Character mistake: Mark walks into the house and is surprised to see Cody there, and remarks that he heard he was back. However, just before this, when Mark entered the house, Cody's van - which Mark had to walk by to enter the house - was visible through the open door, so that should have confirmed it for Mark before he saw Cody in person.
Visible crew/equipment: When Cody is saying to Mark "You know it's really good to see you're dating," a crew member steps into the shot on the right side of the screen. (00:08:45)
Visible crew/equipment: When Cody is handing Carol the cashier's check, a camera and a crew member's arm are briefly visible on the right side of the screen.
Answer: According to the SBS website, Brendan's disappearance was never really explained. He just kind of faded out. He was hired as the cute "little" one and as he got older he wasn't as cute. When the Lamberts had the little girl, they got their cuteness factor back and didn't need as many kids around.