The Honeymoon

Hard to believe all the decades that have passed since the beginning of this classic show. But we love this stuff, especially all us children of the 70s.

Producer and writer Sherwood Schwartz more than likely based the show on the Lucille Ball movie, YOURS, MINE AND OURS (1968), all about a widow and a widower with even MORE children from separate marriages. This would be the only episode where Mike talks about his late wife, who apparently passed when Bobby was a baby, and Alice joined the family. In fact, it would seem Bobby knew Alice longer than his real mom.

Ann B Davis, two time Emmy award winner, was a natural to play Alice Nelson, the comic go-between. In a way, she was in the same category as Uncle Charley on MY THREE SONS, watching the guys grow up, and now the girls, and always there to lend lots of support. Alice also had some of the funniest lines.

There's really not much background on how Mike and Carol met, except now they're planning to get married, form an even bigger family, and somehow, someway make it work. The resulting goofy situations are a preview of what was to come, with the addition of the boys' dog and the girls' cat loose at an outdoor wedding party. Also watch for lots of familiar faces in this episode, like Dabbs Greer (LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRIARIE) playing the minister.

The famous scene with Mike and Carol VERSUS the gigantic sliding wedding cake MAY be tied in tv history with the Season 4 episode where Marcia gets smacked on the nose with a football.

Interestingly, like a time machine, the first season episodes are more 60s formal (even the acting), as compared to the next four seasons. As the Bradys entered the early 70s, particularly SEASON THREE, the kids really defined the era with all the colors, the clothes, the cars and the longer hair. It's fun to see the transition, especially if you compare this 1969 episode to the final 1974 episode of the show. How times change. Curiously, Alice always wore the same blue outfit.

We'll never forget Robert Reed, Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis. They are missed. And yes, the Brady house is still there on Dilling Avenue in North Hollywood, and looking the same after all these years. Amazing. As of June 2024, the new owners (the house has been sold many times) even parked the old Dodge station wagon out front and the cool red Chevy Impala is in the driveway. What a blast for all us fans and neighbors.

Note, this first episode did NOT have big ratings, and was eclipsed by another famous wedding. The wedding of Steve and Barbara (Fred MacMurray and Beverly Garland) on MY THREE SONS, which ranked #14 in the top 20. 1969-70 tv season. Good trivia question.

SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 remastered color Paramount dvd box set. Two sets; released 2005 and 2015. 4 dvds each. Classic box cover.

The show did indeed evolve after this pilot episode, however, it had to begin in some fashion as seen in the beginning of season 1 episode 1.

As the program developed, changes were implemented as it went along. It all began is it did.

This episode is quite different from everything that follows. The house is different. The girls have a cat (fluffy) which is never seen again, after this episode. Tiger, at least, stayed around for a little while. This episode contains what is arguably the finest moment in the series. Mike tells young Bobby that he doesn't want him to forget his "real" mother. A very touching scene, indicative of a different path the show might have taken. All the stars very good here. Maybe, they should have continued in this mode.

Widower Mike with 3 sons marries Carol a widow with three daughters.

A good starting point. The first half of the show has the bride and groom getting ready for the wedding. One scene has Mike talking about his late wife with Bobby, the only time that happened in the series. The wedding has some character actors like J Pat O'Malley as Carol's father and Dabbs Greer as the minister. There some funny slapstick scenes as Tiger chases the girl's cat and Mike tries to save the wedding cake. The second half is Mike and Carol on their honeymoon at a hotel, they miss the kids so much they end up bringing them along.