The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three girls, that also featured an ensemble cast, starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, as Mike and Carol Brady and Ann B. Davis as Alice Nelson, the housekeeper. After its cancellation in 1974, the series debuted in syndication in September 1975. Though it was never a ratings hit or a critical success during its original run, the program has since become a popular syndicated staple, especially among children and teenage viewers.
The Brady Bunchs success in syndication led to several television reunion films and spin-off series: The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–77), The Brady Girls Get Married (1981), The Brady Brides (1981), A Very Brady Christmas (1988), and The Bradys (1990). In 1995, the series was adapted into a satirical comedy theatrical film titled The Brady Bunch Movie, followed by A Very Brady Sequel in 1996. A second sequel, The Brady Bunch in the White House, aired on Fox in November 2002 as a made-for-television film.
In 1997, "Getting Davy Jones" (season three, episode 12) was ranked number 37 on TV Guides 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The show's enduring popularity has resulted in its widespread recognition as an American cultural icon.
Premise Mike Brady, a widowed architect with three sons—Greg, Peter, and Bobby—marries Carol Martin, who herself has three daughters: Marcia, Jan, and Cindy. Mike and Carol adopt each other's children and Carol and her daughters take the Brady surname. Included in the blended family are Mike's live-in housekeeper, Alice Nelson, and the boys' dog, Tiger. (In the pilot episode, the girls also have a pet: a cat named Fluffy who never appears in any other episodes.) The setting is a large two-story house designed by Mike, located in a Los Angeles suburb. The show never addressed what happened to Carol's first husband. While show creator Sherwood Schwartz always intended for Carol to be divorced from her first husband, ABC preferred for her to be widowed due to the more conservative American stance on marriage at the time the first episode aired in 1969, which led to a compromise that resulted in not revealing the first husband's fate on the show. However, other factors also prevented Carol from being revealed as being divorced on the show as well, such as the potential portrayal of both custody arrangement and explanations for the divorce, with Mike, who was able to adopt Carol's daughters, always being portrayed as the only father Carol's daughters accepted.
In the first season, awkward adjustments, accommodations, gender rivalries, and resentments inherent in blended families dominate the storylines. The show being centered on a blended family household was considered unique for the time, as most other shows were still focused on single family households. In an early episode, Carol tells Bobby that the only "steps" in their household lead to the second floor (in other words, that the Bradys are not a "stepfamily", only "a family"). Thereafter, episodes focus on typical teen and preteen concerns such as sibling rivalry, puppy love, self-image, character building, responsibility, dating, school grades and getting along in social company. Noticeably absent is any political commentary, especially regarding the Vietnam War, which was being waged at its largest extent during the height of the series.History Channel, "The Social History of Television" (August 2013) Despite some elements of the show being considered revolutionary for its time, including Mike and Carol's sleeping arrangements, The Brady Bunch would maintain traditional family-friendly entertainment and avoided scandalous and challenging fare.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main The regular cast appears in an opening title sequence in which video "headshots" are arranged in a three-by-three grid, with cast members appearing to look around at one another. The sequence used the then-new "multi-dynamic image technique" created by Canadian filmmaker Christopher Chapman; as a result of the popular attention it garnered in this sequence, it was referred to in the press as "the Brady Bunch effect". In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, the show's opening title sequence ranked number eight on a list of TV's top-10 credits sequences, as selected by readers.Tomashoff, Craig. "Credits Check". TV Guide. October 18, 2010. Pages 16–17.
Robert Reed as Mike Brady Florence Henderson as Carol Brady Ann B. Davis as Alice Nelson Maureen McCormick as Marcia Brady Eve Plumb as Jan Brady Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady Barry Williams as Greg Brady Christopher Knight as Peter Brady Mike Lookinland as Bobby Brady
Recurring characters Sam Franklin (Allan Melvin) is Alice's boyfriend. He is the owner of a local butcher shop. Sam appears in only eight episodes, but they span all five seasons. He is also frequently mentioned in dialogue, and Alice occasionally goes on dates with him off-screen. By the time of the 1981 made-for-TV film The Brady Girls Get Married, Alice and Sam are married. Tiger the dog — the original dog that played Tiger died early in the first season. A replacement dog proved problematic, so the producers decided the dog would appear only when essential to the plot. Tiger appeared in about half the episodes in the first season and about half a dozen episodes in the second season. Tiger was not shown again after "The Impractical Joker", but his doghouse remained in the back yard for the entire run of the series. Mr. Phillips (Jack Collins) is Mike's boss at the architectural firm. He appears only in season two, in three episodes, but is often mentioned in other episodes when work-related issues occur. Cousin Oliver (Robbie Rist) — in the middle of season five, producers added a new character named Oliver, Carol Brady's young nephew, who is sent to live with the Bradys while his parents are living in South America. The character was added in an attempt to fill the age gap left by the maturing Brady children — the youngest (Susan Olsen) was 12 years old during the show's final season. Lloyd Schwartz, son of creator and executive producer Sherwood Schwartz, later admitted that the character threw off the balance of the show. Fans disliked the character of Oliver, regarding him as an interloper. Oliver appears in the final six episodes of season five, which proved to be the final season, as ABC cancelled the series in 1974. The addition of the character has been cited as the moment the series "jumped the shark". The term "Cousin Oliver Syndrome" has since been used to describe the failed attempt to save a series from cancelation by adding a new character.
Notable guest stars Herbert Anderson as Dr. Cameron, a doctor who comes to treat the boys' measles in "Is There a Doctor in the House?" (season one). Melissa Sue Anderson played Millicent, a girl who gives Bobby his first kiss ("Never Too Young", season five). Desi Arnaz Jr. meets Marcia, who wrote about him in her diary in "The Possible Dream" (season one). Jim Backus appears three times in the series, twice in two of the three Grand Canyon episodes, "Ghost Town U.S.A." and "Grand Canyon or Bust", playing Zaccariah T. Brown, who mistakenly thinks the Bradys are jumping his gold claim and locks them in a ghost-town jail; and in "The Hustler" (season five) playing Mike's second boss, Mr. Harry Matthews. Ken Berry played Ken Kelly, the Bradys' new neighbor who is the adoptive father of three diverse boys (black, white, and Asian) in the season five episode "Kelly's Kids". Sherwood Schwartz was attempting to sell a spin-off series called Kelly's Kids featuring Berry, but the show idea failed to interest ABC. Imogene Coca plays the Brady girls' great-aunt Jenny, whom Jan fears she will grow up to resemble after seeing a childhood photo of her in "Jan's Aunt Jenny" (season three). Jackie Coogan plays Harry Duggan, a man who tries to get money out of Carol Brady by faking an injury after a minor parking lot fender-bender. Don Drysdale tries to inject reality into Greg's dreams of being a professional baseball player in "The Dropout" (season two). Nicholas Hammond as Doug Simpson, the popular school hunk Marcia was dating in "The Subject Was Noses". (season four) Don Ho meets Cindy and Bobby and serenades Cindy in Honolulu in "Hawaii Bound" (part one of a three-part season-four episode), filmed on location in Hawaii. Davy Jones (of The Monkees) performs at a music studio and then takes Marcia to her school dance in "Getting Davy Jones" (season three). Decades later, Jones satirized his cameo in The Brady Bunch Movie. Deacon Jones encourages Peter's singing in "The Drummer Boy" (season two). Kym Karath as Kerry Hathaway, a girl Peter woos in "Cyrano de Brady" (season four). Bart La Rue plays a football coach in "The Drummer Boy" (season two) and "Click" (season three). E. G. Marshall is J.P. Randolph, Marcia's school principal, in "The Slumber Caper" (season two). Brigadier General James McDivitt (NASA astronaut) signs autographs for Peter and Bobby after appearing on a talk show in "Out of This World" (season five). Burt Mustin plays Jethroe Collins, the son of a victim of Jesse James, invited over by Mike Brady to help Bobby understand the truth about Jesse James. Joe Namath visits Bobby after Cindy contacts him saying Bobby has a terminal illness in "Mail Order Hero" (season five). Denise Nickerson as Pamela Phillips, niece of Mike Brady's boss, Ed Phillips, whom Peter dates at Mike's request in "Two Petes in a Pod" (season five). Wes Parker meets Mike and Greg in Greg's math classroom, thus curing Greg of the crush he had on his teacher Miss Linda O'Hara (played by Gigi Perreau), Parker's fiancée in "The Undergraduate" (season one). Vincent Price appears twice in the series in two of the three Hawaii episodes, "Pass the Tabu", and "The Tiki Caves" from season four, playing the villainous Professor Hubert Whitehead, who holds the Brady boys hostage. Marion Ross appears as Dr. Porter, a doctor who comes to treat the girls' measles in "Is There a Doctor in the House?" (season one). Natalie Schafer is Mike's fussy client, Penelope Fletcher, who is charmed by Cindy's impromptu 'Shirley Temple' routine in "The Snooperstar" (season five). Hal Smith appears as Santa Claus in "The Voice of Christmas" (season one), and as Kartoon King in "The Winner" (season two). Marcia Wallace plays a salesclerk in "Would the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up" (season two) and Mrs. Robbins in "Getting Davy Jones" (season three). Rita Wilson began her career with a guest appearance in "Greg's Triangle" (season four) where she plays one of the candidates running against Marcia for head cheerleader. Paul Winchell appears as Skip Farnum, the TV commercial director in "And Now a Word From Our Sponsor" (season three).
Production Development In 1966, following the success of his TV series Gilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwartz conceived the idea for The Brady Bunch after reading in the Los Angeles Times that "30% of marriages [in the United States] have a child or children from a previous marriage". He set to work on a pilot script for a series tentatively titled Mine and Yours. Schwartz then developed the script to include three children for each parent. While Mike Brady is depicted as being a widower, Schwartz originally wanted the character of Carol Brady to have been a divorcée, but the network objected to this. A compromise was reached whereby Carol's marital status (whether she was divorced or widowed) was never directly revealed.