The Bradys
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The Bradys is an American 1990 television drama that aired on CBS Television. It was a revival of the early 1970s sitcom, The Brady Bunch (1969–1974), and was about the trials and tribulations of the Brady family some 15 years after the end of the earlier series. It followed two earlier short-lived spin-off/continuation series: the 1977 effort The Brady Bunch Hour and 1981's The Brady Brides.
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[edit] Influence and casting
The Bradys series came about as the result of the ratings and critical success of the 1988 television movie A Very Brady Christmas. All of the original cast members of the 1969-1974 series returned except for Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady), who declined to reprise the role (due to her real-life pregnancy at the time) and was replaced by Leah Ayres. The show also incorporated cast members from The Brady Brides who reprised their roles from the earlier series.
[edit] Style
Produced at the height of the dramedy trend in American television, The Bradys aimed to change direction towards more dramatic storytelling than viewers had been used to in the previous Brady series. The dramedy format of the time was epitomised by the series Thirtysomething, and this led to the series being nicknamed Bradysomething.
[edit] Failure
Poor reviews and low ratings led to the cancellation of the series after six episodes. The Bradys may have failed because viewers weren't comfortable seeing a lighthearted 1970s sitcom transformed into a somewhat depressing melodrama. Alternatively, The Bradys may have failed because it was placed in a poor time slot on Friday nights. The Bradys screened at 8:00 p.m., the same time as ABC's Full House, a similar program to The Brady Bunch. In his book Growing Up Brady, Barry Williams stated that when the initial two hour episode aired, ratings were poor for the first hour, but when the second hour aired, the show won its timeslot. Attempts to convince CBS to move the show to the 9:00 p.m. time slot were to no avail.
[edit] Episodes
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Start Your Engines | February 9, 1990 |
| 02 | Start Your Engines Part 2 | February 9, 1990 |
| 03 | A Moving Experience | February 16, 1990 |
| 04 | Hat in the Ring | February 23, 1990 |
| 05 | Bottoms Up | March 2, 1990 |
| 06 | The Party Girls | March 9, 1990 |
- Note: In syndication on channels such as ABC Family (formerly FOX Family), episodes are bundled in to two hour blocks, and retitled.
- Episodes 1 and 2 are sometimes known as The Brady 500
- Episodes 3 and 4 are sometimes known as Bradys on the Move
- Episodes 5 and 6 are sometimes known as Big Kids, Big Problems
[edit] Cast
- Florence Henderson as Carol Brady
- Robert Reed as Mike Brady
- Leah Ayres as Marcia Brady Logan
- Eve Plumb as Jan Brady Covington
- Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady
- Barry Williams as Dr. Greg Brady
- Christopher Knight as Peter Brady
- Mike Lookinland as Bobby Brady
- Ann B. Davis as Alice Nelson-Franklin
- Jerry Houser as Wally Logan
- Ron Kuhlman as Philip Covington III
- Caryn Richman as Nora Brady
- Martha Quinn as Tracy Brady
- Ken Michelman as Gary Greenberg
- Jaclyn Bernstein as Jessica Logan
[edit] Format
Unlike the original thirty-minute sitcom, The Bradys was an hour long and featured far more serious plotlines. Among them:
- Bobby's budding car-racing career ends abruptly in the first episode after an accident leaves him a paraplegic.
- Peter breaks up with his fiancée, to whom he became engaged in A Very Brady Christmas.
- Jan and Phillip, unable to conceive children of their own, adopt a Korean girl.
- Stay-at-home mother Marcia battles alcoholism while Wally loses yet another in a series of jobs, the latest being Mike's campaign manager. Wally and Marcia, who along with their two children have been forced to move in with Mike and Carol, eventually decide to open their own catering business to support their family.
- Radio host Cindy begins a romantic interest with her boss, a widower more than 10 years her senior who has two children.
Despite the more downbeat tone, the show did feature a laugh track at certain moments.
