Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

The Brady Bunch warned us this episode was gonna be rough

I mentioned on the current episode of BOTNS that one of my least-favorite Brady Bunch episodes is the one with Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, each in a rare dual role, playing their grandparents. We get a tipoff at the beginning of this episode that this isn't gonna be a "good" one; no, it's gonna be a showcase for the performers:

In my humble opinion, the proper way to do it is to either not give extra billing for the performers or to put it at the end. Also acceptable is ??? as the actor's name.

In this case, The Brady Bunch is so proud of this acting achievement--age makeup, creakier voices, etc.--that it's putting it in our faces right from the get-go. The episode confirms this sign of trouble, as Grandpa Brady played by Reed is stuffy and creaky, and, worse, Grandma Hutchins is that other stereotype of old people on TV: vivacious, straight-shootin' with her words, and full of spunk. Groan!

We may have more to say about this episode in an upcoming project, but here is another taste of what you're in for in "Never Too Old":

Show Notes: Episode 8-1 BONUS: Brady Bunch opening

*The Brady Bunch Effect is credited to Christopher Chapman, who won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for A Place to Stand, a creation for Expo '67 in Montreal.

*Here is an obituary for Chapman with some info about his career.  We also repeat our recommendation of Kimberly Potts' The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch, which has a great explanation of the show's opening sequence.

*Alice Nelson was Mike Brady's housekeeper (and the boys') and stayed with them when he married Carol after his first wife died.

*This ME-TV story talks about how Ann B. Davis created a secret backstory for Alice. The interview referenced in that story is right here (hit the 24-minute mark)

A Very Brady Bonus

You might think we'd run out of things to say about The Brady Bunch, but we've found a little more to say. In this supplemental episode, we talk about the iconic opening credit sequence. Who looks the most awkward? Plus, what effects wizard created the sequence, and how did he do it?

Check out this episode!

Top Ten #87

1) The Brady Bunch: What better way to kick off our season than by looking at this phenomenon? Wait, don't answer that if you're a hater. Hey, despite what some people might say about the show (possibly including one of our hosts), I think there are two kinds of people in this world: those who appreciate the Bradys and sociopaths.

2) Eve Plumb: (Dawn premiered 1976) Not only was Plumb famous for being Jan on our podcast subject this week, but her notable TV movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway was 

3) William Conrad: This is the late actor's 100th birthday, and apart from. what, narrating Buck Rogers, we have had an appalling lack of Big Bill on the podcast. We'll try and do better.

4) Andy Griffith: On our official Facebook group (come join us), our friend Geno claimed Andy was robbed in the Battys Outstanding Actor category for season 7. Reasonable people can disagree over the Battys, which generated more buzz this year than the Emmys according to our unofficial research.

As a consolation (and Griffith DID win Outstanding Villain for his Sam Farragut in Pray for the Wildcats), here's a clip of Andy in Headmaster:

5) Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention: We send a shout-out to Martin Grams' long-running con, canceled this year for obvious reasons but running a virtual program on Facebook this weekend. Included on the events that are available on demand is an Erik Estrada/Larry Wilcox chat from several years ago (Don't penalize them for not being able to get the real star of CHiPs).

6) Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale: Happy Yom Kippur, and we note that Sandy Koufax sat out a scheduled start in Game 1 of the World Series on the holiday in 1965.

But there isn't a lot of 1970s and 1980s footage of Koufax, so let's talk about his famous teammate Don Drysdale, forever linked with Sandy in baseball lore, who was a commentator for years after retiring AND was on...The Brady Bunch!

7) Eugene Levy: Congratulations to Levy for his big Emmy win for Schitt's Creek last weekend, but I still think his best work was on this show:

8) Brian's Song: R.I.P. Gayle Sayers, the great bears running back whose friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo inspired one of the most beloved TV movies ever:

9) Robbie Rist: The much-maligned Cousin Oliver got some props on the podcast when I singled out Rist's performance as worthy of praise. I still need to see this one, though:

10) Richard Kline: Are you like me? Do you think Richard Kline is too awesome to deserve drab coffee every day? Well, I have great news for you:

YouTube Spotlight: Maureen McCormick for Burger King

We try to be positive and respectful of the actors who entertain us in a difficult, often cruel profession.  So please don't take this as snarky when I say I was alarmed to see Maureen McCormick in a Burger King commercial filmed a couple of years after The Brady Bunch:

Now, there's also a Barry Williams Shasta ad in our video playlist this week, but that's different because it's plausible to interpret it as Barry Williams BEING Barry Williams even with the Renaissance Faire garb.. Poor McCormick is, for all the audience knows, an employee at a Burger King (And while I'm at it, 'nuff respect to the BK employees out there serving me at the drive-thru). Oh, we know she's not actually an employee, but the fact that she is playing one and isn't just, hey, it's Maureen McCormick, and I LOVE Burger King, is a sad reminder of how difficult it can be for actors and especially child actors.

There isn't anything wrong with being in a fast food ad, but on the heels of a 5-year run as an iconic (even then) TV character? That's rough.

Rosey Grier is awesome in this, by the way.

The Brady Bunch video playlist is now live!

After listening to our Season 8 premiere, continue to celebrate The Brady Bunch by enjoying our video playlist. Click below to see: Bobby wreaks havoc on Greg's date! Vintage promos! Commercials with the cast! Song and dance! And if you think we could resist including the disco medley from the variety show spinoff...ehhhh, you don't know us well, do you?