Day by Day (TV series)

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Day by Day was a short-lived television sitcom which starred Douglas Sheehan, Linda Kelsey, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Thora Birch, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. It ran from February 29, 1988 to June 25, 1989, on NBC. Day by Day was a spin-off of sorts to Family Ties as it was revealed that the family patriarch, Brian Harper (played by Sheehan) was a college roommate of Stephen Keaton (Michael Gross).

The show centered around a married couple with successful careers (he as a stockbroker, she as a lawyer) and a teenage son. After the couple had a second child, they decided to quit their jobs and open a day care center in their home. The episodes mixed stories about the day care center with those about the teenager and his friends. Louis-Dreyfus played a materialistic neighbor, while Thorne-Smith played the baby's nanny.

After the show's initial run, reruns were shown on the Lifetime Television network for several years.

[edit] A Very Brady Episode

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The episode titled A Very Brady Episode aired on February 5, 1989, and reunited six cast members from The Brady Bunch – Ann B. Davis, Florence Henderson, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick, and Robert Reed.

In this episode, irresponsible teen-aged son Ross (Barnes) is lectured by his parents, Brian (Sheehan) and Kate (Kelsey) about his poor study habits. Ross' explanation that he was watching a Brady Bunch marathon only angers his parents more, and he is warned to shape up. Ross bemoans his predicament, noting Mike Brady would never yell at him because he had flagging grades.

Ross falls asleep, and finds himself in the opening credits of The Brady Bunch. Ross learns that he is the Brady's long-lost son, Chuck. After he gets his hair permed on Mike's suggestion, he visits with the various family members, who reprise some of the scenes in the Bradys' most famous episodes ("Oooh, my nose!", the Buddy Hinton episode, etc.).

After "Chuck" gets some advice about his poor grades from Mike, the family begins to repeat their dialogue. "Chuck" wonders what's amiss, and Mike explains what he's seeing is a rerun. Everything becomes chaotic, and Ross wakes up, vowing to improve his study habits.

Incidentally, Barnes went on to portray Greg Brady in two Brady Bunch feature films -- The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996).