Questions About Floor Plans of TV Shows

[Markxxx]

I have two questions which I'm sure will be answered quickly. So I figured instead of just limiting this thread to those two shows directly I'd make it a thread about floor plans in general.

I am aware that there are a lot of continuity errors in shows, so that may be the only explanation.


My first question concerns "My Three Sons," when they were "back East" and lived in Bryant Park. Did Bub (and later on Uncle Charlie) live upstairs with the boys or did he have a room off the kitchen. I know in the Hollywood house, Uncle Charlie lived off the kitchen

The other question is about the "Partridge Family." Did Chris and Danny share a room? It seems to me I recall episodes showing they did. I clearly remember one episode where Keith was having a dry spell on songwriting. And then he wrote something and Danny overheard it through the wall and thought he wrote it.

When Shirley is discussing this with Keith she hears a loud noise and tells Danny and Chris to shut up and go to bed. And Keith replies it's always noisy and he hears though the wall

Any other floor plan type questions, please feel free to expand the thread

 

[oldiesfan6479]

From the book TV Sets: Fantasy Blueprints of Classic TV Homes by Mark Bennett (1996).

In Bryant Park, Bub's room was upstairs (all the bedrooms were). He shared a bath
with Steve. As stated--in El Lay, Uncle Charley's room and bath was off the kitchen.

In the Partridge Family house, each kid had their own bedroom.

I suppose you'd have to have the book's author vouch for the accuracy of his drawings.
For example, in Beaver's second house, there was no hall bath upstairs, even with two
guest rooms. I suppose Aunt Martha was supposed to barge into either Ward & June's--
or Wally & the Beav's--room for bathroom needs? They did have a basic "powder room"
on the ground floor, which I don't think was ever mentioned or seen.

 

[LKellerIII]

There are often continuity problems between the set and the stock shot of the outside of the house - usually a real house somewhere. For example, the exterior stock shot will show a window adjacent to the front door, but there will be no such window next to the door on the "living room" set.

 

[larkin]

I've never been able to figure out that hallway on WKRP. There's a door out of the bullpen into the hall next to the studio. Down that hall are outside windows where you would think the bullpen would be.

Also, given the layout of The Jefferson's apartment, there is no way Mr Bentley's front door can be where it is. It would lead to the Jefferson's hallway.

 

[radiorob2.0]

The Brady house is a suspension of disbelief. The ground floor has at least a ten foot high ceiling while the second floor appears normal and small compared to ground floor. There there is the attic that even with the roof pitch allowing a normal ceiling height. The stock outside shot is a simple home. Then there is the whole bathroom situation where there appeared to be no commode.

 

[therealjm12]

On the Odd Couple the apartment had a different floor in the second season. The kitchen was now on the left and the hall on your right. I think it came about after they started filming in front of an audience. Probably had something to do with the camera shots.

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

The Brady house is a suspension of disbelief. The ground floor has at least a ten foot high ceiling while the second floor appears normal and small compared to ground floor. There there is the attic that even with the roof pitch allowing a normal ceiling height. The stock outside shot is a simple home. Then there is the whole bathroom situation where there appeared to be no commode.

Ground floor had to be higher than 10-feet. Remember the staircase connecting to the open attic?

In those days, no TV sitcom had commodes, leaving viewers to the only possible conclusion: the performers lived on an exclusive diet, heavy on cheese, while "void" (sorry, couldn't resist) of fluids.

 

[radiorob2.0]

The Brady house is a suspension of disbelief. The ground floor has at least a ten foot high ceiling while the second floor appears normal and small compared to ground floor. There there is the attic that even with the roof pitch allowing a normal ceiling height. The stock outside shot is a simple home. Then there is the whole bathroom situation where there appeared to be no commode.

Ground floor had to be higher than 10-feet. Remember the staircase connecting to the open attic?

In those days, no TV sitcom had commodes, leaving viewers to the only possible conclusion: the performers lived on an exclusive diet, heavy on cheese, while "void" (sorry, couldn't resist) of fluids.

Obviously Alice avoided "Mexican Night' for that reason

The floor plan for the Cunningham house changed when "Happy Days" added a studio audience.

 

[rnigma1]

"Fish" (the "Barney Miller" spinoff starring Abe Vigoda) had a two-tier set representing the Fish home; the upstairs was really upstairs. Since there were several kids in the cast (including Todd Bridges pre-"Diff'rent Strokes"), this had to have been quite the challenge to block and shoot.

The vagaries of the Brady home kind of bugged me too, especially since Mike Brady was an architect.

I guess "All in the Family" may have been the first sitcom to have a toilet, one that was heard as well as seen. Though I've heard about "Leave it to Beaver" allegedly showing a toilet in an episode.

 

[unitron]

"Fish" (the "Barney Miller" spinoff starring Abe Vigoda) had a two-tier set representing the Fish home; the upstairs was really upstairs. Since there were several kids in the cast (including Todd Bridges pre-"Diff'rent Strokes"), this had to have been quite the challenge to block and shoot.

The vagaries of the Brady home kind of bugged me too, especially since Mike Brady was an architect.

I guess "All in the Family" may have been the first sitcom to have a toilet, one that was heard as well as seen. Though I've heard about "Leave it to Beaver" allegedly showing a toilet in an episode.

Mike Brady may have been an architect, but not for that house.


The original plans were drawn up by M.C. Escher.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

The Brady house is a suspension of disbelief. The ground floor has at least a ten foot high ceiling while the second floor appears normal and small compared to ground floor. There there is the attic that even with the roof pitch allowing a normal ceiling height. The stock outside shot is a simple home. Then there is the whole bathroom situation where there appeared to be no commode.

And don't forget that the producers added the upstairs window themselves at the Brady house--the real house had no such window. Historical information on the Brady home:

http://davidbrady.com/times/latbrady.html

 

[MHB]

I guess "All in the Family" may have been the first sitcom to have a toilet, one that was heard as well as seen. Though I've heard about "Leave it to Beaver" allegedly showing a toilet in an episode.

Right. The first episode (production order) of "Leave It to Beaver" showed a toilet tank. This was against CBS policy at the time, so they negotiated the matter and the show ran as the second episode (broadcast order).

 

[Tom Wells]

I guess "All in the Family" may have been the first sitcom to have a toilet, one that was heard as well as seen. Though I've heard about "Leave it to Beaver" allegedly showing a toilet in an episode.

Right. The first episode (production order) of "Leave It to Beaver" showed a toilet tank. This was against CBS policy at the time, so they negotiated the matter and the show ran as the second episode (broadcast order).

I guess it's the one where Wally and The Beave order a "real live alligator" out of a comic book, then end up hiding it in the
water tank of the toilet for a while before their parents find out.