Duchowny, Roger

The Brady Bunch - The Complete Third Season

If the phrase "Marcia Marcia Marcia!" sends you into a giddy childhood reverie, then you'd better run out and get The Brady Bunch - The Complete Third Season. Not only does this season feature that definitive episode--in which middle sister Jan fights to get out from under the shadow of her older sister Marcia--but several other all-time favorite episodes, including the one in which Peter's voice starts to change, threatening to wreck the potentially blazing career of the Brady Six musical group (presumably launched by producers feeling the heat from The Partridge Family). The show had found its tone and its creators crafted 23 perfectly calibrated visions of a domestic fantasyland, decked out in mini-skirts and bell-bottoms (check out Mrs. Brady's recurring paisley pantsuit, made of some fabric offensive to nature). Marcia turns into a diva when cast as Juliet in the school play; Greg loses a bet with Bobby and has to obey the little boy's every whim for a week; Jan has to wear glasses; Cindy yearns for a boyfriend--simple problems cheerfully solved by pithy moral lectures delivered by stern but loving parents. Despite adolescent hormones, snug pants, and the occasional ungodly short-shorts, sex never rears its complicated head.

Though ratings were modest during the series' five-year run, in syndication the show became a phenomenon. As divorce became increasingly common in the 1970s, perhaps this smoothly blended and impossibly functional family had an irresistible appeal to kids from broken homes. Though the Brady siblings--played by Barry Williams, Maureen McCormack, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen--were a charismatic sextet, it's Florence Henderson and especially Robert Reed as Carol and Mike Brady, uber-parents, who give The Brady Bunch its familial glow. But everyone was the center of one episode or another; even Ann B. Davis dominated one episode as maid Alice's lookalike cousin, a WAC Master Sergeant who imposed military discipline on these lazy suburbanites. No matter how corny the jokes or how daffy the stories, The Brady Bunch continues to cast its hypnotic spell. --Bret Fetzer

THE BRADY BUNCH - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON tells the story of Carol, a single mother of three girls - Marcia, Jan and Cindy and architect Mike Brady, a single father of three boys - Greg, Peter and Bobby who get married and blend the two families into one. Added to the mix are housekeeper Alice and dog Tiger. The Bradys' experience the same obstacles as any family, from adjusting to their new extended family, to sibling rivalry. The comedy series famous for its catchy theme song truly has become a pop culture icon and is still enjoyed by viewers of all ages.

The Brady Bunch - The Complete Series (Seasons 1-5 + Shag Carpet Cover)

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No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: BRADY BUNCH
Title: COMPLETE SERIES
Street Release Date: 04/03/2007
Domestic
Genre: TELEVISION

The Brady Bunch - The Complete First Season

Because of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch, writer-producer Sherwood Schwartz will forever be a TV hall-of-famer. They were his only real hits, but they were both grand slams in their prime times and have remained syndicated favorites ever since. Following closely on the Gilligan's Island season 2 release, The Brady Bunch is ready for home theaters with a nicely designed, 4-disc set of 25 first-season episodes. The pilot episode, "The Honeymoon" sets up the story we all know from the theme song (lyrics by Schwartz) by giving us the marriage of Mike and Carol and the coming together of the six kids. Schwartz provides commentary for just this first show, but he fondly recalls his intention of sweet, subdued, and often corny gags the pre-fab family encountered as a precise format each week. Two other episodes include commentary by Barry Williams (Greg), Christopher Knight (Peter), and Susan Olson (Cindy), and their reminiscences are equally affectionate about time on the show and everyone's surprise at its enormous success. Every Brady episode is a classic in some sense, and this first of five seasons (those kids did grow up fast) includes some real charmers when the six Brady kids still seemed impossibly young. It's hard to say the show was ever hip, even though it became slightly more attuned to a pop sensibility as the Bradys moved into the '70s. But man, is this 1969 everyfamily ever square. Even so, it's hard to resist the way each one gets their own screen time with shows devoted to simple childhood joys and traumas--Jan's missing locket, Cindy's missing baby doll, Greg's crush on his math teacher, Peter's swelled head when he gets his picture in the paper, etc.

In a brief bonus featurette we get more innocuously entertaining interview comments from Schwartz, Williams, Olson, Knight, and Mike Lookinland (Bobby). It's interesting that all the subjects make note of how seriously the classically trained (now-deceased) Robert Reed took his role as patriarch, Mike Brady. His reputation as being "difficult" followed the long run of the show, but if Schwartz's first choice had gotten the role it could have been a lot worse. (Schwartz is delighted to reveal the famous name and career path that followed, so the mystery shouldn't be spoiled here.) As it was during its TV run, The Brady Bunch on DVD is clearly meant for a specific generation--yours. --Ted Fry

THE BRADY BUNCH - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON tells the story of Carol, a single mother of three girls - Marcia, Jan and Cindy and architect Mike Brady, a single father of three boys - Greg, Peter and Bobby who get married and blend the two families into one. Added to the mix are housekeeper Alice and dog Tiger. The Bradys' experience the same obstacles as any family, from adjusting to their new extended family, to sibling rivalry. The comedy series famous for its catchy theme song truly has become a pop culture icon and is still enjoyed by viewers of all ages.

The Brady Bunch - The Complete Second Season

The Brady Bunch never scored high ratings during its five year run, but this friendly family comedy has remained in reruns ever since, while bigger hits have slipped into oblivion. Pretty much everyone who grew up in the 1970s or '80s knows the show inside and out: A vision of suburban family life so utopian it's as fantastical as Neverland or Santa's workshop--and just like these imaginary realms, it casts a spell over every kid who wished all problems could be resolved with a few wise words, a good-natured shrug, or a winsome smile. The Brady Bunch: The Complete Second Season is indistinguishable from every other season, but the reassuring formula is crucial to the show's appeal. Eldest brother Greg (Barry Williams) may decide he's all grown up and wants a groovy bachelor pad, or eldest sister Marcia (Maureen McCormick) may get all riled up about women's lib and decide to join the Frontier Scouts, or super-maid Alice (Ann B. Davis, whose persona is hilariously similar to Ellen DeGeneres) may fantasize about running off with an old flame, but by the end of the show you know everything will return to a zen-like domestic harmony.

It's all pretty bizarre when you realize that both halves of the family have suffered the death of a parent! The most angst to be found is the relentless identity crisis of middle sister Jan (Eve Plumb), who tries to remove her freckles with lemon juice and buys a curly brunette wig to forge a new self-image. Nowadays Jan would be a prime candidate for bulimia, but in the Brady world such psychodrama is unthinkable. This even emotional keel could have been creepy and antiseptic, but due to the charm of the kids and the smooth yet earthy presence of Robert Reed and Florence Henderson as parents Mike and Carol Brady, The Brady Bunch just seemed nice. You wanted that to be your family. If you watched the show in your childhood, watching The Brady Bunch: The Complete Second Season as an adult will lull you into a sweet, blissful dream. --Bret Fetzer

The adventures of a family created when two divorced people with children, marry each other.
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Media Type: DVD
Artist: BRADY BUNCH
Title: SEASON 2
Street Release Date: 07/26/2005
Domestic
Genre: TELEVISION

The Brady Bunch - The Complete Fourth Season

The Bradys just keep on movin', keep on groovin', keep on doin' it right. By season four the Brady Bunch crew had got the magical formula down and was churning out one groovy television classic after another. Not only is season four the best of the later seasons, including the memorable performance by the Brady band "The Silver Platters," but the episodes included in this run almost read as a "Brady best-of" list. If there is a hall of fame for three part television episodes, this season's opener would easily be among the top five. The "Bradys Abroad" formula seemed to be so successful after season four's two-part opening trip to the Grand Canyon, the gang was able to pack it up and head to Hawaii. The Hawaii trip has it all; a family trip to the USS Arizona, Greg's Surf contest, a family Luau, the mysterious tiki idol, and guest appearances by b-horror staple Vincent Price and Hawaiian idol Don Ho. After the tropical vacation it's back to school. In order to fit in, Marcia the freshman signs up for every after-school activity on campus including the elitist "Boosters." Greg's love life gets complex when he discovers his girlfriend and sister are both in competition for the coveted head cheerleading spot, and he is the judge! Love strikes Marcia too, who falls in love with her dreamy dentist, only to be crushed by Jan's news that he is married with children. Never one to rest on the rebound, Marcia lands a date with Doug the campus hero only to have her heart ripped out once again when the boys break her nose with an errant flying football. Then there's Peter who has to play Benedict Arnold in the school play and is suddenly on the receiving end of his peers' snide remarks calling him a traitor. And in the classic season finale Greg and Marcia battle it out to see who gets to move out of the kids' bedroom and into their own space in the attic. Corny, yet cool, dated, yet timeless, vanilla as is comes, but still mesmerizing, The Brady Bunch - The Complete Fourth Season is the season that most people will identify as quintessential Brady. --Rob Bracco

The Brady Bunch - The Complete Final Season

The adventures of a family created when two divorced people with children, marry each other.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 27-FEB-2007
Media Type: DVD

Here's where the story of the lovely lady, a man named Brady and their six kids comes to an end. Aired from 1973-'74, The Brady Bunch - The Complete Final (Fifth) Season closes the chapter on one of the most fascinating and entertaining TV sitcoms of the 1970s. The highlights are pretty high, showcasing many classic Brady moments. "Adios, Johnny Bravo" guest stars playmate Claudia Jennings as the super foxy agent Tami Cutler who tries to sign Greg as the next American idol. There is a bit of sibling rivalry on display in both "The Driver's Seat," where Marcia and Greg get competitive over their road tests, and in "Marcia Gets Creamed" where Marcia, Jan and Pete duke it out for the top employee spot at Haskell's Ice Cream Parlor. In "Out Of This World," Greg and Marcia trick Bobby and Peter in thinking a UFO has picked their house for their new home. And who can forget the gang's trip to King's Island amusement park in "The Cincinnati Kids." Though this season includes many landmark episodes, looking at it as a whole one can't help feel that the time was right to end it. There are quite a few "Jump The Shark" moments that can't be ignored, particularly the introduction of Carol's nephew Oliver. Though not a perfect season, it is extremely nostalgic and still very enjoyable. It's easy to understand why this family became icons of seventies culture. --Rob Bracco

That Girl - Season 2

One of the all-time great TV stars, Marlo Thomas--with her false eyelashes, fab flip, and an adorable raspy squeak when she got excited--achieved iconic status with That Girl, a top-rated and culture-busting show about the comic trials of an aspiring actress/model in 1960s New York City. Thomas (and her on-screen alter ego, Ann Marie) combined the poise and fashion sense of Audrey Hepburn, the bubbly good cheer of Annette Funicello, and the sly smarts of Claudette Colbert into one surprisingly hip small town girl in the big city. Though dozens of great guest-stars (from Bill Bixby to Ethel Merman) pass through the show and the supporting cast (including Bernie Kopell, The Love Boat, as a neighbor, and Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp as Ann's parents) is topnotch, That Girl is fundamentally a tennis match between Thomas and the underrated Ted Bessel as Ann's deceptively mild boyfriend, Donald. Episodes in the second season ranged from loving or satirical portraits of show-biz life (Ann starred in an out-of-town flop; Ann worked as a model for a libidinous British photographer; Ann gets cast in an Italian film that has a nude scene) to keenly observed dustups in Ann and Donald's developing relationship (Donald's mother discovers a pair of his pants in Ann's closet; Ann frets that she doesn't have sex appeal; and, in one oddly surreal show, Ann meets a doctor who's an exact doppleganger for Don). Though the chaste morals of 1960s television--ridiculously out of step with 1960s real life--kept Ann and Donald from ever consummating their enduring relationship, it's amazing how sophisticated and sexy they could be without ever taking their clothes off. Listening to their repartee, you realize how depressingly dumbed-down most sitcom dialogue is, then and now. Ann and Donald talked like adults: Making allowances for each other's foibles, poking fun at them all the same, and respecting each other's independence. It doesn't undercut the show's significance as a proto-feminist milestone to say that it's a love story at heart. Over the course of Season Two, Ann and Donald's relationship grew increasingly subtle and textured; it genuinely smacked of two people growing to know each other better and liking each other all the more. If you don't think a happy, functional relationship can have a real romantic spark, you haven't watched That Girl. --Bret Fetzer

Ann and Donald are back for the second season of the groundbreaking hit situation comedy That Girl which aired in 1967-1968. It remained in a prime ABC spot following Bewitched and the viewer numbers regularly ranked in the top 5 television shows airing at that time. On September 20, 1967, Variety reported that That Girl held 27.5% of the TV viewing audience. This substantial number continued to grow through the season and by January 1968, Nielsen polls showed 45.4% of the TV audience was tuning in.

This season debuted with one of the most popular episodes from the series. In "Pass the Potatoes, Ethel Merman," Ann gets a one-line role in a short-term revival of Gypsy and invites Ethel Merman (playing herself) back to her apartment for a home-cooked meal.

Here are all 30 color episodes from the second season, along with rare bonus material and guest appearances by Sid Caesar, Rob Reiner, Teri Garr, Ruth Buzzi, Rich Little, Bill Bixby, Norman Fell, Joan Blondell and Ethel Merman.

Bonus Features:
• Marlo Thomas Interview Featurette
• Never-Aired 1965 Pilot for Two's Company Starring Marlo Thomas
• Audio Commentaries with Marlo Thomas and series co-creator Bill Persky
• That Girl Promos

That Girl: Season Three

The third season of this series is a pivotal one for aspiring actress Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) and her ever-devoted boyfriend Donald Hollinger (Ted Bessell). In an era of great change this show was a reflection of its time. Front-page issues such as spousal abuse adoption race relations and politics are woven into the high comedy enjoyed in all 26 episodes of season 3. Guests include Penny Marshall Larry Storch Vic Tayback McLean Stevenson Florence Halop Mary Frann and Danny Thomas. Extras include Marlo Thomas featurette Marlo Thomas makup test and audio commentaries by Marlo Thomas and series co-creator Bill Persky.System Requirements:Running Time: 780 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 826663104493 Manufacturer No: SF10449

Camp Cucamonga

Brady Bunch: Premiere Episodes

THE BRADY BUNCH is a half-hour comedy series that follows the misadventures of a family united when single mother Carol (Florence Henderson) finds love and marriage with single father Mike Brady (Robert Reed). The Brady's tackle typical family issues such as sibling rivalry misunderstandings and growing up in a way that brought innocence and charm to the series.System Requirements:Running Time: 652 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361197029 Manufacturer No: 119702