What was The Brady Bunch's turning point...? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Dr. Thong · 01-31-2004, 01:19 PM

At what point did The Brady Bunch head for the land of no return??

hawaii five-o · 01-31-2004, 02:12 PM

The dreaded Cousin Oliver!!!

Brady Fan · 01-31-2004, 05:49 PM

Without a doubt the dreaded Cousin Oliver!!!!!

TVFactFan · 02-01-2004, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Thong
At what point did The Brady Bunch head for the land of no return??

The turning point was September 26, 1969

The Modfather · 02-01-2004, 07:26 PM

Cousin Oliver.

James · 02-01-2004, 07:43 PM

None of the above. I personally thought the series could have kept going for a sixth season, possibly beyond.

sixfingers · 05-24-2008, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawaii five-o

The dreaded Cousin Oliver!!!

I think Oliver is a scape goat.

The show was in trouble and he was brought in to try to save it. It didn't work.

Brady Bunch failed in spite of Oliver, not because of him!

I suppose, though, that many fans will always resent the fact that Oliver had the last line on Brady Bunch!

Jude The Obscure · 05-25-2008, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixfingers

I think Oliver is a scape goat.

The show was in trouble and he was brought in to try to save it. It didn't work.

Brady Bunch failed in spite of Oliver, not because of him!

I supposed, though, that many fans will always resent the fact that Oliver had the last line on Brady Bunch!

"Gosh, it was only a suggestion!"

He was also the only Brady allowed to say "sex".

Dr. Thong · 05-25-2008, 10:07 AM

Most shows, if they're lucky, have a good run of about five years. The Brady Bunch was put out of its misery before they resorted to having Mrs. Brady get pregnant, the sure sign of desperation for an aging sitcom.

James · 05-26-2008, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Most shows, if they're lucky, have a good run of about five years. The Brady Bunch was put out of its misery before they resorted to having Mrs. Brady get pregnant, the sure sign of desperation for an aging sitcom.

I've always found it weird that they would consider making her pregnant given the fact that the six kids were all grown up. To me it's unusual for there to be such a large age difference among siblings.

sixfingers · 05-26-2008, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

I've always found it weird that they would consider making her pregnant given the fact that the six kids were all grown up. To me it's unusual for there to be such a large age difference among siblings.

Unusual, perhaps, but certainly not unheard of. My mother is 14 years older than her oldest brother and 20 years older than her sister, who is 9 days younger than my older brother. (so she became an aunt 9 days before she was born!)

Dr. Thong · 05-27-2008, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

I've always found it weird that they would consider making her pregnant given the fact that the six kids were all grown up. To me it's unusual for there to be such a large age difference among siblings.

Carol only gave birth to the girls, though. And having a late in life baby is not uncommon. Even that would have been more acceptable than Cousin Oliver.

catlover79 · 05-27-2008, 06:02 PM

I just think the show had run its course. The Brady kids were all teenagers by the end (or were all pretty close to it) - and had it gone on longer the plots would surely have been as bad, if not worse, than the ones in Season 5. I think it was just time.

tdr · 05-27-2008, 06:43 PM

I agree with the poster that said Cousin Oliver is a 'scapegoat.' While he didn't fit the show, and any of his interactions didn't bring the median age of the family back down because it was always he and the other kids getting into shenanigans, the show had outgrown its setting by the 5th season. A mixed family was much less of a novelty by then-- as if the BB even appeared to be a mixed family after the first season-- an architect solely supporting a large family with a fulltime housekeeper didn't seem plausible any more with the femimism and inflation of the mid-70's, and also by then the trend in TV comedy was the Lear shows and similar ones, that dealt directly with sexual and racial and economic issues, while the BB was more like Father Knows Best with early 70's color and styles. And add to all this the behind-the-camera stuff going on; that Reed had always despised the show and argued with Schwartz about scripts, demanding changes or refusing to do a few of them at all; that the kids were increasingly uncomfortable with their 'silly' roles and worried about how the show would affect them afterword; and certainly the declining ratings (which had never been that high) losing more to the new ethnic and trended show, Sanford and Son,... there was just nowhere to go but down for such a show by that time. But the fact that a new four-eyed, clumsy, dupable kid with a bit of identity-crisis was brought on can make for a scapegoat for the show's troubles.

sixfingers · 05-27-2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Most shows, if they're lucky, have a good run of about five years. The Brady Bunch was put out of its misery before they resorted to having Mrs. Brady get pregnant, the sure sign of desperation for an aging sitcom.

Ah, but think of the drama of carol becoming a widow and then discovering that she was pregnant!

Of course, the trouble is that Brady Bunch was a sitcom, not a drama!

View Poll Results: When did it all go wrong??
Mr. Brady's sudden afro	0	0%
Peter's change of voice	0	0%
Cindy thinks she's Shirley Temple	2	15.38%
The Dreaded Cousin Oliver!	11	84.62%
Voters: 13. You may not vote on this poll

01-31-2004, 01:19 PM	#1
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	What was The Brady Bunch's turning point...? At what point did The Brady Bunch head for the land of no return??
	__________________ "Sunday has been cancelled due to lack of interest. That is all."

02-01-2004, 07:26 PM	#5
The Modfather It Sure Does Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Jul 12, 2003 Location: canada Posts: 21,149	Re: Re: What was The Brady Bunch's turning point...? Cousin Oliver.

05-27-2008, 06:02 PM	#13
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	I just think the show had run its course. The Brady kids were all teenagers by the end (or were all pretty close to it) - and had it gone on longer the plots would surely have been as bad, if not worse, than the ones in Season 5. I think it was just time.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

01-31-2004, 02:12 PM	#2
hawaii five-o Book 'Em, Dano Senior Member Join Date: Jun 27, 2003 Location: At home, eating cereal straight out of the box Posts: 1,406	The dreaded Cousin Oliver!!!

01-31-2004, 05:49 PM	#3
Brady Fan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 20, 2003 Location: The Good Ol' USA Posts: 163	Without a doubt the dreaded Cousin Oliver!!!!!

02-01-2004, 07:43 PM	#6
James Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 07, 2001 Location: Dayton, Ohio, USA Posts: 6,370	None of the above. I personally thought the series could have kept going for a sixth season, possibly beyond.

05-25-2008, 10:07 AM	#9
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	Most shows, if they're lucky, have a good run of about five years. The Brady Bunch was put out of its misery before they resorted to having Mrs. Brady get pregnant, the sure sign of desperation for an aging sitcom.

05-27-2008, 06:43 PM	#14
tdr Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Posts: 1,454	I agree with the poster that said Cousin Oliver is a 'scapegoat.' While he didn't fit the show, and any of his interactions didn't bring the median age of the family back down because it was always he and the other kids getting into shenanigans, the show had outgrown its setting by the 5th season. A mixed family was much less of a novelty by then-- as if the BB even appeared to be a mixed family after the first season-- an architect solely supporting a large family with a fulltime housekeeper didn't seem plausible any more with the femimism and inflation of the mid-70's, and also by then the trend in TV comedy was the Lear shows and similar ones, that dealt directly with sexual and racial and economic issues, while the BB was more like Father Knows Best with early 70's color and styles. And add to all this the behind-the-camera stuff going on; that Reed had always despised the show and argued with Schwartz about scripts, demanding changes or refusing to do a few of them at all; that the kids were increasingly uncomfortable with their 'silly' roles and worried about how the show would affect them afterword; and certainly the declining ratings (which had never been that high) losing more to the new ethnic and trended show, Sanford and Son,... there was just nowhere to go but down for such a show by that time. But the fact that a new four-eyed, clumsy, dupable kid with a bit of identity-crisis was brought on can make for a scapegoat for the show's troubles.