The latest iteration of The Brady Bunch isn't a sitcom, a cartoon, a variety show, a drama, a movie, a board game or a reality show ... it's a thread on the Internet, right here at IMWAN. Beginning with this:

'The Brady Bunch' Cast Reveals Jodie Foster Almost Played Cindy

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... ch-1262612

I had an experience. I can't prove it. I can't even explain it.
But everything that I know as a human being tells me it was
much more than a hunch. Something that tells us undeniable
how tiny and insignificant and how rare and precious we all are.
A vision that tells us we should belong to something that is
greater than ourselves, a family, somehow, that we are not,
that none of us should be alone. So even if only for one moment
we could feel that awe and humility and that hope, that continues to
be my wish, that we form a family and become the Brady Bunch.


Huh?

I always felt bad for Cousin Oliver...he got a raw deal.

We visited the Brady Bunch house the other week on our cross-country trip.

If that's the same one, HGTV bought it and renovated it to look like the interior sets of Brady Bunch. They had to blow out the back and make all sorts of changes, because the interior set has features that were not at all possible in the real exterior-shot house.

They did with a reunion of the surviving cast members helping on the house. And I think it was the twins, the Property Brothers, who did the special show.

It was a 4 episode special featuring many of the HGTV renovators.
They used the power of on-line crowdsourcing to get many of the original items or look-alikes.

I bet Cousin Oliver wasn't there. He wasn't even given a cameo in The Brady Brides. He's the forgotten Brady.

He was there in spirit. They put a picture of his face in the bottom of the toilet

Tragically, he wasn't to blame. The show was being canned anyway but - like Tiger before him - Cousin Oliver was sent to the cornfield. Unlike Tiger though, Oliver got the blame for wrecking the show even though it was already doomed when he joined it (for a whole six episodes).

Oliver's in the same company as poor old Chuck Cunningham from Happy Days and Ricky Stevens from The Partridge Family, not to mention the first spouses of both Mike and Carol Brady; consigned to the wastepaper basket of televisual history.

There should be a TV show about these characters. Or...maybe there shouldn't be.

Keep in mind the gold standard is the evolving membership of "My Three Sons."

The Brady Bunch was never a hit during its network run. It was never renewed for a full season. It would be renewed for the fall season for 13 episodes and the network would order the remaining episodes during the season.

Like Star Trek, The Brady Bunch didn't become a hit until syndication. I only remember watching it once during it's final season on ABC -- but I watched it every day after school....after Batman, of course!

I never saw Brady Bunch a single time in first run. I was about 5 when it went off the air. I saw them all 5 times each in syndication.

I don't recall when I saw it. Probably when it first aired from 1969 - 1974. I obviously watched it at some point. But I also was never too keen on it. I would, for example, never consider owning it or rewatching it.

I was 7 when it went off the air. I only remember watching it one time in prime time. I was in my older cousin's room as she and my other female cousin were watching.

It's been on TV my entire life. I saw each episode multiple times growing up.

I'd still love to live in that house. Well, that one or Major Nelson's place from I Dream of Jeannie. Those were my two ideal houses as a kid.

I Dream of Jeanie is coming out on blu-ray soon. I'm going to get it. Finishing up Bewitched now.

Bewitched was better, IMO, but went on too long and became repetitive. They were even redoing some story lines with the new Darrin.

Jennie storylines were more implausible, though Barbara was nice to look at.

I recently rewatched both of those and we own them on DVD.

I liked both those shows for different reasons. I think Bewitched was fun, for me, because of the varied and talented supporting cast. They had so many different people they could draw upon in each episode and I never got bored with it as a kid. The supporting cast were the fuel that kept that show going, and all of them were so eccentric and so great.

I think Jeannie was interesting because of the obvious reason - Barbara Eden - and the comedic trio of Tony, Roger and Dr. Bellows. No matter what else happened or who else co-starred, the dynamic between those three was always so great. Just those three guys standing in a room with Bellows quizzing Tony and Roger and them looking nervous as they clumsily lied to his face was always fun to watch.

Yes, we watched that! It was fun and heartfelt. Very emotional at times.

I think Elizabeth Montgomery is every bit the looker that Barbara Eden is. But I enjoy the astronaut setting of I Dream of Genie

In many ways E.M. was prettier than B.E., but Jeannie dressed more provocatively.

I might enjoy a more scientific setting to a fantasy based one, but I didn't get that vibe from IDoJ - that is, it seemed too fake on the science side, that I recall.

And I also do enjoy a good fantasy or magic setting - learning the rules of that other more mystical world or society, and they had a larger cast of extended family and could do more. IDoJ seemed less consistent in her background or powers, too.

Ask for no examples since that's just the impression I have from memory.