Six Kids, Six Classic Brady Bunch Episodes: The Ultimate Brady Six-Pack

[TMC]

https://comforttv.blogspot.com/2016/...ady-bunch.html

The other week I was watching “The Power of the Press,” an episode about Peter writing a column for his school paper, and I wondered how many episodes focused on each of the six Brady kids. So I added them up.

It turns out there are 12 Greg episodes, 10 for Peter, 8 for Bobby, 14 for Marcia, 9 for Jan and 6 for Cindy. The rest are either family-oriented stories, shows that feature more than one kid (Bobby and Cindy on the teeter-totter, Greg and Marcia fighting over the attic), or episodes that focus on the parents or Alice.

But which is the best show for each of the Brady kids? That’s one of those delightful TV debates that could fill an evening of dinnertime conversation – at least in my social circle. Here are my picks for the ultimate Brady six-pack, and I look forward to any opposing viewpoints.

Bobby

“Bobby’s Hero” (Season 4)

When you examine the Bobby episodes, you realize he had as many inferiority complexes as Jan. Whether it was feeling like a neglected stepson (“Every Boy Does it Once”), never winning a trophy (“The Winner”) or being insecure about his height (“Big Little Man”), Mike’s youngest always seemed to struggle to find his place in the family.

Perhaps that influenced his choice of Jesse James – someone who didn’t take crap from anybody – as a hero. In “Bobby’s Hero” he idolizes a ruthless outlaw until he meets a man (played by Comfort TV’s favorite senior citizen, Burt Mustin) whose father was killed by Jesse James. I remember how that seemed far-fetched, but the episode aired in 1973 and James died in 1882, so the math does work out.

I chose this episode because of the old west dream sequence in which the Bradys are shot and killed (which probably terrified younger viewers and delighted a few TV critics), as well as Bobby’s poignant come-to-Jesus moment, as he wakes up from the aforementioned nightmare. I think Mike Lookinland’s scene in Mike and Carol’s bedroom, when Bobby somberly announces, “I’m turning in my guns,” is his best moment on the series.

The show also works as a potent cautionary tale about the pitfalls of hero worship when you choose poorly, a message even more relevant today.

Cindy

“Eenie, Meenie, Mommy, Daddy” (Season 1)

Most of Cindy’s best Brady moments are in episodes where she shares the spotlight. “The Voice of Christmas” was as much Carol’s story as it is hers, and the celebrated bullying episode “A Fistful of Reasons,” starts out Cindy-centric and then switches to Peter.

When Cindy flies solo the results are usually not that stellar. Shows like “The Tattle-Tale” and “Cindy Brady, Lady” don’t hold up well, and the less said about the Shirley Temple episode (“The Snooperstar”), the better.

“Eenie, Meenie, Mommy, Daddy,” just the third episode in the series, is the exception. Cindy’s moment of triumph – earning a lead role in a school play – turns to anguish when the school only gives each cast member one ticket. Should she ask her mother, or her father? The Brady Bunch meets Sophie’s Choice! It’s also fun that Cindy’s co-star in the play is Chris Partridge (Brian Forster).

Peter

“The Personality Kid” (Season 3)

With the exception of “Two Petes in a Pod,” almost every Peter episode is a series highlight. These are also some of the funniest shows in the run, whether Peter is secretly recording his siblings’ conversations (“The Private Ear”) or being consumed by guilt after breaking mom’s favorite vase (“Confessions, Confessions”).

Still, “The Personality Kid” is an episode everyone remembers, and with good reason. The story has Peter coming home from a party distraught because someone told him he has no personality. His parents expect it to blow over, but when it doesn’t we find Mike doesn’t have much tolerance for self-pity: “Stop moping around! If you don’t like your personality, improve it! Change it!” Thus we get an iconic sequence as Peter takes various personalities for a test drive, one being that of Humphrey Bogart.

It’s hard to explain why the “pork chops and applesauce” scene still makes me laugh, even though I’ve probably watched it 50 times. It isn’t just Christopher Knight’s awful Bogie impression, in which “swell” becomes “schwell”; it’s the reactions from Carol and Alice that progress from befuddled to bemused, and how it becomes contagious as both adopt the same facial tics and pronunciations.

Jan

“Her Sister’s Shadow” (Season 3)

Another no-brainer. Jan’s insecurity and middle child issues crop up in other episodes (such as “Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?” and “Try, Try Again”) but this is one of the series’ definitive shows, and the one that forever branded Jan as the poster girl for sibling envy. Her plaintive cries of “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” will echo across the generations.

This is also one of the series’ most quotable episodes, and not just for that one famous line. “Find out what you do best, and do your best with it” is good advice for anyone, and I love Jan’s justification for dumping her sister’s awards in the closet – “Every time Marcia turns around they hand her a blue ribbon.”

“Her Sister’s Shadow” also sees Jan hearing immoral voices in her head, which became a running gag in The Brady Bunch Movie. Will she give in to the dark side and accept the Honor Society Award she really didn’t earn?

Greg

“The Dropout” (Season 2)

I’m sure many fans would opt for “Adios Johnny Bravo” which, as with many of the Greg shows, focuses on Greg’s choice between listening to the devil on one shoulder or the angel on the other. Here he has to decide between solo teen idol stardom and staying with the family musical group.

He faced similar dilemmas in “The Wheeler-Dealer,” in which he is tempted to lie to a friend to unload a lemon of a car he purchased, and in “Greg’s Triangle,” where he is on the committee in charge of picking the next head cheerleader. Should he take the fringe benefits that would come with choosing his new girlfriend, or choose his sister Marcia instead?

But there’s a special moment in “The Dropout,” the show’s season 2 opener, that makes it my favorite Greg show. If the title doesn’t jog any memories, this is the episode featuring Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale, who compliments Greg’s curve ball, sending the kid on an ego trip that ends badly. There is a scene between Mike and Greg after his little league downfall that is the best father-son moment on the series.

Marcia

“Today I Am a Freshman” (Season 4)

This was by far the most difficult decision.

What an embarrassment of riches we have with the Marcia shows: “Getting Davy Jones,” “The Slumber Caper” and “The Subject was Noses” are all classics; there was also her crush on bug-lover Harvey Klinger in “Going, Going…Steady,” and her feminist-inspired enrollment in the Frontier Scouts in “The Liberation of Marcia Brady”.

And while I rarely get emotional watching The Brady Bunch, Mike’s realization scene at the end of “Father of the Year” always gets to me. Watch Maureen McCormick’s face – she is positively beaming with love and pride.

I have three reasons for selecting “Today I Am a Freshman,” which depicts Marcia’s uneasy transition into high school. First, it sent a reassuring message to young girls that no one is immune from insecurity, even someone as beautiful and smart and poised as Marcia Brady.

To boost her social life at her new school, Marcia joins every club available, leading to a series of amusing scenes as she tries her hand at archery, scuba diving, karate and yoga. While this is happening, the episode’s B-plot has Peter building a working volcano, which he tests as Marcia is considered for membership in Westdale High’s most exclusive club, The Boosters.

For a television writer, bringing the A-plot and B-plot of an episode into a perfect simultaneous payoff is the ultimate accomplishment. “Today I Am a Freshman” achieves this goal with another unforgettable Brady moment.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by TMC

https://comforttv.blogspot.com/2016/...ady-bunch.html

Bobby had more inferiority complexes than Jan. Jan was usually very outgoing, except for about 2 episodes. Like I talked about in another post, Jan and Bobby had many similarities, I think they could have related to each other, I wish the 2 had teamed up more


Same for Peter and Cindy

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TheLittleFaerie

Bobby had more inferiority complexes than Jan. Jan was usually very outgoing, except for about 2 episodes. Like I talked about in another post, Jan and Bobby had many similarities, I think they could have related to each other, I wish the 2 had teamed up more


Same for Peter and Cindy

Bobby and Jan both resented the ribbons, awards and trophies their siblings got. Bobby went to look at them but Jan threw Marcia's in the back of the closet

Bobby had issues with being short, afraid of heights, and never winning anything.

Jan had issues with feeling inferior to her older sister and wanting to be an only child.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Bobby and Jan both resented the ribbons, awards and trophies their siblings got. Bobby went to look at them but Jan threw Marcia's in the back of the closet

Bobby had issues with being short, afraid of heights, and never winning anything.

Jan had issues with feeling inferior to her older sister and wanting to be an only child.

Exactly!! When Bobby was going through his "inferiority issues" there could have been a sweet big sister moment between he and Jan, Jan could have taken him aside and talked to him about her own similar struggles.

Jan and Bobby also had a few very similar episodes, like Bobby's "The Winner" episode and Jan's "Try Try Again"

Also when all the kids were ignoring Jan when she wanted to be the only child, they kinda did the same to Bobby when they thought he stole Cindy's doll, and it was Jan who defended Bobby in their "mock court trial" lol

[Smartboy]

I find it interesting that a lot of people find fault with the Shirley Temple episode. I thought that it told a pretty good story and had some rather funny lines in it. If other posters would like me to elaborate on what I liked about it, I will be happy to do so later on.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Smartboy

I find it interesting that a lot of people find fault with the Shirley Temple episode. I thought that it told a pretty good story and had some rather funny lines in it. If other posters would like me to elaborate on what I liked about it, I will be happy to do so later on.

The Shirley Temple episode is way more entertaining than the only-1-parent-can-come episode. To me any season 1 episode is irritating, but that script is ridiculous. I know we're in sitcom-land, but I'd expect any situation would have at least a slight chance of really happening, but this one wouldn't.

Not only was the Shirley Temple episode entertaining, it was downright funny. Natalie Schafer ending up singing the lollipop song was a real highlight.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by stevea

The Shirley Temple episode is way more entertaining than the only-1-parent-can-come episode. To me any season 1 episode is irritating, but that script is ridiculous. I know we're in sitcom-land, but I'd expect any situation would have at least a slight chance of really happening, but this one wouldn't.

Not only was the Shirley Temple episode entertaining, it was downright funny. Natalie Schafer ending up singing the lollipop song was a real highlight.

Enie Meenie Mommy Daddy is my least favorite Brady Bunch episode. Like you I dont like most of season 1. The plot is ridiculous. Alice always shows good judgment except this episode where she keeps the teacher's phone call private so Cindy can decide which parent to bring. Cindy's dress is so short you see her underwear several times. But when the parents find out about Cindy's dilemma they make it worse. Instead of confronting it and deciding who will go they lie to Cindy and pretend Mike Brady has a business date the day of the play.
I also love Snooperstar. It is silly but in a funny way. They really made Cindy in idiot on the show and this fits that mold perfectly.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by stevea

The Shirley Temple episode is way more entertaining than the only-1-parent-can-come episode. To me any season 1 episode is irritating, but that script is ridiculous. I know we're in sitcom-land, but I'd expect any situation would have at least a slight chance of really happening, but this one wouldn't.

Not only was the Shirley Temple episode entertaining, it was downright funny. Natalie Schafer ending up singing the lollipop song was a real highlight.

Enie Meenie Mommy Daddy is my least favorite Brady Bunch episode. Like you I dont like most of season 1. The plot is ridiculous. Alice always shows good judgment except this episode where she keeps the teacher's phone call private so Cindy can decide which parent to bring. Cindy's dress is so short you see her underwear several times. But when the parents find out about Cindy's dilemma they make it worse. Instead of confronting it and deciding who will go they lie to Cindy and pretend Mike Brady has a business date the day of the play.
I also love Snooperstar. It is silly but in a funny way. They really made Cindy in idiot on the show and this fits that mold perfectly.

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Enie Meenie Mommy Daddy is my least favorite Brady Bunch episode. Like you I dont like most of season 1. The plot is ridiculous. Alice always shows good judgment except this episode where she keeps the teacher's phone call private so Cindy can decide which parent to bring. Cindy's dress is so short you see her underwear several times. But when the parents find out about Cindy's dilemma they make it worse. Instead of confronting it and deciding who will go they lie to Cindy and pretend Mike Brady has a business date the day of the play.
I also love Snooperstar. It is silly but in a funny way. They really made Cindy in idiot on the show and this fits that mold perfectly.

What makes you say that Cindy was depicted as an idiot?

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Enie Meenie Mommy Daddy is my least favorite Brady Bunch episode. Like you I dont like most of season 1. The plot is ridiculous. Alice always shows good judgment except this episode where she keeps the teacher's phone call private so Cindy can decide which parent to bring. Cindy's dress is so short you see her underwear several times. But when the parents find out about Cindy's dilemma they make it worse. Instead of confronting it and deciding who will go they lie to Cindy and pretend Mike Brady has a business date the day of the play.
I also love Snooperstar. It is silly but in a funny way. They really made Cindy in idiot on the show and this fits that mold perfectly.

I notice a lot of season one episodes do not have subplots like the rest of the series. Usually there is a main plot with a smaller background plot

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TheLittleFaerie

I notice a lot of season one episodes do not have subplots like the rest of the series. Usually there is a main plot with a smaller background plot

Yes if you listen to the Real Brady Bros Podcast they talk about no subplots in season 1. Also early on to save money, not all kids would appear in all the episodes. Their contract was for only so many shows and the season was 2 episodes longer. Each kid sat out 1 episode.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by Smartboy

What makes you say that Cindy was depicted as an idiot?

Are you being serious? OMG Susan Olsen talks about this all the time how dumb they made Cindy. The cast also talks about how bad they felt for her that she was always the dumb one. When making posters for Marcia, she cant even spell her sister's name. She always told secrets without knowing she was telling secrets. She was a moron on live TV on the quiz show. Even Michael who plays Bobby was laughing on the Real Brady Bros podcast during the Grand Canyon episode that Cindy did not know what a dinosaur fossil was and she was probably playing a 10 year old. The cast and especially Susan always laugh at the fact the writers made Cindy to be a very dumb girl. My favorite is;
Cindy: Mommy why do I always get peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Mom: Because you love them so much
Cindy: Oh yeah, I keep forgetting

All the Brady kids had fairly normal schooling at public schools when they were not filming except Susan. Susan was continuously harassed and teased based on the idiocy of the Cindy Brady character. You have never heard her speak about how hard her school life was?

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Are you being serious? OMG Susan Olsen talks about this all the time how dumb they made Cindy. The cast also talks about how bad they felt for her that she was always the dumb one. When making posters for Marcia, she cant even spell her sister's name. She always told secrets without knowing she was telling secrets. She was a moron on live TV on the quiz show. Even Michael who plays Bobby was laughing on the Real Brady Bros podcast during the Grand Canyon episode that Cindy did not know what a dinosaur fossil was and she was probably playing a 10 year old. The cast and especially Susan always laugh at the fact the writers made Cindy to be a very dumb girl. My favorite is;
Cindy: Mommy why do I always get peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Mom: Because you love them so much
Cindy: Oh yeah, I keep forgetting

All the Brady kids had fairly normal schooling at public schools when they were not filming except Susan. Susan was continuously harassed and teased based on the idiocy of the Cindy Brady character. You have never heard her speak about how hard her school life was?

I think in the peanut butter and jelly sandwich situation, Cindy was simply expressing sarcasm towards her mother.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Yes if you listen to the Real Brady Bros Podcast they talk about no subplots in season 1. Also early on to save money, not all kids would appear in all the episodes. Their contract was for only so many shows and the season was 2 episodes longer. Each kid sat out 1 episode.

I noticed that also... I forget which episode it was, but there was one episode in which both Marcia AND Bobby were absent, I remember something important was going on with the family but can't remember what, but it made no sense for Marcia and Bobby not to be there.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by Smartboy

I think in the peanut butter and jelly sandwich situation, Cindy was simply expressing sarcasm towards her mother.

I mean to be fair, she was supposed to be very VERY young, about her forgetting PB Butter and Jelly was her favorite sandwich, I could totally imagine a kid coming out with something like that.

I always got the impression Cindy did really well in school, I guessing she was pretty book smart