10 Must-Watch ‘Brady Bunch’ Episodes, 50 Years Later (PHOTOS)
“Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?” (Season 2, Episode 15)
Jan hating being Jan is always a crowd pleaser and this 1971 episode gives us the troubled middle child and her fabulous wig. And, by the way, why didn’t the show ever bring Peter’s awesomely lovestruck Margie Whipple back? Bonus for TV fans — The Bob Newhart Show‘s Marcia Wallace sells Jan the wig.
“The Personality Kid” (Season 3, Episode 6)
Who doesn’t love “pork chops and applesauce”? That’s the iconic phrase from this 1971 episode where Peter, thinking he has no personality, decides to steal one from movie legend Humphrey Bogart.
“The Honeymoon” (Season 1, Episode 1)
Did you forget how The Brady Bunch began? The 1969 pilot episode will clue you in how these two (Mike and Carol) formed this blended family.
“Cyrano de Brady” (Season 4, Episode 6)
In this 1972 episode, Peter just wants to impress Carrie Hathaway but when his tongue gets tied one too many times, he enlists the help of “old silver tongue” Greg to help woo her… and the plan backfires!
“My Sister’s Shadow” (Season 3, Episode 10)
By Season 3, Jan was seriously over older sister Marcia, who just seemed to do everything better. This episode also brought us the infamous Jan line, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.”
“Fright Night” (Season 4, Episode 6)
In 1972’s Halloween episode, the kids get punished for playing tricks on each other — but Mom and Dad never said anything about playing a trick on unsuspecting Alice!
“The Subject Was Noses” (Season 4, Episode 18)
“Oh, my nose!” But, come on, after Marcia ditches sweet Charlie for big man on campus Doug Simpson (as if!) in this 1973 ep, her nose ends up on the receiving end of Peter and Bobby’s football. Serves her right!
“Goodbye, Alice, Hello” (Season 4, Episode 10)
In this 1972 episode, Alice unknowingly gets the kids in trouble with their parents, and after they give her the cold shoulder, she quits. Of course, she doesn’t stay away long.
“Father of the Year” (Season 1, Episode 14)
In this 1970 episode, Marcia wants to enter her new father in the local newspaper’s Father of the Year contest but has to lie and get in trouble without saying what she’s doing. A tender moment in the end will have you grabbing the tissues.
“Amateur Night” (Season 4, Episode 16)
It’s a Sunshine Day, indeed! In this 1973 episode, the kids want to buy Mom and Dad an expensive silver platter for their anniversary so they go on a TV show to win a cash prize. Will they pull it off?
It’s a Sunshine Day, don’t ya think?
On June 4, it definitely will be since that’s when CBS and Paramount Home Video release The Brady-est Brady Bunch TV and Movie Collection on DVD. The epic 31-disc set includes all five seasons of the original series, The Brady Bunch, as well as the three spinoff series, the animated The Brady Kids (1972-74) and (making their DVD debut) real-life The Brady Brides (1981) and the franchise’s attempt at going dramatic, The Bradys (1990).
Then there are the movies, including TV movie A Very Brady Christmas (1988) and theatrical hits The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel. Plus, there’s the 2002 TV-movie featuring Gary Cole and Shelley Long reprising their big-screen Mike and Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch in the White House (2002).
Last but not least, the DVD set also includes the 2000 TV docu-film, Growing Up Brady. (Unfortunately, the nine episodes that aired from the 1976-77 variety series, The Brady Bunch Hour, did not make the cut…we presume because of music rights.)
But, with all the sequels and spinoffs (the HGTV show, A Very Brady Renovation, is coming this fall) the original 1969-1974 series is what started it all and, since not every episode is available on streaming, this DVD set is your saving grace to all things Brady.
In the above gallery, we’ve labored long and hard to come up with the 10 must-see episodes of the beloved series. Check out our picks and if we missed your favorite episode, please leave us a comment below. Like The Brady Bunch, this post could see sequels!
Pick up your copy of The Brady-est Brady Bunch TV and Movie Collection wherever you buy your DVDs!
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