TV Dads Robert Reed ('Brady Bunch') & Dan Lauria ('Wonder Year') Disagreed on 'Sally Jesse Raphael'

Photo byimdb.com

On The Brady Bunch (ABC, 1969-1974), Robert Reed played patriarch Mike Brady, a widower with three sons, who married Florence Henderson's Carol Brady, a widow with three daughters.

Robert Reed appeared with his TV son Barry Williams on the "Sally Jesse Raphael" show.Photo byYouTube.com

On The Wonder Years (ABC, 1988-1993), Dan Lauria played patriarch Jack Arnold, who was married to Alley Mills' Norma Arnold, and they had three children together.

Photo byClassic TV Preservation Society

In 1991, talk show host Sally Jesse Raphael invited both Reed and Laura on her popular show, along with other TV dad actors including Conrad Bain (from Diff'rent Strokes, NBC/ABC, 1878-1986), among others.

At one point during the discussion, Raphael compared The Brady Bunch and The Wonder Years, saying both shows were similar.

Laura, however, objected to the comparison with a condescending tone. At that point, Reed became visibly annoyed with Laura's perspective and defended The Brady Bunch.

The Big Picture

The Brady Bunch was produced and originally broadcast in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Wonder Years, though set and based in that same era, was produced and originally broadcast in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The shows were ultimately produced in unique ways, subject to the given period of the day. However, that does not mean that one show was better than the other just different, proving there is room for a variety of ways to successfully a quality family sitcom in any decade.