In season four’s eighth episode, “Jan, the Only Child”, Jan is admiring a bracelet in a teen magazine. On the back cover is an ad for a Free Ocean Voyage On Palatial Ship. Apparently this ad wasn’t only meant for teenagers. While watching Gomer Pyle USMC, I spotted the ad again today on the back of Sgt. Carters’s smutty magazine.
It looks like Cousin Oliver’s father took him to McDonalds before leaving him with the Brady family and heading off to South America.
Saw this on Facebook!
Regular blog commenter and contributor Vinny sent the below link. It shows Maureen McCormick (as herself, not Marcia Brady) on The Dating Game. Her segment begins around the 15 minute mark.
Barry Williams struts his stuff!
Barry Williams and Christopher Knight are now hosting a Brady Bunch podcast! The podcast can be accessed at this link• The first episode they discuss is a favorite among many fans, Peter and the Wolf.
Greetings once again readers, family and friends. Today we take a look at one of the more unique forays into the Brady Bunch universe. Not since the stage show “The Real Live Brady Bunch” has such a strange incarnation featuring the classic sitcom been undertaken. Per an LA Times article from 1992, Schwartz gave his blessing for the stage show to go commercial. What permissions were needed or granted for this reincarnation of “Will The Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?” are not known at the time of this writing. If some reader out there has some background, please share. I only came to know of this rehashing of a Brady Bunch episode when I received notice that this site’s review of the original episode, had been linked in an online article about the “Dragging The Classics” episode. So friends, let’s have a look at “Dragging The Classics: The Brady Bunch”!
To prepare myself for viewing “Dragging The Classics” I watched the original season 2 episode “Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?” on Paramount. I was disappointed at the poor image quality and out of sync audio the streaming platform offered. Refamiliarized with the original, I watched “Dragging The Classics” immediately thereafter. With very few exceptions, RuPaul’s cast repeated the episode verbatim! I was expecting extra hammy performances with all kinds of extra comments, remarks and reactions added for modern comedic effect. There was very little of that. It was just the drag queens, mixed with some of the original cast, rehashing the original script.
There were some subtle differences. The sets appear to be chroma-keyed over a green screen with the actors performing in front of it. One would think this would lend itself to all the original scenes taking place in the original rooms from the actual episode. Instead, actions are condensed to the kitchen, living room, Mike’s den, the kids’ bedrooms, the bathroom, Lucy Winters’ porch and the wig shop. The driveway and family room are not seen.
Upon perusing the acting resumes of those not part of the original cast, I found very few familiar titles. Kylie Sonique Love plays Jan. She delivers the lines without much inflection or feeling. They all seemed kind of flat to me. However, even the best actor/actress faces huge challenges playing a twelve year old child.
If a grown man was going to play the role of Carol Brady, I don’t know how anybody could do it better than Roy Haylock (aka Bianca Del Rio). Roy Haylock is a former winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Roy Haylock’s performance given in “Dragging the Classics” channeled Carol Brady very well.
The rest of the non-original’s cast was on par with that of Kylie Sonique Love. Andrew Levitt plays Alice, Benjamin Putnam plays Greg, Jaren Merrell is Marcia and Kandy Muse is Cindy. A funny bit occurs as Cindy searches for hair ribbons. The set dressers made the chest of drawers exceptionally tall to accommodate Kandy’s Muses height.
As it has been on many past occasions, it was fun seeing the original cast again. Christopher Knight and Mike Lookinland reprised their roles as Peter and Bobby Brady. Barry Williams takes on the role of Mike Brady. He played the part well. Chris Knight and Mike Lookinland look to just be having fun playing boyish roles. Mike Lookinland even kept his facial hair that is mismatched to his wig.
RuPaul herself fills the role originally played by the late Marcia Wallace. The red wig is a nice tribute to the departed actress. The other lady working in the shop, Helen, was played by Michelle Visage. It was during this scene that I noticed the only added line to the script. After the clerk chides Helen for mixing handbags with wigs, Helen says scornfully, “Diva”. The original episode did not include this line and I don’t even recall Helen speaking. Readers, if you noticed any added or omitted dialogue in the episode, please share with us your observation.
As mentioned before, some scenes were relocated. Greg and Bobby play basketball in the living room when Bobby shares that Margie Ripple will be present at Lucy Winters’ party. The exchange ends with Greg tossing the ball with a crash following. I would have bet money that the line, “Mom always says don’t play ball in the house” would be uttered by Bobby. However, “Dragging the Classics” holds true to the original script and the line was not delivered.
The episode’s conclusion gives us the opportunity to see the other two original players’ contribution to this redux. Eve Plumb plays Lucy Winters and Susan Olsen plays Margie Ripple. I must admit, I did not recognize Susan Olsen in the role until I saw her credit on IMDB. That is one fine makeup job! Both actresses come across as enjoying playing these parts decades after the original episode was produced.
Thank you for taking a look at “Dragging The Classics” with me. While it was definitely unusual, I enjoyed what RuPaul and her associates did with the episode. The possibilities for something mocking or crudely parodying the original show are endless, but here the performance remained true to the original script. I am curious to see if more classic TV episodes, be it The Brady Bunch or some other series, get featured in an episode of “Dragging the Classics”. Please share your own thoughts on this reincarnation of a classic episode.
Original Air Date: March 9th, 1990
Video Link: https://dai.ly/x4jx9x2
Hello again readers, family and friends. Today we review the final episode of The Bradys. It was the first plot that heavily involved Greg’s and Bobby’s wives. Leah Ayres was also given a lot of screen time in this episode. She was featured prominently in the previous episode as well. While she was a fine actress, I can sense some disappointment on the part of fans in that they weren’t seeing the original Bradys. However, I am sure by episode six, a great number of fans of the original series had checked out anyway. I know if I had my choice back then, even as a huge Brady Bunch fan, I’d have been watching Full House and Perfect Strangers on a Friday night. I really wish our beloved characters had a better send off than the hi-jinks of a catering startup. However, that is what we got and that is what we will be reviewing. We do have a subplot of a brotherly conflict between Peter and Greg that was well done. Let us do it one last time with a review featuring (most of) the original cast and start our review of “The Party Girls”!
The episode begins with Alice paying a visit to Carol. Sam is on the verge of retiring and will be putting his old butcher shop up for lease. Alice would like Carol’s help putting it on the market. Carol seeks Alice’s help licking envelopes. Both ladies complain of tongue strain as the envelope glue is hard on their palates. Through this entire scene I kept thinking “Get a damn sponge or a wet paper towel! You don’t have to lick the envelopes!” Surely between the smarts of these two ladies, one of them would have thought of this.
Wally decides to apply for a job he can’t be fired from; he wants to run his own company. He so enjoyed working for Councilman Brady that he now wants to start his own public relations firm. Mike makes the ever wise suggestion that maybe Wally should work for a PR firm before trying to start his own. Wally will hear none of that and wants a loan to start his business. The fact that Wally had no interest in being employed by a PR firm before starting his own would have nixed any willingness to give a loan from me. Mike says he will give it some thought. Maybe guilt motivated Mike to do this, as I can see no good reason to loan somebody money for an endeavor they have so little experience with. Wally proved himself apt at handling PR, but that doesn’t make him fit to run a business doing it. The finest mechanic could fail miserably at running his own auto repair shop.
Marcia, Nora and Tracy (Bobby’s wife) have business aspirations of their own. They want to open a catering business. They too seek a loan from the Bank of Brady as they hit up Mike and Carol for $30,000 that can be repaid in a year. Good grief, a $30K loan is still nothing to take lightly in 2020! The ladies’ is akin to asking for $60,000 in today’s dollars. It is not made clear as to whether or not Mike and Carol had this much moula on hand or if they would be taking a loan of their own. In a resolution similar to what we’d have seen on The Brady Bunch, the girls are granted their loan with the condition that Wally work PR for the catering service. This is the last episode, so we never know how this worked out in the long run. But man, can you imagine if Wally wound up getting fired by Marcia?
The episode’s other story involves Greg and Peter. The pair had planned to attend a basketball game together. However, the night of, Greg must bail on his younger brother and attend a parents event at his son’s school. Peter is none too happy about this. Peter claims Greg’s family responsibilities have made his brother less available to pal around. Peter says Greg being a family man makes him a boring stiff. Man, Peter gets more unlikable with each episode. Yes, Greg should have at least given Pete a heads up about not being able to make it to the game, but Peter should not shame his brother for being a responsible dad.
With the wives’ new catering enterprise, we get to see Sam’s butcher shop one last time. Sam was still using the same style of signage since we last saw it. Things don’t begin well for the catering business. Day one ends without the ladies being booked up for catering jobs. Carol suggests the catering business have a motif for each party to get things rolling. It does!
Later in the episode, Greg and Peter’s dilemma is revisited as Greg and Nora discuss the brotherly bond that is crumbling. We are treated to a flashback from Cyrano De Brady as Greg remembers better times among him and Peter. This was a nice opportunity to give Greg’s wife a little more screen time and see a husband and wife exchange between them.
Mrs. Greg Brady was played by Caryn Richman. Notable acting credits include the soap opera Texas and the starring role on The New Gidget. Readers, if any of you watched either show and can share some more about her roles, please do! She has several other TV credits on her resume and a few films. The internet offers little information about her outside of acting and endorsing products.
Carol attempts to intervene in the brotherly feud. She encourages Peter to give Greg a call and mend fences. Peter does, but Greg is a total ass on the phone, refreezing potentially thawing relations between the pair. The coldness between them befits the next encounter they have. They enter Sam’s meat locker to try and hash out differences. As they do, Peter closes the shop door and traps them both in there! This time there is no window to break out and they risk freezing to death. No friends, my mind is going back to the more entertaining show of old again. Inside the freezer, Greg attempts to make things right with Celtics/Lakers tickets. Peter declines as he has plans to attend party that same night where twin sisters he has his eye(s) on will be. Greg is none to happy to be declined. Things almost come to blows inside the freezer. This encounter ends with Greg saying Peter no longer exists to him! While this seems extreme, it was nice to have some conflict and interaction among siblings. A reader made the observation not too long ago how this show was sorely missing that.
Marcia and the wives conspire to heal the familial rift by having Greg and Peter at the same place at the same time. The girls are hosting an Austrian themed party to accommodate Mike’s hosting an international dignitary. The party is going well until Peter starts choking! Fortunately, Greg is there to administer the Heimlich Maneuver and save his brother’s life. I wonder if Nora secretly added a choking agent in the delicacies, knowing Peter would nearly die and his brother would be there to save him. After all, she probably had heard about how Peter indentured himself to Bobby when the younger brother saved his life. Now Peter can claim both brothers helped him skirt death. Some reference to being a slave for life would have been funny here. Mike enters with an Australian dignitary, not an Austrian one! In some writing akin to the show of old, the Australian man is happy to take a break from references to “shrimp on the barbie” and hearing “G’Day Mate”.
Well friends, with this meh episode, the Bradys left our screens for good. Yes, there have been parodies and cast reunions, but Florence Henderson, Robert Reed and Ann B. Davis would never again play Carol, Mike and Alice alongside each other. The actors playing the Brady siblings have also never resurrected their roles of old. There is still some glimmer of hope that at least one more story awaits us. As each attempt to bring the family back to the small screen withered and died, I kept thinking the same thing. The original series was very entertaining and brought smiles and joy to so many. We all enjoyed seeing the cast back together again in their TV movies. However, that momentum and fun could not be carried over to a successful series. It’s nice to go back and visit, but you can’t go home again.
Please share your own thoughts! While this is the final blog post regarding an episode, there will be a few more posted on some other corners of the Brady universe we’ve yet to explore. Dear readers, thank you so much for revisiting these shows with me. I have loved every minute watching them, writing these blogs and reading your comments!
Hello again readers, family and friends. Today we take a break from reviewing an episode of The Bradys so that we may have a look at “Life Is Not a Stage” by the late Florence Henderson. As I have stated in the past, I am not a literary critic, so this blog is really just sharing my own thoughts on the book and sharing some of the information shared. The book was published in 2011 and ends with the author sharing her experience on Dancing With The Stars. She would be with us only five more years after the book came out, but if she spent those remaining years living her life as she did in her autobiography, I would surmise they were lived to the fullest.
The book numbers 264 pages and recollections of The Brady Bunch do not begin until page 167. Pages 1 through 166 focus on Henderson’s childhood in Kentucky and her rise as a star of the stage. She was the last of nine children and most were grown and no longer part of the household for the duration of her childhood. Her father was an alcoholic with intervals of sobriety through the years. She wrote, “When he wasn’t drunk, he could be the sweetest, kindest man.” She describes her mother as a strict but fair woman who showed little love and adoration for her children. She would leave Florence and her sister to move to Cleveland while they were still young. Fortunately, she remained a presence in Florence’s life in later years. There are pictures of them enjoying time together in Florence’s adult years. An interesting factoid shared was that Florence Henderson modeled the Great Grandma Hutchins character in “You’re Never Too Old” after her own mother.
Through the charitable act of a friend’s parents, Florence Henderson got her big break. Through the family’s connections, Florence landed a spot at a prestigious acting school in New York City. From here she rose quickly appearing in hit plays. Her adventures as a stage actress are peppered with stories of meeting famous players, troubled celebrities and other interesting tales. Unfortunately, many of the big names she mentioned were unfamiliar to me. I am sure one more knowledgeable of Broadway and musicals in general might enjoy this portion of the book more.
Other than her time on The Today Show, her experience in front of the camera was limited prior to playing Carol Brady. As she wrote about The Brady Bunch, I was a bit disappointed that most of the information shared has been shared before. She wrote of how she helped ease Robert Reed’s anxiety in the romantic scenes for the show. It is well known now that Robert Reed was gay. Florence Henderson describes his anxiety over performing as her husband was challenging at first. She of course mentions how he wanted The Brady Bunch to be as realistic as possible and would bump heads with Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz over scripts.
Florence describes how filming a weekly sitcom required long and grueling hours. She arrived at the set before the sun was up and left after it went down. She wrote of what a great friend she had in Ann B. Davis who told her she must conserve her energy and encouraged her to take up needlepoint. She also maintained a family like relationship with the child actors on the series. She made a great point that she was spending more time with her cast mates than her own family, thereby making them like family.
The one story shared by Florence Henderson about the show, that I never recall hearing before, occurred in Hawaii. There is a scene where the Bradys are in an outrigger canoe. The watercraft capsized and none of the cast were wearing life jackets. Florence knew Susan Olsen was not a good swimmer, nor was she herself, so she held on to her TV daughter for dear life. The event shook everybody up, but the show must go on and they continued filming. Florence stated, “It could have been a major disaster”. Indeed it could have.
Henderson is grateful for the persona the character Carol Brady gave her in her post Brady years. She never lacked for work in the years following the show. She mentions briefly The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. She remembers fondly the beautiful gowns she got to wear and the great talent that made guest appearances on the program. I was disappointed that not even a passing mention was made regarding The Brady Brides, A Very Brady Christmas or The Bradys. She also did not mention her cameo in The Brady Bunch Movie. Instead, the rest of the book shares with readers the bittersweet divorce from her first husband. She and him remained friendly in the years that followed their divorce. She found that ending a marriage she had entered into in another phase of life to be a liberating experience. She also speaks only fondly of her second husband to whom she was married for 20 years until he passed away.
Dear readers, if any of you have had the pleasure of reading “Life Is Not a Stage”, I would love to hear your own thoughts and opinions. If you have not, I would encourage any fan of The Brady Bunch to learn more about the woman who gave us Carol Brady. She ends the book encouraging readers to find their own positive energy and follow their dreams. I like to think she was doing just that until November 24, 2016 when she left this world. Rest in peace Florence Henderson. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Original Air Date: March 2nd, 1990
Video Link: https://dai.ly/x4jx9x1
Greetings once again readers, family and friends. Thank you for joining me today to review “Bottoms Up”. This was the fifth episode of the short lived The Bradys series. This time the story focuses on Marcia. I found this interesting. As we all know, the role of Marcia had been assumed by a new actress, Leah Ayres. Seeing how the show was still in its infancy, I would have thought that the writers would still be trying to have the actors viewers felt more connected to in front of the camera as much as possible. On that same note, based on the mediocre quality of the previous episodes, maybe this was a gamble that Leah Ayres might add some spark to the program. I will say that I found this episode a notch better than the previous ones. It is being reviewed out of sequence, so please don’t get confused and think I watched some mystery print. This was reviewed via Daily Motion. Let us begin our review of “Bottoms Up”!
The episode kicks off with a busy morning a the Brady house. Carol has fixed Mickey’s and Jessica’s lunches and will get them off to school. Wally is busting his hump working for Mike. Mike has a city district to run. I wonder if Mike was also continuing work as an architect. I live in a city with a population of approximately 180,000. Those on the city council earn a salary that would be considered full time. With all other members of the household gainfully employed, Marcia feels lacking in the contributory role she plays. She does try to horn in on Jan’s new family, offering to help Philip out with a cold stricken daughter, but her help is declined.
Marcia tries to be proactive and go out in search of a job. Why she didn’t do this on one of the many occasions Wally lost a job is not known. The interview does not go well at all. The man speaking with her is quite condescending while looking over her portfolio. He says her designs are “pre-nostalgia”. Marcia tries to pitch she is a hard worker and a fast learner, but the man says he needs a designer in touch with today’s styles. He was also an ass about it. Ouch. It was a sign of another era that Marcia saw the ad for a fashion designer in the newspaper classified section. I remember a time when the employment classified section spanned several pages of the newspaper. Today it is but a small snippet tucked between the yard sale section and legal notices. A closer look at the above screenshot shows another place was seeking a dentist via the newspaper. Maybe Marcia should have applied for that Office Manager job.
The fashion company owner was played by William Cort. His IMDB resume lists a busy career, but with no really notable roles. He had a single appearance on several series through the 1970s and 1980s with a few recurring ones tossed in. His swan song would be playing the role of Headmaster Wallace Thorvald a few times on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He left at us the relatively young age of 57 in 1993.
Things seem to be going so well for those around Marcia. Wally beams about all the success he is having working with Mike while ignoring Marcia’s sharing of her own lousy day. Cindy pays her a visit seeking advice on a new job offer. Marcia has little counsel to offer and is extra harsh with the kids. Cindy questions this but gets more ire from Marcia. Marcia then gets extra bitchy when she chides her younger sister stating Cindy’s problems aren’t problems at all.
The other plot line in “Bottoms Up” involves Mike’s role on the City Council. A big money developer, Jordan Armstrong, is seeking variances that will allow him to build condos. Mike is above any kind of backdoor dealings and makes this known. Mike should have shared how the town’s existing building codes are so lousy that he was inside a building, that was built to code, when it collapsed on Christmas Eve. Wally, who seems to have a grasp for the darker side of politics, continues to court the developer and thinks he can get Mike to budge on the variances.
For reasons unknown, IMDB does not credit the actor playing Jordan Armstrong among the episode’s or series’ credits. The closing credits for the episode list him as John Terrence. An IMDB search of the name gives two listings with very short resumes of each. Say, this guy looks a lot like John Kerry. Maybe the former presidential candidate gave acting a go in the early 90s and it didn’t work out and his credits were expunged.
The subplot with Jordan Armstrong continues as Wally seeks a private donation from him to fund a trauma center. Earlier in the episode, Peter had discouraged private money for government causes as it can create conflicts. Wally ignores the sage advice and has Jordan pony up the funds to get things moving. Upon the big announcement being made, he hints to Mike and Peter that he expects something in return. He adds the two way street he expects to travel was paved by Wally. This is followed by a comical “whop waah” type sound effect and a laugh track that just seemed out of place. It was more fitting of a vase being broken or a frog landing in a pizza.
Wally’s below the board dealings see that he loses yet another job. Man, I really feel for Wally. His self esteem must be in tatters with the revolving door of jobs we have seen him go through. Since a Very Brady Christmas, he has lost four jobs. In an attempt at humor, he thinks it is Peter who is about to be canned, only to learn he has been given his walking papers. I half way expected to learn that Wally would find a new job working for Jordan Armstrong, but that doesn’t happen, at least not in this episode. This episode might give us a good lesson in the risk of hiring family members.
The episode’s main plot is fueled by the motherly role Carol assumes with Mickey and Jessica. She is taking the pair to an art store and Marcia attempts to intervene and do the task herself and even prevent the kids from going due to chores undone. Carol shuts this down and has a semi-showdown with Marcia when she raises her voice at her mom. In a “Are you talking to me type moment”, Marcia backs down. After being stared down by her mom, Marcia opens the china cabinet where the liquor is stored.
Marcia’s newfound love of the bottle causes her to miss an important tennis date with her mom. She is too tipsy to play tennis or answer the phone when Carol calls. Wally arrives home and is about to take the kids out to buy some new shoes when Marcia finds herself doing it instead. She staggers to the car with the kids in tow. As she drunkenly fumbles with the keys, she bursts into tears prompting the kids to summon Wally. Wally and Marcia have a good cry about the peril she almost put the kids in. I will admit to viewing this scene with some anticipation as to whether or not Marcia was going to drive the kids around while drunk.
Marcia’s booze problem is made known to her family and the world at the groundbreaking ceremony for the medical center. Marcia shows up plastered and causes a scene as she drunkenly cheers for her family. Did Marcia get behind the wheel minus the kids and drive there? I certainly hope not. Back at the Brady house, an intervention of sorts takes place. Wally and Carol speak to Marcia about her problem and encourage to seek help on her own volition. Hugs and kisses are shared and we know Marcia will be okay.
The episode ends at the radio station. Instead of taking a new job on a talk show, Cindy At Sunrise will now be a mix of hit tunes and a talk show. Can’t you just see the masses of listeners changing the station in droves? The morning commute that listeners tune in for involved Cindy’s banter and a certain style of music. I doubt the random insertion of talk show topics would be readily accepted. Cindy’s first topic? Her sister’s drinking problem! I’d be scanning the dial in search of John Boy and Billy at this point. Marcia explains her drinking problem and how it is important to seek help. A true and powerful message for sure, but it doesn’t seem fitting for the morning drive to work.
Thank you for reviewing “Bottoms Up” with me. I recall reading that one of the complaints Robert Reed had with this show was the speedy resolution. In the course of one episode, Marcia has a drinking problem and is seeking help by the end. As stated in the opening, I found this episode a bit more enjoyable than those before it. However, I viewed this episode in a slightly altered light. The pacing and story seems more fitting of a show of the era that aired on Sunday nights between the 6 o’clock news and prime time. I could see this show airing against 60 Minutes or against Our House and performing decently. Friday nights at 9pm was not the place for The Bradys. Please share your own thoughts! We have only one more episode of The Bradys to review and the journey of our beloved Brady family ends. Before we wrap it up, we will be reviewing Florence Henderson’s autobiography, “Life Is Not a Stage” on Sunday. Please join us then!
Here's The Story: Every Episode of The Brady Bunch Reviewed 