Hello again readers, family and friends. Today we share the times The Brady Bunch gave us positive and groovy vibes. Last week’s blog gave us an opportunity to name the episodes that we liked the least. Thanks to all those who shared their own bottom five list! If you have not all ready done so, please consider sharing your own least favorites. In this blog, I will share two top five lists. The first is a listing of the five most memorable
times the show made me laugh out loud and still brings a chuckle when recalling it. The second list includes the five episodes I found myself enjoying the most. Neither is any particular order, just the five that number among my favorites. Once again I hope you will share your own thoughts on the moments and episodes you thought the show was at its best.
Top Five Laughs
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore – Season 1, Episode 4. Alice has decided to leave the Bradys as she feels her role in the family has diminished since Mike remarried. The 
boys and Cindy are watching her pack and Cindy states that she and her sisters were just starting to love Alice. In the typical cuteness of Season 1 Cindy, she asks if Alice likes “Addle” better than them. After a brief bit of confusion, Cindy shares her understanding that Alice is going to see somebody named Addle, since she is going to Seattle.
Big Little Man – Season 3, Episode 15. Mike, Carol and Jan have returned from a shopping trip. Cindy rushes down to share the news of the day. First she asks if it would be tattling to share something somebody else doesn’t want you to know. She is advised that would be tattling. It’s a nice reference to Cindy’s earlier tattling issues. Jan is pining for this news and even 
licks her lips in anticipation. Cindy tries to do the right thing and walk away, letting the three of them know they’ll just have to find out for themselves. Jan, being sufficiently baited, immediately queries Cindy for the news. Cindy shares with glee that “Bobby nearly fell off the house.” The reaction on Mike, Carol and Jan’s faces only adds more humor to this entire scene. Susan Olsen owned this scene and performed masterfully in it. The entire scene made me laugh out loud more than once.
Fender Benders – Season 3, Episode 23. After a meeting of the fenders in the supermarket parking lot between Carol and Mr. Duggan, he arrives at the Brady home unannounced and soon presents a list of car repairs he expects Carol to pay. He shares 
his car wound up having to be towed from the scene to a body shop and he has come bearing an itemized bill. Among the repairs he expects Carol to pay for are a smashed tail light, crushed fender, muffler replacement, repainting the left side of the car and realignment of the frame. This totals $295.11. In today’s dollars that would be $1758.32. Mr. Duggan said there were some other things he doesn’t mind paying for himself. In one of the funniest lines of the series, Carol asks if that might be refurnishing his house.
Mail Order Hero – Season 5, Episode 2. Joe Namath has just visited with Bobby, who is faking being very sick. This was a ploy devised by Cindy that would con the football star into visiting her brother. As Joe and his PR man leave, the episode’s b-plot of Jan learning first aid meets the 
a-plot. What follows is one of the funniest scenes of the entire series. Jan’s studies have her bringing home a stretcher. Upon seeing it, Joe says they got there just in time. When the visiting pair meet Carol, she joyfully says that Bobby was just about at the end of his rope. Herb says the whole situation with Bobby must be pretty upsetting. Mike jovially replies, “Well, when you have six kids, something like this is bound to happen to one of them.”
The Treasure of Sierra Avenue – Season 2, Episode 7. After greed abounds following 
the boys finding $1100 in a vacant lot, a family meeting is called. Mike makes it known to the children that he and Carol share their own good fortune with each of them every day. He orders a truce among the feuding siblings. Upon this being ordered, Greg confers with his brothers and says the money will be shared. The exchange that follows was a laugh out loud moment for me.
Greg: Ok, we’ll share.
Marcia: You really mean it?
Greg: Yeah.
Peter: Me too.
Bobby: Not me.
Top Five Episodes
Cyrano de Brady Season 4, Episode 5. Peter’s clumsy efforts at romancing Kerry bring laughs to the episode early on. However, it is Greg and Marcia’s assistance at the conclusion of the episode that place it among my favorites. Greg pretends to be a womanizing player so that Kerry will lose interest in him. He calls his swanky ensemble his “working threads”. When Marcia, acting as the dejected Debbie, arrives she is upset that she has found another woman there. The hilarity continues as Greg says, “You caught me at a bad time, I usually have three or four.” The episode is a lot of fun and one of my favorites .
Call Me Irresponsible Season 2, Episode 6. Greg’s aspirations for car ownership are much like those of any kid his age. Greg’s scheming to have his siblings invest in the car was a clever ploy to get some extra money to fund a set of wheels. He looks through a car magazine under the impression a boy his age might actually be able to afford a brand new ride. He takes on employment at Mike’s firm and nearly loses an important set of plans for a second time. His efforts to retrieve them in time send him bouncing all over town. The story was well done and made for an entertaining episode.
Will The Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up? Season 2, Episode 15. Of all the “woe is me” plots this one was my favorite. Tired of being an invisible blonde among her sisters, she sets out to make a huge change. The hilarity starts when Jan visits a wig store. While there, she suggests a wild and crazy wig like the sales clerk is wearing. The lady informs Jan that she is not wearing a wig. Jan plans to make her brunette debut at Lucy Winters’ birthday party. Peter’s preparation for the party makes a fun b-plot. The stunned look on Lucy Winters’ and Margie Ripple’s faces when Jan debuts her new look are the comedic peak of the story. In the end, Jan learns a lesson about loving herself in a non-sappy or non-overly dramatic way.
How To Succeed In Business? Season 4, Episode 19. This episode was great for laughs. When his boss expresses disapproval of how Peter is working, Peter is totally oblivious. Peter thinks he is on the fast track to success when he is really on his way to a pink slip. This one is unique in that Peter’s bike career does not have cliche happy ending courtesy of buckling down on his skills and a forgiving boss. Peter remains fired, but learns he may have a future in sales.
My Sister, Benedict Arnold Season 3, Episode 5. This episode shows the two oldest Brady kids at their worst. It makes for one of the best episodes! Marcia uses the attention of an older boy to prove to Greg she won’t be pushed around. Greg’s pettiness in his dislike of the boy shows some shallowness on his part that is only amplified when he strikes back at Marcia by using false romantic overtures to a nemesis of her’s. As brother and sister duke it out verbally, the younger Bradys look on in glee. The episode is a lot of fun from start to finish.
I look forward to reading your own top five lists! There are so many episodes that just missed the list. “Goodbye Alice, Hello” is my favorite episode for drama. Alice reuniting with the kids at the diner was a favorite scene of mine. “Greg’s Triangle” was another fun story that just missed the top five. “The Personality Kid” also holds a special place in my viewing heart.
Thank you so much dear readers for reviewing The Brady Bunch with me. I have enjoyed immensely writing this blog and receiving your feedback.
For those who will be reviewing Leave It To Beaver with me, that blog will begin in early 2019. Look for it under the moniker “Mayfield Memories: Leave It To Beaver Reviewed”.
Here's The Story: Every Episode of The Brady Bunch Reviewed 
4 out of your top 5 I agree with. I’m just replacing “Call Me Irresponsible” with “The Honeymoon”. The pilot episode features several instances of only-appearance-in-the-series: the Bradys’ original house, the girls’ pet cat, Carol Brady’s original surname, etc. And most of all, it contains my favorite scene of the whole series is in this episode: when Mike notices that Bobby put the picture of his first mother away. Mike draws Bobby close and reminds him that he shouldn’t forget his mother, so it’s okay to leave her picture out. That was a very touching scene and definitely has Robert Reeds influence.
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My top favorite episodes are in no particular order
1. Jan the Only Child
2. You Can’t Win Em All
3. Cyrano De Brady
4. Big Little Man
5. My Sister’s Shadow
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I’ll go with all of these except “My Sister, Benedict Arnold.” The rest are great in my book. Close contenders are “Peter and the Wolf” and “Not so Rose-Colored Glasses.”
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My Top Five Brady Bunch Episodes
5.) A Fistful of Reasons- Love the great conflict and acting by Russell Schulman as Buddy Hinton in this episode and the realistic situations within. Very well done!
4.) The Drummer Boy- Classic episode! What makes it stand out is Bobby’s horrible drum playing, and the hilarious insults that almost everyone in the family says about his lack of musical ability. I have classic quotes saved from this episode! They crack me up every time I watch!
3.) Getting Greg’s Goat- A late season gem! “Gregory, Mrs. Gould is in the closet!” So funny!
2.) Her Sister’s Shadow- Jan finally beating Marcia at something her older sister never did, winning the schools essay contest and a place in the Honor Society, with a score of 98, only to realize that she came in second place with 95 due to a scoring error and her courage in admitting her mistake in assembly, as well as Mrs. Watson’s amazing speech, gives me chills to this day. Incredible writing and storytelling.
1.) Bobby’s Hero- Bobby’s obsession with Jessie James and guns, so powerful and ahead of its time, you forget that you are watching a sitcom. Acting in this episode is absolutely brilliant, and Burt Mustin’s portray of Mr. Collins in his communication with Bobby about the horror of Jessie James killing his father is one of the best acting sequences I have ever seen in television! It is that powerful! This episode could be played in schools today with all the problems of gun violence. When a storyline made back in 1973 holds up today, forty-five years later with its emotional impact, what can top that? This episode is… WOW!
Runner’s Up:
5.) Sorry, Right Number- Good episode about the kids over-using the phone, and trying to teach them the value of money. The only small issue is the one line about the kids making toll calls
4.) Peter and the Wolf- A solid episode. Hysterical with Greg helping Peter prepare for his “Older Woman” double date, only for Peter to mess up everything! That mustache scene! lol
3.) Juliet is the Sun- Maureen’s great acting as she transforms from almost no-self-esteem for the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, to her arrogantly changing lines, bashing her family, and bashing, her Romeo co-star Harold Axelrod is great to watch.
2.) Power of the Press- Peter neglecting his schoolwork to become a top news reporter at Filmore Junior High School results in a “D” on his Science Final Exam, taught by unflappable, dull, and tough teacher Mr. Price. Good lessons learned about manipulation and studying hard are learned here. It is however, the awesome performance by Milton Parsons as Mr. rice that make this episode so good!
1.) Greg Gets Grounded-Outstanding episode and storylines in this episode. And in my view the angriest we have seen Mike. We learn why living by “exact words” never works. The great comedy of the frogs getting loose at the drive inn and jumping on the pizza is a laugh-riot!
Jack
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Oh, yea!
Feel bad for missing “My Sister Benedict Arnold!” I would put it in my top Brady Bunch episodes for sure for the sibling tension between Greg and Marcia as they date each other’s school rivals. “Greg invited Kathy over to bug Marcia for asking Warren over to big him.” “Sounds like an unpopularity contest!” LOL
Jack
PS. Mike, can you delete one of my two duplicate comment entries above, since they are the same?
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The Big Bet
The Fender Benders
Fistful of Reasons
Goodbye Alice Hello
Peter and the Wolf
Runners-up:
Cyrano de Brady
Her Sister’s Shadow
Jan the Only Child
The Not So Rose Colored Glasses
Our Son the Man
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Can I play? Here’s my Five Funniest moments:
5) Greg Gets Grounded – Bobby tries to hand his frog over to Marcia, who screams and does a 360 degree spin. From Bobby and Jan’s reactions, it looked like Maureen McCormick’s fear of amphibians was real.
4) You Can’t Win ‘Em All – “And Nowwww….”, Mike’s futile attempts to throw a dinner party with Carol, which finally end up on the night of Cindy’s television appearance, drives him to the brink of a soliloquy. Or was it a monologue? I’m sure Robert Reed knew.
3) Confessions, Confessions – When Peter breaks Carol’s favorite vase with his basketball throw, his siblings conspire to keep it a secret so he can go on his camping trip unpunished. The children form a bond tighter than the glue used to hold the vase together, so much so that they remain silent during dinner when water begins leaking from it while their parents angrily demand an explanation. When Alice enters, she utters what’s always been my favorite one-liner in the entire series; “Anybody got three coins for the fountain?”
2) Fright Night – Instead of moving into a beach house and hosting a variety show, the Brady kids could have formed a special effects house in Hollywood. The boys created a moving image among the trees with nothing more than a slide projector, which convincingly scares the girls. They retaliate by betting the boys can’t spend a night in the attic. I thought the frightened expressions on Bobby and Peter’s faces were hilarious, while not being able to recognize Marcia’s voice on a tape recorder and mistaking cellophane wrapping & fishing line for an actual ghost. Bobby lets out a yell that would make James Brown proud, as he and Peter bolt downstairs like they’ve seen Herman Munster, which can be heard in their parents’ bedroom. Before the big reveal back in the attic, Marcia smiles at her handiwork when even Carol reacts to the plastic phantasm, “Oohhh…”
1) Father Of The Year – Jan and Cindy find Marcia in Mike’s den at night, writing an essay to enter her new father into a contest. The three girls begin screaming and laughing as The Brady Bunch Theme plays in the background… which all stops immediately when Mike returns and closes the door. When he asks the girls while they aren’t in bed, Cindy and Jan toss the blame on Marcia, claiming she was up writing a love letter. Mike sends the two giggling girls back upstairs, and seeing Cindy hunch her shoulders laughing and Jan looking back with a smile, like real children behave, breaks me up every time!
And now, my Five Favorite episodes:
5) Greg’s Triangle – The plotline concerning an attractive and aggressive woman pursuing a male lead finds it’s way onto The Brady Bunch; this usually ends in disaster on the old radio shows I listen to. A similar incident happened to me some years ago, and even our second date was a science fiction picture! With Greggie, he’s faced with choosing his present girlfriend or his sister for a spot as head cheerleader, and ultimately makes the right decision.
4) Father Of The Year – By her youthful efforts entering Mike into a contest, Marcia is punished again and again for attempting to do a good deed. Her father is eventually honored in more ways than one.
3) A Clubhouse Is Not A Home – Yes, the Brady kids are family feuding right up to the epilogue. Yes, both clubhouses only exist in this episode. Yes, Bobby pulling nails out the boys’ clubhouse is implausible. Yes, the episode should have aired earlier in the series with the moving of personal belongings, and the scene with Mike talking to his sons about his love for Carol and her daughters, which I thought was touching. But, as Cindy said, “I wanna see them fight!”
2) Vote For Brady – All of the sibling rivalry and merging of families seemed to work better for me in this first season episode than all the others. This time, it extends out of their home and into a school election. Again, the speech given by Mike and Carol after Greg and Marcia made for a fine moment.
Another aside; when I was in grade school I was involved in student government, and ran for president against someone who was probably one of the most popular girls in school. Although it looked like she was going to concede when she started making campaign buttons for me, she didn’t and she won. It never bothered me that I lost, because even up until now I kept thinking, “Greg and Marcia did this!”
1) The Dropout – When the series was made available on DVD, I bought season two first specifically for this one. After receiving encouragement and pitching tips from Don Drysdale, Greg develops tunnel vision and plans on becoming a baseball star, while forsaking his education. He even offers Cindy his autograph, about two seasons before she’d ask if he wanted hers! His pitching at the weekend game results in the opposing team scoring 12 runs, his early ejection along with his brothers gloating, and a father & son talk that was, in my humble opinion, a high point in the series. To Greg (and I’m sure to all the young viewers who desired to be famous athletes, movie stars, and popular musicians); don’t give up on your goals, but learn from your mistakes and listen to good advice. Then, maybe one day, you can make your brother pay to watch you play in the World Series for calling you “Dizzy”!
Boy, am I gonna miss this blog. You all have been swell!
Ernie
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By the way, if I had to put together a “Best Of The Brady Bunch” set for CBS/Paramount, it would be a double DVD with 6 shows per disc, with more of a by-the-numbers collection of episodes. Probably like this…
Disc One:
The Honeymoon; Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore; Vote For Brady; A Fistful Of Reasons; The Tattletale; Juliet Is The Sun
Disc Two:
Her Sister’s Shadow; Getting Davy Jones; Law And Disorder; Greg Gets Grounded; Adios, Johnny Bravo; Welcome Aboard
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One of the funniest Brady Bunch scenes ever: the one where Mike was fixing the phonograph and Bobby was having a blast using the phonograph to pretend he was deaf…and being Chinese (not politically correct today)…and others. Frigging hilarious… What episode was this I can’t remember? The same one where they were dancing the Charleston etc in the living room?
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That was a great scene!
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It was the aunt Jenny episode. Mike finds a phonograph among the stuff they’re taking out of the attic.
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Thanks!
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Wow, there are a lot of really good episodes of this show; too many to limit to a top 5 list. Even a top 10 list would have been difficult.
My “Top 5” LOL moments stretched out a bit, many of these were things I thought were funny at the time, but I laugh at them more now than I did back then:
1) Bobby with gramophone horn (“Aunt Jenny episode”)
2) Peter calling Greg’s hair a fire hazard – when I watched the Hair Brained Scheme for this blog, hearing Peter suggest that Greg’s hair was so dry it was like a fire hazard, that just struck me as really funny.
3) Jan buying the wig … what a great scene between Eve Plumb and Marcia Wallace… Jan tries on a wig called “Midnight Temptress”, but then decides against buying it, saying “I don’t think I’ll be up that late”. Wonderful!
4) Jan in the drug store, trying to do something about those darn freckles… great exchange between her and the sympathetic Druggist. When he asked Jan if her “friend’s” freckles are a real problem, Jan says “They’re ruining her LIFE!” Again, just a wonderful scene between Jan and an adult who knows exactly what’s going on.
5) Greg – in the Cincinnati episode, his “girlfriend” tells him that her brother is an animal…Greg says “Aren’t we all?”
6) In “Out of This World”, after getting an autograph, Bobby tells General McDivitt (a real Astronaut) to “Keep up the good work”
7) In “The Driver’s Seat”, Mike defends Carol’s and Marcia’s driving to Greg, who says “Boy, marriage really takes all of the nerve out of a guy!”
8) In “Miss Popularity”…Mike “sneaks up” on Carol as she’s sitting at her writing table in their bedroom, puts his arms around her and starts kissing her…she says “may I remind you sir that I’m a happily married woman and a mother?” and Mike says “I know, this is how you get that way!
9) Bobby and Cindy on the teeter-totter… after they met Jerry Rogers and he leaves with Marcia, Cindy says to Bobby “Love Is more important than football” and Bobby replies “How do you know? You never played either one!”
10) Also in the Quarterback Sneak episode…Tank Gates…
Tank: You ever play ball, Mack?
Mike: It’s “Mike”, and uh, yeah I played some ball, not football, but..
Tank: I didn’t think so.
Tank: I scored so many points that I can’t remember the total… (to Carol) Do you remember, “Twinkles”?
11) Greg’s scenes with “Raquel” the goat… especially when Bobby and Peter (and later Mike) were listening to him through the vent “there, there Raquel, does that feel good?” lol
12) Bobby and Millicent (Melissa Sue Anderson) running to each other in slow motion, and the accompanying music
13) Peter’s cluelessness about Mr. Martinelli’s criticism of his work at the Bike Shop
14) When Jan is speaking on the phone to the salesman who sold her the silver platter, she calls him “Alfie” in front of Mike, Carol and Alice….omg, that was hilarious… and wow, quick thinking on Jan’s part!
15) In the “Jan the Only Child” episode, Alice and Carol are both making strawberry preserves for a contest…But of course, they’re NOT competing with each other:
Carol: Three dashes, huh Alice?
Alice: Well, who counts?
Later:
Alice: Interesting, one cup of sugar, thee-quarters of a cup of fruit!
Carol: Oh, is THAT what I used? (chuckles)
Re: Top episodes… I had a lot of candidates for this, I began with a list of 39 episodes, and then narrowed the choices down to these:
The Hero
The Not-So-Ugly Duckling
Confessions, Confessions
Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?
Our Son, the Man
My Fair Opponent
My Sister, Benedict Arnold
Her Sister’s Shadow
The Not So Rose Colored Glasses
The Big Bet
Today I Am a Freshman
Cyrano de Brady
Jan, the Only Child
Greg Gets Grounded (exact words)
The Subject Was Noses
How to Succeed in Business
A Room at the Top
Peter and the Wolf
Getting Greg’s Goat
Quarterback Sneak
The Driver’s Seat
I finally narrowed the Top Five (actually six) down to these (chronological order):
Confessions, Confessions
Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?
My Sister Benedict Arnold
Cyrano de Brady
Greg Gets Grounded
Quarterback Sneak
With only a handful of episodes that are “unwatchable”, this show had a lot more good times than bad!
This was a lot of fun, reviewing and discussing this show… there will probably be more people that “find” it in the future, so we may end up coming back here occasionally, as other interesting comments are posted.
Meanwhile, we can look forward to the Leave it to Beaver blog.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone here and to all of your families as well!
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I have to give a special shout-out to one-season sitcom wonder “DAY BY DAY”. Who could forget the Brady tribute from this show, where Christopher Daniel Barnes (who would eventually play Greg in “The Brady Bunch Movie” and “A Very Brady Sequel”) dreamed he was “the long lost Brady son, Chuck”? Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland and Ann B. Davis really looked like they were having a blast sending up their original roles.
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At the risk of repeating my comment in the “bottom 5” post…
I’ve been reading this blog off and on all day. It started this morning when I was watching the block of Brady Bunch episodes on Me-TV, which led to me not wanting to watch Gilligan’s Island when Brady Bunch was over, which led to me watching the Bradys on Hulu, which then led to me getting out my DVDs because the episode I wanted to watch wasn’t on Hulu. I love the Brady Bunch. I’ve seen every episode multiple times. The Greg and Marcia episodes are my favorites. They’re the two kids I identify with the most. I’ve always thought Greg was kind of cute too. Lol.
The Bradys are made fun of for wearing terrible clothes, but I actually really like many of their outfits. Many of the things that the girls wear, heck even things that the boys and adults wear, that I would totally wear today.
With that said, I do have some least favorite episodes, but my favorite episodes far outweigh my least favorites. I love the episodes where the kids sing, I also love the Hawaii story arc more than the Grand Canyon one. I love the episodes with the random square dancing and Charleston performances. My favorite episodes seem to be in Seasons 3 & 4; but there are a handful of episodes from earlier and later seasons that I also enjoy.
Top 5:
1) Getting Greg’s Goat. This is one of the episodes that I watch over and over and never tire of it. It is probably one of the funniest episodes of the entire series. The look on Mike’s face when he thinks Greg has had a girl in his room all night is hilarious. I also love the conversation between Mike and Greg in the den. GREG: I should have never gotten involved with a beast like that. MIKE: That’s a dreadful thing to say about any girl, no matter what she looks like.
2) Adios, Johnny Bravo. I love this episode. I love the song that Greg sings at the beginning of the episode. I love Buddy’s crazy outfit. I love how Christopher Knight screws up the “Good Time Music” choreography at the end. This episode is one of my favorites.
3) Cyrano de Brady. This episode is hilarious. Peter referring to Greg as “Old Silver Tongue,” and the entire scene between Marcia as the dejected Greg paramour, “Debbie,” and Greg trying to act like a playboy, with the adults watching and eating popcorn in the background is one of my favorite moments of the series.
4) Greg’s Triangle. “Greggy” is being taken advantage of by Jennifer Nichols. She appeals to his ego, angering Marcia. Jennifer sucked at the cheerleader tryouts. She deserved to lose to Rita Wilson.
5) Our Son, the Man. Greg’s trying to act like a grown-up. Unlike Marcia who tries to act sophisticated when she starts high school, Greg tries to be hip and smooth. I love his star shirt/fringe vest combo with the glasses with yellow lenses. GREG: I want to talk to you man to man man to man, not kid to man man to man.
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I want to start by thanking our Beloved Reviewer for starting this blog. You have given me so many hours of entertainment and enjoyment. Your episode descriptions, comments on plot inconsistencies and continuity errors, trivia about guest actors, and hilarious jokes and asides were endlessly fun and entertaining. I laughed at least as much reading your blog as I have watching some of the episodes! It was engaging, intelligent, informative, well-written and very very funny. You always struck the perfect balance between being critical and devotional, and between reverent and irreverent. Thanks again for taking us all on this journey, I’ve enjoyed every minute!!!
Here are my top choices:
1) “Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up”–for me the Brady Bunch never got any better than this episode, as it struck the perfect balance between funny and touching, silly and serious. Eve Plumb was fantastic here, her scene with Marcia Wallace was the most laugh-out-loud of the entire series to me, and all of the other people’s reactions to her wig were highly plausible. Top to bottom a great episode, and the Peter subplot was amusing too.
2) “Vote For Brady”–fewer laughs but this is my favorite dramatic episode. It contains three of my favorite tear-jerker moments: (a) Alice’s teary-eyed acceptance of Marcia’s apology (gets me every time), (b) Greg standing up for his sister (ditto); (c) Marcia’s withdrawing from the race. Like I said, light on laughs but here the drama wins out.
3) “Confessions, Confessions”–as you pointed out in your review, the machinations of the Brady parents to get Peter to confess were implausible, but otherwise I found this episode funny and believable. Peter’s eventual confession, and the Brady parents’ response to it, are another dramatic high point of the series for me. Christ Knight nailed the confession scene.
4) “The Big Bet”–this one has the best comedic ending to me. Love the frog jumping into the pizza, and Greg’s lesson about exact words.
5) “Goodbye Alice Hello”–another tear-jerker but this one too gets me every time. Fact is, pretty much every scene she’s in, Ann B. Davis is absolute gold, whether it’s comedy or drama. She’s the glue that kept this series together, and her one-liners weren’t always great but she always made them work with her delivery. She was also unafraid to engage in slapstick and physical comedy, and I would put her in the company of Lucille Ball and John Ritter in terms of her ability to make such scenes work for maximum humor.
Honorable mention:
1) “Father of the Year”–another dramatic episode that gets me every time.
2) “Adios, Johnny Bravo”–the only singing episode that I like. It’s a stupid episode but somehow it still works for me.
3) “My Sister’s Shadow”–my second favorite Jan episode.
4) “Peter Wolf”–for the silly ending.
5) The Subject Was Noses”–for the lesson on how looks don’t matter.
6) “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Any More”–another great “Alice leaving” episode.
7) “My Sister, Benedict Arnold”–for how petty Marcia and Greg are.
8) “Tattle-Tale”–mostly for the Alice scenes.
9) “Slumber Party”–I like the battle of the sexes with the boys trying to scare the girls.
10) “Not-So-Rose Colored Glasses”–for Jan’s chaotic bike crash and for the touching scene where she confesses to selling her bike.
My final mention has to be about “Drummer Boy”–the A plot is one of my LEAST favorite, but the B plot involving Peter joining the glee club is one of my favorite.
Thanks again for creating such a wonderful blog! I’m sure I will be revisiting it and adding more commentary as I make my way through more episodes but it’s been super fun and I greatly appreciate all the effort you put into it!
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Thanks for the very kind words! I enjoyed your lists very much!
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I’m on the last disc for season 5 and I think most of those episodes were not that great but will fast forward through them to make sure they are okay but I see no scratches on the bottom of the disc.
5. Call me irresponsible. Barry and Robert were great in those scenes when Greg realizes he lost the sketches.
4. Grand Canyon episodes even though I didn’t care for the Ghost Town one. Loved the singing in the car, Mike in his black jeans.. lol the adults and kids search for the two youngest ones.
3. Click.
2. Father of the year Scenes in the den and when Mike gets the award
1. Amature nite How they tried to hide things from Mike and Carol and the final song that the parents and Alice saw. I loved how Alice yelled to them to the kitchen and here it is from what I remember.
“The kids are on television!”
“What kids?”
“Yours, his, ours, come on… ”
“I thought you said they went to a football game ‘Keep on’ is my favorite song of the series.
Honorable mentions…
1. Mike’s horror scope… Mike trying to provide for the family but this jerk won’t let him.
2. Greg gets Grounded…. exact words really don’t work
3. Getting Greg’s goat…. goat chase scenes and Mike and Greg’s chat in the den.
4. Adios Johnny Bravo…. I liked the plot and the ending song, my second favorite song…
5. Not so rose colored glasses… Mike and the kids try to hide things from Carol then after the picture is ruined, the kids hide the situation from Mike himself and Carol as well.
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Wow, my “tops” aren’t like a lot of people’s tops! HaHa. This was a hard list to make as I love nearly every ep of the BB, and sorry, can’t do just 5:
5.The Hawaii trilogy – just everything about these eps I loved.
4.Cyrano de Brady – Kim Karath was so sweet and pretty, and the teenage drama at the end with the adults watching the play was hilarious. “She’s Debbie…I’m Debbie!”
3.Peter and the Wolf – Greg’s expression when he sees his parents in the restaurant is priceless!
2.Fright Night – I loved the eps that involved all 6 kids, rather than just one (esp Bobby episodes).
1.ALL SINGING EPISODES: (iv) Getting Davy Jones (I’m a huge Monkees fan and I went to their Sydney concert in 1968, aged 3!); (iii) Dough-Re-Mi (apart from that cross-eyed out-of-time awful sha-na-na-na-na); (ii) Adious Johnny Bravo (2 songs for the price of 1); (i) Amateur Night – 2 songs, plus singing AND an all-6-kids ep, love it!
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