The Brady Bunch first aired on September 26, 1969, but if you grew up in the 1970s you probably remember watching the episodes daily in reruns for a large portion of your childhood. I’m pretty sure for some of us latchkey kids this show was like a sibling.
In honor of the show’s 52nd birthday, let’s recap the most memorable episodes on the show.
The broken lamp one
Yes, I know this isn’t the real name of the episode (It’s actually called Goodbye, Alice, Hello) but isn’t that how memories work? It’s the one where the boys are playing frisbee in the house and break an antique lamp, then try to cover it up. All I know is that anytime we broke something in the house growing up and schemed to cover it up, this episode loomed large in our heads (it didn’t stop us from some pretty stupid attempts, but hey…)
Pork chops and applesauce
Okay, I literally don’t remember why he was doing it, but who can forget Peter Brady standing in the mirror trying to do a Humphrey Bogart imitation and saying “pork chops and applesauce ” over and over. To this day I can’t make or order pork chops without breaking into a Peter Brady imitation, can you?
The Silver Platters
Remember when they became a band? They may not have been The Partridge Family, but we did actually own the album. Did you? If you really want to walk down memory lane, YouTube delivers right here.
The Hawaii episodes
These were scary. That cursed tiki they find? Spooky. Like the spooky part of Fantasy Island spooky.
Greg gets his own room
Do I need to say anything more than “Greg Brady beads”? You know exactly what I’m talking about. Those super groooooovy beads he had hanging in his doorway, oh yeah.
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha
Just like pork chops and applesauce, I may be (ahem) over 50 but I’m still throwing out “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” and anyone in my Gen X peer group knows exactly what I’m referring to… poor Jan, the middle child angry that her super older sister Marsha is so good at everything and gets all the attention. We still love you, Jan.
Marsha’s nose gets broken
I mean, lets face it, we’re all a little sympathetic towards Jan hating Marsha, Marsha, Marsha, and she was being such a pill trying to decide between a nice guy and the big guy on campus for dates so when Peter and Bobby’s football hits her right in the nose and breaks it, we were all feeling a little schadenfreude (and yes, I know none of us knew that word at that age). Take that Marsha, you don’t deserve Charlie!
