The Brady Bunch

I am proud to be a Brady Bunch Junkie. I can quote practically every episode verbadum. I can identify each episode within the first 5 seconds (which I love to do to impress my friends). I bet I know each episode better than the cast does! When I was growing up, my sisters and I would try to cover each others mouths so that we could sing the opening song solo and a cappella. I,too, am a "middle child". The middle of three girls. I would have given anything to have three brothers to offset the middle child syndrome. Even if it meant not having a toilet (which was never shown). Jan was someone I could relate to and I thought my sisters could relate to me better through her. Whenever she was a focal point in an episode, I'd be all "see what I mean" and "that's how I feel" about being in the middle. To this day I still refer to myself as the "Jan" in my family. And if I meet a guy who happens to be a middle brother, I say " oh, you're like Peter". If he doesn't get it, than he's out. Anyway, regardless if I'm the middle or not, I always wanted to be a Brady. Where else could you find a family that let you decide your own punishments, live by exact words, help you contact Davy Jones, give up their den so that you could have your own "funky" room, let you have a slumber party (after you were in trouble with the school principal) put on a play of Snow White and the Seven Drawfs in your backyard, believe you when you say the cigarettes they found in your jacket were not yours AND had a live in maid! The only thing they asked of you was "don't play ball in the house". And, morals of the story were taught in Latin so you didn't understand them anyway (coviat emptor); "let the buyer beware." However, Mike & Carol did try to realte with their kids by using such phrases as "right on", "groovy", "far out" and my personal favorite "wrapping". Hopefully Carol realizes by now that it is not against the law. Overall, they were a well-rounded and well-balanced family who believed in each other and stuck by one another. As corny as the show was, for those thirty minutes, I secretly wished that I was a Brady.

I have always been a fan of the show. Yes, they seemed like the perfect family, and could always solve problems in 30 minutes, but all that made it better. It was a great show to watch, and was always an escape from real life problems. I was, and always will be a fan of the Brady's.

Ok, so it may be predictable and corny. However it is one of the few things that come into our home via that cable in the wall that my wife and I can let our young son watch without worry. He thinks the Bradys are "new" and laughs at every episode. By the way, if you don't like it, don't watch it. That's what remote controls are for.

Yes, the Bradys are corny, cheesy, tacky, etc. I LOVE them! I always liked Cindy the most out of all of them for some reason. The first few seasons were the best, but the show took a huge dive once Cousin Oliver showed up (he looked exactly like a pint-sized clone of John Denver). My favourite episodes are the Pilgrim episode, the one where Marcia gets hit in the nose with the football ("something suddenly came up"), and where Greg gets a used car. Where would pop culture be without the Bradys?

I always wanted to be a Brady. I could see myself flying down

that staircase in the morning to be handed my school lunch in a

brown paper bag by Florence Henderson. I thought the house

could manage 7 kids as easily as 6. That was my dream and my

aspiration. The thing was, I identified very strongly with

that show. I knew it was lame brained, even when I was the

same age as the youngest of the Brady kids. I also knew that

its heart was in the right place and it represented to me,

everything that I did not have. Of course, I was living in the

REAL world, and that is not always easy to take. Nearly 30

years later, I have fond feelings towards this series and

occasionally can be seen watching the inevitable reruns. Many

people feel the same as I do, I'm sure, so they must have done

something right.