The Brady spin offs - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Will and Grace Fanatic · 11-16-2014, 04:19 PM

Were any of the Brady spin offs any good in your opinions? I never saw them but did they have a following?

Marvo301 · 11-16-2014, 05:42 PM

I liked "The Bradys" the one hour drama they did in the 90's. Apparently not many other people liked it since it was cancelled after a handful of episodes!

jillmarie13 · 12-03-2014, 08:00 PM

I loved The Brady Brides. It was a cute show. I actually liked The Bradys but it didn' last long. The Brady Bunch Variety hour is 70's kitsch. Fake Jan AKA Geri Reischel had some amazing singing performances. I have all of these on bootleg DVD's and watch Brady Brides the most. It had the best plots. Alice and Carol were in it from time to time. Wish it had more episodes. the rest of the cast may have guested. It was about Marcia and Jan marrying men who could not be more different. One episode featured them going on The Newlywed show- it's a must see!
A couple years back there was talk of a new one produced by Vince Vaughn that would have a divorced Bobby married to a divorced mom, and it would feature their blended families. So who knows- maybe we will have another spinoff someday!

Flying Dutchman · 12-03-2014, 08:50 PM

I liked the Brady's too. But I read that most people complained that the show wasn't enough of a comedy like the original. Bobby's accident leaving him crippled. Marcia's drinking problem. Peter almost choking to death. This put too much of a dark side to the Brady's. My only complaint was the absence of Maureen. But I still liked Leah Ayers.

jillmarie13 · 12-03-2014, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchman

I liked the Brady's too. But I read that most people complained that the show wasn't enough of a comedy like the original. Bobby's accident leaving him crippled. Marcia's drinking problem. Peter almost choking to death. This put too much of a dark side to the Brady's. My only complaint was the absence of Maureen. But I still liked Leah Ayers.

Good points! I tend to agree. I wanted to see what would have happened with Cindy and her boss, and if Jan and Philip had kids of their own as well eventually.
It also seemed that Mike and Carol picked on Wally behind his back- the show made him seem like he lost a lot of jobs suddenly. I love Maureen McCormick as Marcia, and though Leah Ayers was good in the role, it wasn't the same. So many things could have happened- we could have seen the grandkids grow up and have plots based on what they were doing as well. It should have stayed more of a comedy. Watching Peter's dating adventures would have been fun too!

MacLeaper · 12-04-2014, 04:14 PM

I remember watching The Bradys when it originally aired- I enjoyed it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchman

I liked the Brady's too. But I read that most people complained that the show wasn't enough of a comedy like the original. Bobby's accident leaving him crippled. Marcia's drinking problem. Peter almost choking to death. This put too much of a dark side to the Brady's. My only complaint was the absence of Maureen. But I still liked Leah Ayers.

Yep- I remember reading critics of the time made the same complaint- they called the show "Bradysomething".

Of course, the series originated from a 1988 reunion TV-movie called "A Very Brady Christmas", which was very well received on TV. I have a copy on VHS that I like to watch most every Christmas (along with tons of other movies and such, of course.

- Or whenever during the year that I feel like it- I watch Christmas stuff any day of the year.)
Anyway, it did have some darker moments but I think it was trying to be more realistic (considering how unrealistic the original "The Brady Bunch" series was accused of being)- but maybe they went too much in that direction. I still like it in any case.

I haven't really seen much other than clips of "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" and "The Brady Brides", but both seem like fun shows to me.
And we can't forget one other spinoff series- "The Brady Kids". I have seen a few episodes of this cartoon, mainly for the crossovers with Wonder Woman and Superman. (This cartoon series is actually Wonder Woman's first animated appearance and first appearance on television in any form. Though Wonder Girl had appeared on TV previously, but that's a different character, though obviously she's in the WW family.

)

jillmarie13 · 12-04-2014, 06:10 PM

And we can't forget one other spinoff series- "The Brady Kids". I have seen a few episodes of this cartoon, mainly for the crossovers with Wonder Woman and Superman. (This cartoon series is actually Wonder Woman's first animated appearance and first appearance on television in any form. Though Wonder Girl had appeared on TV previously, but that's a different character, though obviously she's in the WW family.

)[/QUOTE]

thanks for the Wonder Woman trivia- who knew! I actually was given a copy of The Brady Kids from the man who sold me The Brady's. I watched a bit, but my daughter is too young to get into it. When she's 5, we will watch it together. I wouldn't be able to sit through it alone, but will bond with her while watching a retro cartoon.
I did forget about that one! I also had no clue about the crossovers- looking forward to checking that out someday.

Flying Dutchman · 12-04-2014, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacLeaper

I remember watching The Bradys when it originally aired- I enjoyed it.

Yep- I remember reading critics of the time made the same complaint- they called the show "Bradysomething".

Of course, the series originated from a 1988 reunion TV-movie called "A Very Brady Christmas", which was very well received on TV. I have a copy on VHS that I like to watch most every Christmas (along with tons of other movies and such, of course.

- Or whenever during the year that I feel like it- I watch Christmas stuff any day of the year.)
Anyway, it did have some darker moments but I think it was trying to be more realistic (considering how unrealistic the original "The Brady Bunch" series was accused of being)- but maybe they went too much in that direction. I still like it in any case.

I haven't really seen much other than clips of "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" and "The Brady Brides", but both seem like fun shows to me.
And we can't forget one other spinoff series- "The Brady Kids". I have seen a few episodes of this cartoon, mainly for the crossovers with Wonder Woman and Superman. (This cartoon series is actually Wonder Woman's first animated appearance and first appearance on television in any form. Though Wonder Girl had appeared on TV previously, but that's a different character, though obviously she's in the WW family.

)

Yes a Very Brady Xmas a wonderful breath of fresh air. And a great opportunity to reunite all the Brady's including one Alice Nelson Franklin, and it didn't have a dark side to it. My question is, how did they go from that xmas special to where they ended up with The Brady's? Because it was nothing like the Xmas special.

jillmarie13 · 12-04-2014, 08:32 PM

The one constant was that they had Wally lose another job, and Valerie was in the first episode. Plus, we got to see what happened with Bobby's ill-fated race driving career. Besides that, you are right, it was nothing like the special. Maybe two years was too long to put out the series.

Wildchats · 12-21-2014, 02:41 AM

The Brady Brides should have ended after they moved in together. The episodes were awful. They should have just had the reunion where we see more of the family instead of just at the wedding and sparse scattered scenes.

A Very Brady Christmas was the BEST. I did NOT like The Bradys. I would have rather seen the brady Bunch saga end with A Very Brady Christmas in 1988. The Brady's was NOT good at all.

It's sad that Robert Reed died, because I bet Sherwood would have reunited them a good few more times into the 1990s for 2 hour special movies. Had he lived, we probably would have seen Cindy and Peter's weddings. That's all that really needed to happen.

Frosty81 · 01-03-2015, 05:28 AM

Except for The Brady Brides (1981), which was capped off by a telefilm called The Brady Girls Get Married (also 1981), there was always at least one original cast member missing.

The Brady Bunch (Variety) Hour: Geri Reischl (last name pronounced like "Rachelle" - for those who don't know) replaces Eve Plumb as Jan (Plumb was unavailable due to her commitments for her role in the 1976 movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway).

A Very Brady Christmas and Day by Day (the "Bradyvision" episode, titled "A Very Brady Episode"): Jennifer Runyon replaces Susan Olsen as Cindy for the former (but nobody takes her place for the latter). Olsen was unavailable due to her honeymoon in Jamaica.

The Bradys: Maureen McCormick is MIA not only because of her being burned out by the burden of Marcia being her most successful TV role, but she also declined so she could be a full-time mother to her nearly year-old daughter Natalie. Leah Ayres-Kalish took over for Mo's old role.

Robert Reed's 1992 passing at age 59 (not yet 60) made a complete Brady reunion impossible.

~Ben

gopyle · 01-27-2015, 06:34 AM

None of these efforts were great, despite the fact that I wanted them to be. You want to see more of the characters you like from a show, but these things just about always disappoint to some degree. The Brady Girls Get Married and the Christmas show were maybe the best of the lot in my opinion. When the Brides went to series, it had a whole different tone, like a studio audience show atmosphere...more average "sitcommy.". The Variety Show was just kind of weird. It had a few good moments. The Bradys...ugh.

Marvo301 · 01-27-2015, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopyle

None of these efforts were great, despite the fact that I wanted them to be. You want to see more of the characters you like from a show, but these things just about always disappoint to some degree. The Brady Girls Get Married and the Christmas show were maybe the best of the lot in my opinion. When the Brides went to series, it had a whole different tone, like a studio audience show atmosphere...more average "sitcommy.". The Variety Show was just kind of weird. It had a few good moments. The Bradys...ugh.

The Brady Brides was the only Brady project shot as a three camera sitcom. All other Brady projects were shot with one camera.

Johnny be good! · 01-30-2015, 03:02 PM

The TV movie "The Brady Girls Get Married" was the only TRUE Brady reunion. It was my favorite, and the only one that had all 9 original cast members.

Wildchats · 03-12-2015, 06:44 AM

The Brady Girls Get Married in 1981 still had the feel of the 1970s, the house still looked exactly the same as we last saw it in 1974.

The thing I didn't like about it was we didn't get to see too much of the kids. Just a whole lot of Marcia and Jan and Wally and Phillip. The other kids, we saw very little of. It would have been nicer had they closed the reunion movie with all the cast together, before they decided to buy the house together, all the move-in stuff should have happened in episode 1 of the Brady Brides. It would have allowed for more interaction and scenes with the 6 kids who are all now grown up.

What would have been nice would have been a dinner at the Brady house, just before the wedding, so everyone could meet Wally because nobody really knew him. That's something that was just totally rushed. Cutting out all that move-in stuff to the new house could have allowed for a scene like that, making it more of a "reunion".

At that dinner, a food fight could have happened. Of course, Reed would hae objected to that, but I could see it happening. Or at least arguements. I could see Cindy being upset she would be the only single sister left.

Why Nora wasn't introduced in this reunion is beyond me. I think Greg should have already been married by this time. He was already a doctor.

I hated what they did to Peter in all the reunions, he was usually the funny practical joker of the family but always sweet with the ladies, and then they made him out to jump from girl to girl unlike all his other brothers/sisters who had settled down or were not like that.

I think Valerie was meant to come back had they continued The Bradys drama series. Why she was even there for the first episode is beyond me? Peter could have just stated he broke it off with her a while back, but we do see her when Bobby is injured and how she couldn't leave her job, this then makes Peter turn into a playboy, but then we hear of all the girls he was engaged to before Valerie. I think Sherwood wanted Valerie to return at some point, just not right away, so Peter could finally marry and settle down. I think he was also trying to do the same thing with Cindy and her older boss. Had the Brady's continued, I bet we would have seen the weddings of Peter and Valerie and Cindy and her older boss.

11-16-2014, 04:19 PM	#1
Will and Grace Fanatic be happy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 15, 2002 Location: seattle, washington Posts: 2,746	The Brady spin offs Were any of the Brady spin offs any good in your opinions? I never saw them but did they have a following?
	__________________ love is love

11-16-2014, 05:42 PM	#2
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,460	I liked "The Bradys" the one hour drama they did in the 90's. Apparently not many other people liked it since it was cancelled after a handful of episodes!
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

01-30-2015, 03:02 PM	#14
Johnny be good! Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2007 Location: Westland, Michigan Posts: 1,633	The TV movie "The Brady Girls Get Married" was the only TRUE Brady reunion. It was my favorite, and the only one that had all 9 original cast members.
	__________________ Alex Bogue

12-03-2014, 08:00 PM	#3
jillmarie13 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 30, 2013 Location: nj Posts: 10	I loved The Brady Brides. It was a cute show. I actually liked The Bradys but it didn' last long. The Brady Bunch Variety hour is 70's kitsch. Fake Jan AKA Geri Reischel had some amazing singing performances. I have all of these on bootleg DVD's and watch Brady Brides the most. It had the best plots. Alice and Carol were in it from time to time. Wish it had more episodes. the rest of the cast may have guested. It was about Marcia and Jan marrying men who could not be more different. One episode featured them going on The Newlywed show- it's a must see! A couple years back there was talk of a new one produced by Vince Vaughn that would have a divorced Bobby married to a divorced mom, and it would feature their blended families. So who knows- maybe we will have another spinoff someday!

12-03-2014, 08:50 PM	#4
Flying Dutchman Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2004 Location: New York Posts: 1,266	I liked the Brady's too. But I read that most people complained that the show wasn't enough of a comedy like the original. Bobby's accident leaving him crippled. Marcia's drinking problem. Peter almost choking to death. This put too much of a dark side to the Brady's. My only complaint was the absence of Maureen. But I still liked Leah Ayers.

12-04-2014, 06:10 PM	#7
jillmarie13 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 30, 2013 Location: nj Posts: 10	And we can't forget one other spinoff series- "The Brady Kids". I have seen a few episodes of this cartoon, mainly for the crossovers with Wonder Woman and Superman. (This cartoon series is actually Wonder Woman's first animated appearance and first appearance on television in any form. Though Wonder Girl had appeared on TV previously, but that's a different character, though obviously she's in the WW family. )[/QUOTE] thanks for the Wonder Woman trivia- who knew! I actually was given a copy of The Brady Kids from the man who sold me The Brady's. I watched a bit, but my daughter is too young to get into it. When she's 5, we will watch it together. I wouldn't be able to sit through it alone, but will bond with her while watching a retro cartoon. I did forget about that one! I also had no clue about the crossovers- looking forward to checking that out someday.

12-04-2014, 08:32 PM	#9
jillmarie13 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 30, 2013 Location: nj Posts: 10	The one constant was that they had Wally lose another job, and Valerie was in the first episode. Plus, we got to see what happened with Bobby's ill-fated race driving career. Besides that, you are right, it was nothing like the special. Maybe two years was too long to put out the series.

12-21-2014, 02:41 AM	#10
Wildchats Me Senior Member Join Date: Jul 15, 2001 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,076	The Brady Brides should have ended after they moved in together. The episodes were awful. They should have just had the reunion where we see more of the family instead of just at the wedding and sparse scattered scenes. A Very Brady Christmas was the BEST. I did NOT like The Bradys. I would have rather seen the brady Bunch saga end with A Very Brady Christmas in 1988. The Brady's was NOT good at all. It's sad that Robert Reed died, because I bet Sherwood would have reunited them a good few more times into the 1990s for 2 hour special movies. Had he lived, we probably would have seen Cindy and Peter's weddings. That's all that really needed to happen.

01-03-2015, 05:28 AM	#11
Frosty81 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 23, 2007 Location: Milwaukie, OR Posts: 214	Except for The Brady Brides (1981), which was capped off by a telefilm called The Brady Girls Get Married (also 1981), there was always at least one original cast member missing. The Brady Bunch (Variety) Hour: Geri Reischl (last name pronounced like "Rachelle" - for those who don't know) replaces Eve Plumb as Jan (Plumb was unavailable due to her commitments for her role in the 1976 movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway). A Very Brady Christmas and Day by Day (the "Bradyvision" episode, titled "A Very Brady Episode"): Jennifer Runyon replaces Susan Olsen as Cindy for the former (but nobody takes her place for the latter). Olsen was unavailable due to her honeymoon in Jamaica. The Bradys: Maureen McCormick is MIA not only because of her being burned out by the burden of Marcia being her most successful TV role, but she also declined so she could be a full-time mother to her nearly year-old daughter Natalie. Leah Ayres-Kalish took over for Mo's old role. Robert Reed's 1992 passing at age 59 (not yet 60) made a complete Brady reunion impossible. ~Ben

01-27-2015, 06:34 AM	#12
gopyle Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 22, 2011 Posts: 235	None of these efforts were great, despite the fact that I wanted them to be. You want to see more of the characters you like from a show, but these things just about always disappoint to some degree. The Brady Girls Get Married and the Christmas show were maybe the best of the lot in my opinion. When the Brides went to series, it had a whole different tone, like a studio audience show atmosphere...more average "sitcommy.". The Variety Show was just kind of weird. It had a few good moments. The Bradys...ugh.

03-12-2015, 06:44 AM	#15
Wildchats Me Senior Member Join Date: Jul 15, 2001 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,076	The Brady Girls Get Married in 1981 still had the feel of the 1970s, the house still looked exactly the same as we last saw it in 1974. The thing I didn't like about it was we didn't get to see too much of the kids. Just a whole lot of Marcia and Jan and Wally and Phillip. The other kids, we saw very little of. It would have been nicer had they closed the reunion movie with all the cast together, before they decided to buy the house together, all the move-in stuff should have happened in episode 1 of the Brady Brides. It would have allowed for more interaction and scenes with the 6 kids who are all now grown up. What would have been nice would have been a dinner at the Brady house, just before the wedding, so everyone could meet Wally because nobody really knew him. That's something that was just totally rushed. Cutting out all that move-in stuff to the new house could have allowed for a scene like that, making it more of a "reunion". At that dinner, a food fight could have happened. Of course, Reed would hae objected to that, but I could see it happening. Or at least arguements. I could see Cindy being upset she would be the only single sister left. Why Nora wasn't introduced in this reunion is beyond me. I think Greg should have already been married by this time. He was already a doctor. I hated what they did to Peter in all the reunions, he was usually the funny practical joker of the family but always sweet with the ladies, and then they made him out to jump from girl to girl unlike all his other brothers/sisters who had settled down or were not like that. I think Valerie was meant to come back had they continued The Bradys drama series. Why she was even there for the first episode is beyond me? Peter could have just stated he broke it off with her a while back, but we do see her when Bobby is injured and how she couldn't leave her job, this then makes Peter turn into a playboy, but then we hear of all the girls he was engaged to before Valerie. I think Sherwood wanted Valerie to return at some point, just not right away, so Peter could finally marry and settle down. I think he was also trying to do the same thing with Cindy and her older boss. Had the Brady's continued, I bet we would have seen the weddings of Peter and Valerie and Cindy and her older boss.