing of the Brady set, the William Castle horror movie, “Bug”.

jehobden · 11-02-2019, 01:46 AM

To add to the weirdness surrounding this episode of MANNIX, CBS aired a MY THREE SONS episode called "Who Is Sylvia?" which was originally aired Jan. 31, 1970, exactly 1 week before the MANNIX episode of the same name. Me-TV reran this M3S episode Friday.

Schmoopie · 11-20-2019, 06:59 AM

I'm watching "The Ragged Edge" and you can see the whole living room, right into the kitchen. I recognized it instantly. https://www.metv.com/stories/mannix-...dy-bunch-house

04-06-2017, 02:57 AM	#1
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,004	Brady Living Room Appears on Mannix I've been watching a Me-TV rerun of Mannix now, "Who Is Sylvia?", and although the establishing exterior was of a different house, the show's opening scene was set in the Brady living room. Joe Mannix arrived at a party there from the front door, which still had the intercom box outside. and the same stairs brought the lady of the house down to the party. The sliding glass doors from the dining room were there too, but none of the Bradys' famous artwork. The previous episode had Mike Brady (Robert Reed as Lt. Adam Tobias) smoking! What would Mrs. Johnson (from "Where There's Smoke") say?
	Last edited by jehobden; 04-09-2017 at 03:17 AM.

04-12-2017, 03:54 PM	#7
RetroTVNitekatt Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 09, 2003 Posts: 1,258	The set also turned up on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and even earlier, the FAMILY AFFAIR (Federson leased space from Desilu/Paramount) set turned up several times as well. It saves on the budget when you can use a redress of a standing set.
	__________________ Old Cats don't die-they just fall off the TV set!

11-20-2019, 06:59 AM	#14
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	I'm watching "The Ragged Edge" and you can see the whole living room, right into the kitchen. I recognized it instantly. https://www.metv.com/stories/mannix-...dy-bunch-house
	__________________ In memory of my wonderful husband. I love and miss you more than words can say, but I will always and forever keep you in my heart. September 23, 1961-January 14, 2019

04-07-2017, 12:53 AM	#4
bellczar Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 17, 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 133	Are you sure Reed was really smoking in that "Mannix" ep? I'm currently viewing the first season of "The Defenders," and whenever Reed's character (Kenneth Preston) is seen with a cigarette, he's not really smoking it. To see a fuller portrayal of the Brady house, see the horribly stupid movie "Bug."

04-09-2017, 06:21 PM	#6
yayaya Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 20, 2011 Posts: 258	I used to watch Mannix back during its original run. I thoroughly remember watching that particular episode and realizing right away it was the set of the Brady home. Being a viewer of The BB, it was hard to not notice the interior since it was shown in almost every episode of the show. It is so recognizable. FYI if anyone ever watches the movie Mommie Dearest take note of the kitchen during the soap opera scene. You will notice the Happy Days kitchen set is used. The show Two and a Half Men had a set that was far too similar to the set used on Laverne & Shirley during the California episodes. At least the layout was exactly the same.

04-12-2017, 04:02 PM	#8
omg65 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 05, 2006 Location: hilliard oh Posts: 403	Nice find. I really never watched Mannix so I never knew about this.

04-12-2017, 11:22 PM	#9
RetroTVNitekatt Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 09, 2003 Posts: 1,258	It's not that hard to take an existing set and add different prop pieces, drapes,furniture, perhaps a fake wall and/or door. On of the The Brady Living Room set MISSION:IMPOSSBLE shots - they put up fake walls to cover the stairs,kitchen, the wall with the blinds to Mike's Den and added some set pieces. The give-a-way is the front door and sliding glass window.

05-08-2019, 04:23 PM	#10
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,004	The Brady living room came back for at least 1 more appearance on the series finale of Mannix. "Hardball" originally aired Apr. 13, 1975, and it had a great cast, including William Windom, Jim Hampton, and John Ritter. Windom plays the leader of a gang of drug dealers, with Hampton a cowardly member of his gang, and Ritter plays a young man in love with Windom's character's daughter, who doesn't believe that her dad's a crook. Ritter's character double-crosses the gang & tries to take the $ from the latest deal, which he wants to share with his girlfriend. The living room of the house where she & her dad live is the Brady living room (more than a year after the last Brady episode aired), though the woman's bedroom is not the Brady girls' bedroom. For another Brady tie-in, the gang takes hostages from a court buliding, lncluding a young woman played by Tina Andrews, who played 1 of Marcia's friends in "Getting Davy Jones". I looked up Ms. Andrews' bio on IMDB, and she was born in 1951, 5 years before Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia. I guess she looked young enough to be a Jr. High student at the time, and it helped that she was already over 18 by the time her Brady episode was filmed and allowed the producers to avoid child labor laws in her case.

10-19-2019, 04:30 PM	#11
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,004	The Brady living room showed up on MANNIX again in a Season 5 episode called "The Danford File". Jessica Walter again comes down the stairs as she did in "Who Is Sylvia?". You can see pics from this episode here: https://verybradyblog.blogspot.com/2...or-mannix.html

10-28-2019, 12:04 AM	#12
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	This a still from my favorite repurposing of the Brady set, the William Castle horror movie, “Bug”.

11-02-2019, 01:46 AM	#13
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,004	To add to the weirdness surrounding this episode of MANNIX, CBS aired a MY THREE SONS episode called "Who Is Sylvia?" which was originally aired Jan. 31, 1970, exactly 1 week before the MANNIX episode of the same name. Me-TV reran this M3S episode Friday.