The Brady Bunch: The Honeymoon

The Brady Bunch: The Honeymoon
ABC
September 26, 1969
Sitcom
DVD
B

"The Brady Bunch IN COLOR."  It's impossible for me to be objective about this show, perhaps the one that is most ingrained in my brain.  I watched the last season or two as they aired when I was a little kid, but more importantly this was in heavy syndication throughout the '70s.  And it was a show for kids and about kids.  I remember (way before the Internet) at about the age of 15 (ca. 1983) sitting down and listing every episode I could remember.  I don't know that I would describe it as my "favorite show" in the sense of the one I most enjoy or the one that holds up the best.  But it sure as heck is "my show."  Well, mine and many other people's.  (And when we get to Day by Day in '89, assuming my VCR still works, I'll talk about the impact on post-Gen-Xers.)

But let's talk about the Pilot.  And not how Bobby's hair is still its natural red and all the background stuff that you probably know as well as I do.  I think as an episode it works well.  It sets up the situation and the characters, although not really the setting.  (Both houses would be replaced by the now legendary Brady house.)  It's entertaining in its own right, with a mix of humor, drama, and even romance.  It's both an anomaly-- J. Pat O'Malley plays Carol's father Henry Tyler with a certain mischief that would've been fun to have around during the series-- and a very Brady episode, with the "voices in the head" device used to good effect.  It is definitely a product of its time, if a stodgier version of '60s TV than That Girl.  The word "groovy" is used, as it would be increasingly anachronistically throughout the series.  There's some mild Mike & Carol innuendo, including about the impact of tranqs and champagne.  The kids are cute but not obnoxiously so.  And Alice is all-knowing as always.  A fine start to the series, even if I've never been as fond of Season One as the later seasons.

James Milhollin had played a Desk Clerk twice on That Girl before showing up here as Mr. Pringle.  He's no Franklin Pangborn, but he gets the job done.  Dabbs Greer, who plays the Minister, would also be typecast, as he went on to be Reverend Alden on Little House on the Prairie, and he'd be a Minister on The Bradys.  John Rich had directed some Gilligan and was directing That Girl around this time, but my tags are limited with such a big regular cast.  And, yes, this is Sherwood Schwartz's 100th program in my collection.