The Brady Bunch : What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Of course fashions and movie stars and musical groups/singers would be different but here are a few examples:

A Room at the Top
Now Marcia would have her own cell phone so no need to come downstairs to get calls and get exhausted

The episode with the pay phone
No need-they'd all have cell phones

Fright Night
Using the slide projector to flash a ghost on the trees

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

The one where Marcia worked at the ice cream parlor - No ice cream parlors like that anymore

The one when Peter worked the bike shop - Way too much manual labor for today's kids

Actually, any of them when the kids worked to earn money for what they wanted

Any when the kids were punished for doing something wrong

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

We still have an ice cream parlor - where do you live, MeanKitty/ (Our town is much more old fashionjed, but I was at an ice cream parlor today..bought some Fritos corn chips.

MAGIC=Sarah Silverman.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

I live in NJ. The closest thing I know to an ace cream parlor type thing is Friendly's (I know, not really an ice cream parlor, but you could sit and order ice cream). We did have an ice cream parlor at one time in my town, but it closed years ago.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Check out Holsten's in Bloomfield. It's the ice cream parlor where they filmed the last Sopranos scene.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

I will have to do that some time. Thanks.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2015

I am going to check it out. I live about five miles away.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2015

Hopefully your ex housekeeper doesn't work there and makes you order plain donuts and fruit cups.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

The one in which Tiger was running around loose and impregnated the neighbor's dog--nowadays, the neighbor wouldn't think it was so cute and
would expect the Bradys to pay for her dog's vet bills at the very least.
The episode might even feature a guest appearance by Bob Barker as an irate
neighbor who excoriates the family for not having Tiger fixed.

Celebrities are more wary about stalkers now, and would quickly call the
police on any crazed teenage girl who tried to sneak into a star's hotel room.

A school having a "Most Popular Girl" and "Most Popular Boy" competition?
I think most schools are more enlightened now, if in fact there were even real
instances of such shallow contests back then.

Greg could shoot his entire Thanksgiving movie on his cell phone, add a
soundtrack and digital special effects, etc.

Trading stamps? Nobody under the age of forty knows what they are outside
of BB rerun watchers.

Aunt Jenny would have had so much cosmetic surgery that Jan would never be
able to gauge what she was really supposed to look like.

Instead of that fake telephone call trick, Jan could have invented George
Glass on the Internet with a phony Twitter account, with fake pictures and
e-mails, etc. Much more convincing.

No doctors are making house calls, even for a house full of mumpy kids.

A hotel manager nowadays would hardly raise an eyebrow at a newlywed couple
with six children.

A carful of children wouldn't have to entertain themselves on a long car ride
by singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" ad nauseum. Instead they'd each be attached
to their personal I-Pod and/or DVD player and wouldn't even notice the passing scenery.




I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!

Hewwo.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

No searching all over town for a typewriter that drops its "y"s.

When Greg was writing songs, he wouldn't waste a whole pad of paper for every mistake he made, thus showing an overflowing waste basket. He also wouldn't need money to rent a recording studio; he could do everything on Garage Band and make a demo CD.

When Mr. and Mrs. Brady went out to dinner and left Greg and Marcia to babysit the younger ones, they wouldn't have to keep excusing themselves to go to a pay phone to call in, nor would they keep getting a busy signal.

Drive-ins are pretty much extinct.

Mrs. Brady wouldn't get upset about someone leaving the stereo's turntable going, thus having the kids think that Alice was snitching on them.

They could email "Dear Libby."

Mike could fax/email his design plans to the client and not have to risk having Greg riding his bike across town and losing them.

When deciding between getting a rowboat or a sewing machine, it wouldn't be such a big deal to get a COLOR TV SET!

The scene where Bobby and Cindy are invited over to a neighbor's house to swim nude would simply not happen...or it would be "Tonight...A Very Special Brady Bunch" dealing with pedophiles. (In fact, I'm still surprised they even had that scene back then!)

When Jan crashes her bike into the family portrait anniversary gift and ruins it, she could just get a new one off the CD (provided they chose that option).

Using a reel-to-reel tape recorder to eavesdrop on a conversation? What are you, a caveman? lol

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Mike would do his drafting on a computer, thus no need for a drafting table.

The kids would have a toilet in their bathroom.

Alice would have a microwave.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Great thread. I do have to point out that there are still ice cream parlors and stores.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

of course there are still ice cream parlors [and pizza parlors for that matter] but they are not called that anymore. at least by no one else in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE than my mother.

PARLOR has not been used for 30 years.

Reading the paper can really be depressing. Mr. Dithers fired Dagwood again.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

I disagree. An ice cream parlor 1) serves hard ice cream and 2) has indoor seating. There is one near my house. Friendly's is an ice cream parlor, but Dairy Queen isn't.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

friendly's is also a diner type restaurant. it is not only an ice cream place.

and you DO know that the WORD PARLOR is no longer used in today's world. they usually call it whatever the name of the shop is... baskin robbins...

my poin t is... the place: ice cream parlor, may still exist but the term PARLOR is no longer used to describe it. children and young adults have no idea what a parlor is.


Reading the paper can really be depressing. Mr. Dithers fired Dagwood again.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

"When deciding between getting a rowboat or a sewing machine, it wouldn't be such a big deal to get a COLOR TV SET!"

A bit off-topic, but (and I'm showing my age to some degree) I really find it hard to believe that either of the sewing machines we actually saw in the redemption store would've cost as much as a color TV set (especially a console model that the Brady ladies brought home). I know that modern sewing machines, with their electronic hardware, can cost as much as a fairly average-sized TV set, but circa 1970?

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

I find it easy to believe the sewing machine was close to the price of the color TV but a rowboat?

The sewing machines of that era were pretty well built. They came in a sturdy cabinet that could be closed up to look like a side table. I would guess that one would easily be $300 to $500, about the price of a 19" color TV back then. I remember we paid about $650 for a 25" color console TV in '75 and it had been marked down considerably because it had doors, apparently no one wanted a TV with doors.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

you can buy a good used color tv set for $10 at any garage sale or resale shop now.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

I think it's sorta sad that all these things are GONE.... I wonder if eventually we will live in a world where literally NOTHING exists.

Just because we lose today's battle doesn't mean we've lost tommorow's war.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Architects still use drafting boards, Ted on How I Met Your Mother uses one.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Replace typewriters in any scene with a laptop.

Greg would have played LaCrosse and not football.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Actually, Greg would be playing soccer.


Drive-ins are pretty much extinct.

We have one here in South Jersey.

That said:

When Jan destroyed the portrait, she could have called the photographer and had a new one reprinted. Even in the late 60's/early 70's photographers kept the negatives.

Joe Namath wouldn't come to visit Bobby because today, star athletes wouldn't walk across the street to piss on a fan even if they were on fire.

Davey Jones or Desi Arnez Jr. wound't give Marcia a 2nd look for the same reasons, however, since Marcia is a groupie of Jones, he would have banged her and tossed her aside.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Bobby idolizing Jesse James - Nowadays he'd probably b idolizing some1 else similar (Bin Ladden, Saddam, Kim John Ill?) cause not many young kids probably even know who Jesse James is

No more chalk board in the kitchen... there'd b a white board now

Davey Jones because he's outdated (& passed unfortunately) - Marcia would b wanting 2 get Justin Bieber or 1 Direction or some other tween sensation 2 perform @ her prom

Soap commercial - Any1 even c soap commercials any more?

Don't think there's any butcher shops around any more; Sam would probably b the butcher 4 grocery store

When Bobby & Cindy try & break the teeter totter record, well, I highly doubt the paper would find that news-worthy

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Re: the butcher shop. It would depend on the area. I live in a foodie area and there are some butcher shops that sell the organic grass fed open range type of meats that a lot of folks like.

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Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Good point. It all depenmds on where we live I live in a Midwestern style suburb in California, we have some butcher shops and modern but style ice cream parlors, but then ours is very historic.

MAGIC=Sarah Silverman.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

LOL. Just saw the Jesse James episode. Nowadays, Bobby would have been put in in-school suspension, and of course, with bringing a gun to school, had the school put on lock-down, while Bobby gets arrested and put in confinement.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

🎶
BE SEE ARE YOU
are words not letters
get it together
Use your spell checker
You should never
Write words using numbers
Unless you're seven
Or your name is Prince
🎶

Reading the paper can really be depressing. Mr. Dithers fired Dagwood again.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Sadly, soccer and football are overshadowed by LaCrosse in my area.

:-(

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

<<When Jan destroyed the portrait, she could have called the photographer and had a new one reprinted. Even in the late 60's/early 70's photographers kept the negatives.>>


Jan did do that,but the photographer was so ditzy he lost the negative.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Just a small nit to pick. In the family photo episode it was stated that the photographer had lost the original negative. Since he had, he wasn't going to charge them the sitting fee again, just the fee to reprint the photo.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Instead of hippy outfits, hipster and geek chic style options would be available.

No sports, except Wii Sports.

No one has maids of nannies anymore (except for the wealthy and elite); she certainly wouldn't reside with the family.


Htos_Drol:Replace typewriters in any scene with a laptop.
Unfortunately, they're making a comeback with hipsters. I've collected them since 1996 and have recently begun seeing images of them all over teen and hipster blogs.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013


Unfortunately, they're making a comeback with hipsters. I've collected them since 1996 and have recently begun seeing images of them all over teen and hipster blogs.


I can't imagine why anyone would want to go through the trouble using a typewriter when it is so much easier on a computer. Especially for typing something like a report, etc

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Greg probably would have played soccer and/or basketball instead of football. Greg mentioned in the "My Sister, Benedict Arnold" episode that Warren Mullaney beat him out for class president and a starting spot on the basketball team. Did he ever mention playing organized basketball again?

Is boys lacrosse played in many California high schools? I heard lacrosse is much more popular on the East Coast and in Canada.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Perhaps some girls today might fancy Shirley Temple, but I doubt any boys would have a picture of Emmett Kelly in their rooms (and I kind of think both were fascinations of Sherwood Schwartz).

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Lacrosse is not very popular on the west coast.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2016

Back in the '70s we sang "roll, roll, roll your joint. Pass it down the line. Have a toke and hold the smoke. Blow your f'in' mind".

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Teenagers willingly performing in their backyard as "The Seven Dwarfs"
Being ableto afford everything including a fulltime live in maid on one salary (of an architect)

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

I'm glad you all like this thread. I love all the answers you guys gave-some of them I never even thought of. I agree about the very special episode when Cindy and Bobby want to go swimming nude. That was quite risque for the Brady Bunch.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Did anyone mention the doctors making house calls in multiple episodes? That was a bit dated even for the early 70s.

How about Marcia dropping out of her run for student body president in favor of a boy?

Do girls still have "slumber parties" the way they did back then?

How about the Kartoon King show with its ice cream eating contest? Those local kiddie shows are long gone.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013


Soap commercial - Any1 even c soap commercials any more?

Um, where are you because soap commercials are on all the time from body soap(Dial for men/Old Spice/Ivory/etc) to body washes(Axe) to laundry soap to dish soap.

Don't think there's any butcher shops around any more; Sam would probably b the butcher 4 grocery store


I go to one regularly. Here in South Jersey we have Joe's Butcher Shop, Marcacci Meats, Foote's Slaughethouse to name a few.

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Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Soap commercials are on all of the time. It's not powdered soap anymore, but they're on.

Tide, Downy (ok, fabric softener), Gain, All, Era... they're all here.

You Tube results for "laundry detergent commercial 2013":

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=laundry+detergent+commercial+2013&oq=laundry+deter&gs_l=youtube.3.3.0l10.2195.5133.0.7039.13.9.0.4.4.0.95.563.9.9.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.6f1BGSIA70Q

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

Getting paid a "real live Kennedy half-dollar" to pretend to be your friend's sister's secret admirer wouldn't cut it anymore.

Little league uniforms don't look like 1920s Babe Ruth-style anymore (like in the "Fairy Princess" episode).

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

People would not dress up in suits/ fancy dresses to appear in court, go out to a nice restaurant, church, appear on tv, attend a school function, or to travel by air. Especially children!

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

They probably wouldn't be eating meals together with all family members present if they were a typical family of today.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

IS THAT what was written?

i just wrote a response to THAT original post and put nothing but weird al's word crimes lyrics.


Reading the paper can really be depressing. Mr. Dithers fired Dagwood again.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

I can't see any modern family throwing together a random square dance.

Son, you got a panty on your head.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

There's a few that come to mind...

1. If Jan was freaking out in her room (re: locket), Mike should have burst in with a bat like the dad from "Back To The Future II" looking for the attacker and not immediately suggesting a mundane idea of re-creating losing the locket...and the entire family would not give a rat's ass about 're-creating the scene of the crime'. Even kids have better things to do then THAT.

2. There would be more than one movie that showed at the drive-in no matter when you went. What piece of crap movie was that anyway? A cattle drive does not a movie make. *cough*stock footage*cough*.

3. Every attic not insulated and carpeted smells musty and dusty and old. No one would want to live up there. Greg and Marcia should have fought over who had to live up there.

4. One kiss and you get the mumps? Hardly. People have unprotected sex with HIV positive partners all the time and don't get infected. Oh to be medically educated BOBBY.

5. Pretty sure one of the guys and one of the girls would hook up today. They all showed amazing restraint.

Re: What plot devices wouldn't have worked in 2013

If TBB were made today, at least two thirds of the jokes would be about "naughty parts" and biological urges.
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