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ED'S FAVORITE TV SHOWS OF ALL TIME
SITCOMS
THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY OR THE BRADY BUNCH??
That is the question..........
How can I be expected to decide between these two shows which are ever so
close to my heart? I've debated the topic for over 30 years and still can't make up my mind! I love
them both equally. They both have been huge influences in my life. I was brought up to value family and so family
oriented sitcoms and dramas have always been my favorite television programming. Both series'
reflected these 'family values'. But values aside, they were both well performed and the characters are
like family to me.
"The Brady Bunch" told the story of a blended family, and the kids
a second marriage for Mike and Carol Brady; and new parents and siblings for the kids. In "The Partridge
Family", a widow started a new life after having lost her husband by being convinced by her children to go into
show business!. I could relate to both storylines because when I was very small, my sister and
I lost our Mother - who I never got to know. Dad would remarry and we'd be blessed with a
Mother and later siblings too. So there were some similarities in my life to the families in both shows. I
don't think we ever did sack races in the backyard though!
There is an episode of "The Brady Bunch" when Bobby tries to runaway
because he doesn't feel his stepmother would love him. In what is the most emotional moment in the entire series for
me, Carol tells him that the only 'steps' in the house are the ones leading up to his bedroom. That is how it was in
our house too. I am very blessed to have a Mother who may though is technically be a 'step', is the only woman I could ever
think of as 'Mother'.
The #1 attraction for me on "The Brady Bunch" was 'Marcia, Marcia,
Marcia'!! I loved her. Actress Maureen McCormick who played the nearly perfect oldest sister was a dream
girl for me back then. I just got in the back of the line behind the likes of Desi Arnaz Jr, Davy Jones, Groovy Astronauts
and football players! Ahh yes Marcia may have been vain, but she stole my heart away! She's still got a piece
:). "Carol Brady" played by Florence Henderson was beautiful too - and I always thought I would want to be married to
a woman like her!
Once upon a time I had a "Brady Bunch" lunchbox. Being
the brave 3rd grader I was (not), I took it to school. Of course I was taunted mercilessly for it - probably because
it was pink and it pictured Robert Reed and Florence Henderson kissing. Who knows! I guess the Bradys weren't
cool for boys yet. So I took it home and one night my Dad and I spray painted it a more masculine red!
After the Brady Bunch Lunch box experience, I didn't go out and get a Partridge Family lunch
box! But in my early 30's I found a Partridge Lunchbox in a retro store and proudly display it in my apartmement!
While the Brady Bunch appealed to my sensitivity regarding blended family, the Partridge Family
appealed to my fantasies of a life in show business! Always wanting to be a singer and actor, watching the Partridges
each week made it seem possible! Here they were a groovy family singing together, all over the country, riding
on a cool bus - hey it could happen! I wanted to be a teen idol like "Keith Partridge" played by David Cassidy
- who became my hero!
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