The Brady Bunch - General Discussion

[GHScorpiosRule]

So I was watching Bewitched marathon on MeTV Saturday...or was it yesterday? And the episode where both Larry and Darren think Samantha is pregnant (when it's actually Louise) was one, and guess who played one of Darren and Samantha's children? Marcia! I mean, Maureen played the oldest of six children who were witches, and she had Samantha's nose twitching down perfect! She had to be around six or seven, as this aired in 1964, five years before the pilot of Brady Bunch.

 

I also remember Eve Plumb and Donny Osmond starring on Here's Lucy.

 

I know I remember seeing Susan Olsen in some sitcom where she was playing a rude brat, who was...racist? I think it was that show with Dianne Carroll playing a single mother who was a nurse?

 

And of course Mike Brady played dastardly villains on soaps, (Another World), cop dramas (Hunter) and murderer (Charlie's Angels).

 

And naturally, Florence was a regular on The Love Boat, hee!

 

[Maverick]

I think it was that show with Dianne Carroll playing a single mother who was a nurse?

Julia

 

Barry played a young prince on Mission: Impossible     Conversely, the Brady living room had a guest spot on Mission: Impossible

 

Eve was in an episode of Wonder Woman about a Pied Piper-style villain

 

Robert Reed played a creepy teacher trying to get busy with Sissy on Family Affair

 

Sam the Butcher popped up on The Andy Griffith Show in various roles (usually as a heel or criminal) and was on Gomer Pyle USMC as well.

[Ceindreadh]

Mike Lookinland played one of the kids rescued by Paul Newman's character in The Towering Inferno.

[henrysmom]

So I was watching Bewitched marathon on MeTV Saturday...or was it yesterday? And the episode where both Larry and Darren think Samantha is pregnant (when it's actually Louise) was one, and guess who played one of Darren and Samantha's children? Marcia! I mean, Maureen played the oldest of six children who were witches, and she had Samantha's nose twitching down perfect! She had to be around six or seven, as this aired in 1964, five years before the pilot of Brady Bunch.

 

 She also popped up in a later episode of Bewitched as a young Endora dressed up as a (I think) gypsy for Halloween.  I'm fairly sure she turned Darren into a werewolf or something similar and then "couldn't remember" how to turn him back.

[Maverick]

 Just saw an episode of CHiPs and Peter Brady is Jon's wayward nephew!

[legaleagle53]

 She also popped up in a later episode of Bewitched as a young Endora dressed up as a (I think) gypsy for Halloween.  I'm fairly sure she turned Darren into a werewolf or something similar and then "couldn't remember" how to turn him back.

 

You remember correctly.  Endora had turned herself into an 8-year-old gypsy girl for Halloween and put a curse on Darrin to teach him a lesson about the dangers of promulgating bigoted stereotypes about witches on Halloween.  Of course, she only pretended that she had forgotten how to change him back, just to drive him crazy -- until Samantha finally pointed out that in refusing to lift the curse, she was living up to the very "evil witch" stereotype that she claimed to hate.

 

Oh, and don't forget about one of Robert Reed's most unforgettable roles:  That of a pre-and post-op transsexual on a two-part Medical Center.  As daring as that role was for its time (and, of course, being long before Robert's sexual orientation was public knowledge), the sight of him at the end, in full drag as his character after the surgery, blew my mind.  He completely nailed it!

[ByaNose]

And, Christopher Knight was on the soap Another World in the 80's. Although, I don't think he last long. A year at best. I guess it would be hard to take him seriously as a romantic lead after Peter Brady.

[smittykins]

Don't forget Eve Plumb as Buffy's terminally ill friend in "Christmas Came A Little Early" on Family Affair.  I saw the episode on YouTube and that last scene still makes me a blubbery mess.

 

(And several years ago, I saw an ad in an old Life magazine for the intercom device she used to participate in her class from home, which worked through the phone line.  Interesting.)

[kickedinthehead]

Christopher Knight and Eve Plumb played the parents of Jeremy Jordan ("Alright!") in the bizarre Gregg Araki film Nowhere. 

 

Speaking of Eve, don't forget her dramatic turns in Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway and its sequel Alexander: the Other Side of Dawn.

[UYI]

This forum is for all the Brady reunions, movies, intetviews...anything Brady related outside of the actual show.

 

The main reason I started this is because I found their Weakest Link episode yesterday:

 

 

There is also the Still Brady After All These Years special on TV Land in 2004, which celebrated the show's 35th anniversary:

 

 

And, the Q&A session at the Brady Bunch convention back in August:

 

 

There's more I want to post, but I don't want to get too clip happy right now. I'll post more later. :)

[Potter]

Would A Very Brady Christmas go here? If not, sorry! Or as Marcia would say, don't be sorry, just be Wally.

[CousinOliver]

On Time Warner, I have A Very Brady Christmas available On Demand.

[UYI]

Yes it would! I love A Very Brady Christmas, it's my favorite of the reunion specials. I hate that Susan couldn't be there, but everyone else was :) .

 

Also, I kind of haphazardly came up with a title, so if anyone can think of how to shorten it/change it, feel free to do so :) .

Edited December 21, 2014 by UYI

[kassa]

OMG - I would love to see "Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" and other After School Special-like specials.  I wonder how many still exist, and why some retro channel isn't running them 24/7?  

[kassa]

Is it the Christmas movie where Wally has lost his job?  He always seemed like such an unlikely match for Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

 

 

That’s true, except in between the Desi Arnaz, Jrs and Davy Jones of the world, she also liked the bug boy and dreamed of being Mrs. Marsha Dentist.

[legaleagle53]

Well, the dentist was hot!

Edited January 2, 2015 by legaleagle53

[Kev]

You'd be surprised how much you can find on YouTube. 

[ByaNose]

Mrs. Marcia Dentist. Alas, it was just not meant to be. LOL!!!

[technorebel]

Does anyone remember an insanely bad reality show starring Maureen McCormick and Bobby Brown?  It was something about them running an inn.  Please tell me I didn't hallucinate that.

[BookThief]

How about others in Brady roles?  Like Danny Trejo as Marcia and Steve Buscemi as Jan?

[BizBuzz]

Does anyone remember an insanely bad reality show starring Maureen McCormick and Bobby Brown?  It was something about them running an inn.  Please tell me I didn't hallucinate that.

 

Outsider's Inn

[UYI]

Regarding Carol's first husband:

 

Sherwood Schwartz intended on having Carol be divorced, but ABC refused to have it acknowledged on the air. Instead of changing Carol into a widow, he left it intentionally unsaid as to what had happened to her first husband. In his mind, Carol was divorced (or as it said in the many Brady books I've owned over the years--don't lie, you want them, too!--he viewed Carol as TV's first divorcee. However, wasn't Vivian Vance's character on The Lucy Show--NOT I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show--divorced too? If so, then she was first.).

 

I think her divorce is implied in the pilot episode, when she tells the girls how she had had such a rough time but was finally happy--which can make one believe the divorce, if it happened, was a particularly bad one--but I guess it could also imply losing a husband to death, too. 

Edited February 21, 2015 by UYI

[UYI]

Does anyone remember an insanely bad reality show starring Maureen McCormick and Bobby Brown?  It was something about them running an inn.  Please tell me I didn't hallucinate that.

 

Gone Country, I think? I've never seen it, but Maureen talked about it in her autobiography (which, yes, I own and treasure. As any self-respecting Bradyphile would, thank you. :P)

[ByaNose]

Jan just got glasses and she looks positively goofy. LOL!! Nothing better then watching the Brady Bunch after a snowstorm in Philly. I especially love the part where Jan runs into the photo. The crash sound was so loud you would have thought she ran into a semi. LOL!!! That said, Jan had the prettiest dress on. It was light blue with a satin sash & blue rose. Very pretty. If I could find it on the web I would post it. Marcia & Cindy are wearing unflattering green colors. Jan actually won the contest today. See! It's not always Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!.

[CherryAmes]

Sherwood Schwartz intended on having Carol be divorced, but ABC refused to have it acknowledged on the air. Instead of changing Carol into a widow, he left it intentionally unsaid as to what had happened to her first husband. In his mind, Carol was divorced (or as it said in the many Brady books I've owned over the years--don't lie, you want them, too!--he viewed Carol as TV's first divorcee.

 

I think the only place Carol was divorced was in his mind (and the second Brady Bunch movie of course).  I think it's very clear that Carol was meant to be a widow and the most compelling reason for that in my view is that the girls all took the Brady name.  I know The Brady Bunch pretty much stopped even pretending they were trying to show what it was like when two families join up by about mid season of the first year but even with that if there were a living parent in the background they could not have had the girls be adopted by Mike without saying something about the birth father giving up his parental rights. 

[UYI]

IMO, Eve really did become the most attractive in the final season. The glasses were gone (save for one scene of one episode), the hair was straightened, her clothes were..less dorky-looking (but still classic 70's, of course!), she looked great.

 

 

 

And of course, just a few years after the show ended, she looked like this:

 

So yeah, it bothers me, as a Jan fan, to see Maureen McCormick/Marcia almost always get all the attention for her looks (although I will say that Eve has had a few looks/outfits in photos over the years that didn't flatter her, which probably didn't help). I wonder if that ever really got to Eve in real life?

[ByaNose]

Too bad Susan never got to look as good as Maureen & Eve did when they were younger. Even, in the final year when Susan wore long hair she never was as pretty as those two were. Which is odd since everyone in the 70's was wearing straight long blonde hair such as Maureen, Eve & Peggy Lipton. Granted, they were much older but the long straight hair was really in.

[VCRTracking]

I definitely preferred Jan over Marcia in the final season. I think the only time it was addressed how good she looked was when Peter switches place with his "double" Arthur and in awe with her and smitten.

[redlaces]

Holy bikini area Batman!! 

[ByaNose]

By Season 5, Maureen & Eve were pretty much tied in the looks department. Maureen was just lucky that she didn't have the awkward period that Eve had. Although, Eve did have that look wavy (how'd she get it that way?) blonde hair. Maureen's hair pretty much looked the same from Season 2 through 5 with a lot of sun-in (did they have that then?) to help. LOL!!!

[VCRTracking]

Watching the Hawaiian episodes on METV. I like how Mike and Carol refer to Mr. Hanalei as an 'old gentleman' as opposed to 'old man'. Very respectful.

Edited March 15, 2015 by VCRTracking

[mmecorday]

Yay! I watched the Hawaii episodes too over the weekend. MeTV shows the episodes nearly uncut and I am seeing scenes I haven't seen since the early days of the show's syndication. Like when David is taking the family sight seeing and he tells them that the islanders advised against construction of Peal Harbor as the area is was situated on was cursed.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Yay! I watched the Hawaii episodes too over the weekend. MeTV shows the episodes nearly uncut and I am seeing scenes I haven't seen since the early days of the show's syndication. Like when David is taking the family sight seeing and he tells them that the islanders advised against construction of Peal Harbor as the area is was situated on was cursed.

 

This is what I love about MeTV! For all the shows I watch, all the episodes are nearly uncut, or if they are, I can't tell which. Unlike Hallmark, Cozi, etc., which hack/edit like nobody's bidnez!

[ByaNose]

The kids put in a haunted house today. Great episode. I can remember as a kid (50 now) being a little affraid of the ghost coming out of the trunk and the ghost coming down the stairs. This episode really shows the great chemistry the kids had together. They way they laugh of scaring Alice is so funny. Also, the Cindy scream is still terrifying after all of these years. LOL!!!!

[buffynut]

Maureen talked about it in her autobiography (which, yes, I own and treasure. As any self-respecting Bradyphile would, thank you. :P)

 

I don't own it, but I just finished reading the e-book version from the library.  It was quite a read.  Amazing Maureen is still alive!  I think we need a followup, as I am curious to know what happened with her father, and Google isn't helping.

 

Google did advise me that she recently did "I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!"

[Blergh]

ByaNose, the whole irony of it is that, were it not for that lame ghost sheet deal at the end[which I think even Cindy could have seen through had she not been a 'ghost'] the entire 'haunting' was on the verge of being believed by their parents as being legit!  Is it just me or did the kids always sabotage themselves when they were on the verge of getting away with stuff?

[legaleagle53]

ByaNose, the whole irony of it is that, were it not for that lame ghost sheet deal at the end[which I think even Cindy could have seen through had she not been a 'ghost'] the entire 'haunting' was on the verge of being believed by their parents as being legit! 

 

Not really.  Mike and Carol already knew full well that the kids had been engaged in a a practical joke war/battle of the sexes, so they also knew full well who was behind the "haunting" even before they saw the fake ghost.  They had already issued an ultimatum ending the "war," but the kids couldn't resist teaming up for one last prank on Alice because, after all, they had only promised that they wouldn't play jokes on each other anymore -- Alice was still fair game based on a technicality!

[legaleagle53]

YouTube has about half a dozen Brady Bunch channels now, so I did a weekend-long through the show (watching some of my favorite episodes through the years, the adult series, The Bradys, the 35th Anniversary special [which wasn't easy, given that I had to stomach Jenny McCarthy -- why, show, why?], "Growing Up Brady," and a short, slightly outdated "where are they now?" clip that someone had posted).

 

After I finished the marathon, I had a rather sobering thought occur to me:  If the show were still continuing to chronicle the family's exploits, we'd now be watching The Brady Bunch:  The Third Generation.  That's right -- we'd now be watching little Cindy's grandchildren grow up.

 

And if that doesn't make you feel old, nothing will.

Edited March 30, 2015 by legaleagle53

[kickedinthehead]

I recently saw several Bradys turn up in the ridiculous movie Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (the movie's from 2003; I just happened to see it recently). Barry Williams appeared in one scene where he sat around playing pool with Screech, Corey Feldman, Danny Bonaduce, David Spade (who was the annoying star of the movie), and I think a couple of other former child stars. Barry kept trying to bet with crap from old "Brady Bunch" episodes. That scene was... kind of funny (in a bizarre sort of way).

 

Then, at the end credits, Florence Henderson, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, and Mike Lookinland were part of a HUGE chorus of former TV stars, singing a weird song about how they used to be TV stars.

[Maverick]

 Sounds like a fever dream you have after eating Alice's special spaghetti and mushroom sauce.  

[ByaNose]

Today, Bobby had to save that stupid cat, Pandora. "Bobbbbbbbbbbby, you have to save Pandora!". Gawd! That actress was beyond annoying. I thought that even when I was a kid 40 years ago. Also, she had really bad frown lines!

[Kev]

 

which wasn't easy, given that I had to stomach Jenny McCarthy -- why, show, why?]

LOL

 

She would make sure that Cindy wasn't vaccinated. 

[Kromm]

That's right -- we'd now be watching little Cindy's grandchildren grow up.

 

And if that doesn't make you feel old, nothing will.

Susan Olsen is only 53.  A little googling says she has a son named Michael Markwell, who in this appearance in 2007 was 9 years old, ergo he's around 16 or 17 now.  So while she biologically COULD have a grandchild now, it would mean lil' Michael would have to be a fairly irresponsible Teen Dad!  

Maureen McCormick, on the other hand, while only 58, had her kid, Natalie (now Natalie Michelle Cummings, per Mr. Google) in 1989.   So it's very possible that Maureen is a grandmother now (although with the daughter around 25-26, far from a sure thing). 

Edited April 7, 2015 by Kromm

[legaleagle53]

I'm only a year older than Susan is, and I'm already a great uncle several times over thanks to a younger brother who got married at 17.

 

Besides, The Bradys ended 25 years ago, so even if Cindy doesn't have grandchildren yet in 2015, Greg, Marcia and Jan (and possibly even Peter) most definitely do by now!

[classictvfan]

That lingerie model is NOT Eve Plumb.  Her name is Randi Oakes.

[UYI]

Maureen was the last one asked to participate in that...and she had the best part of the song, by far.

[UYI]

Barry Williams just turned 60 last September!

 

Maureen's daughter Natalie is only three months younger than me.

[UYI]

It isn't? It looks like her in the face.

[Kev]

That woman in that pic doesn't look like either one to me. To me, she looks like a sexy version of a young Stevie Nicks. 

[redlaces]

Perception really is an odd thing isn't it though? I think it looks exactly like Eve, cannot see the Steve Knicks resemblance at all. Randi Oakes (who I had to look up) does resemble that lady in that picture. Although, I still think it is Eve. It's that face. To me, it looks exactly like her.