Seating for 10

In this overhead long shot, you see The Brady’s table for eight. But on Robert Reed’s close up, two chairs are placed behind him.  I assume they did it just to fill in the camera frame. 

Interesting to think of Reed likely sitting alone at this table while filming his close-up. I’m guessing some stand-ins might be seated at the table to provide him with a sight line, to match the medium shots of the family looking at each other. 

Also, his back should be to the 4th wall. They are cheating it here by him sitting with his back to the dining room curtain on the kids’ side of the table. It would be faster and cheaper to put him there than to add, and light, a 4th wall. 

This is the kind of stuff I wish they would talk about on The Brady Bros podcast! The podcast is great, but they are so close to the original material we don’t often get an inside peak at how the sausage was made.