Day 16 of #the100DayProject: Here's the story...

The Brady Bunch was probably my favorite tv show growing up. It was a time when, if a show came on Tuesdays at 8 p.m., you watched it then or you missed it until summer reruns. My dad hated The Brady Bunch because it was "phony" and also because I would watch the repeats and recite the lines before they said them...which prompted him to ask why I needed to watch it again if I already knew what happened. He clearly was not charmed by the complicated plots, Alice's quirky gestures, or seeing Bobby swim through bubbles after overflowing the washing machine.

You know how we hear about weird college courses that analyze pop culture or specific movies? I want to take a class about the Brady Bunch. Since I can't find one, I went ahead and prepared a syllabus:

1. Discuss the Carol/Alice dynamic. They genuinely seemed to love one another without a power struggle. Was Alice paid well? Did she have health insurance? Was Sam the Butcher allowed to spend the night?

2. Six kids and one Jack & Jill bathroom. How was this possible? Current HGTV viewers have just thrown an embolism.

3. There should have been more fighting over the telephone. Mike installed a payphone on one episode, but that was it.

4. What was the deal with Cousin Oliver? Fun fact: The statue in the Hawaii Tiki episode was also named Oliver.

5. Did famous stars like Joe Namath, Davy Jones, and Vincent Price actually WANT to do guest appearances or was The Brady Bunch like The Love Boat? (*There should also be a course on The Love Boat, because (a) it's both exciting and new and (b) they're expecting you.)

6. Brady Bunch lines still famous today:

- Pork Chaaaaaaps and appleshawwwsh

- Ow! My nose!

- Mom always says, don't play ball in the house!

- When it's time to change, it's time to chaaAAAAAnge

- Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

Do you have a favorite episode? Have you downloaded "Sunshine Day" by the Silver Platters on iTunes? Did you ever smuggle a goat named Raquel into your attic bedroom? Share your favorite Brady memories. This is a safe space.