As a kid, and an avid Brady Bunch fan in 1973, I looked forward to September to their new season. I had read the Bradys were going to Hong Kong (more on this in a future post), and, like their trips to Grand Canyon, and Hawaii, their traveling adventures were a great way to kick it all off.
Imagine my surprise to see that, not only were the Bradys not vacationing anywhere, they were starting the season with a musical episode! To open the fifth season with The Bradys singing was a poor decision. In fact, the very first shot, of the very first episode, was the kids singing! What show was this? In the past, we were patient , and mildly interested in these musical digressions. But they were tucked away mid-episode, and mid-season. This song opening the new season was jarring. Plus, we had become accustomed to the new season being episodes shot on location. The Bradys started seasons with vacations to The Grand Canyon and Hawaii. To be expecting a road trip and be hit instead with a not great musical number was too much. It was off brand. We had accepted the Bradys kids singing as a small, not unenjoyable, part of the overall Brady package. To be asked to accept this, was asking too much. There was a fear that, like The Partridge Family, would these Brady Kids be singing in every episode from now on? Besides, everyone knew The Partridge Family did it better, and did it first.
While it's always funny to blame cute Cousin Oliver for causing the demise of The Brady Bunch, to take this as a fact is just not accurate. He only did six episodes, and I think, fit quite well into The Bradyverse. Never a huge ratings hit, The Bradys often teetered on cancellation. Now, five years in, this show about kids, was now a show about teens -- who sing.
