The Brady Bunch

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 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.

The Brady Bunch came out the right decade. The Brady Bunch would have been unaccepted 10 years earlier at the end of the Eisenhower era cause it was about a blended family. It would be laughed and dismissed as anachronistic 10 years later. The reason The Brady Bunch came out was because it was The Vietnam War and it was escape TV from the realities of the time period. As the seasons gone by it was being overshadowed by the Norman Lear shows.

I love this series! I don't really care that it's hopelessly unrealistic, at least the whole family can watch it and you don't have to be concerned that something's going to crop-up on it that's unfit for your kids to see. Not one swear word, nothing! This was a family that was perfect, where no one ever stayed angry with one another, the parents loved each other and the kids and the kids loved and respected the parents! And of course there was the perfect Maid!

I laugh when people put this down for being "unrealistic." What about ever-popular shows like "The Andy Griffith Show"? Was THAT realistic?!

I love everything about the glory that was the Brady Bunch: the silly situations, the colorful clothes, everything! I wish they made stuff like this now! I watch the reruns whenever I can, and I've bought two of the books about it, too!

I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN A BRADY BOY!!!

My first exposure to The Brady Bunch was at age 7, when I started watching the daily reruns. I don't know why I began to watch it, but what I can tell you is that it was (and still is) an entertaining situation comedy. It's no secret that critics were tough on the show. Sure it's corny, but it's fun to watch, and it has many great moments.

One of the favorite episodes is "Bobby's Hero," in which Bobby idolizes the notorious outlaw Jesse James. It has an interesting theme: you should always be careful who you pick for a hero.

Another favorite of mine is "Fright Night." That's the one where the kids' attempt to scare Alice backfires. In the dark, she smashes Carol's sculpture of Mike, thinking it was an intruder. Carol's important message in this episode: "If you carry a joke too far, someone might get hurt."

I have always associated myself with Peter Brady, because, like him, I'm a middle boy. To me, I'm very much the Peter Brady of my family.