The Brady Bunch

Hold up there. Greg had sex with Florence Henderson?

No, they never did it. They went on a "date". And Jan refuses to acknowledge Marsha's claims. Marsha seems a little crazy so I'm with Jan on this one.

she sells seashells by the seashore.

Marcia was a coke addict.

Everyone liked me, and then I became a born-again.

I got run over by a truck on set.

Their school guidance councilor, Mrs Cummings, was a drag queen.

I slept over at Marcia's (pre-nosejob)

I hired Greg to "deliver the meat" for me.

Good times.

[quote]Jan refuses to acknowledge Marsha's claims. Marsha seems a little crazy so I'm with Jan on this one.

Not saying Maureen McCormick is telling the truth about that or not (who knows) but I do think Eve Plumb has been a complete bitch regarding THE BRADY BUNCH for years. I recall a long time ago when the entire cast (well, the kids at least) appeared on Phil Donahue's show (that alone should tell you how long ago this was) and she just sat on stage with a scowl on her face and pretty much said nothing for the whole show. Anything anybody would ask her she would basically just give a short, curt answer to and nothing more and it really caused a bit of tension for the entire hour. All you could think watching her was "Why the fuck did you even agree to come on here?" since it was crystal clear, both to the audience as well as her former castmates, that she wanted absolutely NOTHING whatsoever to do with the Bradys any longer.

Though her behavior since has not been quite that extreme (she appeared on the Wendy Williams show a few months ago and seemed a bit more, um, sociable shall we say), she still seems to have a major attitude with regard to her days as Jan Brady. Hopefully, the older she gets, the more at peace she will become with that part of her past.

Strange because Eve Plumb has probably been the most successful kid from the show. I remember she played the mom on a kid's show in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

Cindy was always fondling my naughty parts.

That's nothing compared to what Bobby did to me in the dog house. Let's just say Bear the baby raping dog is my hero.

Barry Williams and Chris Knight played a gay couple on an episode of That 70's Show. It was pretty funny. At one point there was a reference to them being brothers, too, in the dialogue. I think it was a misperception by Red Forman or something.

I've never seen that episode... wish I could find it and watch it.

I never, ever handled Sam's meat! I had naughty dreams about Mrs. Brady every night...

Cindy's lisp was an affectation.

It's no secret Eve Plumb was the Tina Louise of the show, only without being a bitch on set. She's the one who tried to distance herself from the show as much as possible while Barry Williams decided to make it work for him. She got more work than the others post-Brady but she had her share of Brady typecasting. She's only appeared on any Brady-related specials for the money because her career tanked once she became an adult.

I tried out for the cheerleading squad against Marsha Brady

Barry Knight is such a git. Had the nerve to come to a resort in town with his first wife and tell staff "please be sure to keep anyone away from us as I am not singing autographs

Like anyone would have even asked, you stupid prat!

Eve Plumb played a prostitute on a TV movie soon after the series ended. This caused a sensation and got tons of media coverage. ("Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway")

I think she mistook this for having a film career. Hence, the ginormous stick up her butt.

Did Tiger really get run over at work? Awww.

So... in all the subsequent shows (TV movies, the variety show, specials) ... which kids didn't come back for ALL of them?

And did they ever recast for one that didn't come back?

Who the hell is Barry Knight, R20?

Not only that R20--but how do you "sing an autograph"?

Idiot.

Jan's problem is that she always wanted to be an "only child".

Cousin Oliver was hoping they'd do a spin-off starring him.

Who is Carl Mohawkian?

Cousin Oliver (Robbie Rist) today...

.

Anyone? I have this vague memory of there being a different actress portraying one of the sisters in the Brady Bunch Comedy Hour, and of one of the sisters not being present in one of the made for TV movies...

The irony being that with Plumb's standoffish behavior and distancing herself from her TV family, she's turned into Jan Brady as an adult.

And she kissed McCormick on the cheek or something like that. McCormick made it seem to be more than it was. I'd be pissed too.

R22, if memory serves, I know Eve Plumb refused to do some of the singing variety specials at first. I think she caved in eventually, probably because she needed the money. The actress playing Cindy didn't do the Brady Bunch Christmas tv movie but I don't know the reason why. Maureen McCormick also sat out one of the tv movies but unlike Eve, she was probably unavailable. There was also a primetime drama called The Bradys made many years after the original show and I can't remember which of the original cast did it. It didn't last long.

I think R20 is referring to Chris Knight, not Barry Williams who has always been happy to milk the Brady success from all accounts. Out of the entire cast he's the least likely to distance himself from the show. He even made Robert Reed's funeral arrangements after Reed's death because Reed was estranged from his ex-wife and daughter.

So all the brothers were in every Brady Bunch project?

I think I remember Chris Knight not being in one very much... it was explained by him being off in the military or something.

R30:

Geri Reischel subbed for Plumb as Jan Brady in "The Brady Bunch Hour" in 1977

Eve Plumb was back for the "Brady Girls Get Married TV Movie and subsequent "Brady Brides" TV Series in 1981 and "A Very Brady Christmas" TV Movie in 1988.

Jennifer Runyon replaced Susan Olsen as Cindy in "A Very Brady Christmas."

Not sure about the brothers. I think they were in the tv movies and the primetime show but not sure about the variety specials. There wasn't much drama with the male cast except for Robert Reed and Sherwood Schwartz being at odds with each other about the Brady Bunch scripts.

I wouldn't agree that Eve Plumb has had the most sucessful post-Brady career, altho she did do a few high profile tv movies back in the day (including Little Women with Susan Dey, Meredith Baxter and Greer Garson!). Christopher Knight might not be involved with the classiest projects (The Surreal Life, My Fair Brady, Trivial Pursuit) but he is the one who seems to be working most. And he got a little street cred by appearing in a couple of Gregg Araki films (playing opposite Eve Plumb in Nowhere..)

I use Alice's cookbook in my classroom to depict an example of a "How To" book when teaching my students about author's purpose.

r37, do you use it as an example of purpose well-executed or poorly-executed?

R38 that's not the point for the students but I do get yours. Poorly executed, of course.

[quote]There was also a primetime drama called The Bradys made many years after the original show and I can't remember which of the original cast did it. It didn't last long.

Leah Ayres played Marcia in the hour long dramedy referred to as "Bradysomething". "Thirtysomething" was a hit at the time.

"Thirtysomething" was never a hit. Critically adored maybe, but never ranked higher than #25.

[quote]Christopher Knight might not be involved with the classiest projects (The Surreal Life, My Fair Brady, Trivial Pursuit) but he is the one who seems to be working most.

That's only been in the last five years or so. Eve Plumb was the "breakout star" right off the bat with that runaway movie.

Just to sum up:

All the Brady boys returned for every post-"Brady Bunch" project. Peter Brady's character was in the military for "The Brady Girls Get Married" but he did appear at the wedding. However, only Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis appeared on episodes of "The Brady Brides" spinoff.

Eve Plumb/Jan Brady was played by Geri Reischl for the short-lived "Brady Bunch Variety Hour" in the mid-70s. This was when Plumb was having her biggest success with "Dawn, Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway" and other TV projects.

Susan Olsen/Cindy Brady was played by Jennifer Runyon for the 1988 TV movie "A Very Brady Christmas." Depending on which story you believe, Olsen was either on her honeymoon and unavailable or refused to return because the money was too low. Probably a bit of both.

Maureen McCormick/Marcia Brady was played by Leah Ayres for the short-lived "The Bradys" series, which resulted from the huge success of the Brady Christmas movie. The show was a disaster and she was smart to not be involved but I think she was dealing with her addiction problems which is why she didn't return. (Not positive on that one.)

WEHT the girl's cat (insert Brady girls pussy joke here) who appeared in the pilot but was never seen again?

Robert Reed demanded they get rid of the cat. "I hate the pussy!" he shrieked to Sherwood Schwartz. Sherwood said Ann B. Davis was in tears when she heard this. "She loved it as much as Bob hated it."

Fluffy, my dear, Fluffy.

Maureen McCormick sat out THE BRADYS "dramedy" because she had either recently married or had a kid (or both) and she didn't want to get stuck in the grind of a weekly series.

Eve Plumb didn't do THE BRADY BUNCH VARIETY HOUR on the advice of her parents and agent. Everyone praises her in hindsight for avoiding that turkey. But according to the new book about the variety show she sat in her bedroom weeping as she watched the pilot episode with the entire cast reunited except her. Susan Oleson says the show was a lot of fun to work on even though they all knew it was a piece of crap.

That was Alice. I'm Kay.

I don't see what harm it would've done Eve Plumb to do the variety show. Her career wasn't exactly red hot then anyway and she probably could've used the money.

Cousin Oliver licked Tiger the dog's shitter in the dog house when they would "take 5!"

Holy shit, r47! I had no idea there was a book about the variety hour! Gotta get that now!

r49, Plumb was riding high from the "Dawn, Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" movie at the time of the variety show. I think there was even talk of her getting nominated for an Emmy. Time has shown it wouldn't have mattered if she did the variety show, but at the time she was smart to stay away.

I've posted here before about this, but a friend of mine knew Susan Olsen pretty well for a few years and said she was one of the butchiest straight women she ever met -- and that she was also down to earth and wisecrack-y about being Cindy. As an adult, she wore baggy T-shirts and what my friend called "dyke jeans."

(She also said Susan could party like nobody's business, which I remembered when I saw that clip of her on some radio show when Susan showed up hungover and her own son had to take her out to the bathroom during the radio show to yark it up.)

One day my friend was hanging out with Susan (my friend did graphic design, and that was what Susan's "adult" job was, at the time) and Susan mentioned that she was going back to doing Cindy again for some talk show or project soon. "Every few years they call me," she said, "and I go and make a LOT of money for a little bit of work."

I[quote] had no idea there was a book about the variety hour! Gotta get that now!

Yes, you do. It is incredibly well-researched and lavishly illustrated. No program that bad deserves a making-of book as good as this one. Susan Olsen provides amusing running commentary throughout.

"I don't see what harm it would've done Eve Plumb to do the variety show."

Eve Plumb was THE rising star of the BB. She played a teenage hooker in some telefilm.

Indeed. "Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" was Eve's "Sophie's Choice," and yet she never got the recognition or the parts that Meryl did. After watching the BB Variety Hour, one only wonders what Eve could've done with "Mamma Mia."

How often do you supposed the boys saw each other naked?

I think come Oscar time we'll be seeing a certain ex-Brady sitting alongside Mr. Steven Spielberg...

Yall should check out my most recent memoir of my Brady years:

The Brady Munch

I have to side with Eve on this. Maureen's gotten very famewhorish over the last few years. Stalking some family member on the Dr. Phil Show, appearing on Celebrity Fit Club. Is she seeking career advice from Barry?

Maureen has said repeatedly that the story of her making out on the set with Eve was a joke. Apparently, she apologized for making the joke to Eve in person but was rebuffed. Susan, Mike Lookinland, and Barry attended Chris's wedding to Adriana (sp?). Barry was the Best Man. Flo wasn't invited becuase she told Chris to his face on the reality show that she didn't approve of Adriana. Chris was stunned when she said that since Flo had always been so cool and classy. He thinks that she hammed it up for the cameras at the expense of their longterm friendship. There was a rumor that Susan was in a porno but it turns out that she did graphic design or some other behind the scenes work on the XXX flick as a favor to a friend. Robert Reed was very concerned when he saw the camera fastened to the rollercoaster at King's Island. He insisted that the director do a test run. Yep, the camera broke off mid-run. If they hadn't tested it, the flying camera easily could've killed somebody during the shoot.

More, more! The only dirt I've read about Reed was that he was constantly hitting on crew members during the filming of, 'Pray for the Wildcats' - a tv movie featuring William Shatner and Andy Griffith.

Bring it R60. What's the name of the book about the VARIETY HOUR? Any plans for it to be on DVD (besides the two episodes already available?)

Mike Lookinland did the voice of Ooblio in cartoon The Point. If you aren't sure you have ever heard of it, think, "me and my Arrow." If a tune by Harry Nillson comes to mind, you saw it.

The irony being that with Plumb's standoffish behavior and distancing herself from her TV family, she's turned into Jan Brady as an adult

Damned Irony...

Seriously though...hahahahaha. (It's funny because it's true)

Eve had a long running role on the "Fudge" series in the mid -90's.

Judy Blume has said that Plumb acted like a primadonna on the set.

There was a blind item long ago that was about a former sitcom boy that rented gay porn and was thought to be Chris Knight. One of the clues was something like: Maybe the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, which referred to his TV dad being gay.

If only Eve Plumb had been offered a show like "LA Law".

The tension between the Schwartzes and Reed spilled onto the set. Flo was supportive of Reed but only to a limit. She liked him a lot but thought that his crusade to shoot only quality scripts for a silly sitcom was more misguided more often than not. Yes, she and many other adults onset knew that he was gay.

"Bobby" is a natural blonde.

All of the kid actors adored Reed. He went out of his way to make the work days fun. They would socialize as a group off-set.

Maureen McCormick is a huge faghag. She loves the gays and they love her right back.

Eons ago, I read Barry William's "I was a teenage Brady." It was funny.

Robert Reed doted on those Brady kids as if they were his own. They are all protective of his memory and are supportive in the press about him.

Was Christine Baranski really on the show?

R70, yes. Go to the 4:54 mark. Its a pre-nose job Christine Baranski, but its her alright.

Robert Reed flew all the kids to NYC to see Pippin.

For R60

Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

Alice used to be a man

I find the whole phenomenon very weird. The show aired for like five years, forty years ago and was a pretty awful show. There have been three or four different attempts to revive the show and interest in the family and each failed.

The cast has been reunited so many times to talk about the show, it's probably one of the most documented television shows in history. What is there left to say?

I don't blame Eve Plumb or any of them for being over it. I have been over it for years.

It was the age of the happy family sitcom, R75. Back then this was the model for "good" television that was wholesome enough for the family to sit down and watch together. This being the age of one tv at home and no timeshifting, or many other electronic gadgets and other types of entertainment to compete with. Most shows were the ensemble saccharine half-hour sitcom format till more groundbreaking shows like Roseanne and The Simpsons and Golden Girls broke the mold.

"Mike" was cuter pre-perm.

Amen to that, R77.

And you just know that Carol and Mike were going to swingers parties. (PS: Check out Robert Reed pretending to be a swinger on Season 1 of Love American Style)

"I find the whole phenomenon very weird. The show aired for like five years, forty years ago and was a pretty awful show. There have been three or four different attempts to revive the show and interest in the family and each failed."

Not to mention two full length movies and an Off-Broadway show recreating some of the episodes.

The Brady Bunch was a product of pre-cable television...As a child, my siblings watched the show because there was NOTHING else on that remotely appealed to our age group. It didn't matter that it was poorly written! Beyond this, the subsequent 'Brady' shows were born out of the "milk it for all its worth' and 'maketed nostalgia' philosophies of television production. The show was a product of its times.

It always seemed to me that the only two down to earth and coolest people where Reed and Susan.

Wasn't Susan at some gay bingo event?

Did Reed come out before he died?

[quote]Did Reed come out before he died?

No.

[quote]There have been three or four different attempts to revive the show and interest in the family and each failed.

The attempts to revive the show in various formats were based on very well received and highly rated TV appearances (Donny and Marie and two TV movies). All were misfires thought. The first Brady Bunch movie was a hit.

I watched the show growing up in the 90s. I loved it. Shows you grow up with stay with you. It's not that surprising r75

It was one of the first shows I remember- I was born in 1971. It was rerun all the time in the 70s. You could always find BB and "I Love Lucy" somewhere on the dial.

R23 and R24--Barry Williams. And OOPS, transposed the "g" and "n". It's certainly the end of the world, isn't it, especially with the spelling that most people get away with these days.

And yes, he was a jerk and pretended as if he was going to be inundated with fans. No one cared.

Gits.

I have the theory that both Carol and Mike killed their respective spouses, both decided they couldn't stop killing and met when they individually chose the same person as their next victim.

[quote] Robert Reed flew all the kids to NYC to see Pippin.

He also took them all to London one year during their hiatus.

Brathil.

I think a large part of the appeal and popularity of the show is the casting of the 6 kids. They were all extremely likable.

Jan was likeable?

I think the Six Kids premise contributed mightily to the show's enduring popularity. It allowed any kid in the audience to identify with at least one of the kids on the show. No matter who you are you are either a boy or a girl and either an oldest, middle or youngest child. An only-child can identify with the oldest and also enjoy the vicarious pleasure of growing up with lots of siblings.

Youtube has the trailer for 'Not the Brady Bunch Meets The Partridge Family-A Porn Spoof'.

My favorite Eve Plumb film - "Force of Evil".

Robert Reed never came out in the official capacity but it was an open secret that he was gay, right? After Florence Henderson first auditioned for the part of Carol, she told the producers that she could tell he was gay.

The kid appeal is definitely a part of it. The similar "Partridge Family" is nowhere near as beloved because that one focused on the older teens and adults. Danny was the comic foil for the adults so even though he was funny, kids didn't necessarily relate to him. Was there ever an episode that focused on the two youngest kids? (I can't even remember the character names. Tracy?)

Chris and Tracy, the youngest kids on THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY were bland and forgettable. The part of Chris was played by two different boys who looked nothing like each other and it made not a whit of difference.

[quote]Most shows were the ensemble saccharine half-hour sitcom format till more groundbreaking shows like Roseanne and The Simpsons and Golden Girls broke the mold.

Ahem.

Which is why I said "most" not "all" R99.

LOVE r88. I'm running that theory past my girlfriend, first thing.

"After Florence Henderson first auditioned for the part of Carol, she told the producers that she could tell he was gay."

I call bullshit to that Florence. Just because he didn't want to kiss your fugly cakehole doesn't automatically make him gay.

Unless you had seen him the night before in a gay bathhouse with his pants around his ankles and a bottle of poppers hanging out of his nose, there's no outward proof that he was gay.

When it became public knowledge that he was gay, many people were just as surprised as when they found out Rock Hudson was gay.

"Unless you had seen him the night before in a gay bathhouse with his pants around his ankles and a bottle of poppers hanging out of his nose"

And how do you know she didn't? She had pretty much performed everywhere by then.

The Bradys hosted a carnival in their backyard, complete with a dunk tank! That was the COOLEST THING EVER to my 7 year old self.

Though as an adult, I prefer the Davy Jones ep.

Both Florence Henderson and Robert Reed were theater actors before they began The Brady Bunch and probably running in the same circles. Florence Henderson might have known about him even before the show started.

I remember Robert Reed having a pretty good body when the show sent them to Hawaii and he was shown in swimtrunks.

R104, the backyard carnival one is my second-favorite episode: the all-time classic is the "let's scare the girls with a fake UFO" episode. My 7-year old self was blown away by the cutting-edge special effects. Hee.

"And how do you know she didn't? She had pretty much performed everywhere by then."

That bitch did not steal my audience.

Hey, I was around when the show was a first run. (Okay, a mere child LOL) It was bland, saccharine crap back THEN and everybody knew it. It was already in kitsch territory when it was actually on the air! But it was a different time and, like watching Ozzie and Harriet or The Donna Reed Show, America still clung to the odd notion that families like that, where everything was sweet and light and all problems could be solved in half an hour were a way to aspire to be. The show was rather a fantasy about how family life SHOULD be, according to the mores of the time. Later, when shows like That 70's Show came along, it parodied The Brady Bunch (they did an hilarious "Forman Variety Hour" spoof), and it was all too clear how treacly and silly that show really was.

My ex, who was almost a decade older than I, echoed R109 when he said that BB was considered a geeky, silly show but "The Partridge Family" was considered a much cooler show.

I think the appeal of BB lies in the fact that for so many, it was syndicated endlessly and has been embedded into our brains. Plus, yes, it's geeky but there's just something about it. The earth tones of the house with no shadows compared with the pastels and paisleys make it a trip to watch.

While watching repeats, did anyone else have the weird ability to tell which episode was about to start just from the very beginning ? They'd shart the intro music with a shot of the house (same thing each episode) and I swear I could go 'Oh, this is the one where Marcia breaks her nose' or 'Jan's not wearing her glasses....'. It was an odd phenomenon.

The Partridge's were much, much cooler.

I could do that, too, R111. I thought I was the only one with that strange ability.

Mom always said "Don't play with your balls in the house."

Greg wanted the attic for himself for non-stop masturbation.

[quote]Unless you had seen him the night before in a gay bathhouse with his pants around his ankles and a bottle of poppers hanging out of his nose, there's no outward proof that he was gay.

Actually it WAS outward proof that caused Flo to realize that her TV husband was gay. According to Barry Williams in his book it was Reed's complete awkwardness during their first few romantic scenes that tipped her off. A straight leading man doesn't have trouble taking a woman in his arms and planting a convincing kiss on her lips.

Apparently Henderson took her suspicions to the producers and suggested that with their permission she would take the initiative during the lovey-dovey moments. A good actress can pounce on a guy and make it look like she's the one who's submitting.

"According to Barry Williams in his book it was Reed's complete awkwardness during their first few romantic scenes that tipped her off."

Yes, I'm sure Robert Reed ran straight to 15 year old Barry Williams and said "Girlfriend, I'm having trouble kissing Flo and I don't know what to do. My years studying drama at Northwestern and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and my years acting on The Defenders never prepared me to convincly kiss a woman. What AM I going to do????"

In addition, by the time Reed did The Brady Bunch he had already been married to a woman and divorced. Additionally, he had replaced Robert Redford in Barefoot in the Park on Broadway. He may have had problems kissing Florence Henderson, but it wasn't because he was gay or was uncomfortable as an actor.

He was unnerved by her Wessonality.

You'd be grossed out too if Flo Henderson was trying to stick her tongue down your throat.

R116 ---

A good actress can pounce on a guy and make it look like she's the one who's submitting.

---- and how does THAT statement have anything to do with Florence Henderson ???

"They'd shart the intro music"

Yeah, that's pretty much what it sounded like, all right.

The original shart music.

[quote]My years studying drama at Northwestern and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and my years acting on The Defenders never prepared me to convincly kiss a woman. What AM I going to do????"

They don't usually teach boys how to make out with girls in drama school. Shakespeare doesn't have any sex scenes to speak of and Reed didn't have bedroom scenes on The Defenders. It was Florence Henderson who said that Reed's fumbling moves made it clear to her that he was unaccustomed to physical intimacy with women.

"Shakespeare doesn't have any sex scenes"

Obviously you've never seen, heard of or read Romeo & Juliet.

okay, there were a few different versions of the opening credits of The Bradys, from 1990, this is the audio, and it's HORRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O M F G

There are a couple of kisses in Romeo and Juliet. Hotcha!

Oh, God. Is that Florence singing, r126? What a ham.

Remember when the black chick Doreen tried to call out Marcia for lying about knowing Davy Jones, and Marcia called her a black bitch.

Oh of course they muted that part out, but you could see Marcia mouthing it.

Then Doreen tries to get her own back by telling Carol from the Bob Newhart Show that Marcia had got Davy Jones for the prom, even though she knew she didn't.

And Marcia was about to slap Doreen down, when Doreen called out the sisters and threatened a race riot.

And in the end Mr Brady managed to get Davy Jones, cause he was gay and cruising for small boys, when he accidentally picked up Jones in error.

I like the Brady Kids Cartoon

Now Meet the sisters

Now meet the brothers

Greg's the leader and sells drugs for a job

There's tranny by the name of Petra

The youngest one's a slob

Meet the sisters, only one's pretty

Which is Marcia the sweetest boobie bitch

Then there's Jan the middle girl who really psycho

And Cindy is a snitch

The clip from [italic]That 70s Show[/italic] with Barry Williams and Chris Knight as the gay neighbors:

Did you ever notice that the kids hardly ever worn jeans? Mostly ugly polyester colored pants-I was raised in that era and lived in jeans.

My favorite episode by far is "And Juliet is the Sun," just for the moment when Marcia says, "But mother, I *am* Juliet!" and then runs affectedly from the room with her hands outstretched.

Episode of the short lived TV show Day by Day, where Ross has a very Brady experience.

I remember Chris Knight playing sexy Leigh Hobson on the daytime soap opera Another World. It was the early 80s and he did a scene in his little whitey tighty fruit-of-the-looms. My sister giggled. I blushed.

I grew up during that era and I thought The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family were AWFUL. I never understood the appeal of either show, especially The Brady Bunch. It was badly written and horribly unfunny. Just my opinion (and I seem to be in the minority).

Chris and Tracey had ONE episode about them, when they ran away, and wound up at Ruben's house.

Kincaid was just about to put his hands in Bonny Kleinschmidt's pants when Chris and Tracey came in.

And Bonny was all like, "I'm leaving you forever" and Ruben was like, "So you want to spend the rest of your life with a name like Kleinschmidt?" And the 'ho' sat her humiliated self down again.

Share the house by moving in together

That's the way they became the Brady Brides

No carpet rides, for these Brides

That's the way they became the Ann B Alice Brides.

And Staring Ann B Alice as Davis

I liked it when Syndi said "Alice is hugging the post man." "Yes, Sam they have their clothes off."

[quote]Did you ever notice that the kids hardly ever worn jeans? Mostly ugly polyester colored pants-I was raised in that era and lived in jeans.

Yes but back then jeans were not considered a fashion statement, but more like everyday clothes. The brady kids had to wear the latest and grooviest - the same way its been in every TV show with teens, and even the Big Bang Theory with its nerd chic appeal.

I am 19. I had heard about this great, epic show "The Brady Bunch" all my life. I finally saw a few episodes last year. I almost barfed. There was nothing funny about it. It was a very poorly done show. I like a lot of old sitcoms (I Love Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, etc.), but that Brady Bunch is awful beyond belief.

r141, what specifically are you saying was different about it from MTM & Newhart? All of them are unrealistic and have people saying things real people would never say. So what's the difference? I'm guessing it's an ideological thing. Some people seem to have a major resentment against anything that's not full of cynicism.

r141, nobody (except maybe r142) would put The Brady Bunch in the same league as classics like the ones you mentioned. Skip The Brady Bunch and stick with Lucy, Mary, and Bob. Check out The Dick Van Dyke Show also.

R142 No, it's not that. I found The Brady Bunch to be totally unfunny and very badly written. The episodes were a snooze-fest. It was supposed to be a comedy, but it wasn't funny to me at all. I thought MTM and Bob Newhart (both his '70s and '80s shows) aged well and were hilarious. That Brady thing just did nothing for me. Maybe it's the best show ever made and I just don't get it. But I don't see the appeal. Like I said, maybe I had to be there to enjoy it.

On a positive note, I found the actors to all be more than competent, it was just, in my opinion, sub-par material.

r141/144, I don't think any adult actually thinks "The Brady Bunch" is a good show. I think you have to have seen it as a child, before your critical faculties are fully developed - then, when you become an adult, even though it's now clear to you how stupid and unfunny the scripts are, you still have a fondness for it because it was something that you once responded to, so its badness and kitschiness become something to revel in. But yes, I think 19 is too late to first see it and expect to get anything out of it.

I agree with r145. I don't even think children at the time (and I was one--I was 4-9 when it came out) thought "The Brady Bunch" was necessarily a good show. But it was always on in syndicated reruns during my childhood, and you could always watch it. And it seemed so [italic]normal.[/italic] The Bradys are exactly the middle class and are white, and they have the most ordinary middle class and white problems in the universe.

The first season of the show was actually more interesting than the later seasons--Mike's first wife had died, Carol's husband had either died or divorced her (and left the girls), and the two sets of children did not get along terribly well and squabbled constantly over "the battles of the sexes." But after that season (which no one remembers fondly) they stopped pretending the family was split and it became all about what it was like to live in the most ordinary and stable family in the universe. It bought into the common children's fantasy of coming from a large family (so you always have someone to play with, and are never lonely), plus the problems were never much bigger than how to be noticed in a group, what do you do if your elder sister is more remarkable than you are, what if someone is teasing your little sister, etc. (btw, why did it take Peter to stand up to Buddy? Why couldn't Greg have knocked the shit out of Buddy for teasing Cindy?)

They went from being serious to being campy. Melrose Place and other shows followed similar paths.

I don't think anybody in their right mind has ever said the Brady Bunch was a quality show. Neither the scripts nor the acting were worthy of good reviews(look at the clip at r131 - they STILL can't act, but that Chris Knight sure still has that delectable ass!).

They never won or were nominated for a single major award, and they always simmered in the middle of the ratings (Florence Henderson's words in one of those post-Brady specials).

Yet they reflected the pre-teen American culture of the groovy early seventies, and anyone who grew up going to 7th grade dances at somebody's backyard or playing 45 rpm records on a flip-top record player was on board. And the kids were cute, one crush for every age, since they spanned ages 6 to 18 during their 5-year run.

The acting was sickeningly wholesome, the pace was robotic, the set and blocking was kitsche, and Alice was butch - what was there to not love?

There's one episode that made me laugh my ass off. When Cindy thought she was going to be the next Shirley Temple.

I always found the first season to be the funniest and the most real. The kids weren't too fond of each other, and everything wasn't as cutesy.

"There's one episode that made me laugh my ass off. When Cindy thought she was going to be the next Shirley Temple."

In Barry Williams's book, Susan Olsen talks about how embarrassing she found that episode. She was 12 by then and sick of the little-girl plots for Cindy, and she says she felt totally ridiculous in the Shirley Temple getup.

Cindy freezing on the game show.

R146, It was Peter because he & Cindy went to the same school, and he knew Buddy. Greg was in high school by then.

In 1976, Robert Reed was in a hilariously bad movie called Nightmare in Badham County about a corrupt little southern town that traps unsuspecting females passing thru and ships them off to a debased prison farm. Robert Reed plays the warden.

Alice and her friend Kay were the original Scissor Sisters

That's the way they became the Brady Bunch

R10 : I was glad when 'Jan' died in that shitty remake of Little Women. She embodies beige in human form.

Davy Jones fisted Marcia.

R146/R150 I agree. If the show had continued with some of the themes from and quality of the first season, it could have been really great. Instead they veered into ridiculously wholesome camp.

Eve Plumb had a blink-and-you-missed-it guest role on an early episode of THAT '70s SHOW, as Jackie's mother.

A Very Brady Passover was probably the Brady TV movie ever.

Sam the butcher had abandonment issues. And was an insatiable bottom. And died on 9/11. The sky was so blue that day.

Jan was quite the minx, carrying on with that suave George Glass.

They had the best grass in their backyard.

I love the movies that skewer the show.

Once she lost the glasses and braces, Jan ended up being ten times hotter than Marcia ever was.

Anyone remember this episode where Sam the Butcher took up amateur photography?

I was the clitoris licker of Clinton Avenue.

R165 I agree. Maureen McCormick was never really attractive.

I was NOT run over by a car. I RAN AWAY. Those boys were p-i-g PIGS!

[quote]Did you ever notice that the kids hardly ever worn jeans? Mostly ugly polyester colored pants-I was raised in that era and lived in jeans.

I, too, was raised in that era. We had to wear “pants” for school and, when we got home from school, could change into our “play pants” aka jeans.

Thanks for the 70s Show link, R131, pretty hilarious.

Does anyone remember the 'Medical Center' two part story arc where Robert Reed plays a doctor who gets a sex change?

PS, even as a preteen I thought both Robert Reed and Chad Everett very dreamy. What a little whore I was.

[quote]Does anyone remember the 'Medical Center' two part story arc where Robert Reed plays a doctor who gets a sex change?

I vaguely remember it happened, R171, but all I remember is saying, “Hey, that’s Mr. Brady!” Nothing more about the episode, plot or happenings.

Bobby went to the same school as Christina Crawford.

I shared a cab in Melbourne (Australia) with Robert Reed in the '70's. I was an O.K. looking, 19 y.o. gay man. He wouldn't look at me, respond to my civil greeting or anything. Shame. He was very good looking.