The Brady-Partridge War

[ClassyCo]

There are so many shows that have become so closely linked in the public's consciousness. We can spend hours discussing the similarities and differences existing between the likes of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie or exactly how differently The Addams Family and The Munsters blended humor and horror, and indeed we have.

Today I want to tackle two different types of family-orientated comedies: The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. They each sprung out of the late 1960s/early 1970s when television networks were scouring their shows to rid their schedules of shows that felt were increasingly old-fashioned and not geared toward the desired demographics. This trend in television history has become collectively known as the Rural Purge, a time when multiple rural-based shows were axed, and soon replaced by more urban-orientated shows.

The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family were two squeaky clean family sitcoms that ABC hoped would generate revenue among America's youth. Both were popular in the network's desired demographic, while The Partridge Family was more popular overall. It spent its first three seasons in the top thirty. While The Brady Bunch, on the other hand, never cracked the top thirty during its original five-year-run, it swept across the airways to become one of the most popular shows in syndication. It generated several spin-offs, variety shows, and even a couple of reboot-style theatrical films in the 1990s.

I have the complete series of The Brady Bunch, its spin-offs, and theatrical films all in a box set branded the Brady-est collection. I had the first season of The Partridge Family for a while, but I just recently gave it away. Now that Amazon has the complete series for less than twenty dollars, I'll probably just order them all that way.

So what's your thoughts? Would you rather spend your time in the Brady house or touring with the Partridge clan?

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[Seaviewer]

I loved The Partridge Family. I watched The Brady Bunch, too, but it was one of those shows that was just on, if you know what I mean.

The Brady Bunch was much blander but maybe it's that very quality that has made it able to survive the way it has. The Partridge Family was hotter but much more of its time and so burned out more quickly.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I'm surprised neither show was in the Top 30 very often if at all. Everybody seemed to watch them, and they were part of ABC's domination of Friday nights in the early-'70s -- along with BEWITCHED, THE ODD COUPLE, LOVE AMERICAN STYLE, etc... (By the middle of the decade NBC took over, and by late in the decade, CBS ruled Fridays).

THE BRADY BUNCH was watchable, certainly for children, and as Paula Poundstone once said when not playing grab-ass with her kids, THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY actually had funny lines while BRADY didn't -- only funny situations.

PARTRIDGE also shifted focus after its first season -- which had that sometimes intensely melancholy early-'70s vibe as the family drove around the country in their psychedelic bus; from Season 2 onward, it became more of a living room sitcom where their concerts always seemed to be just across town.

'i think PARTRIDGE is a wee bit better, just as I see ADDAMS as a tad better than MUNSTERS, and BEWITCHED easier to sit through than JEANNIE. But it's hard not to link the pairs up.

 

[TJames03]

The Brady’s all of the way!!!!!

 

[ClassyCo]

I'm surprised neither show was in the Top 30 very often if at all. Everybody seemed to watch them, and they were part of ABC's domination of Friday nights in the early-'70s -- along with BEWITCHED, THE ODD COUPLE, LOVE AMERICAN STYLE, etc... (By the middle of the decade NBC took over, and by late in the decade, CBS ruled Fridays).

THE BRADY BUNCH was watchable, certainly for children, and as Paula Poundstone once said when not playing grab-ass with her kids, THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY actually had funny lines while BRADY didn't -- only funny situations.

PARTRIDGE also shifted focus after its first season -- which had that sometimes intensely melancholy early-'70s vibe as the family drove around the country in their psychedelic bus; from Season 2 onward, it became more of a living room sitcom where their concerts always seemed to be just across town.

'i think PARTRIDGE is a wee bit better, just as I see ADDAMS as a tad better than MUNSTERS, and BEWITCHED easier to sit through than JEANNIE. But it's hard not to link the pairs up.

It seems like The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family are always mentioned in the same breath. It's almost as if they go hand-in-hand. I have vague memory of having always known of The Brady Bunch, which I occasionally saw in reruns on TV Land and INSP, but The Partridge Family was always more of a mystery because I never remember seeing it anywhere.

Both shows were successful in their coveted demographics. The Partridge Family was in the top thirty from 1970 to 1973 (peaking at #16 in the season-end ratings in 1972), while The Brady Bunch apparently never cracked the Nielsen top thirty in the yearly ratings (it peaked at #31 in 1972). I've always found it ironic that, considering their first-run success, that The Brady Bunch has become more the pop culture phenomenon, spawning a host of spin-offs, reboot movies, and so forth. The Partridge Family seemed to all but fall off the side of the planet when it was canceled.

These are two shows that people either love or hate. They generally have one they enjoy more. While there's more to watch (when including all the spin-offs/sequels) concerning The Brady Bunch, I personally find The Partridge Family to be the better show. The writing and the acting was a smidge better overall, and so was their singing and music (even if it was mostly orchestrated by studio musicians).

To continue with what you said:
For years I was an avid I Dream of Jeannie fan and I refused to watch Bewitched. One day I broke down and bought the first two seasons of the latter on a combo DVD set at Walmart. I enjoyed it way more than I ever thought I would, and I've actually come to realize that Samantha and her world is far superior to Jeannie and hers.

I'd pick The Addams Family over The Munsters any day of the week. I have the complete sets of both, but the former has a more surrealistic black humor that I find hilarious, while the latter is basically Father Knows Best masked as ghouls.

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[Snarky Oracle!]

And both shows originally aired back-to-back.

 

[ClassyCo]

And both shows originally aired back-to-back.

For the longest time, I thought the shows were on competing networks. I knew The Partridge Family was ABC, but I always figured The Brady Bunch was CBS. Don't ask why I thought that.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yep, Friday nights on ABC in the early'70s were BEWITCHED, BRADY BUNCH, PATRIDGE FAMILY, ODD COUPLE, LOVE AMERICAN STYLE --- oh, and also NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR and ROOM 222, depending on the year.

BTW: Shirley Jones was offered the role of Carol Brady but turned it down.

 

[ClassyCo]

Joyce Bulifant was actually cast as Carol Brady first, but I'm not sure if it were before Shirley Jones or after. I'm guessing it was after Jones declined.

Once the producers were aware that Florence Henderson was available, they invited her test. They felt Henderson and Robert Reed had a better chemistry together, so Joyce Bulifant was nudged out, and Florence Henderson was cast instead.

Bulifant was understandably saddened she lost the part. She had been practically guaranteed the role, then it was abruptly snatched from her. She said something along these lines: "It was very disheartening to learn that the lead role in a series you had been promised was going to someone else."

ABC was apparently aware that Bulifant was "funnier" than Henderson, but they felt Henderson played better as a mother and gelled better with the children. The decision was then made to hire Ann B. Davis as the Brady clan's housekeeper, which was the producers' way of adding more comedy talent to the show.

Joyce Bulifant

A photoshopped opening credits redo with Joyce Bulifant in Florence Henderson's place.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

At least Bulifant got THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, which was much better. But the role was considerably smaller and only recurrent.

 

[ClassyCo]

At least Bulifant got THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, which was much better. But the role was considerably smaller and only recurrent.

I looked Joyce Bulifant up on Wikipedia because I hadn't the slightest idea what else she was in. Her face looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place her in anything specific.

 

[Angela Channing]

I looked Joyce Bulifant up on Wikipedia because I hadn't the slightest idea what else she was in. Her face looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place her in anything specific.

I've only ever seen her in the film Airplane (1980) in which she played the mother of a sick girl on a drip.

 

[Seaviewer]

They were on competing networks here. PF was on Seven which seems to have had a lot of shows I now know were on NBC, and BB on Ten which was comparable to ABC in that it had started up relatively recently.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

 

[ClassyCo]

I've watched all of those this very week.

 

[Grant Jennings]

Bulifant was apparently very close to appearing as Carol Brady - opposite Gene Hackman! She's led an interesting life.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

The Partridges do the ghetto-hood ... with guest stars Richard Pryor and Louis Gossett, Jr:

 

[Willie Oleson]

The Partridges couldn't sing a bad song even if they tried.
That said, Mother Partridge looks scarier than Mrs. Voorhees.

 

[ClassyCo]

I have the Bradyest DVD Collection, and I recently decided to dive into some of the other shows ─ outside of the original Brady Bunch series ─ that's part of the set.

A couple of nights ago I started watching The Brady Brides (originally known in its tele-film format as The Brady Girls Get Married) to see what it was all about. Creator Sherwood Schwartz had been humiliated that his creation was involved in the dreadfully orchestrated Brady Bunch Variety Hour, and he wanted to bring the Bradys back to network television on his own terms. In comes The Brady Girls Get Married. It was originally a two-hour movie of the week, but its success led to the network chopping the film into three separate episodes and rebranding the idea as The Brady Brides, which would be a new weekly comedy.

At the beginning of the pilot film (or original television film, whichever phrasing you prefer) Mike and Carol Brady are returning home after taking their youngest daughter, Cindy, off to college. Carol's torn to pieces because the house is empty and all her babies are grown, while Mike seems to think that, with all the children being gone, that he and Carol can finally have time to themselves. Carol eventually gets a job as a real estate agent to help occupy her time.

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In the meantime, Jan's boyfriend Phillip proposes to her. They naturally run straight to Mike and Carol to spread the good news. While Mike and Carol are happy for them, they briefly show concern because they had always wanted Marcia to be the first daughter married. This sparks the same ole feelings that's always been there inside Jan; she thinks her parents want her to postpone her wedding so Marcia can get married first. Mike and Carol eventually correct their mistake and make it clear to Jan that they are happy for her and Phillip and that they have all their blessings for marriage.

Marcia, whose been away doing some fashion designing, meets the lovable Wally purely by chance. He sits down beside her at a luncheon table, and he's immediately smitten with her. Wally sends her flowers to lure her back the next day, and gradually Marcia stars falling for Wally. Within a few days they decide to get married, and they want to share their enthusiasm with Mike and Carol, who have concerns because Marcia and Wally barely know one another. Their blessing is eventually given though.

Once Jan finds out that Marcia's getting married too, she suggests that she and Marcia have a double wedding. Marcia thinks it's a good idea and so does Wally, but when they run the thought by Phillip, he originally rejects it. After some convincing, he agrees to sharing his and Jan's wedding day.

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[ClassyCo]

Carol, who has settled into her real estate job, naturally calls the other children to make sure they will be at Marcia and Jan's double wedding. She phones each of them and we see them in their new environments:

Greg is a successful doctor.
Peter's operating the gate at the air force base.
Bobby's become a football star at college.
Cindy's in the drama club at her college.

They all assure their mother that there's no place they'd rather be, although there's some initial concern that some of them, especially Peter, will actually be able to make it. When things later shift and the double wedding is moved up, nearly all of them fret over being able to readjust their schedules again to make the earlier date. Of course, they all come rushing in to the wedding at the last minute, offering some cutesy little humor to make Marcia and Jan's big day a little nerve wrecking.

​

Since this is situation comedy side TV land, it's almost a given that the wedding day itself won't go as planned. Just as Mike goes to walk Marcia and Jan down the aisle, it starts flooding outside. Everyone's devastated, but never fear: it's all taken inside. It seems logical really. I was actually sort of shocked when the wedding wasn't planned inside the Brady home from the start, and maybe this was Schwartz's cute little way to give the die-hard the ceremony they'd be the most pleased with.

I guess I need to recap a little: Marcia and Jan have been leading entirely different lives since they've gotten older, and even though they want a double wedding, they each have vastly different ideas about what they want for their special day. Marcia was a more free-thinker, liberal wedding, while Jan wants a more conservative and traditional one. Naturally their beaus side with them, and they actually butt some heads themselves. The relationship between Wally and Phillip is obviously inspired by The Odd Couple, a movie-turned-comedy series that centered around two very different men occupying the same apartment.

All works out, however, and the wedding is eventually split in two. It's traditional and modern. I guess you get the hint that The Brady Girls Get Married is just as a sappy as The Brady Bunch ever was. No reunion such as this one would be complete without a few flashbacks to some of the original's more memorable moments. This film takes every chance it can to rewind to those earlier days, albeit briefly. It's a cute thing to see, like it always is, and it actually fits into the story. That's another rarity.

​

The wedding ends up going by relatively smoothly. There is one incident where Phillip and Wally eventually destroy the joint wedding cake, and yes there's a little flashback to Mike and Carol's wedding fiasco back in 1968.

Fast forward a little. Marcia's totally psyched about this house she's found, but she knows she and Wally cannot possibly afford it. When Jan comes to look at it with her, the two sisters decide to convince their new husbands to share the house that way all four incomes can make the house affordable enough for all of them. Just like before, Wally jumps on the bandwagon, although Phillip only ends up agreeing to prove he's not as uptight as Wally says he is. After he signs the lease, there's an instant look of "What have I done?" on Phillip's face. It's a cute moment for sure.

Anyway, problems start arising when the couples move in together. They all have so many things that their living is cluttered with junk, which is a play on that time Lucy and Ricky had to live with Ethel and Fred on I Love Lucy before moving to the country. Their neighbor, a really grumpy kind of woman, is single and she likes it that way, but she seems like she's going to be a pest. She's going to be nosy. All shows like this need a nosy neighbor. It's in the handbook somewhere.

Personalities start to clash a little shortly after settling in. Apparently Wally likes sleeping in the nude, and Phillip likes leaving his scientific studies thrown all over the living room. They eventually decide to tear the tape that divides the house off the floor and try and make their new home a place for one big happy family.

The end.

Well, into it all morphs into The Brady Brides. I'll be back for that.

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The Brady Girls Get Married is cute, old-timey sentimental entertainment. It's mainly going to appeal to those fans most familiar with the original show, although even more casual viewers might be elated that all of the original cast are back to reprise their roles. The writing is decent enough, and even some of the quips are pretty sharp. The acting is sparse, as it always was, but we love the Bradys like this. We don't have to think a lot, and there's no sex or violence, so it's all good, squeaky clean comedy.

I'm going to come back after I watch the series. There's only like six episodes. It won't take too long I hope.

I split this up into two separate posts because I wanted to use more pictures. (I don't like that "Telly Talk" gives me a limit on how many pictures I can use!)