What The Brady Bunch Said

When I was a kid I’d watch episodes of the Brady Bunch. It aired Friday nights I think. I loved to watch the show but I can’t say why exactly. Maybe it was the cool house Mike designed, the modern kitchen where Alice made meals for the Brady family or the atmospheric den where Carol and the kids had heart-to-heart talks. I dreamt of living in that house so I could climb the floating staircase to overlook the living room and hang out in the backyard with artificial grass and stone patio. I think the real reason I returned to the show year after year was to see how the Brady kids changed.

I started watching the show when Carol rocked a shag and Mike sported stylish leisure suits. Cindy wore braided pigtails and Marcia and Jan let their hair down. The boys stopped straightening their naturally curl hair. I think that was time when the Brady kids began their march into puberty and faced the challenges of their teenage years. Yes, Cindy still had Kitty Karry-all and Bobby was a carefree adolescent but the other kids became wise beyond their years. Peter’s voice changed and he was looking for his identity. Jan wore glasses and was a terrible cheerleader. A football smashed into Marcia’s nose. No amount of makeup could mask the swelling. Greg was far out and groovy, man.

When I decided to illustrate the Brady Bunch it had to include quotable dialogue from the show. It had some cheesy dialogue. Without their wise words and amazing hair fashion sense the Brady Bunch would be another passing television family reflecting a moment in American life.