"Here Come the Brides" sounded like one of the worst bits of schlock to hit the tube when it was being advertised for TV's fall line-up in the 1968-69 season. At the enlightened age of 12, I was far too sophisticated for such drivel. Imagine my surprise when, being forced to watch the show by a controlling older sister, I actually LIKED it. It fast became my favorite program at that time -- I was enormously moved by its heart and its humanity. By today's standards it probably seems pretty tame and trite stuff, but back then, it was different and courageous and had a voice that spoke to me. My favorite episode was titled, I think, "The Rainmaker". Jack Albertson guest starred as The Rainmaker, the shyster who is nevertheless magical enough to cure Jeremy's (Bobby Sherman) stuttering by presenting him with a magic stone. When The Rainmaker is revealed as a fraud, Jeremy's faith is shattered, and his stuttering returns tenfold. That's when Big Brother Jason Bolt lovingly explains to Jeremy that neither The Rainmaker nor the Magic Stone cured Jeremy's stuttering -- Jeremy had done it on his own. Jeremy, convinced, launches into a passionate, and flawless, speech, defending The Rainmaker to the rest of Seattle. Corny? Yup. But I'll tell you what -- that episode of "Brides" helped this 12 year old to believe in himself. Those characters in "Brides", especially the Bolt Brothers, still live within me, and I'm grateful for it.
