FIVE-O YOUR ENTHUSIASM (16)

By: Susan Roe
May 24, 2021

One in a series of 25 enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, on the topic of our favorite TV shows of the Sixties (in our periodization: 1964–1973).

THE BRADY BUNCH | 1969–1974

At the height of my powers, I could identify the Brady Bunch episode within an instant of the establishing shot — simply by the color of Marcia’s knee-highs, or the swing of Jan’s hair, or the particular clanking sounds in the garage coming from Greg. This is because I spent the years 1975–1978 watching back-to-back episodes each weekday, having rushed off the schoolbus to do so.

During these years, my mother made the traitorous decision to go back to school; she earned a teaching degree, then went back to work. So she wasn’t around when I got home. Meanwhile, my father was at work, and my older brothers were… I don’t know where. (Did I mention it was the ’70s?) Day after day, alone in the house, I’d sit on the kitchen floor eating cookies and pretzels, drinking glasses of Coca-Cola, and watching the Brady Bunch so intently that the episodes became like songs to me… I knew their exact timing, the length and tone of the next note or beat coming.

Three things, in particular, make the show stand out for me.

The Brady home’s mod architecture made it feel like a Barbie Dream House come to life. I wanted to explore the rooms: the Jack and Jill bathroom between the kids’ bedrooms with the nifty pocket doors, the lonely den leading to the more jovial (but oddly fake-looking) backyard, Mike’s cool home office, Alice’s mystery area of the house. Forget about a given episode’s plot, I wanted to travel through the house and see what everyone was doing at any given moment.

I have so many unanswered questions. Why did Mike sometimes go to work, and sometimes work from home? What did Carol do all day long, besides needlepoint obviously; did she have any friends? Was it normal for a housekeeper to wear that sort of uniform? Who was cuter, Peter or Greg?

What most absorbed me, though, was the family dynamic. In each episode, one of the kids would encounter a problem… and then Mike and Carol, even Alice and the other kids, would help them fix it. In my own schoolchild life, I kept my problems to myself… and my convoluted fixes were not something I wanted to share with anyone. But on The Brady Bunch, a task force could always be mustered to help Marsha with her broken nose, Cindy with her lost doll (named, incredibly, Kitty Karry-All), Jan with one of her existential freakouts. There was always an adult around, often more than one. Is that what blended families were like? Or California households? Or architect dads? The show was a fascinating alternate universe — one in which problems were shared with your family, and you were never embarrassed in the end.

***

FIVE-O YOUR ENTHUSIASM: INTRODUCTION by Josh Glenn | Lynn Peril on DARK SHADOWS (1966–1971) | Mark Kingwell on THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (1964–1968) | Elizabeth Foy Larsen on I DREAM OF JEANNIE (1965–1970) | Luc Sante on SECRET AGENT/DANGER MAN (1964–1968 seasons) | Erin M. Routson on THE PATTY DUKE SHOW (1963–1966 run) | Gordon Dahlquist on HAWAII FIVE-O (1968–1973 seasons) | Annie Nocenti on GET SMART (1965–1970) | Sara Driver on THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1964–1966) | Carlo Rotella on MANNIX (1967–1973 seasons) | Adam McGovern on JULIA (1968–1971) | Mimi Lipson on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW (1970–1973 seasons) | Josh Glenn on BATMAN (1966–1968) | Tom Nealon on HOGAN’S HEROES (1965–1971) | Miranda Mellis on THE ODD COUPLE (1970–1973 seasons) | Peggy Nelson on GILLIGAN’S ISLAND (1964–1967) | Susan Roe on THE BRADY BUNCH (1969–1973 seasons) | Michael Grasso on UFO (1970–1973) | Richard McKenna on DOOMWATCH (1970–1972) | Adrienne Crew on BEWITCHED (1964–1972) | Michael Lewy on STAR TREK (1966–1969) | Greg Rowland on THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY (1970–1973 seasons) | David Smay on THE MONKEES (1966–1968) | Vijay Parthasarathy on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (1964–1966 seasons) | Carl Wilson on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW (1967–1973 seasons) | Jessamyn West on EMERGENCY! (1972–1973 seasons).

MORE ENTHUSIASM at HILOBROW

FIVE-O YOUR ENTHUSIASM (16)

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