The Bradys

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The Bradys was 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.

Contents

[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 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 resulted in the series being cancelled after six episodes. Some believe that The Bradys failed because of the simple fact that viewers weren't comfortable seeing a lighthearted 1970s sitcom be transformed into a somewhat depressing melodrama for the early 1990s. Others will contend that The Bradys failed because it was placed in a poor time slot on Friday nights. The Bradys went up against ABC's Full House (which was a considerably similar program to The Brady Bunch) at 8:00 p.m. Barry Williams stated as much in his book Growing Up Brady, 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. They tried to convince CBS to move the show to 9:00 p.m. slot, but to no avail.

[edit] Episodes

Episode Title Airdate
01 Start Your Engines February 9, 1990
02 Start Your Engines 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

[edit] Format

Unlike the original thirty-minute sitcom, The Bradys was an hour long and featured far more serious plotlines. Among them:

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • 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.

[edit] External links

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