DVD Review

The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series (2007)

EW's GRADE
B

Details Release Date: Apr 03, 2007; DVD Release Date: Apr 03, 2007; With: Florence Henderson, Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick, Susan Olsen and Eve Plumb...

How do you make a groovy TV show featuring an AstroTurf lawn, boatloads of bell-bottoms, and ubiquitous catchphrases like ''Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!'' even groovier? Two words: shag carpeting. The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series (Unrated, 2,981 mins., 1969-74) comes wrapped in the stuff, a decidedly teen-tastic bid to capture a younger audience (it looks torn from the shelves of Spencer Gifts) and nostalgic older viewers alike. Inside are 117 episodes of what Brady lovers crave: the chaotic wedding pilot in which Carol wears a gold lamé dress; the three-part Grand Canyon vacation where the family lands in jail; fifth-season-arrival cousin Oliver; and the non-farewell farewell show sans Robert Reed (the notoriously hard-to-work-with actor was written out by creator Sherwood Schwartz). Two Scooby Doo-esque eps of the failed Brady Kids animated series and a pair of painful made-for-TV reunions — one without Susan Olsen (Cindy), another minus Maureen McCormick (Marcia) — round out the 20-disc set. The Brady Bunch holds up fabulously, but even neon-green shag can't compensate for the tarnishing extras. B

Originally posted Mar 30, 2007 Published in issue #928 Apr 06, 2007 Order article reprints

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