An All Time Favorite

I loved The Brady Bunch when I was a kid and when it made a resurgence while I was in college I loved it all over again. So it worked out great that my second weekend recovering from surgery has TV Land running "The Brady Bunch Weekend Retreat". Featuring back-to-back episodes and special shows like the Top Ten Brady Episodes. I quite enjoyed their list which went a little something like this...

#10 - "Getting Davy Jones" - in this episode Marsha thinks that just because she is the president of the Davy Jones fan club that he will come sing at her prom. So she tells everyone at school he's coming. Then she gets the form letter that tells her Davy won't be able to make it. Not taking the devastation lying down, Marsha and Greg hatch a plan to sneak into the hotel where Davy is staying. They find out he's at a recording studio nearby and decide to pay him a visit. Marsha walks right in - pleads her case and Davy hears her over the open studio microphone. He feels so bad he comes to her house, brings her an album and sings at her prom. Way to go Marsha!!

#9 - "Grand Canyon" - This trilogy of episodes is pure brilliance. First they get locked in jail in the ghost town by "Thurston Howell the III" in a mangy beard. Then they escape and get to the canyon only to have a young Cindy and Bobby go missing. The Indian boy showing up is hilarious - because Indians live inside the Grand Canyon right? Or was he there on vacation with his family too.

#8 - "Where There's Smoke" - always a show to tackle the tough issues, all hell breaks loose for the Brady's when Cindy and Jan see Greg taking a drag off a cigarette with some boys after school. Marsha, the queen of concern, rats Greg out to Mike and Carol. The episode culminates in a letterman jacket mix-up which gets Greg grounded until the truth comes out - the cigarettes and jacket are actually Tommy's...

#7 - "Confessions/Confessions" - "Mom always said, don't play ball in the house." Peter did it, he shot the ball that broke the vase but everyone else said they did it after it springs a leak in the middle of the dinner table. Why did everyone take the heat for Peter? So he could go on a camping trip. But then the recurring dreams start, where he is tormented by the ball breaking the vase over and over again, so he finally admits it was him. He may not have gotten to go on the camping trip but he learned a valuable lesson that day - use better glue next time.

#6 - "Adios Johnny Bravo" - Everything starts out just fine for the Brady kids in this episode. All six are going to record a song or an album but the talent agent picks Greg to go solo as Johnny Bravo. He thinks it's because he's all that - so he sells the others down the river to get his shot at fame. It's only when they mess with his "sound" that he finds out they only picked him because he fit the suit. Has a harsher insult ever been uttered?

#5 - "Hawaii Bound" - Another trilogy of brilliance for the Brady's. Mike's company sends the entire clan, including Alice, to Hawaii for vacation so Mike can check on the construction of a new building. Enter the Taboo Tiki, the scary legend from Mr. Hanalay and viola much bad luck ensues. The best was Greg wiping out on the surf board and Mike running into the water in his skin-tight boyshorts style swimsuit to save him. Hello? Don't they have lifeguards in Hawaii. These episodes also coined the brilliant catch phrase for Peter "Get it off me, please...someone get it off me."

#4 - "The Personality Kid" - Okay we get it, Peter's dull. So he tries to be Humphrey Bogart of all people. "Pork Chops and Applesauce" for everyone...what more can I say.

#3 - "Her Sister's Shadow" - Jan is sick of everything always being about "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha". Everyone likes her, she wins everything...you get the picture, right? So Jan writes an essay and thinks she's finally going to get her chance to shine at the Honor Society Award Assembly. Wrong! Unfortunately, Jan's teacher, who obviously never passed basic math, added her score wrong and Jan really didn't win - Nora Koones did. For a while Jan considers accepting the award but then her conscious gets the better of her and her rivalry with Marsha lives another day.

#2 - "Dough Re Mi" - Another musical moment for the Brady kids. Once again they're in the studio, ready to lay down some tracks and can it all go smoothly? No! Peter's voice starts cracking. "We can make the load a LITTLE lighter." They all have to decide whether or not to let him ruin their shot at stardom. In perfect Brady form - they all suck it up and take one for the team.

#1 - "Oh, My Nose" - A true Brady masterpiece in my opinion. Pretty girl Marsha gets asked out by the Big Man on Campus (B.M.O.C) Doug Simpson for Saturday night. She says yes, only to remember when she floats back to earth, that she already has a date with Charlie for Saturday night. Always the bithc, she tells Charlie that "something suddenly came up" and she has to break their date. Something comes up all right - her face getting in the way of a football. Can anyone say "Karma"? Once Doug Simpson catches sight of her ballooned up nose, "something suddenly comes up" for him and he can't see her Saturday. Priceless all around. Responsible for two lines that I still use today..."What do you have a date with the Big Man on Campus?" and "Something suddenly came up" in response to all kinds of things.

Personal Favorite Episode Honorable Mentions -

"Here Pandora" - When Bobby climbs into the abandoned house to help save the whining girls cat, only to get dirt all over his good suit. He didn't get to go boating with the family or something like that right?

"Flying Saucer" - When Greg stands in the attic with the goofy whistle and the flashlight. Shining the spaceship cut out on the sheeting between the trees outside. I believe he also has a piece of tissue stuck to a shaving cut on his chin for most of the episode.

"Teeter/Totter" - When Bobby and Cindy try to break the world record for riding a see saw

"Joe Namath" - When Cindy writes a letter telling Joe Namath that Bobby is really sick and buying it hook line and sinker he comes to see him. Another brilliant celebrity guest appearance.

"Pool Table" - Thurston Howell the III getting his ass kicked by hustler Bobby.

I could go on and on...