The Brady Bunch
Growing Up Brady
November 26, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
For television historians, fans, and enthusiasts, Growing Up Brady is a must-have book. Written by Barry Williams with Chris Kreski in the early 1990’s, Growing Up Brady gives an inside view of life at the fictional address of 4222 Clinton Way -- the home of The Brady Bunch.
The Brady Bunch aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. Barry Williams plays Greg Brady, the oldest sibling.
Growing Up Brady tells us how Barry Williams got the part.
Growing Up Brady tells us about the fights, arguments, and tension between Robert Reed and Sherwood Schwartz, the show’s lead actor and creator/executive producer, respectively.
Growing Up Brady tells us about Barry Williams interconnected social life on The Brady Bunch -- his date with Florence Henderson who plays his stepmother on The Brady Bunch and his romance with Maureen McCormick who plays his stepsister, Marcia.
Growing Up Brady also displays Williams’ view on the continuous reinvention of The Brady Bunch -- The Brady Kids (early 1970’s Saturday morning cartoon show), The Brady Bunch Hour (1977 variety show), The Brady Girls Get Married (tv-movie), The Brady Brides (sitcom), A Very Brady Christmas (1988 tv-movie), The Bradys (1990 drama series).
Additionally, Paramount produced two feature films in the 1990’s -- The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). Finally, The Brady Bunch in the White House was a tv-movie that aired on FOX in 2002. The main story line features patriarch Mike Brady becoming President of the United States.
Robert Reed wrote the Foreword for Growing Up Brady. Williams does more than explain Reed’s aforementioned conflicts with Sherwood Schwartz. He uses Reed’s own words -- memoranda that Reed wrote to Schwartz concerning various points of contention in the scripts.
Williams provides another bonus for Brady fans. He frequently shares opinions, memories, and personal stories. Williams’ efforts complement the factual information of episode title, synopses, and credits. It truly is a behind-the-scenes peek.
He also reveals the harsh realities of show business. In excruciatingly honest detail, Williams portrays the contract renegotiations between the child actors’ representative and Schwartz and the consequent effect on the relationship between the actors and their father figure boss.
Williams writes, All along, we had basically been a bunch of ordinary kids who liked each other and who interacted naturally with each other on camera. Now, with burnt business deals, lawsuits, angry parents, and a jaded mistrust of those in charge thrown into the mix, our chemistry went from spontaneous to stilted and our united ensemble mentality burst into six-sided selfishness. Worst of all, our spirits were dampened and that resulted in some noticeably low energy episodes. We listened to the hype, believed it, and screwed up big time.
Growing Up Brady -- a behind-the-scenes look at an American television icon.
david@davidkrell.com
For television historians, fans, and enthusiasts, Growing Up Brady is a must-have book. Written by Barry Williams with Chris Kreski in the early 1990’s, Growing Up Brady gives an inside view of life at the fictional address of 4222 Clinton Way -- the home of The Brady Bunch.
The Brady Bunch aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. Barry Williams plays Greg Brady, the oldest sibling.
Growing Up Brady tells us how Barry Williams got the part.
Growing Up Brady tells us about the fights, arguments, and tension between Robert Reed and Sherwood Schwartz, the show’s lead actor and creator/executive producer, respectively.
Growing Up Brady tells us about Barry Williams interconnected social life on The Brady Bunch -- his date with Florence Henderson who plays his stepmother on The Brady Bunch and his romance with Maureen McCormick who plays his stepsister, Marcia.
Growing Up Brady also displays Williams’ view on the continuous reinvention of The Brady Bunch -- The Brady Kids (early 1970’s Saturday morning cartoon show), The Brady Bunch Hour (1977 variety show), The Brady Girls Get Married (tv-movie), The Brady Brides (sitcom), A Very Brady Christmas (1988 tv-movie), The Bradys (1990 drama series).
Additionally, Paramount produced two feature films in the 1990’s -- The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). Finally, The Brady Bunch in the White House was a tv-movie that aired on FOX in 2002. The main story line features patriarch Mike Brady becoming President of the United States.
Robert Reed wrote the Foreword for Growing Up Brady. Williams does more than explain Reed’s aforementioned conflicts with Sherwood Schwartz. He uses Reed’s own words -- memoranda that Reed wrote to Schwartz concerning various points of contention in the scripts.
Williams provides another bonus for Brady fans. He frequently shares opinions, memories, and personal stories. Williams’ efforts complement the factual information of episode title, synopses, and credits. It truly is a behind-the-scenes peek.
He also reveals the harsh realities of show business. In excruciatingly honest detail, Williams portrays the contract renegotiations between the child actors’ representative and Schwartz and the consequent effect on the relationship between the actors and their father figure boss.
Williams writes, All along, we had basically been a bunch of ordinary kids who liked each other and who interacted naturally with each other on camera. Now, with burnt business deals, lawsuits, angry parents, and a jaded mistrust of those in charge thrown into the mix, our chemistry went from spontaneous to stilted and our united ensemble mentality burst into six-sided selfishness. Worst of all, our spirits were dampened and that resulted in some noticeably low energy episodes. We listened to the hype, believed it, and screwed up big time.
Growing Up Brady -- a behind-the-scenes look at an American television icon.
1970's Saturday Morning Music Toons
November 22, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Between the hard rock sounds of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors and the disco beat of the Bee Gees, bubble gum music thrived in the early 1970’s, specifically on Saturday morning cartoons.
Whether used as literary devices to complement the story line or merchandising tools to promote record sales, songs added a dimension to the cartoons. They provided another example of the inevitable connection between music and television.
Kid Power is a show that may be described as Peanuts meeting the Rainbow Coalition. The late 1960’s and early 1970’s messages of peace, friendship, love, and harmony filled the series. Based on Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip, Kid Power revolved around a melting pot of kids in a group called Rainbow Club. Different colors, nationalities, and backgrounds did not stop the kids from joining forces to accomplish their goals.
Music giant Mike Curb was the show’s Music Consultant. The song for each episode illustrated that episode’s lesson.
Kid Power aired on ABC during the 1972-73 season with seventeen episodes. The following season consisted of reruns.
The Partridge Family went off the air in 1974 after four seasons. In the fall of 1974, Partridge Family, 2200 A.D. showed us a futuristic view of America’s favorite singing family.
Except for Shirley Jones and David Cassidy, the cast voiced their cartoon counterparts.
The Brady Kids capitalized on the popularity of Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy from The Brady Bunch.
Music was a natural fit for the cartoon because the child actors released albums, toured in concert, and performed on The Brady Bunch. Unlike Partridge Family, 2200 A.D., however, The Brady Kids broadcast history coincided with its parent show. The Brady Kids aired 22 episodes and debuted in the fall of 1972.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show depicted Bedrock’s favorite boy and girl as teenagers. Sally Struthers (All in the Family) and Jay North (Dennis the Menace) voiced the title characters.
Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm and their friends -- Moonrock, Penny, and Wiggy -- formed The Bedrock Rollers, a stone age rock and roll group.
Plots in The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show focused on Pebbles’ outrageous ideas that often recalled Lucy Ricardo. Pebbles and Lucy shared enthusiasm, optimism, and inspiration. But their plans often went awry, aside, and down the tubes.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show first aired in September of 1971.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids showed stories that were universal to growing up. Bill Cosby’s stand up comedy routines about his childhood in Philadelphia laid the groundwork for this animated version of Fat Albert, Weird Harold, Cosby and his brother Russell, and the rest of the gang.
Cosby addressed the audience about the lesson in the story and the kids sang a song corresponding with the lesson learned.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids debuted in September of 1972.
Rankin-Bass produced two shows about family singing groups at the pinnacle of their respective successes -- The Osmonds and Jackson Five.
Jackson Five debuted in September of 1971 on the heels of their four number-one hits in 1970 -- I Want You Back, The Love You Save, ABC, and I’ll Be There.
The Jacksons voiced their animated likenesses for the show’s twenty-three episodes.
The Osmond brothers from Utah who got their big break on The Andy Williams Show got their shot at cartoon fame a year later. Debuting in September of 1972, The Osmonds featured the boys with big smiles, harmonious sounds, and innocence.
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan featured a cartoon version of Charlie Chan with ten kids. Chan led his children in solving crimes. The older kids had a rock band -- The Chan Clan. Ron Dante, the lead singer for The Archies, filled the same role here.
Josie and the Pussycats also enjoy a connection to the Archieverse. The title character first appeared under the Archie comics banner in 1963. In Television Cartoon Shows, Hal Erickson writes, It was at the suggestion of CBS executive Fred Silverman that Hanna-Barbera (taking over from The Archies’ home studio Filmation, then overloaded with product) reshape Josie into the lead singer of a rock group -- hoping no doubt for a reprise of the success that greeted the Archies’ hit single Sugar Sugar.
After the show aired during the 1970-71 season, Hanna-Barbera retooled it with a space theme. Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space aired for two seasons -- 1972-74.
Josie’s comic book cousins from Riverdale, Archie et. al., inspired the music-cartoon nexus. The Archie Show is the first show in the Saturday morning music toon genre. It debuted in September of 1968 and lasted one season. Sugar, Sugar launched during The Archie Show tenure in 1969. It became a #1 song.
The Archie characters continued in different shows and formats between 1969 and 1978 -- The Archie Comedy Hour, Archie’s Fun House Featuring the Giant Juke Box, Archie’s TV Funnies, Everything’s Archie, U.S. of Archie, The New Archie / Sabrina Hour, Archie’s Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show.
Although Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids aired for several years on television (1972-84), the other programs did not fare as well. But they were still enjoyable to watch, listen to, and learn from, especially during a time where real-life events increasingly challenged innocence -- assassinations, riots, Vietnam War.
On those sleepy Saturday mornings in the early 1970’s, children woke up to these shows that gave entertainment, optimism, and hope.
david@davidkrell.com
Between the hard rock sounds of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors and the disco beat of the Bee Gees, bubble gum music thrived in the early 1970’s, specifically on Saturday morning cartoons.
Whether used as literary devices to complement the story line or merchandising tools to promote record sales, songs added a dimension to the cartoons. They provided another example of the inevitable connection between music and television.
Kid Power is a show that may be described as Peanuts meeting the Rainbow Coalition. The late 1960’s and early 1970’s messages of peace, friendship, love, and harmony filled the series. Based on Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip, Kid Power revolved around a melting pot of kids in a group called Rainbow Club. Different colors, nationalities, and backgrounds did not stop the kids from joining forces to accomplish their goals.
Music giant Mike Curb was the show’s Music Consultant. The song for each episode illustrated that episode’s lesson.
Kid Power aired on ABC during the 1972-73 season with seventeen episodes. The following season consisted of reruns.
The Partridge Family went off the air in 1974 after four seasons. In the fall of 1974, Partridge Family, 2200 A.D. showed us a futuristic view of America’s favorite singing family.
Except for Shirley Jones and David Cassidy, the cast voiced their cartoon counterparts.
The Brady Kids capitalized on the popularity of Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy from The Brady Bunch.
Music was a natural fit for the cartoon because the child actors released albums, toured in concert, and performed on The Brady Bunch. Unlike Partridge Family, 2200 A.D., however, The Brady Kids broadcast history coincided with its parent show. The Brady Kids aired 22 episodes and debuted in the fall of 1972.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show depicted Bedrock’s favorite boy and girl as teenagers. Sally Struthers (All in the Family) and Jay North (Dennis the Menace) voiced the title characters.
Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm and their friends -- Moonrock, Penny, and Wiggy -- formed The Bedrock Rollers, a stone age rock and roll group.
Plots in The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show focused on Pebbles’ outrageous ideas that often recalled Lucy Ricardo. Pebbles and Lucy shared enthusiasm, optimism, and inspiration. But their plans often went awry, aside, and down the tubes.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show first aired in September of 1971.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids showed stories that were universal to growing up. Bill Cosby’s stand up comedy routines about his childhood in Philadelphia laid the groundwork for this animated version of Fat Albert, Weird Harold, Cosby and his brother Russell, and the rest of the gang.
Cosby addressed the audience about the lesson in the story and the kids sang a song corresponding with the lesson learned.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids debuted in September of 1972.
Rankin-Bass produced two shows about family singing groups at the pinnacle of their respective successes -- The Osmonds and Jackson Five.
Jackson Five debuted in September of 1971 on the heels of their four number-one hits in 1970 -- I Want You Back, The Love You Save, ABC, and I’ll Be There.
The Jacksons voiced their animated likenesses for the show’s twenty-three episodes.
The Osmond brothers from Utah who got their big break on The Andy Williams Show got their shot at cartoon fame a year later. Debuting in September of 1972, The Osmonds featured the boys with big smiles, harmonious sounds, and innocence.
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan featured a cartoon version of Charlie Chan with ten kids. Chan led his children in solving crimes. The older kids had a rock band -- The Chan Clan. Ron Dante, the lead singer for The Archies, filled the same role here.
Josie and the Pussycats also enjoy a connection to the Archieverse. The title character first appeared under the Archie comics banner in 1963. In Television Cartoon Shows, Hal Erickson writes, It was at the suggestion of CBS executive Fred Silverman that Hanna-Barbera (taking over from The Archies’ home studio Filmation, then overloaded with product) reshape Josie into the lead singer of a rock group -- hoping no doubt for a reprise of the success that greeted the Archies’ hit single Sugar Sugar.
After the show aired during the 1970-71 season, Hanna-Barbera retooled it with a space theme. Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space aired for two seasons -- 1972-74.
Josie’s comic book cousins from Riverdale, Archie et. al., inspired the music-cartoon nexus. The Archie Show is the first show in the Saturday morning music toon genre. It debuted in September of 1968 and lasted one season. Sugar, Sugar launched during The Archie Show tenure in 1969. It became a #1 song.
The Archie characters continued in different shows and formats between 1969 and 1978 -- The Archie Comedy Hour, Archie’s Fun House Featuring the Giant Juke Box, Archie’s TV Funnies, Everything’s Archie, U.S. of Archie, The New Archie / Sabrina Hour, Archie’s Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show.
Although Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids aired for several years on television (1972-84), the other programs did not fare as well. But they were still enjoyable to watch, listen to, and learn from, especially during a time where real-life events increasingly challenged innocence -- assassinations, riots, Vietnam War.
On those sleepy Saturday mornings in the early 1970’s, children woke up to these shows that gave entertainment, optimism, and hope.
The Ultimate TV Network
July 21, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
If I created the ultimate television network, the prime time program lineup would probably look like this:
On Sunday, I would start with the legends. I Love Lucy at 8:00pm followed by The Jack Benny Program at 8:30pm.
The pairing makes sense since Lucille Ball and Jack Benny were not only show business icons, but also neighbors in real life. They lived next door to each other on North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills.
Then, we turn to the rural heavyweights. The Andy Griffith Show at 9:00pm and The Beverly Hillbillies at 9:30pm.
Sunday nights should be nice and easy, after all. And what's nicer and easier than our friends in Mayberry and the hillbilly transplants to the land of Rodeo Drive?
At 10:00pm, The Sopranos.
On Monday nights, I would pair The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Tyler Moore in the 8 o'clock hour, followed by M*A*S*H and Murphy Brown in the 9 o'clock hour.
At 10:00pm, St. Elsewhere.
Tuesday nights would start with family comedy. The Cosby Show and Family Ties 8:00pm and 8:30pm respectively.
Everybody Loves Raymond at 9:00pm and Two and a Half Men at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Law & Order.
Wednesday nights would start with sophistication.
Frasier at 8:00pm and The Odd Couple at 8:30pm. I'm sure Felix Unger would have enjoyed talking wine, opera, and art with the Crane brothers.
The 9 o'clock hour would consist of You'll Never Get Rich starring Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko and The Twilight Zone.
At 10:00pm, Hill Street Blues.
Of course, Thursday nights would truly be Must See TV with Cheers, Taxi, Seinfeld, and Friends followed by ER at 10:00pm.
Friday night would be another family-friendly night, starting with The Brady Bunch at 8:00pm and The Wonder Years at 8:30pm.
At 9:00pm, Friday Night Lights, a depiction of a west Texas town obsessed with high school football.
At 10:00pm, The Wire.
Saturday night begins with cartoons.
The Simpsons at 8:00pm and King of the Hill at 8:30pm.
The Honeymooners at 9:00pm and Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Homicide: Life on the Street, an undervalued, underrated, and underwatched program during its tenure on NBC in the 1990's.
Reasonable minds can differ.
Should Happy Days be in the lineup instead of The Brady Bunch?
What about L.A. Law, thirtysomething, Scrubs, or All in the Family?
What's the standard for making the linuep?
All good questions.
For now, it's merely instinctive.
Programs can be replaced.
Or I can start another network.
david@davidkrell.com
If I created the ultimate television network, the prime time program lineup would probably look like this:
On Sunday, I would start with the legends. I Love Lucy at 8:00pm followed by The Jack Benny Program at 8:30pm.
The pairing makes sense since Lucille Ball and Jack Benny were not only show business icons, but also neighbors in real life. They lived next door to each other on North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills.
Then, we turn to the rural heavyweights. The Andy Griffith Show at 9:00pm and The Beverly Hillbillies at 9:30pm.
Sunday nights should be nice and easy, after all. And what's nicer and easier than our friends in Mayberry and the hillbilly transplants to the land of Rodeo Drive?
At 10:00pm, The Sopranos.
On Monday nights, I would pair The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Tyler Moore in the 8 o'clock hour, followed by M*A*S*H and Murphy Brown in the 9 o'clock hour.
At 10:00pm, St. Elsewhere.
Tuesday nights would start with family comedy. The Cosby Show and Family Ties 8:00pm and 8:30pm respectively.
Everybody Loves Raymond at 9:00pm and Two and a Half Men at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Law & Order.
Wednesday nights would start with sophistication.
Frasier at 8:00pm and The Odd Couple at 8:30pm. I'm sure Felix Unger would have enjoyed talking wine, opera, and art with the Crane brothers.
The 9 o'clock hour would consist of You'll Never Get Rich starring Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko and The Twilight Zone.
At 10:00pm, Hill Street Blues.
Of course, Thursday nights would truly be Must See TV with Cheers, Taxi, Seinfeld, and Friends followed by ER at 10:00pm.
Friday night would be another family-friendly night, starting with The Brady Bunch at 8:00pm and The Wonder Years at 8:30pm.
At 9:00pm, Friday Night Lights, a depiction of a west Texas town obsessed with high school football.
At 10:00pm, The Wire.
Saturday night begins with cartoons.
The Simpsons at 8:00pm and King of the Hill at 8:30pm.
The Honeymooners at 9:00pm and Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Homicide: Life on the Street, an undervalued, underrated, and underwatched program during its tenure on NBC in the 1990's.
Reasonable minds can differ.
Should Happy Days be in the lineup instead of The Brady Bunch?
What about L.A. Law, thirtysomething, Scrubs, or All in the Family?
What's the standard for making the linuep?
All good questions.
For now, it's merely instinctive.
Programs can be replaced.
Or I can start another network.
The Ultimate TV Network
July 21, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
If I created the ultimate television network, the prime time program lineup would probably look like this:
On Sunday, I would start with the legends. I Love Lucy at 8:00pm followed by The Jack Benny Program at 8:30pm.
The pairing makes sense since Lucille Ball and Jack Benny were not only show business icons, but also neighbors in real life. They lived next door to each other on North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills.
Then, we turn to the rural heavyweights. The Andy Griffith Show at 9:00pm and The Beverly Hillbillies at 9:30pm.
Sunday nights should be nice and easy, after all. And what's nicer and easier than our friends in Mayberry and the hillbilly transplants to the land of Rodeo Drive?
At 10:00pm, The Sopranos.
On Monday nights, I would pair The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Tyler Moore in the 8 o'clock hour, followed by M*A*S*H and Murphy Brown in the 9 o'clock hour.
At 10:00pm, St. Elsewhere.
Tuesday nights would start with family comedy. The Cosby Show and Family Ties 8:00pm and 8:30pm respectively.
Everybody Loves Raymond at 9:00pm and Two and a Half Men at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Law & Order.
Wednesday nights would start with sophistication.
Frasier at 8:00pm and The Odd Couple at 8:30pm. I'm sure Felix Unger would have enjoyed talking wine, opera, and art with the Crane brothers.
The 9 o'clock hour would consist of You'll Never Get Rich starring Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko and The Twilight Zone.
At 10:00pm, Hill Street Blues.
Of course, Thursday nights would truly be Must See TV with Cheers, Taxi, Seinfeld, and Friends followed by ER at 10:00pm.
Friday night would be another family-friendly night, starting with The Brady Bunch at 8:00pm and The Wonder Years at 8:30pm.
At 9:00pm, Friday Night Lights, a depiction of a west Texas town obsessed with high school football.
At 10:00pm, The Wire.
Saturday night begins with cartoons.
The Simpsons at 8:00pm and King of the Hill at 8:30pm.
The Honeymooners at 9:00pm and Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Homicide: Life on the Street, an undervalued, underrated, and underwatched program during its tenure on NBC in the 1990's.
Reasonable minds can differ.
Should Happy Days be in the lineup instead of The Brady Bunch?
What about L.A. Law, thirtysomething, Scrubs, or All in the Family?
What's the standard for making the linuep?
All good questions.
For now, it's merely instinctive.
Programs can be replaced.
Or I can start another network.
david@davidkrell.com
If I created the ultimate television network, the prime time program lineup would probably look like this:
On Sunday, I would start with the legends. I Love Lucy at 8:00pm followed by The Jack Benny Program at 8:30pm.
The pairing makes sense since Lucille Ball and Jack Benny were not only show business icons, but also neighbors in real life. They lived next door to each other on North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills.
Then, we turn to the rural heavyweights. The Andy Griffith Show at 9:00pm and The Beverly Hillbillies at 9:30pm.
Sunday nights should be nice and easy, after all. And what's nicer and easier than our friends in Mayberry and the hillbilly transplants to the land of Rodeo Drive?
At 10:00pm, The Sopranos.
On Monday nights, I would pair The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Tyler Moore in the 8 o'clock hour, followed by M*A*S*H and Murphy Brown in the 9 o'clock hour.
At 10:00pm, St. Elsewhere.
Tuesday nights would start with family comedy. The Cosby Show and Family Ties 8:00pm and 8:30pm respectively.
Everybody Loves Raymond at 9:00pm and Two and a Half Men at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Law & Order.
Wednesday nights would start with sophistication.
Frasier at 8:00pm and The Odd Couple at 8:30pm. I'm sure Felix Unger would have enjoyed talking wine, opera, and art with the Crane brothers.
The 9 o'clock hour would consist of You'll Never Get Rich starring Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko and The Twilight Zone.
At 10:00pm, Hill Street Blues.
Of course, Thursday nights would truly be Must See TV with Cheers, Taxi, Seinfeld, and Friends followed by ER at 10:00pm.
Friday night would be another family-friendly night, starting with The Brady Bunch at 8:00pm and The Wonder Years at 8:30pm.
At 9:00pm, Friday Night Lights, a depiction of a west Texas town obsessed with high school football.
At 10:00pm, The Wire.
Saturday night begins with cartoons.
The Simpsons at 8:00pm and King of the Hill at 8:30pm.
The Honeymooners at 9:00pm and Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Homicide: Life on the Street, an undervalued, underrated, and underwatched program during its tenure on NBC in the 1990's.
Reasonable minds can differ.
Should Happy Days be in the lineup instead of The Brady Bunch?
What about L.A. Law, thirtysomething, Scrubs, or All in the Family?
What's the standard for making the linuep?
All good questions.
For now, it's merely instinctive.
Programs can be replaced.
Or I can start another network.
Get Smart
June 04, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
For those who missed it by "that much," the 2008 film Get Smart comes to cable television this summer.
Perfect casting -- Steve Carrell as Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, and Alan Arkin as the Chief.
The roots of Get Smart date back four decades when it parodied the spy genre in 1960's television. The show countered more serious offerings -- The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Saint.
Created by comedy giants Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart gave America a humorous view of the espionage world.
Don Adams masters the role of Maxwell Smart, a well-meaning, sometimes befuddled, and gadget-dependent spy for C.O.N.T.R.O.L.
Sexy sidekick Barbara Feldon plays Agent 99, always ready to steer Max back on track after a mishap.
Feldon plays a send-up of her spy actress position in the Mad About You episode The Spy Who Loved Me. Feldon's Diane Caldwell is a somewhat airy actress whose high career point was Spy Girl, a 1960's television series.
Once the object of boyhood fantasies for cousins Ira and Paul, she becomes the reality for adult Ira. But one night of fantasy realized with a bubble-headed actress does not go further as Caldwell dispassionately dismisses any thought of a future with Ira.
Edward Platt plays the Chief on Get Smart. The boss of Max and 99 never loses faith in his espionage duo.
Dick Gautier plays Hymie the Robot.
David Ketchum plays Agent 13.
And Bernie Kopell plays Siegfried, a nemesis of Max and Agent 99 from rival agency K.A.O.S.
Get Smart begins each episode with an ominous sounding brass theme and Max pulling up to C.O.N.T.R.O.L. Headquarters in a sports car. Max must go through an elaborate set of doors to get to his ultimate destination, presumably a meeting with the Chief.
Probably the most recognizable props of Get Smart are Max's shoe phone and the constantly malfunctioning Cone of Silence.
Get Smart inspired the 1980 farce The Nude Bomb, a film that sums up the plot in its title. The bomb at the heart of the film has the capability to remove people's clothing.
In 1989, Adams and Feldon returned to their signature roles in Get Smart Again, a tv-movie. Just a few years later in 1995, Get Smart returned as a television series for a post-Cold War incarnation. Andy Dick plays the son of the now long-married spy couple. Max and 99 also have daughter. Like her mother, she does not have a name.
Get Smart holds a tremendous distinction in the annals of television. Its versions have appeared on four major networks.
The original 1960's series first aired on NBC and then switched to CBS. Get Smart Again aired on ABC and the 1995 version of Get Smart aired on FOX.
Echoes of The Brady Bunch.
The original Brady Bunch show aired on ABC as did The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
The Brady Brides, an early 1980's sitcom aired on NBC as did its progenitor the tv-movie The Brady Girls Get Married.
The 1988 tv-movie A Very Brady Christmas aired on CBS. And the more somber drama series The Bradys followed suit a couple of years later.
The 2002 tv-movie The Brady Bunch in the White House aired on FOX.
But these nostalgic icons are not the only shows to achieve the feat of four incarnations on four television networks.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet aired in the 1950's on CBS, ABC, NBC, and Dumont.
david@davidkrell.com
For those who missed it by "that much," the 2008 film Get Smart comes to cable television this summer.
Perfect casting -- Steve Carrell as Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, and Alan Arkin as the Chief.
The roots of Get Smart date back four decades when it parodied the spy genre in 1960's television. The show countered more serious offerings -- The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Saint.
Created by comedy giants Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart gave America a humorous view of the espionage world.
Don Adams masters the role of Maxwell Smart, a well-meaning, sometimes befuddled, and gadget-dependent spy for C.O.N.T.R.O.L.
Sexy sidekick Barbara Feldon plays Agent 99, always ready to steer Max back on track after a mishap.
Feldon plays a send-up of her spy actress position in the Mad About You episode The Spy Who Loved Me. Feldon's Diane Caldwell is a somewhat airy actress whose high career point was Spy Girl, a 1960's television series.
Once the object of boyhood fantasies for cousins Ira and Paul, she becomes the reality for adult Ira. But one night of fantasy realized with a bubble-headed actress does not go further as Caldwell dispassionately dismisses any thought of a future with Ira.
Edward Platt plays the Chief on Get Smart. The boss of Max and 99 never loses faith in his espionage duo.
Dick Gautier plays Hymie the Robot.
David Ketchum plays Agent 13.
And Bernie Kopell plays Siegfried, a nemesis of Max and Agent 99 from rival agency K.A.O.S.
Get Smart begins each episode with an ominous sounding brass theme and Max pulling up to C.O.N.T.R.O.L. Headquarters in a sports car. Max must go through an elaborate set of doors to get to his ultimate destination, presumably a meeting with the Chief.
Probably the most recognizable props of Get Smart are Max's shoe phone and the constantly malfunctioning Cone of Silence.
Get Smart inspired the 1980 farce The Nude Bomb, a film that sums up the plot in its title. The bomb at the heart of the film has the capability to remove people's clothing.
In 1989, Adams and Feldon returned to their signature roles in Get Smart Again, a tv-movie. Just a few years later in 1995, Get Smart returned as a television series for a post-Cold War incarnation. Andy Dick plays the son of the now long-married spy couple. Max and 99 also have daughter. Like her mother, she does not have a name.
Get Smart holds a tremendous distinction in the annals of television. Its versions have appeared on four major networks.
The original 1960's series first aired on NBC and then switched to CBS. Get Smart Again aired on ABC and the 1995 version of Get Smart aired on FOX.
Echoes of The Brady Bunch.
The original Brady Bunch show aired on ABC as did The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
The Brady Brides, an early 1980's sitcom aired on NBC as did its progenitor the tv-movie The Brady Girls Get Married.
The 1988 tv-movie A Very Brady Christmas aired on CBS. And the more somber drama series The Bradys followed suit a couple of years later.
The 2002 tv-movie The Brady Bunch in the White House aired on FOX.
But these nostalgic icons are not the only shows to achieve the feat of four incarnations on four television networks.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet aired in the 1950's on CBS, ABC, NBC, and Dumont.
Herman the Rookie
June 02, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Baseball season prompts a look back at guest stars from the national pastime who give a little oomph to a favorite television program.
Don Drysdale on The Brady Bunch.
Henry Aaron on Happy Days.
Willie Mays on The Donna Reed Show.
In 1965, The Munsters used the baseball theme and player-turned-manager-turned-Los Angeles Dodgers executive Leo Durocher for that oomph.
The Dodgers welcomed Durocher back into the fold after he defected to the crosstown Giants when both teams played in New York City -- the Dodgers at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field and the Giants at Manhattan's Polo Grounds.
While talking with reporter Charlie Hodges, Leo the Lip gets knocked on the head by a baseball hit from several blocks away. He discovers that Herman Munster hit the ball.
Eager for a brand-new discovery, Durocher arranges a formal tryout with the Dodgers for Herman. Undoubtedly, Herman's physical strength is the tool that will propel the Dodgers to win the National League pennant and the World Series.
By literally crushing the ball out of the park, Herman could probably single-handedly win every game.
But every asset has a consequent cost or liability. In Herman's case, his asset of strength is the liability.
Wearing #37 for his tryout, Herman takes batting practice. The force of his swing causes a ground ball to literally go under ground and destroy the infield. A home run knocks over the scoreboard.
Durocher exclaims that he doesn't know whether to sign him to the Dodgers or send him to Vietnam!
Herman's dreams of big-league status will not be realized. The Dodgers won't sign him because of financial cost. Salary is not the issue. Walter O'Malley, then the Dodgers owner, would have to spend $75,000 after each game to repair Dodger Stadium.
Baseball fans will enjoy the episode because of the tryout scenes at a practice field.
The episode has a nice tag before the credits when former Los Angeles Rams player and current Rams executive Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch discovers a football kicked from several blocks away, much farther than the length of a football field.
Upon advice from Hodges, Hirsch forgets about identifying the kicker and signing him to the Rams.
Leo Durocher also made a guest appearance on The Beverly Hillbillies where he tried to learn more about Jethro Clampett's pitching prowess. What a combination! Jethro's ability to make the ball dance in the air from the pitching mound and Herman's ability to crush the ball over the fence.
Only in television land.
david@davidkrell.com
Baseball season prompts a look back at guest stars from the national pastime who give a little oomph to a favorite television program.
Don Drysdale on The Brady Bunch.
Henry Aaron on Happy Days.
Willie Mays on The Donna Reed Show.
In 1965, The Munsters used the baseball theme and player-turned-manager-turned-Los Angeles Dodgers executive Leo Durocher for that oomph.
The Dodgers welcomed Durocher back into the fold after he defected to the crosstown Giants when both teams played in New York City -- the Dodgers at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field and the Giants at Manhattan's Polo Grounds.
While talking with reporter Charlie Hodges, Leo the Lip gets knocked on the head by a baseball hit from several blocks away. He discovers that Herman Munster hit the ball.
Eager for a brand-new discovery, Durocher arranges a formal tryout with the Dodgers for Herman. Undoubtedly, Herman's physical strength is the tool that will propel the Dodgers to win the National League pennant and the World Series.
By literally crushing the ball out of the park, Herman could probably single-handedly win every game.
But every asset has a consequent cost or liability. In Herman's case, his asset of strength is the liability.
Wearing #37 for his tryout, Herman takes batting practice. The force of his swing causes a ground ball to literally go under ground and destroy the infield. A home run knocks over the scoreboard.
Durocher exclaims that he doesn't know whether to sign him to the Dodgers or send him to Vietnam!
Herman's dreams of big-league status will not be realized. The Dodgers won't sign him because of financial cost. Salary is not the issue. Walter O'Malley, then the Dodgers owner, would have to spend $75,000 after each game to repair Dodger Stadium.
Baseball fans will enjoy the episode because of the tryout scenes at a practice field.
The episode has a nice tag before the credits when former Los Angeles Rams player and current Rams executive Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch discovers a football kicked from several blocks away, much farther than the length of a football field.
Upon advice from Hodges, Hirsch forgets about identifying the kicker and signing him to the Rams.
Leo Durocher also made a guest appearance on The Beverly Hillbillies where he tried to learn more about Jethro Clampett's pitching prowess. What a combination! Jethro's ability to make the ball dance in the air from the pitching mound and Herman's ability to crush the ball over the fence.
Only in television land.
SNL & Partridge Family
April 22, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Since 1975, Saturday Night Live has poked fun at popular culture.
A sketch from 1992 stands out.
Susan Dey was enjoying a second wave of television success as A.D.A. Grace Van Owen on L.A. Law when she hosted SNL on February 8, 1992.
Dey’s first stint in the spotlight occurred in the early 1970’s as feminist keyboard player Laurie Partridge on ABC’s The Partridge Family.
For the boys, Dey was a sex symbol.
For the girls, she was a voice of independence.
The Partridge Family filled the years between Woodstock and disco with a bubble-gum sound.
And it was this sound at the heart of the Saturday Night Live sketch pitting two popular culture icons against each other.
The sketch opens with a familiar clip from the show’s theme: a cartoon of partridges walking to the sound of The Partridge Family theme song, C’mon Get Happy. The audience erupts in applause and shouts, responding to an immediate connection with the fictional singing family from San Pueblo, California.
We see the familiar garage with highway signs on the walls.
We see the Saturday Night Live cast in 1970’s outfits. Dana Carvey as Keith. David Spade as Chris. And Chris Farley watching with great satisfaction as Reuben Kincaid.
And of course, we see Susan Dey back in her familiar position at the keyboard with a brown, long-hair wig to recreate Laurie Partridge.
Dey truly looks like she’s enjoying herself. It amplifies the sketch’s power.
Okay. Pop culture idol recreates her retro persona. Interesting. Funny. Appealing.
But the sketch takes off when Melanie Hutsell enters the garage with her spot-on impersonation of Eve Plumb’s Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch.
When Jan realizes The Partridge Family doesn’t sing its own songs and lip syncs, she rushes to get her brothers and sisters.
More 1970s clothing.
And Kevin Nealon as Greg Brady challenges the Partridge Family to a battle of the bands.
The Brady Six versus the Partridge Family.
Sunshine Day versus I Think I Love You
When It’s Time to Change versus I Woke Up in Love This Morning
After some choice words, the conflict looks like it will continue with no resolution in sight, until Chris Rock enters as another 1970s character, Mushmouth from Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He inspires the two bands to patch up their differences.
The sketch struck a nostalgic chord with the songs and dialogue that referenced well-known incidents from the two shows.
Laurie recalls a skunk’s spraying forcing the Partridge Family to take baths in tomato juice to get rid of the odor.
Jan recalls Marcia dumping Charlie for Doug Simpson, the big man on campus.
But an interesting question remains. Who would win in a battle of the bands? For that matter, who would win in a battle of the shows? And what do we use as a measure? Record sales? Ratings? Longevity?
Indeed, the question is a pop culture conundrum.
But on this particular night, let the record show that in a fictional world of a Saturday Night Live sketch, the Brady Six and the Partridge Family joined together in harmony.
david@davidkrell.com
Since 1975, Saturday Night Live has poked fun at popular culture.
A sketch from 1992 stands out.
Susan Dey was enjoying a second wave of television success as A.D.A. Grace Van Owen on L.A. Law when she hosted SNL on February 8, 1992.
Dey’s first stint in the spotlight occurred in the early 1970’s as feminist keyboard player Laurie Partridge on ABC’s The Partridge Family.
For the boys, Dey was a sex symbol.
For the girls, she was a voice of independence.
The Partridge Family filled the years between Woodstock and disco with a bubble-gum sound.
And it was this sound at the heart of the Saturday Night Live sketch pitting two popular culture icons against each other.
The sketch opens with a familiar clip from the show’s theme: a cartoon of partridges walking to the sound of The Partridge Family theme song, C’mon Get Happy. The audience erupts in applause and shouts, responding to an immediate connection with the fictional singing family from San Pueblo, California.
We see the familiar garage with highway signs on the walls.
We see the Saturday Night Live cast in 1970’s outfits. Dana Carvey as Keith. David Spade as Chris. And Chris Farley watching with great satisfaction as Reuben Kincaid.
And of course, we see Susan Dey back in her familiar position at the keyboard with a brown, long-hair wig to recreate Laurie Partridge.
Dey truly looks like she’s enjoying herself. It amplifies the sketch’s power.
Okay. Pop culture idol recreates her retro persona. Interesting. Funny. Appealing.
But the sketch takes off when Melanie Hutsell enters the garage with her spot-on impersonation of Eve Plumb’s Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch.
When Jan realizes The Partridge Family doesn’t sing its own songs and lip syncs, she rushes to get her brothers and sisters.
More 1970s clothing.
And Kevin Nealon as Greg Brady challenges the Partridge Family to a battle of the bands.
The Brady Six versus the Partridge Family.
Sunshine Day versus I Think I Love You
When It’s Time to Change versus I Woke Up in Love This Morning
After some choice words, the conflict looks like it will continue with no resolution in sight, until Chris Rock enters as another 1970s character, Mushmouth from Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He inspires the two bands to patch up their differences.
The sketch struck a nostalgic chord with the songs and dialogue that referenced well-known incidents from the two shows.
Laurie recalls a skunk’s spraying forcing the Partridge Family to take baths in tomato juice to get rid of the odor.
Jan recalls Marcia dumping Charlie for Doug Simpson, the big man on campus.
But an interesting question remains. Who would win in a battle of the bands? For that matter, who would win in a battle of the shows? And what do we use as a measure? Record sales? Ratings? Longevity?
Indeed, the question is a pop culture conundrum.
But on this particular night, let the record show that in a fictional world of a Saturday Night Live sketch, the Brady Six and the Partridge Family joined together in harmony.
Lessons from the Brady Bunch
April 06, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Like most television shows, The Brady Bunch is a fantasy. How many families have superstar athletes and teen idols visiting their home?
Unlike most television shows, The Brady Bunch is a tremendous instructor of life lessons. For baby boomers and subsequent generations, these lessons are burned into the subconscious by rerun after rerun after rerun.
Don’t play ball in the house. (Accidents will happen if you are careless.)
Adios Johnny Bravo. (Be true to yourself.)
Caveat Emptor. (Let the buyer beware.)
While some of the situations the Bradys encountered were fantastic, improbable, or even downright ridiculous, others showed universal problems that will be around several generations hence for children, parents, and families.
Therein lies the genius of a show that appears on the surface to be merely a sugar-coated view of family life.
We see issues portrayed with realism, sensitivity, perhaps even a touch of gravitas along the way.
Sure, your family probably never got locked in an abandoned town’s prison on the way to the Grand Canyon.
Your family probably never experienced dangers on a family vacation like a surfing wipeout, tarantulas, or hula injuries.
And your family probably never performed songs on local amateur talent contests.
But other dilemmas were quite realistic.
For example, children on the cusp of their teenage years begin the journey from adolescence to adulthood. The Brady kids speak for them.
When Peter’s voice goes through a monumental change, he’s speaking for every boy who goes through that awkward and noticeable transition during puberty
When Bobby and Cindy try to break a see-saw record to get attention, they’re speaking for all children who believe older kids and adults ignore them.
And when Jan refuses to wear her glasses because of vanity, she’s speaking for every child who fears being called ‘four-eyes.’
Every teenager strives to get on the road to independence. Greg Brady’s road went straight through the Brady’s attic.
He convinces Mr. and Mrs. Brady that he deserved his own room and they agreed.
Because of his one-year seniority in age, Greg got the attic instead of Marcia and older siblings cheered across America. A perk for being born first is a perk nonetheless.
But Marcia didn’t lose every battle with Greg.
Marcia won a driving contest against him after he boasted about his
superior driving skills.
And we learned a huge lesson about cockiness,
Today, the Bradys are still teaching us lessons.
Christopher Knight courted and married Adrianne Curry, America’s Next Top Model.
They showcased their relationship on VH1’s My Fair Brady and showed us that true love is never perfect, sometimes rough, and always forgiving.
Maureen McCormick went on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club to drop some extra pounds.
No doubt, her journey took tremendous courage.
It’s one thing to undergo a weight-loss program.
It’s quite another to do it on national television.
But she showed even more courage when she went on Dr. Phil to address some heart-wrenching family problems.
Sometimes even the Bradys need a little help.
david@davidkrell.com
Like most television shows, The Brady Bunch is a fantasy. How many families have superstar athletes and teen idols visiting their home?
Unlike most television shows, The Brady Bunch is a tremendous instructor of life lessons. For baby boomers and subsequent generations, these lessons are burned into the subconscious by rerun after rerun after rerun.
Don’t play ball in the house. (Accidents will happen if you are careless.)
Adios Johnny Bravo. (Be true to yourself.)
Caveat Emptor. (Let the buyer beware.)
While some of the situations the Bradys encountered were fantastic, improbable, or even downright ridiculous, others showed universal problems that will be around several generations hence for children, parents, and families.
Therein lies the genius of a show that appears on the surface to be merely a sugar-coated view of family life.
We see issues portrayed with realism, sensitivity, perhaps even a touch of gravitas along the way.
Sure, your family probably never got locked in an abandoned town’s prison on the way to the Grand Canyon.
Your family probably never experienced dangers on a family vacation like a surfing wipeout, tarantulas, or hula injuries.
And your family probably never performed songs on local amateur talent contests.
But other dilemmas were quite realistic.
For example, children on the cusp of their teenage years begin the journey from adolescence to adulthood. The Brady kids speak for them.
When Peter’s voice goes through a monumental change, he’s speaking for every boy who goes through that awkward and noticeable transition during puberty
When Bobby and Cindy try to break a see-saw record to get attention, they’re speaking for all children who believe older kids and adults ignore them.
And when Jan refuses to wear her glasses because of vanity, she’s speaking for every child who fears being called ‘four-eyes.’
Every teenager strives to get on the road to independence. Greg Brady’s road went straight through the Brady’s attic.
He convinces Mr. and Mrs. Brady that he deserved his own room and they agreed.
Because of his one-year seniority in age, Greg got the attic instead of Marcia and older siblings cheered across America. A perk for being born first is a perk nonetheless.
But Marcia didn’t lose every battle with Greg.
Marcia won a driving contest against him after he boasted about his
superior driving skills.
And we learned a huge lesson about cockiness,
Today, the Bradys are still teaching us lessons.
Christopher Knight courted and married Adrianne Curry, America’s Next Top Model.
They showcased their relationship on VH1’s My Fair Brady and showed us that true love is never perfect, sometimes rough, and always forgiving.
Maureen McCormick went on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club to drop some extra pounds.
No doubt, her journey took tremendous courage.
It’s one thing to undergo a weight-loss program.
It’s quite another to do it on national television.
But she showed even more courage when she went on Dr. Phil to address some heart-wrenching family problems.
Sometimes even the Bradys need a little help.