Check out these reveiws from the 1969 first airing of the Brady Bunch - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

rcbrad · 03-12-2018, 08:27 PM

I am sure most of us have heard that the critics were not kind to the Brady Bunch for the most part during it's initial run, but wow these are overly harsh!

These comments were based on the premier episode which was the pilot:

The Brady Bunch (ABC -TV, Friday, 8 p.m. EDT).
.
family situation comedy carried to the apex of ludicrousness ..."
New York Times. f{
...
ugh ugh! ..."
Kay Gardella, New York Daily News.
"...
a bunch all right. Of baloney." Harry Harris,
Philadelphia Inquirer.
. .
[doesn't] deserve the time it takes to dial and switch it."
Bob Wil- liams, New York Post. ".

.
broad comedy complete with slapstick . certain to get a satis- factory audience." Lawrence Laurent,
Washington Post.
"...
situation comedy straight out of the computer." Bernie Harrison, Wash- ington
Star.

"The show isn't good enough to be typical and isn't funny enough to be a comedy. hearalld- Examiner.

"Let us mercifully draw the curtain on any further discussion on this one."
Allen Rich, Hollywood Citizen -News.

"I wish I could say it's the most atrocious television show I ever saw, but the competition is too rough." Cecil Smith,
Los Angeles
Times. . .

This may sound like a sequel to "Bonnie and Clyde" and it is almost as noisy." Donald Freeman, The San Diego Union.

The copy and paste when pasted here turned out with a word on each line (not sure why), but this why it does not look perfect. I had to fix it each word/sentence.

Here is a link to the magazine:

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/...9-10-06-BC.pdf

Almost 50 years later and The Brady Bunch is still going strong!

1960'sTVfan · 03-12-2018, 08:53 PM

The premier episode/pilot isn't very good which likely accounts for the harsh reviews, but the series got better as it went along.

Seasons 1 thru 4 are good, in season 5 the quality starts slipping a little, the series starts feeling tired, adding cousin Oliver didn't help matters any, it only made things worse.

I would have liked to see the series continue for a few seasons more, but all things considered I think it was the right call to stop after season 5. At that point it was done.

bellczar · 03-13-2018, 04:03 PM

Could you find and post Cleveland Amory's review of TBB from TV Guide? Should have been in the fall of 1969. As I recall, it wasn't so negative.

lakesgirl · 03-16-2018, 11:43 AM

You also have to remember this show was geared toward kids. I don't know too many people my age who didn't grow up with show. Even though the show was corny from time to time, it mostly from the kids' point of view which was rare and refreshing.

KRW · 03-16-2018, 05:52 PM

I can't say I disagree with the reviews listed. The show was awful.

TV Guy · 03-16-2018, 06:16 PM

The pilot, written by Sherwood Schwartz, is pretty corny. Luckily, he had other writers do almost all the other episodes (the only other one he wrote was “Kelly’s Kids”). He also wrote both of the TV movie reunions, and they suffered from the same corniness.

03-12-2018, 08:27 PM	#1
rcbrad Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 21, 2007 Posts: 479	Check out these reveiws from the 1969 first airing of the Brady Bunch I am sure most of us have heard that the critics were not kind to the Brady Bunch for the most part during it's initial run, but wow these are overly harsh! These comments were based on the premier episode which was the pilot: The Brady Bunch (ABC -TV, Friday, 8 p.m. EDT). . family situation comedy carried to the apex of ludicrousness ..." New York Times. f{ ... ugh ugh! ..." Kay Gardella, New York Daily News. "... a bunch all right. Of baloney." Harry Harris, Philadelphia Inquirer. . . [doesn't] deserve the time it takes to dial and switch it." Bob Wil- liams, New York Post. ". . broad comedy complete with slapstick . certain to get a satis- factory audience." Lawrence Laurent, Washington Post. "... situation comedy straight out of the computer." Bernie Harrison, Wash- ington Star. "The show isn't good enough to be typical and isn't funny enough to be a comedy. hearalld- Examiner. "Let us mercifully draw the curtain on any further discussion on this one." Allen Rich, Hollywood Citizen -News. "I wish I could say it's the most atrocious television show I ever saw, but the competition is too rough." Cecil Smith, Los Angeles Times. . . This may sound like a sequel to "Bonnie and Clyde" and it is almost as noisy." Donald Freeman, The San Diego Union. The copy and paste when pasted here turned out with a word on each line (not sure why), but this why it does not look perfect. I had to fix it each word/sentence. Here is a link to the magazine: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/...9-10-06-BC.pdf Almost 50 years later and The Brady Bunch is still going strong!

03-12-2018, 08:53 PM	#2
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,058	The premier episode/pilot isn't very good which likely accounts for the harsh reviews, but the series got better as it went along. Seasons 1 thru 4 are good, in season 5 the quality starts slipping a little, the series starts feeling tired, adding cousin Oliver didn't help matters any, it only made things worse. I would have liked to see the series continue for a few seasons more, but all things considered I think it was the right call to stop after season 5. At that point it was done.
	Last edited by 1960'sTVfan; 03-12-2018 at 09:32 PM.

03-13-2018, 04:03 PM	#3
bellczar Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 17, 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 133	Could you find and post Cleveland Amory's review of TBB from TV Guide? Should have been in the fall of 1969. As I recall, it wasn't so negative.

03-16-2018, 11:43 AM	#4
lakesgirl Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 14, 2014 Posts: 2,116	You also have to remember this show was geared toward kids. I don't know too many people my age who didn't grow up with show. Even though the show was corny from time to time, it mostly from the kids' point of view which was rare and refreshing.

03-16-2018, 05:52 PM	#5
KRW One Bad Mother Funker Forum Regular Join Date: May 23, 2017 Location: The Funk Dojo Posts: 899	I can't say I disagree with the reviews listed. The show was awful.

03-16-2018, 06:16 PM	#6
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	The pilot, written by Sherwood Schwartz, is pretty corny. Luckily, he had other writers do almost all the other episodes (the only other one he wrote was “Kelly’s Kids”). He also wrote both of the TV movie reunions, and they suffered from the same corniness.