Favorite Episodes: The Brady Bunch

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It seems that everyone who has ever watched television has seen an episode of The Brady Bunch. It's been around a long time (premiered in the 60s and is still around in reruns here and there), and had a really wholesome family concept. Most episodes focus on an issue that affects the entire family, and I think that was one of the reasons it did so well when it first aired. The show is not without its flaws - the fact that no toilet was ever shown is something that many people bring up, and I always found it interesting that Marcia makes such a big deal about her braces, but nothing is said at all when Bobby gets them years later.

The Brady Bunch had a lot of good episodes. I think season 1 was my favorite, since it had Cindy's school play, Jan being allergic to Tiger, the trial for the kidnapping of Cindy's doll, the payphone in the house, Marcia and Greg both running for school president, the measles episode, Marcia's braces, Peter saving the little girl at the store, and my favorite, the stamp-book collection.

Season 1: "54-40 and Fight" (S01E15) The kids are up to 94 books of trading stamps, and since the store is going out of business, they have to decide on what to trade them for quickly. The boys want a rowboat, but the girls want a sewing machine. They end up building a card house (a HUGE one, I might add), and the dog ends up making the boys lose. I do love, however, that even though Marcia has a close call with her bracelet, she never takes it off, LoL. The girls head off to pick out something, and come back with a color TV, so everyone wins in the end. I liked both the card house competition and the fact that a TV, a sewing machine, and a rowboat were all comparable value at that time, LoL. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Season 2: "The Slumber Caper" (S02E03) Marcia is planning a big slumber party, and the boys are planning to play some tricks. However, Marcia drew a cartoon of a teacher, and somebody else put a negative caption. Marcia gets a week of detention, but she convinces her parents that she's not guilty, so they still let her have the party. At the party, she finds out who the guilty culprit is. The boys do get itching powder into the sleeping bags, but I was hoping for much more. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Season 3: "Dough Re Mi" (S03E16) Greg wants to make a record, but doesn't have enough money. He decides to enter a contest with his siblings to earn the money. It's coming along, but then Peter's voice changes and Greg has to write "Time to Change" to fit. It all works out, and it's one of the most replayed segments of the show. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Season 4: "Amateur Nite" (S04E16) Similar to my favorite from Season 3, this episode features Jan needing money to cover the cost of an anniversary gift for the parents. The kids join together and win $100 on a talent show. Alice watches the show and sees the kids performing live. This is the "Sunshine Day" episode. My favorite part is when Jan talks to the salesman on the phone, hahahahaha! Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Season 5: "The Cincinnati Kids" (S05E11) The family is at a large amusement park (King's Island), and they've split up to ride different things. Jan buys a poster, and the container is the same as Mike's blueprints. They inadvertently swap poster tubes, Jan loses the one with the plans in it, and it's up to the family to race through the park to find the tube and then get it back to Mike. They keep running into each other and passing off the poster so they can get it there - - in the nick of time! (though Mike states they only have ten minutes when they start the frantic search... practically impossible to cover the park in that amount of time!) I love watching the family all run through everything. In fact, this is my very favorite episode of the entire series (so definitely watch part 2!!). Once, when it was supposed to air and a different episode aired instead, I wrote an email to the cable company about not listing the correct episode on the guide, LoL. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3