Looking at the TV we loved as kids through an adult lens
In our last Season 1 episode, we discuss two of our favorite Brady Bunch episodes and some other stuff as we wrap up the series. It’s not good bye, though, just see you later. Season two begins July 15! And it’ll be solid, man.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (36.7MB)
We can’t leave The Brady Bunch behind without talking about its main character — the house! And what better way to do that than to discuss the HGTV miniseries “A Very Brady Renovation.”
Everyone knows, famously, how the exterior shots of the Brady home didn’t match the interior — either of the set or the real house used for the exterior shots. HGTV bought the mid-century modern Studio City house in 2018 and, with the help of the Brady kid actors and a stable of HGTV stars, managed to recreated the interior down to… well, almost everything.
How does it stack up? We discuss.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:55 — 23.0MB)
And it all comes to a close for the Man Named Brady and his bunch. In the final episode of the original series, The Hair-Brained Scheme, Bobby’s get-rich-quick-scheme hair tonic turns Greg’s hair orange the day before his high school graduation. On top of it, Cindy tries to jump on the get rich bandwagon with a really disturbing subplot about breeding rabbits. And where’s Mike to dispense fatherly wisdom? Nowhere to be found, as his creative battle with the Schwartz family comes to an ugly little end. Season 5, Episode 22 of The Brady Bunch.
We go deep into the issues between the Schwartz guys and Robert Reed in our next-to-the-last episode of our own Season 1. Because, after all, there’s a little Bob Reed in all of us, isn’t there? Or at least in the two of us.
After our final episode on the Brady Bunch in two weeks, stay tuned for Season 2, covering The Mod Squad, dropping June 3. The original TV show, NOT any silly movie or anything that came after.
Looking for a cool Groovy Tube T-shirt? Or another cool shirt designed by GT cohost Rebecca Milliken? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.
If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s mystery novels, click here. [You can also ask your local book store or library to order them if that’s your preference – they’re available through Ingram as well].
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:45 — 35.5MB)
Good old-fashioned Brady trickery is back with a vengeance in Season 5, Episode 20, “Snooperstar.” Marcia decides to teach Cindy a lesson for snooping, in what’s probably the most humiliating episode of misused and underused Susan Olsen’s career. The only upside? A guess visit from Natalie Schaefer, aka Lovey, Mrs. Thurston Howell III, as yet another one of Mike’s rich, entitled and crazy female clients. As you can imagine, we have a lot to say.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:44 — 36.5MB)
Top Secret! Bobby and Oliver are somehow under the impression Mike is working for the FBI and Sam the butcher is a double agent! Oh no! Season 5, Episode 19 of The Brady Bunch.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:50 — 18.9MB)
Peter discovers a new kid at school looks exactly like him — we mean EXACTLY, down to the bad haircut — and hijinks ensue when they decide to fob Faux Peter off as real Peter to the Bradys. What could possibly go wrong?
As we discuss Season 5, Episode 18 of The Brady Bunch, Two Petes in a Pod, we also note some signs that the show is beginning to give up the ghost as it limps into its final four episodes.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:38 — 18.8MB)
Yes, folks, it’s the episode everyone’s been waiting for! The introduction of Cousin Oliver. He gets on a motorcycle and jumps over a shark tank. Actually, the cute little tyke doesn’t, but you get what we’re saying. Season 5, Episode 17 of The Brady Bunch: Welcome Aboard.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:54 — 23.6MB)
Peter and Bobby see a UFO hovering over the back yard. They even take some photos of it. But do they? Really? Season 5, Episode 16, “Out of This World.” Expect some classic Brady trickery.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:44 — 18.4MB)
In The Driver’s Test, Season 5, Episode 15 of The Brady Bunch, Greg and Marcia squabble over who is the better driver. Buckle up for another classic battle of the sexes episode, where no one puts the brakes on gratuitous female-bashing or male-smugness. And there’s also that guy in his underwear.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:16 — 15.9MB)
In the 14th episode of The Brady Bunch fifth season, neighbors Ken and Kathy Kelly decide to not only adopt one kid, but two more and they’re – gasp! – Black and Asian. Neighborhood hysteria ensues. The episode, Kelly’s Kids, stars our childhood crush Ken Berry, and Brooke Bundy, who you may remember from General Hospital. Written by Sherwood Schwartz and meant to be a pilot, it never became it’s own show. We discuss.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:37 — 16.0MB)