For those of you saying, Who's Freddie Benson - that gives Greg Brady a leg up already.

All through the years, people have been bemoaning how sappy sweet and sancarine The Brady Bunch was, is, and forever shall be. But I saw traits in Greg Brady, the eldest boy, that I'm not seeing in Freddie Benson - who are the same age: 15. I was watching Season Two of The Brady Bunch, and Greg is trying to buy a car, so he goes to work for his father and screws up by losing important drawings that Greg was taking over on his bike to the copy place. The Brady Bunch was teaching "responsibility," "liability," "regret," and "redemption."

A part of me wonders if shows that appear only on Cable Networks are getting shortchanged for the future. I mean, do shows on Fox-Five or Channel 7 (etc) that appear at "primetime" have a better chance at longevity than shows that only come on "Nick?"

For those of you not in the know, Freddie Benson is the 15-year old male protagonist on the iCarly show, on Nick. He's smart, a little nerdy, tech-savvy, but even a little "behind" by Greg Brady standards.

iCarly is classed as a "children's show."
wasn't the Brady Bunch classed the same?

"I'm calling you out, Greg Brady!"

From the few episodes I've watched with my niece Freddie is more of a Bobby or Peter Brady so yeah I would say he is "a little behind" by Greg Brady standards.

I have no idea who Freddie Benson is.
I also have no idea what sancarine means.

I have no idea what an iCarly is.

Oh, and Johnny Bravo rocks!

No poll?

I'm not sure exactly what you're getting at, but if you're saying that today's children's "entertainment" shows lack something, I'd agree. While children's public broadcasting is still top notch with shows like Wordgirl, Maya and Miguel, Sesame St, Electric Company, etc, children's "entertainment" (ie Nick and Disney) is largely situation comedies without much substance.

The characters on children's entertainment shows are largely either pop queens or goofballs, and only their tag-along friends seem to have any resemblance to reality. The greater problem is that the shows are less about responsibility, regret and redemption, and more about dating, silly situations and one-liners. I'm especially distraught by how strongly dating is a theme in pre-teen shows, which are then watched by 5-to-8-year-olds who are trying to keep up with the preteens.

In Greg Brady's world, young love was a part of the broader scope of life, as it should be. In iCarley's world, life isn't a whole lot more than dating. I think this contributes to giving young kids a skewed view of life early on. I'm not suggesting iCarley never has an episode that focuses on morals, etc, but these are the exception rather than the rule--just the opposite of Greg Brady's world.

True, times have changed, but do we really want our kids to grow up this fast? And with such dumbed-down entertainment? Personally, I have a TiVo and pick and choose my kid's programming, giving them a wide range of options, but filtering out the trash. Once they're old enough, it's fine to enjoy some of that candy, but I think all too often it becomes the foundation for children's entertainment pickings today instead of what's in the fray.

The bastard child of Carly Simon and an iPod.

No point in a poll. I figured nobody would know who Fredward Benson was, and I was right.

Thing is, I found Greg Brady's world to offer a wider array of "dangers," as there were times the kids on that show cried and felt downgraded.

In iCarly's world, and Freddie Benson in particular, he really shows no interest in any girls other than Carly (who couldn't be so bothered with a nice boy - how I've heard that growing up all the time), and whenever Sam or Freddie fight, it's really nothing that penetrates their skins. It bounces off, in an almost cartoony way. Dating, silly situations, and one-liners, to be sure. But the dating is innocent (I don't care too much for the kissing crap, even if it is a peck), the silly situations - well, both shows had both, as well as the one liners (thanks, Alice, the housekeeper, for that). But Greg Brady tried to be a "real boy," while Fred Benson is still a Pinocchncio.

I'm just surprised that you stopped fapping to iCarly long enough to notice the characters and plot points.

that makes two of us.

In the same way that some movies are for kids and some movies are for families, the Brady Bunch was for families.