Shark Bytes

Fantastic, groundbreaking documentary that will probably never see the light of day on DVD because the kids played their music constantly in the background during many scenes. To acquire music rights to all those songs would be virtually impossible, and the alternative (cut those scenes, which comprise a huge fraction of the total doc) is unthinkable.

Anyway, I'd like to clear up a longstanding misconception. Lance did not "come out" on the air. Never did he state "I'm gay"; he was simply unashamedly himself throughout the show. And since being himself involved fabulous hats, fingernail polish, and introducing his mom to his pal Jackie Curtis, there was no need for any iteration of what was very obvious to everyone watching.

To many, Pat Loud came across as cold and uncaring, but I think people should take into account that her husband Bill had been blatantly cheating on her for their entire marriage...more than two decades, and it had a chilling effect on her which was why she finally went through with a divorce! Watch Lance Loud's Last Stand (when he's dying from hepatitis) to see Pat as she really was - a truly warm, sympathetic and caring person whose deep love of her son shines through.

the guy above me dont know jack...
think he has too mant episodes of THE BRADY BUNCH. i was 8 or 9 when this documentary originally ran, and it was a fasinating show.
if you grew up in the 70s it may make more sense to you. this film (not lame *****) really took me back to those days in the 70s..a time capsule. i really look at this film (recently found the complete series on DVD) as a period piece. a reflection of life in the 70s and it really did that for me.
i dont watch reality tv of today..who cares. but to see a reality show fromt he 70s helped relive a time when things were much more simple and free.
this is no doubt one of the greatest documentaries ever made.
now only if PBS can get off their ass and release this in a DVD BOXED set.it will show that reality tv aint nothing compared to this time capsule.

They re-ran this crap a few years ago and I couldn't believe how dull and pointless it was. There was nothing going on to hold your interest unless you get turned on by watching kids bicker with their parents and parents bicker with each other. And what was with that mother? She looked like a tranquilized Stepford wife; I mean, talk about repressed: absolutely no emotion at all and always wearing that same weird hairstyle...creepy. I read a history of the show and apparently she (mom) developed a crush on the director. How sick is that? Cameras are rolling recording the disintegration of a dysfunctional family and meanwhile the whole stupid production itself is a contributor to the mess. This is great television?

Never jumped. First and best reality show ever because it was shot very candidly and honestly, compared with the shows on today. A memorable show with real drama being played out day to day. This show will never be able to be repeated because reality TV has become tainted.

Never jumped. However, the filmmakers did tend to concentrate on the parents, Bill and Pat and their divorce, and Lance coming out as gay. The rest of the family received much less air time.

Sad Fact: The son Lance, who went on to become a journalist, recently died in Los Angeles due to AIDS complications. (2002)

The parents divorce had nothing to do with their son's homosexuality--They had been having problems for some time plus the husband constantly cheated on her--their son Lance's homosexuality had nothing to do with it.

The true original reality show. It never jumped because they never attempted to continue it beyond the original run. A fatal mistake in many other shows. One correction regarding the previous post, I don't think the parents divorced because of the gay son. That marriage was screwed up for reasons totally (well almost totally) apart from that.