THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 24, 1995 TAG: 9502240067
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
ALL TOGETHER NOW. Let's sing the theme from ``The Brady Bunch.''
``Here's the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls. . . . ''
If you haven't learned the lyrics by now, don't blame the folks at TBS in Atlanta. They're been running and re-running the 150-plus episodes of ``The Brady Bunch'' practically from the first day the station signed on cable in 1976.
After all this time, even a chimp could do a verse or two.
``It's the story of a man named Brady who was busy with three boys of his own. . . . ''
When ``The Brady Bunch Movie'' opened in theaters earlier this month, Turner Broadcasting saluted the series by overwhelming viewers with three episodes a day.
It was heaven for 14-year-old Wally ``Junior'' Watford, Angela Chappell and the other Bradymanics in Hampton Roads who called my number on Infoline (640,5555, press 2486) to ask if TBS planned to continue ``The Brady Bunch'' daily triple play.
Sorry, kids. You'll have to get by on just one cable Brady fix per day starting at 4:35 p.m. (You can double up on the Bradys by watching or taping ``The Brady Bunch'' on WTVZ daily at 1 p.m.)
With the release of ``The Brady Bunch Movie,'' TBS programmers anticipated a nationwide yearning for all things Brady - the bell bottoms, the orange shag carpets, Marcia's Barbie doll sexiness - and scheduled three episodes of the old ABC series daily through Feb. 17. ``The series always did well for us in the ratings, particularly among teens,'' said Kevin Little from TBS headquarters in Atlanta.
``When school's out at 3:30, kids settle in to watch the Bradys.''
And sing the theme.
``The Brady Bunch. The Brady Bunch. That's the way they became the Brady Bunch. . . . ''
The feature film, in which Shelley Long assumes the role of Carol Brady, has Hollywood buzzing because it soared to No. 1 in the box office last week by grossing $15 million. The Nick at Nite cable channel marked the release by scheduling a weeklong Brady festival, showing episodes of ``The Brady Bunch'' on loan from TBS.
TBS followed by ``triple stripping'' the series. For a short time this month, cable subscribers in this market were able to see Jan, Cindy, Greg and the other Bradys four times a day. I heard from a mother of three in Chesapeake who said she watched at 1, 4:35, 6:05 and 6:35. ``I grew up with the Bradys and never got them out of my system,'' she said.
She is not alone.
In the 1970s, didn't we all want to be the Bradys? Did't we all want to live in a nice four-bedroom home in Los Angeles with a family that was two families in one? A family with perfect parents and a nutty but loveable housekeeper? ``You had all those smiling faces,'' said TV historians Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh. ``It was one of the last of the old-fashioned, fun-around-the-house situation comedies.''
It sure wasn't ``Roseanne.''
I vaguely remember a sequel to ``The Brady Bunch'' on CBS in 1981 called ``The Brady Brides.'' I had forgotten two other series and a Saturday morning cartoon (``The Brady Kids``) that evolved from the original show. Brooks and Marsh rounded them up for the fifth edition of their directory of prime time shows from 1946 on.
After ``The Brady Bunch'' (1969-1974), and before ``The Brady Brides (1981),'' was ``The Brady Bunch Hour (1977) on ABC that lasted five months. The Bradys entered show business and had a TV show within a TV show.
CBS in 1990 put on ``The Bradys'' after a made-for-TV film about a Bradys' Christmas achieved high ratings. In the 1990s, the Bradys went from a fun bunch to a family dealing with AIDS, crippling injuries and infertilty. That show dissapeared quickly.
If you've wondered if the cast has grown wealthy from endless reruns of ``The Brady Bunch,'' the answer is not likely. Residuals ended after nine showings. by CNB