The Brady Bunch : I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I now see the issues Robert Reed had

My wife and I watched the whole run over the last few months. The show was great for about 2 seasons, and then it just gets corny. For the most part, the stories didn't grow with the cast, and the writing was just horrible in some of those stories.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

although I loved him and most shows he produced I loved, that seemed to be his MO. I loved and still love Gilligan's Island [more than Brady Bunch] but as the sow went on it was more of a caricature of itself than about this mini society living together on an island.

I agree with you that the stories and the issues didn't grow with the cast. Gilligan was a little bumbly in the beginning but he wasn't flanderized until the last season.

and how can anyone believe that they didn't explore 'moving on with their lives' on this show? I mean, not once did anyone stay awake nights wondering/worrying about wasting their lives on an island with 6 other people, two being married to each other, another one simple, another one too selfish, another one with an anger and glutton problem, another one with his nose in a physics and chemistry book? and if you were one of those 4 left unmarried in that list you also had to think about the one who was always wanting to have the fame and glamour of someone else on the island.



Oh God. Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I quite agree with you. If this show was on now - I mean, if I was watching it for the first time, I don't think I would be so highly invested. It's partly the fondness and familiarity on my part.

Remember he was a classically trained Shakespearean actor; I'm sure he felt the entire series from start to end was beneath him. 😳

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

No one told him to take the job.
Tv shows were different then.They were escapist fun, not intended to be real life.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

He did the pilot, because he didn't think the show would get picked up. I do agree with him, to a certain extent.

I would have made the series a one hour dramady.
The pilot, would have been a two hour movie, starting with Mike and Carol, meeting.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had


I would have made the series a one hour dramady.
Then it would have been like "Eight is Enough" and no one watches that today. It died in syndication.

___________________________________
Never say never...

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I always found this strange about Robert Reed and his relationship with the Brady Bunch. If he hated the show so much then how come he not only stayed for the entire run of the original series but came back for all of the Brady movies and series that followed? You would think he wouldn't have been the least bit interested in working with Schwartz again considering how poorly they got along and how much he disapproved of the show's writing and direction.

But I guess even if you're an actor a bad job is better than no job at all.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

He stayed for the kids. In real life, he was like a second father to them.

He and Schwartz patched things up enough, that he appeared in the reunions. Probably also for the kids.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

Also, because he'd be sued.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

Obviously not everyone agreed otherwise it probably wouldn't of lasted a few more years.

Plus I believe he just didn't like it period.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

Robert Reed knew that times were changing and the stories belong in the 50's and 60's.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

But that also is what makes the stories so timeless

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

Whatever Corey.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

"I'm a serious actor" is nine times out of ten a crock cop-out claimed by performers whose estimation of their own talent generally exceeds the reality. Actors act, and real actors don't draw lines between the 'serious' and the 'not serious'. Look at many of the past and present members of The Royal Shakespeare Company, a huge number of whom have performed in everything from the most 'serious' stage plays and films to the most featherweight of television sitcoms. They aren't hampered by inane distinctions, because they know all roles call for an exercise of their craft to the best of their ability. If Robert Reed were really the Great Ah-ctor he claims to be, he'd have found his way into great roles. As it is, he's known for his appearance on the Brady Bunch, Brady reunions and a handful of TV films in the 70s. Hell, he even enjoyed dancing and making a fool of himself on the Brady Bunch Variety Show, lol! He seemed to have quite an ego and his nose in the air a lot perhaps there it was bitterness or being locked into a contract, who knows.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had


If Robert Reed were really the Great Ah-ctor he claims to be, he'd have found his way into great roles. As it is, he's known for his appearance on the Brady Bunch, Brady reunions and a handful of TV films in the 70s. Hell, he even enjoyed dancing and making a fool of himself on the Brady Bunch Variety Show, lol!
Very good point.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

Yeah Topher Grace and David Caruso thought they were above it all too.....who?

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

If he considered theater the highest form, he would have never decided to act on television. Clearly money was a higher motive than pure art.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I have trouble relating to theater actors.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I think part of the reason the stories didn't grow with the cast is because the (young) cast couldn't grow. During the first couple years, there were many moments of true emotion, sweetness, and affection between the kids and the parents. All of that just kind of went away as the kids got older. The way I see it, the kids were great when they started, but, for some reason (fame? ego? puberty?) they just lost something and their "acting" was relegated to gross OVER-acting. Name one truly touching moment after the first couple years. The acting got more and more hammy and the scripts wallowed in stupidity.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I think you have pretty much nailed it. When the kids were young, the stories were a little bit more easy to relate to. And yes, as the kids aged, their acting didn't develop very much. I think Bobby was okay. Maybe Jan. But the other kids were not very good.

___________________________________
Never say never...

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I don't think what all of this has to do with Robert Reed's displeasure on the show.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

Are you kidding? The kids were great. Sure, most of them couldn't act as adults (see the various reunions), but they were very natural throughout the series. The only one who got hammy was Florence in the last season.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

The kids were the best thing about the show.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had


The kids were the best thing about the show.

I think the kids were great. But the stories that were handed out as they grew older were written as if they never aged. They did the best with what was given to them.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

When they grew older the show was less interesting.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had


The kids were the best thing about the show.

I agree. The kids were the show.

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

I wonder what it must've been like to witness Robert Reed's meltdown with the strawberry preserves. Man, RR was a drama queen!

Re: I now see the issues Robert Reed had

it was a family show early on and sometimes focused on the adults. They then discovered their audience was mainly small children and it became a kids' show.

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