Difference between revisions of "The Brady Bunch"
(Liberals refused to honor this show but in 2007 the ''TV Land Award'' gave it top prize for "Pop Culture.") |
(→Behind the scenes: grammar) |
||
| Line 68: | Line 68: | ||
Barry Williams always had a crush on Maureen McCormick, and the two shared a kiss during the Hawaii three-parter to open Season 4. Later in the same season, “A Room At the Top,” it was frustrating for the show’s creator and executive producer Sherwood Schwartz to make due to Williams and McCormick acting like boyfriend-girlfriend rather than brother-sister. McCormick wasn’t the only one Williams kissed, or dated. As he took Florence Henderson on a date, and later kissed. Despite all of that, Williams said that the first people to hook up on the show were Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen who made out in Tiger’s doghouse which wasn’t being used due to the dog’s death between the first two seasons. Olsen later confirmed this, and said she named her son after Lookinland. | Barry Williams always had a crush on Maureen McCormick, and the two shared a kiss during the Hawaii three-parter to open Season 4. Later in the same season, “A Room At the Top,” it was frustrating for the show’s creator and executive producer Sherwood Schwartz to make due to Williams and McCormick acting like boyfriend-girlfriend rather than brother-sister. McCormick wasn’t the only one Williams kissed, or dated. As he took Florence Henderson on a date, and later kissed. Despite all of that, Williams said that the first people to hook up on the show were Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen who made out in Tiger’s doghouse which wasn’t being used due to the dog’s death between the first two seasons. Olsen later confirmed this, and said she named her son after Lookinland. | ||
| − | Robert Reed was a closet homosexual, who never came out to the public during his | + | Robert Reed was a closet homosexual, who never came out to the public during his lifetime (1932-1992) as he never even told his own daughter about the matter until he had AIDS. Florence Henderson found this out for herself when she noticed that Reed was uncomfortable with all the romance scenes, so the two would often practice. After Reed died, Henderson and Barry Williams talked about the matter, saying that Reed being closeted led to him being hot tempered, and feuding with Sherwood Schwartz, which became such a problem, that Reed refused to do the last episode “The Hair-Brained Scheme.” (which was the second episode Reed wasn’t in) Where Greg graduates High School, but after buying Bobby’s hair tonic out of pity, it turns his hair orange. Reed preferred more serious stuff, and it can be argued that he put up with it because he loved the cast. Despite its reputation, Reed preferred ‘The Brady Bunch Variety Hour’ as he could be on the stage singing and dancing. |
Sherwood Schwartz in the early 1990s spoke about why he kept the show lighthearted rather than following the trends that worked with ''All In the Family''. | Sherwood Schwartz in the early 1990s spoke about why he kept the show lighthearted rather than following the trends that worked with ''All In the Family''. | ||
Revision as of 06:33, November 13, 2022
The Brady Bunch was the last of the classic television family sitcoms, beloved by most Americans but hated by Leftists. It ran on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The show was about a suburban Los Angeles blended family where a formerly-married housewife named Carol Martin (Florence Henderson) with three daughters married architect widower Mike Brady (Robert Reed) who had three sons and a live-in housekeeper Alice (Ann B. Davis). The adults are all deceased now but most of the children reunite for television specials, including one for Christmas 2021 entitled "Blending Christmas."[1] Liberals refused to honor this show but in 2007 the TV Land Award gave it top prize for "Pop Culture."
The writing for this show was some of the finest in all of television history, featuring conservative plots without the liberal propaganda that infested rival shows like the offensively stereotypical, media-promoted All in the Family. Nearly every episode of The Brady Bunch had a theme with a conservative lesson about growing up, and the cinematography fully used color along with a pleasant southern California suburban setting. Liberals apparently prevented the show from winning awards commonly given to less creative and influential shows. Ann Davis is ranked 33rd on the list of conservative actresses and entertainers.[2] One of its more famous episodes uncovered deceit by a plaintiff's personal injury lawsuit, and this message was contrary to liberals' political reliance on trial attorneys' donations.
Ranked as the 6th greatest sitcom of the 1970s,[3] it became more popular in syndicated reruns than it had been initially. But the cast never received royalties from the syndicated success after 1979, because of how acting contracts were then written. As a result of its enduring and even increasing popularity, several reunion spinoffs were produced, such as The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1976–77), The Brady Brides (1981), and The Bradys (1990).
Multiple successful movies were also made featuring the Brady family, such as the immensely successful made-for-TV Very Brady Christmas (1988 - featuring most of the original cast), the theatrical Brady Bunch Movie (1995 - produced as a hybrid homage/parody featuring a new cast), the theatrical Very Brady Sequel (1996), and the made-for-TV Brady Bunch Goes to Washington (2002 - made in the style of the 1990s movies). The Brady Bunch Movie had cameo appearances by many of the original stars and was quite profitable, while its sequel was less so.
The show is considered to be the last of the old style classic family sitcoms, as soon after it debuted, the networks started switching away from family based programming to more adult oriented fare aimed at a younger, more urban demographic believed to be more appealing to advertisers (the biggest example of this programming philosophy was the CBS "Rural Purge" of 1971). In spite of this, The Brady Bunch stayed true to its family-oriented style throughout its entire run, with most episodes often featuring stories revolving around family life, dealing with people, and learning life lessons/morals.
Cast
Main cast
| Actor/Actress | Role |
|---|---|
| Robert Reed | Mike Brady |
| Florence Henderson | Carol Brady |
| Ann B. Davis | Alice Nelson |
| Maureen McCormick | Marcia Brady |
| Eve Plumb | Jan Brady |
| Susan Olsen | Cindy Brady |
| Barry Williams | Greg Brady |
| Christopher Knight | Peter Brady |
| Mike Lookinland | Bobby Brady |
Supporting/recurring cast
| Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allan Melvin | Sam Franklin | Alice's boyfriend Appears in eight episodes spanning all five seasons |
| Robbie Rist | Cousin Oliver | Carol's nephew who moved in with the family Appears in the final six episodes of the series |
Behind the scenes
With five seasons, a lot happened behind the scenes, with a lot of it being said by Barry Williams in his 1992 autobiography “Growing up Brady,” which got turned into a biopic of the same name eight years later.
Barry Williams always had a crush on Maureen McCormick, and the two shared a kiss during the Hawaii three-parter to open Season 4. Later in the same season, “A Room At the Top,” it was frustrating for the show’s creator and executive producer Sherwood Schwartz to make due to Williams and McCormick acting like boyfriend-girlfriend rather than brother-sister. McCormick wasn’t the only one Williams kissed, or dated. As he took Florence Henderson on a date, and later kissed. Despite all of that, Williams said that the first people to hook up on the show were Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen who made out in Tiger’s doghouse which wasn’t being used due to the dog’s death between the first two seasons. Olsen later confirmed this, and said she named her son after Lookinland.
Robert Reed was a closet homosexual, who never came out to the public during his lifetime (1932-1992) as he never even told his own daughter about the matter until he had AIDS. Florence Henderson found this out for herself when she noticed that Reed was uncomfortable with all the romance scenes, so the two would often practice. After Reed died, Henderson and Barry Williams talked about the matter, saying that Reed being closeted led to him being hot tempered, and feuding with Sherwood Schwartz, which became such a problem, that Reed refused to do the last episode “The Hair-Brained Scheme.” (which was the second episode Reed wasn’t in) Where Greg graduates High School, but after buying Bobby’s hair tonic out of pity, it turns his hair orange. Reed preferred more serious stuff, and it can be argued that he put up with it because he loved the cast. Despite its reputation, Reed preferred ‘The Brady Bunch Variety Hour’ as he could be on the stage singing and dancing.
Sherwood Schwartz in the early 1990s spoke about why he kept the show lighthearted rather than following the trends that worked with All In the Family.
"I honestly think I could sit down and write a show tonight that the critics would love, and I know it would be canceled within four weeks … I know what the critics love. We write and produce for people, not for critics."
“A lot of people say television holds up a mirror to life, and that’s why you see all the drug busts and the killings and the seamier side of life … I personally take the view that as a responsible producer, it’s not sufficient to portray only negative role models. I think it’s better to give an alternative. It’s not enough to say ‘no’ to drugs. What do you say ‘yes’ to?”
Success in Syndication
The Brady Bunch was so popular in syndication that:
| “ | By 1976, reruns of “The Brady Bunch” actually beat the vice-presidential debate in ratings. At the time of its 30th anniversary, each of the 117 episodes was estimated to have aired more than 100,000 times around the world.[4] | ” |
References
External links
- The Brady Bunch at IMDb