HGTV Premiers "A Very Brady Renovation" on Mon., Sep. 9, 2019

Among U.S. TV sitcoms of the 1970's, few left as big an impression as Sherwood Schwartz's "The Brady Bunch". Thanks to relentless, seemingly un-ending re-runs in syndication, as well as numerous specials, spinoffs and even a few reboots (including a successful 1995 movie which starred a different cast, which was followed by a second movie), it ranks among the most prolific shows of that particular time period.

Its worth acknowledging that while "The Brady Bunch" is usually called a seventies TV show, it actually began in 1969 when it first aired on ABC broadcast television's fall season. But the constant reruns in syndication, specials, spinoffs (who remembers "The Brady Brides"?) and other things all happened in the seventies.

Although the last of the show's regular adult cast have now passed, the child cast is still very much alive as of 2019. Actress Florence Henderson, who played mother Carol Brady passed away [of heart failure] on November 24, 2016 at age 82 was the last adult cast member to pass, She was preceded by actor Robert Reed who played father Mike Brady, and actress Ann B. Davis who played the live-in housekeeper Alice Nelson on "The Brady Bunch" (as well as characters on several other sitcoms), plus actor Allan Melvin who played Sam the Butcher and Alice's boyfriend on the show all preceded Henderson. Many of those actors had successful acting careers before (and after) "The Brady Bunch".

For a window of time following the death of the show's iconic producer Sherwood Schwartz in 2011 (even though his son Lloyd carried the torch for a while), there was some thought within show biz circles that the world had finally seen the last of the iconic Brady's on television, at least outside of continued reruns. But it turned out that declaration was premature as well. Actress Maureen McCormick re-emerged (briefy) on TV to promote a new autobiography she called "Here's the Story" (named after the first line in the theme song of "The Brady Bunch") in 2009, but it was mostly just book launch promos, but nothing sustained.

But the presumption of the end of the Brady's was turned upside down on July 18, 2018, when the Los Angeles Times reported (see the news HERE for more) that the iconic house which was used for outdoor representations of the television Brady family's residence, including the show's opening and closing scenes as well as numerous interludes to denote the time of day was for sale.

This became known as the Brady house, located at: 11222 Dilling St, Los Angeles

The actual house that came to become known as the Brady house was located in Studio City near the Colfax Meadows neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles (the official address is 11222 Dilling Street, Los Angeles, CA 91604), and was listed for sale for $1.885 million on July 18, 2018. George and Violet McCallister bought the two-bedroom, three-bathroom house in 1973 for $61,000, county real estate records show.

The listing was the first time that the house was for sale in 50 years. The house was actually built in 1959. Although the house was well-maintained and was on a large piece of property, the house's interior was very dated, which made it ripe for a buyer that might level it for the large lot and build a new house in its place. However, at the onset, there were expectations that due to the house's iconic celebrity status, there could be some competitive bidding for it.

Actress Maureen McCormick, who played oldest sister Marcia Brady on the show — shared that she would have loved to have bought the house for herself. But she ultimately knew there would be fierce competition given its celebrity status. She was right about that.

Indeed, immediately following the listing for the house, there were reports that former N'Sync band member Lance Bass had placed a bid for the house. But the sellers were very pleasantly pleased with the outcome of the sale of their deceased grandmother's house. It sold in August 2018 for $3.5 million -- nearly twice (86% more than the asking price) the house's original asking price.

Following the news that the iconic "Brady house" was sold, there was speculation on the actual buyer. That speculation would end before too long. But behind-the-scenes, the buyer had some very interesting plans for the house.

The buyer of the Brady house was later revealed to be the cable television network HGTV (the initials initially stood for Home & Garden Television). The surprise was that the channel planned  to remodel the house to look just as it did on "The Brady Bunch". It was no small undertaking given that the house was single story while the television home on "The Brady Bunch" was depicted as a two-story house. Although the house had a lot of property, the actual TV show's interior scenes were filmed on a set in Stage 5 at Paramount Studios. The set looked almost nothing like the actual house did.

Actress Susan Olsen, who played youngest sister Cindy Brady in the original series, admits she felt a little bit of resentment about the Brady house because as a child, she asked the producers why they chose that particular house for the exterior shots, and they told her: "I'll have you know that if you walk into that house, it looks exactly like this set." As it turns out, that was a very big lie made to a very little girl!

Beyond Maureen McCormick and Susan Olsen, actress Eve Plumb, who played the beleaguered middle sister Jan Brady on the show, made some real estate headlines of her own in 2016 when she sold her oceanfront Malibu beach house. An 11-year-old Eve Plumb, with the help of her parents, bought the oceanfront property in 1969 for just $55,300. At the time, Eve Plumb was already a veteran child actor with the western TV series "Gunsmoke" and "The Big Valley" on her resume. She later sold that beach house, best described as an 850-square foot cottage located at the south end of Escondido Beach, for $3.9 million after decades of her ownership. (see HERE for more on that). Even adjusting for inflation, that was still more than a ten-fold return on her initial investment.

As it would later be revealed, HGTV had interesting plans for the iconic Brady house. The network secretly recruited all of the original castmembers who are still alive, including Barry Williams (Greg Brady), Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady), Christopher Knight (Peter Brady), Eve Plumb (Jan Brady), Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady) and Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady) along with several of the cable network's own stars, including "Property Brothers" Drew and Jonathan Scott, "Good Bones'" Mina Starsiak and Karen Laine, "Restored by the Fords'" Leanne and Steve Ford, "Hidden Potentials'" Jasmine Roth and "Flea Market Flip's" Lara Spencer to renovate the iconic Brady house to look exactly as the original Paramount studio set for the show looked on the sitcom. They were able to recruit all of them (while other specials and reboots had to find at least a few replacement cast members) because this project was so fundamentally different from most prior Brady reunions and specials. The cast were able to roll up their sleeves and use sledgehammers, nail guns and saws -- which never happened in any of the earlier reunions of "The Brady Bunch".

Tonight, on September 9, 2019 HGTV will finally premiere its highly-anticipated TV series, which follows America's the iconic Brady family (the children, at least) working alongside several HGTV stars to renovate the iconic house. HGTV has been busy promoting the show on social media and elsewhere for the limited-run  series. Obviously, upon completion of the renovations, the series will be done. But HGTV expects expects to draw record audiences for the new, limited-duration series. If you miss the premier on cable (or you're a cord-cutter without cable), you can catch clips from the show on the website dedicated to "A Very Brady Renovation" at https://www.hgtv.com/shows/a-very-brady-renovation.

Below is a brief YouTube playlist I created which contains some of the promotional and/or news clips on today's "Very Brady Renovation" which airs this evening on HGTV. You can watch below, or by visiting https://bit.ly/2lKTAcw.

   

2018 Sitcom Revival Craze Isn't New But Criticism of Whitewashing Is

On February 22, 2018, Marketplace featured a show segment entitled "Explaining the craze in TV reboots".  Reboot is perhaps an inappropriate term; rather "revival" is likely a more accurate term.  You may listen to that segment HERE, or below.

Also be sure to read the Hollywood Reporter article written by Michael O'Connell who was interviewed in the Marketplace clip.  That story can be viewed at https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/new-economics-tvs-reboot-craze-1086797.

The Marketplace story discusses a recent (as of early 2018) wave of TV revivals either already on the air, or scheduled to be headed to the airwaves very soon.  For example, think of successful reboots already on the air, including "Fuller House" and "Will & Grace."  Indeed, "Will & Grace" currently ranks as NBC's No. 1 comedy of the season, and it trails only CBS' "Big Bang Theory" and "Young Sheldon" on the list of top comedies across TV.  Others, including "Roseanne" and "Murphy Brown," with the original casts still in place, are scheduled to air soon.

"Fuller House" was a revival of ABC's "Full House" with the original child cast now adults rather than children.  That show picks up with most of the original cast, only it was Netflix that took the risk of producing it rather than network television.  Now entering its fourth season, the numbers were solid enough for the streaming giant to continue.  The original trailer was available at the following link, but has since been removed from YouTube https://youtu.be/CXuGLswn2l0.

"Will & Grace" Cast Reunion as PSA for 2016 Election

"Will & Grace's" TV revival actually began as kind of a public service announcement (PSA) on YouTube encouraging viewers to vote in the 2016 election.  A mini-episode, if you will, featuring the original cast.  That video was originally on YouTube at https://youtu.be/dQZkt7SKtKk but has since been disabled. However, Hollywood Reporter has its own copy found at https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/will-grace-reunion-debra-messing-932915 if you wish to watch it.

That 10-minute PSA clip generated more than 7 million viewers in the first few weeks after it went on YouTube (and subsequently went viral on Facebook and other social platforms), suggesting the U.S.audience was still very much interested in seeing the original characters 11 years after the series finale in 2006.  The cast also seemed ready for a revival, and luckily the original set was still in storage (which was used for the 2016 YouTube #VoteHoney PSA), plus the creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan were also ready to revive the original series.

Eleven years after the finale of the original series required a little bit of creative license to revive the show in a believable manner.  The original series finale ended with Will and Grace partnered — Will with Vince, Grace with Leo — all raising children.  Grace had a daughter named Laila with husband Leo (Harry Connick Jr.) while Will was raising a son, Ben, with spouse Vincent (Bobby Cannavale).  But the revival began by acknowledging both Will's and Grace's separations, and Karen (who is known on the show for having substance abuse issues anyway) having and explaining what was a drug-induced hallucination.  The exact dialogue went as follows:


"I had the craziest dream," Karen says, describing the finale scenes. "Will was living with a swarthy man in uniform and Grace was married to a Jew doctor."

"Well, we were, but we're single now," Will replies.

"What happened to the children that you had that grew up and got married to each other?" Karen then asks, to which Will replies that it "never happened".

"Oh, what a relief," she replied, speaking for fans everywhere. "Nobody wants to see you two raise kids."


The revised "Will & Grace" sitcom was originally ordered by NBC for a limited, 16-episode run, but was subsequently renewed for another, 13-episode season.  NBC was evidently pleased enough with the ratings to renew it for another season.

Roseanne Revival Coming to ABC

The 1990's ABC sitcom Roseanne is another revival that will appear on ABC television starting on March 27, 2018.  Like the others, it will feature virtually all of the original cast.  A trailer is available by visiting https://youtu.be/X32lP33kyOs.

[Author P.S., May 29, 2018: ABC abruptly cancelled the Roseanne revival after the show's namesake star went on a racist Twitter rant.  While the show's performance was acceptable, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show".  Disney CEO Bob Iger added on Twitter that "there was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing."  Barr's talent agency also dropped her.]

Meanwhile, rival network CBS is going full steam ahead (at least for the 13 episodes which have been ordered and produced) with its revival of Murphy Brown, which is planned to run on Thursday evenings at 9:30 PM.  The trailer for that show was found at https://youtu.be/pGn-OXaBV68 but has also since been removed.

2018 Casts of Several Sitcom Revivals

Mixed Track Record of Success and Failure on Previous Reboots/Revivals

Reboots/revivals of one form or another have enjoyed periods of popularity with networks and producers.  There were numerous reboots/revivals of "The Brady Bunch" for example, including 1981's sitcom "The Brady Brides" which focused on Marsha's and Jan's newly-wed lives.  That was followed by several made-for-TV movies including 1988's "A Very Brady Christmas," 1995's "The Brady Bunch Movie" and 1996's "A Very Brady Sequel".  The latter two were movies shown in theaters, and although the characters were identical (played by new actors/actresses and caught in a time-warp), they succeeded because they were intended to be parodies of the original.  Not all revivals are parodies.

In 1980, "The Nude Bomb" (also known as The Return of Maxwell Smart) was a reboot of the late-sixties sitcom created by Mel Brooks "Get Smart" that starred Don Adams, though it was released in theaters initially, and didn't air on TV until 1982.  But another made-for-television revival in 1999 starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, and Barbara Feldon as Agent 99 entitled "Get Smart, Again!" was popular enough to prompt a new (but short-lived) TV series, which starred the two original cast members as well as actor Andy Dick.  A 2008 reboot film version starring actor Steve Carrell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99 hit the theaters, and received mixed reviews from film critics, but did reasonably well at the box office.  But the inescapable fact is that many of the popular gadgets featured in the original series no longer seem so revolutionary today.  For example, the shoe-telephone is now an antique relative to smartphones today, and the "cone of silence" seems like its from another era -- which it was.

Similarly, "I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later" aired as a made-for-TV movie in 1985 and another named "I Still Dream of Jeannie" ran in 1991.  Actress Barbara Eden starred in both, but Tony Nelson initially played by actor Larry Hagman (who was under contract to star in the prime-time soap "Dallas") was played by different actors.  As a result, neither the "Get Smart" of "I Dream of Jeannie" revivals were huge ratings successes.

Finally, how many revivals of Gilligan's Island can realistically be remembered?  Most of the original cast (excluding actress Tina Louise who played the character/actress Ginger Grant on the original series, but was notably absent from virtually all of the reunions) were in each of the made-for-TV movies including "Rescue from Gilligan's Island", "The Castaways on Gilligan's Island" and even "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" not to mention a couple of animated cartoon versions of the sitcom which was more popular in syndication than it ever was in its initial broadcast run.  Each ended pretty much as they began: rescued only to be lost again on an uncharted island - again.

For television, revivals/reboots usually rely on bringing much of the original audiences, although not always with the same casts.  Some featured original actor/actress cameos (for example, Ann B. Davis, who played housekeeper Alice Nelson in the original sitcom made cameo appearances, as did actress Florence Henderson who played Carol Brady in the originals (both actresses have since passed away), while others only briefly reunite the original casts (or many of them; some had to be replaced since the original talent are deceased).  For example, 2012's first-episode reboot of "Dallas" featured many of the original cast members, even featuring actor Larry Hagman who played J.R. Ewing, although he passed away shortly after the first episode of the reboot aired.

Other prior revivals/reboots have been re-imagined with completely new casts and story lines.  One famous reboot flop was 2007's unsuccessful reboot of "The Bionic Woman" which (briefly) ran on NBC.  That featured actress Michelle Ryan as the main character Jamie Somers.  But instead of Jamie being a schoolteacher and former professional tennis player, the new Jamie was a bartender raising her younger sister on her own, and her bionic powers were not implemented by secretive Government researchers, but her boyfriend.  Only 8 episodes of the reboot aired on TV, as a strike by the Writers Guild of America interrupted production.  The series suffered from poor ratings after an initially-promising premier episode, likely attributed to audience curiosity who ended up very disappointed at how dark the new series was compared to the original.

Actress Lindsay Wagner, the original actress who starred as Jamie Somers in 'The Bionic Woman' back in the 1970's, also played no part in the new, rebooted series.  Ms. Wagner said, "On a technical level, it was very good, but I don't think they understood the show. It was steeped in that old-school thinking. It was like a lot of things today, angry and dark."

More recent revivals (distinct from reboots) are using all or much of the original casts that made the initial shows successful.  Although a complicated rights and remuneration can bedevil many revivals or reboots (such as the soaps noted in a previous post, see http://hgm.sstrumello.com/2013/04/can-soaps-left-for-dead-see-new-life.html for that), when original producers are involved, those issues may be slightly less complicated if the producers are onboard with the idea of reviving the show and they own content rights for the original programs.

The TV revival/reboot craze currently going on is not without criticism, although not because the revivals or the shows aren't any good, but because they claim it is whitewashing.  Though they may make us feel nostalgic, they also come at a cost, because diversity is often nixed in favor of the all-white casts of the past.  From the 1980's to 2017, the number of characters of color with speaking roles has nearly quadrupled, up from about 8% in the 1980's to about 30% today.  According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, non-whites are still under-represented on television, although they are better represented in 2018 than at any point in the past.

Are Current Reboots/Revivals Whitewashing?

On February 12, 2018, the New York City NPR station WNYC and Public Radio International (PRI)'s program "The Takeaway" addressed this not-too-minor issue in an episode entitled "TV Reboots and Revivals Bring Nostalgia — And Whitewashing" and it discussed the implications of that.  That was worth listening to below, or by visiting https://www.wnyc.org/story/tv-reboots-and-revivals-bring-nostalgia-and-whitewashing/.


Of course, all-white casts have long dominated U.S. popular culture in spite of growing diversity, and recent gains made by non-white players recently won't necessarily erase generations of U.S. pop culture.  As noted by Michael O'Connell in the Marketplace interview above, the current reboot wave has much more to do with the fact that not much else seems to be working right now from an entertainment business perspective, rather than any sort of systematic effort to erase the gains of non-white programming.  Indeed, although white supremacy has gained visibility since the electoral college victory by Donald J. Trump, as trackers of hate groups note, those groups still remain relatively small in spite of their recent increased visibility (see the Anti-Defamation League's write-up HERE and Southern Poverty Law Center's write-up HERE for more background) lately.  The entertainment industry has no motivation other than profit.

Whether the current popularity of reboots and revivals enables all to succeed remains to be seen; so far, the revivals' success features an unconventional family involving three white men as heads of household and another featuring gay white men with female companions.  Soon, another will star a female investigative journalist and news anchor for a fictional TV news magazine and recovered alcoholic who speaks her mind freely, and finally a blue-collar, working class white family living in rural America.  Only the latter series is even remotely consistent with the Alt-Right.

However, if trips down memory lane work out financially, TV history certainly has a lot to mine, although not necessarily with the same casts and producers.  In the end, Hollywood will be watching how financially successful the latest reboots turn out to be.  If history provides any clues, there will likely be a mixture of success and failure, just as did prior periods of sitcom reboots/revivals.

Vincent Price: One of America's Best Scary-Men

He had a long film career (having appeared in more than 90 movies) that earned him 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures, and another for TV.  Actor Vincent Price was born to a wealthy St. Louis, Missouri family (his father was the president of a candy company) and he traveled through Europe prior to studying at Yale and the University of London before ultimately becoming an actor. He made his first screen debut in 1938.  Although his film career spanned many genres including drama, mystery, thriller, and comedy, and he also had many TV appearances and several stage performances as well, by the 1960's, he was working almost exclusively in the horror film genre, and to a somewhat lesser extent, teen films.  The fact that he worked in the horror genre really did not bother him at all.  But the reason he was so popular in horror movies could be because of his very distinctive voice.

Vincent Price's work in horror films is very well-documented.  Mr. Price's final movie was Edward Scissorhands (1990) with Johnny Depp, which although not technically a horror movie, was nevertheless a dark Tim Burton movie that fits the Halloween genre.  As noted, his distinctive voice really made him a favorite in the horror genre.

Most Gen Xers likely remember Vincent Price for two items he worked on:

Vincent Price and him as  Prof. Whitehead on The Brady Bunch

1.  His appearance in two episodes of "The Brady Bunch" back in 1972 when the entire Brady family went to Hawaii.  He played deranged archaeologist Professor Hubert Whitehead (the episodes were "Pass the Tabu" and "The Tiki Caves").

The "Tiki" Sound Effect from The Brady Bunch can be heard below, or at http://www.bradybunchshrine.com/bradybunch/Sounds1/bbtiki2.wav:

2.  Perhaps one of his shortest works also became one of his most famous, as the man who voiced the eerie monologue in the late Michael Jackson's 1983 hit song "Thriller."  Mr. Price admitted to talk-show host Johnny Carson that when he agreed to do the voice work for "Thriller", he was given a choice between taking a percentage of the album proceeds or being paid a flat $20,000. He chose the $20,000; his career was already well-established at that point, so money wasn't really a huge issue. When Mr. Carson suggested that Vincent Price could have done a lot better if he'd chosen album proceeds, he laughed amiably and said "How well I know!" Considering that more than 110 million copies of the album had been sold to date, Mr. Carson was correct.

The words to that famous monologue are as follows:

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'all's neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller!

(cue maniacal laughter)

That music video, released in 1982, is a classic, not only because the single was certified platinum on the Billboard charts, but also because the video was an unprecedented 14-minutes in length and showed Michael Jackson in a Halloween-themed performance directed by John Landis that was really more like a mini-movie.  Vincent Price’s monologue is a key part of that video/movie.  Check it out below, or at https://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA:



Vincent Price's Death at Age 82 in 1993

Vincent Price passed away on October 25, 1993 at the age of 82 (see http://nyti.ms/2dvW3UN for the obituary).  His obituaries stated that as a result of being a lifelong smoker, Mr. Price was suffering from emphysema, although his official cause of death was lung cancer, so evidently, he was dealing with both ailments by the end of his life.

About Vincent Price's Personal Life

Mr. Price was married three times.  His first marriage, with former actress Edith Barrett, produced his only son, named Vincent Barrett Price. He later married Mary Grant Price, and they had a daughter named Victoria Price, on April 27, 1962.  She was reportedly named Victoria after Price's first major success in the play Victoria Regina.  Mr. Price's last marriage was to the Australian-born actress Coral Browne, whom he married in 1974.  Ms. Browne appeared with Vincent Price (as one of his victims) in the film Theatre of Blood (1973).

Over his lifetime, Mr. Price denounced racial and religious prejudice as a form of poison and he claimed that Americans must actively fight against it because racial and religious prejudice within the U.S. fueled support for the nation's enemies.  Perhaps not surprisingly, he was also a longtime supporter of gay rights and was one of the most vocal celebrity opponents of Anita Bryant's vicious anti-gay activities back in the 1970's, a position that was only solidified after his own daughter came out as a lesbian.

Vincent Price's Sex Life?

Vincent Price himself was long rumored to be gay in Hollywood circles, or at the very least, bisexual (meaning he had sex with both women and men), with something of a preference for having sex with other men.  Perhaps the best example came from author, former Hollywood escort and hookup connection Scotty Bowers, who in his tell-all book published in 2012 entitled "Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars" (co-written with Lionel Friedberg, see http://nyti.ms/2dyh8u5 for the review), asserted:

"I tricked with Vinny [Vincent Price] for years. Sex with him was pleasant, unhurried, gentle. There was what I can only refer to as a kind of refinement about it. It was erotic, tantalizing, fulfilling. High class stuff all the way."

Bowers added that Vincent Price and his wife Coral Browne didn't have a sex life for years, noting that he was sleeping with Price.  In reference to Price and Browne's marriage, the book says "She worked primarily in England and although she was a dyke—I know because I would fix her up with many tricks with young women in future years—the couple were devoted to one another.  They had virtually no sex life together but they cared deeply for each other."

All of this is kind of left to the imagination since the people (except Scotty Bowers) are now deceased, but the man who was once one of America’s favorite scary men (Vincent Price) apparently had a colorful life, both on on-screen and off!

Is There A Brady Bunch Family Feud?

America loves a family feud, so much so that "Family Feud" has remained a popular TV game show for the past 36 years (it was introduced back in 1976 by serial gameshow producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, but has since been exported to venues such as MGM casinos). So what if the "family" is entirely fictional, as in a television family?

For a number of years, there have been rumors of a family feud brewing between the two actresses that played the two oldest Brady sisters, notably Maureen McCormick who played Marcia Brady and Eve Plumb who played younger sister Jan Brady. I don't have to tell anyone who watched "The Brady Bunch" that Jan Brady had more than a few episodes featuring her trying to get out of Marcia Brady's shadow. One line describes that: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia". In fact, the line was so memorable to Gen X viewers that in the 1996 feature film "A Very Brady Sequel" which creator and producer Sherwood Schwartz was involved in, featured a line from the daughter of Jan Brady's guidance counselor (played by drag queen RuPaul Charles) in which the African-American middle girl who was arguing with her sister said "Moesha, Moesha, Moesha" as a parody of Jan Brady's own line. That clip can be viewed below, or by visiting http://youtu.be/vhdXsPfweR8:



The rumors of the Brady girls' family feud are just that: rumors. Indeed, back in 1981, Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb did co-star one of several sequels to "The Brady Bunch" entitled "The Brady Girls Get Married", which began as a 3-part made for television movie, but was later picked up as a sitcom entitled "The Brady Brides" which ran on NBC for one season. However, that was the last time the two co-starred together. In subsequent reunions produced by Sherwood Schwartz, the character of Jan Brady was either not featured, or recast with a different actress, hence the rumors began.

Sure, Eve Plumb appeared in an episode of "Fantasy Island", in much the same way as fellow cast members Florence Henderson, Maureen McCormick and others appeared on episodes of "The Love Boat", which were known as places where out-of-work actors, actresses, comedians and musicians could find temporary work. There were also occasional opportunities such as appearances on celebrity editions on gameshows or ABC's "Battle of the Network Stars", and there was an ill-fated variety show produced by Sid and Marty Krofft (best known for their wierd puppet-characters "H.R. Pufnstuf") but more permanent or serious work offers simply didn't really materialize for Eve or many of the other cast members. In spite of childhood celebrity, life as adults wasn't paved with riches for most of them.

By the 1990s, the rumor was presumed by many to be true, in large part, because Eve Plumb did not appear in many of the various Brady sequels. Then, in 1995, Eve Plumb appeared on the now-defunct UPN's (UPN was merged with the WB network to become the CW network) daytime talkshow Jenny Jones' in an episode on the subject of "Child Stars: Where Are They Now?". Not surprisingly, that clip can be found on YouTube, which I'm including below, or you may find it at http://youtu.be/t58bVuos3Hk:



Then, there was an effort to reunite the cast on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to commemorate the 40th Anniversary for "The Brady Bunch" in 2009 (we sometimes forget that "The Brady Bunch" actually began in 1969). Indeed, on August 31, 2009 Brady castmember Susan Olsen (who played Cindy Brady) appeared on NBC's Today Show to discuss "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" which she called in a book she co-authored with Ted Nichelson entitled "Love to Love You Bradys" calling it "history's worst show". The book also discusses some of what took place behind the scenes, including drug abuse among cast members (although she tells the Today Show that she wouldn't mention it unless fellow castmember Maureen McCormick had already discussed that). It should also be noted that Eve Plumb did not appear on "The Brady Munch Variety Hour".

However, in fairness to Eve Plumb, she's carried Jan Brady around with her for a lifetime, and as all of her fellow Brady Bunch cast members have agreed, they did find themselves pretty much typecast thanks to Sherwood Schwartz's aggressive sales of the show in syndication back in the 1970s. They also didn't receive residual payments (as actors/actresses do today), or anything from home video/DVD sales. True, every child star deals with growing up as a child star and more than a few have "turned bad"). For the most part, the cast of "The Brady Bunch" have turned out pretty well in spite of the drug culture that existed in the entertainment business at that time.

Then, in 2008, following in the footsteps of fellow castmembers Barry Williams (who played Greg Brady) who published a book entitled "Growing Up Brady" in 2000, and then Christopher Knight (who played Peter Brady on "The Brady Bunch", and starred in a reality television show on VH1 known as "My Fair Brady" in 2009). Maureen McCormick released her own autobiography entitled "Here's the Story" in 2011 to some fanfare. In the book, she admits to many of her own issues, including her own drug abuse and an abortion. But, she also made joking references to a lesbian kiss with Eve Plumb on a television appearance (she claims on a late-night talkshow, see the clip below) which she discussed repeatedly promoting her own autobiography, which may have helped sell books, but didn't exactly make fellow castmate Eve Plumb happy. Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady) appeared on WGN in Chicago discussing her book, which can be seen below or at http://youtu.be/65WTPU1bUlQ:



Clearly, Maureen was joking about it, but in fairness to Eve Plumb, she wasn't benefitting from "Here's the Story" bestseller status. What's more, she's carried Jan Brady around for a lifetime, and as all of her fellow Brady castmembers have agreed, they did find themselves pretty much typecast thanks to Sherwood Schwartz's aggressive sales of the show in syndication back in the 1970s. Fellow castmember Susan Olsen (a.k.a. Cindy Brady) put things in appropriate perspective in the following video which can be seen below, or at http://youtu.be/FdnMKzZICbA:



Basically, we have Cindy Brady putting the entire Brady Girls' family feud in perspective: Maureen made jokes that weren't very considerate of Eve, hence the "feud" is more about using another fellow castmember to push a book than it is about ill feelings of Jan Brady who was forever in older sister Marcia's shadow. In reality, the two worked together in the past and worked well together. However, if there is anyone to "blame" for the fact that the two no longer regularly talk, it's not Eve Plumb, but Maureen McCormick, whose bestselling autobiography was heavily promoted.  However, as Susan Olsen states, Eve Plumb isn't really mad at Maureen McCormick, she's just indifferent about their friendship.

I have already written about a potential Brady Bunch reboot in 2014 (see http://goo.gl/tE0ur for that post), but the reboot is focused mainly around Bobby Brady.  Is there a possibility for the two oldest Brady sisters to patch things up? Certainly, but obviously, some things will need to be addressed before that happens. Perhaps that can happen in time for the 50th anniversary for "The Brady Bunch" in 2019?  Stay tuned!

TV Reboots: "The Brady Bunch"

The late Sherwood Schwartz was, back in the day, a pretty successful television producer.  He's best known for "Gilligan's Island" which aired on CBS in the late '60s and "The Brady Bunch" which aired on ABC in the '70s.  These shows didn't exactly please the TV critics, but were  successful enough for the networks.  "Gilligan's Island" ran for 3 seasons, while "The Brady Bunch" ran for 5 seasons.  He also happened to write the memorable theme-song for "The Brady Bunch" himself, and he produced a show that ran for a single season in the early 1980s based on a hit Country Western Song by Jeannie C. Riley: "Harper Valley PTA" which starred Barbara Eden (of "I Dream of Jeannie" fame).  His early work in Hollywood was writing for a 1950's comedy show, "The Red Skelton Show" for which Mr. Schwartz earned an Emmy.

The Brady Brides, circa 1981

But Mr. Schwartz was perhaps a better businessman than he was a TV producer, selling his shows in numerous syndication cycles, making those (and the casts) household names to a generation of viewers who didn't necessarily tune in when the shows aired the first time around.  "Gilligan's Island" ran for just 3 seasons, yet has never left the airwaves.  Beyond re-runs in syndication, "The Brady Bunch" launched many specials and spinoffs including "The Brady Girls Get Married", "The Brady Brides", "A Very Brady Christmas", "The Bradys", as well as a variety show called "The Brady Bunch [Variety] Hour", an animated cartoon known as "The Brady Kids" as well as spawning 2 comedy-parody movies in the early 1990s.  The cast, of course, never really enjoyed the financial benefits of that syndication blitz, creating a case for actors to negotiate financial benefit from airings in syndication, home video/DVD and digital sales, etc. by saying "Look what happened to the cast of 'The Brady Bunch'"!

In any event, this week news surfaced that CBS has placed a script order for a reboot of "The Brady Bunch," which is being executive-produced by 'The Watch' star Vince Vaughn", an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.  Apparently, it will be a "multi-camera comedy project, which will be produced by CBS TV Studios."

My readers may recall I covered the mixed track record for TV show reboots (see my post on the TNT reboot of "Dallas" HERE).  Indeed, Hollywood has tried to reboot "The Bionic Woman", "Knight Rider" and "Charlie's Angels", all of which have failed.  On the other hand, a few have done reasonably well including "Hawaii Five-0" and, so far, "Dallas".  I said it then, and I'll say it now: the producers that have bombed have not acknowledged the history of the shows, which is key to luring viewers who actually knew the originals.  Those that have succeeded acknowledge the show's heritage while modernizing it with new cast members.  Obviously, that works better for some shows than it does for others, with "Hawaii Five-0" as perhaps the best example.

Deadline reports the reboot will be set in the current era, but will have a decidedly more modern, evolved take on blended families.  That sounds good.

Mike Lookinland, the original Bobby Brady then and in 1988

Apparently, the reboot "Brady Bunch" will center on Bobby Brady, a divorced dad who marries a woman with children of her own.  No word as to whether Mike Lookinland who played the original Bobby (and appeared in several of the reunion shows/movie) is being considered.  The last "episode" I recall Bobby was a racecar driver in "A Very Brady Christmas" which aired in 1988 (I have a copy on VHS!), and in "The Brady's" sequel series, Bobby was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident as a driver in the Indy 500 race!  It would seem really disconnected if they fail to acknowledge that history in some way.  After all, this is not intended to be a parody like the "Brady Bunch Movie" and "A Very Brady Sequel" were back in the 1990s, so having some continuity with story lines seems appropriate in this case.

The media reports that the updated Brady couple also shares a child, but ex-spouses will still be part of their lives.  The Associated Press reports that Mike Mariano ("Raising Hope") will write and executive produce the new project. Lloyd Schwartz, son of the original "Brady Bunch" creator Sherwood Schwartz, will also serve as an executive producer, alongside Vaughn, Victoria Vaughn (the actor's sister) and Peter Billingsley (yes, that IS the kid from "A Christmas Story"!  See HERE for a before-and-after update for him).  Those are positive signs, as most seem to have motive to produce a decent product.

I think it's premature to reach any conclusions at this point, but I sincerely hope Mr. Vaughn considers my thoughts.  Remember, the former President of NBC, Warren Littlefield said (see my post HERE) "... in a network world, that [meaning bigger-budget productions for a series] still may not survive. Network [TV] is still looking for a larger tent, still looking to find something like a 'Modern Family' that appeals to adults and kids, audiences of all ages. That's still, at nearly 20 million people a week, that's a pretty broad-based hit that really far exceeds what's being watched on cable."  But I noted in my commentary that unlike, say HBO, which is subscription-based, networks can't really do big-budget productions without massive audiences.  Indeed, I did an entire post entitled "What Happens to TV As We Know It When The Business Model No Longer Works?", and drawing an audience is getting harder and harder with 200+ TV channels in most homes, along with on-demand, Hulu, and DVDs competing for viewership, so drawing viewers in is critical.

But, I'm likely to tune in, at least initially.  I did with "The Bionic Woman" but hated it.  Still, I have zero interest in watching Snooki and JWoww on MTV (see my post on MTV HERE), so I'd welcome something that's reasonably coherent and entertaining.  Below is the (in)famous Brady Bunch theme song, or you can get it at Amazon.com.  I would just add that an interesting fan page dedicated to the series called "BradyBunchShrine.com" has the themes as well as all the various other sound effects, so check it out.



Original Still in Syndication; Also Now Digitized for Streaming to Mobile Devices

For those who prefer the classic, rest assured those are still alive and well on television even today.  As of August 2012, the show runs on Me-TV, and the socially-conservative TV network INSP, so you can set your DVRs accordingly.  Beyond that, it can be streamed via Amazon.com Instant Video (for a fee), Netflix streaming (subscription required), or a few episodes can be watched online (free, at least presently) on the CBS-operated TV.com website or mobile application on either the iTunes or Android/Google Play marketplaces, or you can get it on DVD (and some still have it on VHS, too, check for it on eBay if you prefer the analog format).  Of note is that each season can be purchased individually, or you can buy the entire series complete with a shag carpeting themed package.  Groovy!!

Finally, over time, I will be covering different aspects of The Brady Bunch again, so stay tuned for more.

"The Brady Bunch" Complete Series DVD Package

References:
http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/brady-bunch-tv-series-reboot-cbs-vince-vaughn/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cbs-brady-bunch-reboot-vince-vaughn-development-356419

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57484662-10391698/the-brady-bunch-reboot-from-vince-vaughn-in-the-works-at-cbs/