The Brady Bunch premiered on September 26, 1969
and has aired in reruns ever since. It started as a popular,
though not too highly rated Friday night family show that has
since catapulted to a pop culture phenom as one of
the most beloved and talked about programs in television history.
Originally, it was the lead-in to ABC's
Friday night line up which included The Partridge
Family, Room 222, The Odd Couple and Love American Style.
Although never a ratings wininer, The Brady Bunch was a hit with pre-teen audiences who simply never stopped
watching the show even after it completed its five-year run.
And while it's premise was similar to such films as With Six You Get Eggroll and Yours, Mine and Ours, for television, The Brady Bunch was
somewhat daring for it's time. A mother with three daughters by
one marriage (it was never specified if she was divorced or
widowed) marries a widower with three boys, a maid and a dog.
The first season of The Brady Bunch focused on the newly
blended family and the conflicts that arose from the merger.
The remaining years were more about a wholesome,
but large, family with universal plotlines that were familiar
to anyone growing up in astro-turf covered, suburban, middle-class
America.
One of the things that helps The Brady Bunch endure is that it spent little or no time on
actual current events or fads, but focused on topics that
were significant to any generation of kids. It's oft-revived but outdated fashions
and trite lingo aside, the show is as relevant today as it
was originally. Its warm, humor is often imitated, but
never duplicated. It is the pork chops and apple sauce of
television-- comfort viewing that gets better with age.
The original Brady Bunch will forever remain
a favorite, as will the endless fascination with Brady reunions.
In addition to the Brady cartoon on Saturday mornings (The
Brady Kids), there was The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, The
Brady Girls Get Married, A Very Brady Christmas and The
Bradys. Additionally, there were two successful feature film
send-ups of the series ( The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very
Brady Sequel) and a stage show called The Real Live Brady
Bunch. Even Nick at Nite got into the Brady parody game
with the pseudo-documentary Brady: An American Chronicle.
The Brady Bunch is a touchstone of American
pop culture and is a pure example of classic TV.
