A "Very Brady" Renovation Retrospective

To say that HGTV is enjoying significant success with itsamp8217 Brady business is a profound understatementamp160 In addition to its own accomplishments the network has singlehandedly restored an iconic television home and propelled a 50yearold sitcom to the forefront of popular cultureamp160 With the possible exception of Star Trekamp160The Brady Bunchamp160has proven to be a formidable TV franchise unlike any other in that elements of it haveamp160been revived repackaged and reimagined more than any other in the history of broadcast televisionThe media was supposed to be singularly preoccupied this year with the 25th anniversary of Friends but thanks to a truly genius idea the 50th anniversary of The Brady Bunch stole the spotlightamp160 Even at the Summer 2019 Television Critics Association tour the Brady Bunch generated more excitement than just about anything elseamp160 Speaking of anniversaries there hasnamp8217t been very much said about ScoobyDoo another longrunning crossmedia phenomenon which zoinks is also 50 this year amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160The year of the Bradys isnamp8217t over yetamp160 HGTV also produced A Very Brady Renovation Behind the Build two bonus episodes the first of which premiered last weekamp160 After culling more than 9000 hours of a renovation footage the episodes include looks into neverbeforeseenamp160renovated spaces of The Brady Bunch house and insights into some of the doityourself projects done by the original cast members that were not featured in the fourpart series along with some surprise Brady gueststarsamp160amp160Fans can also expect a special holiday episode to air in DecemberNotably A Very Brady Renovation is not the first time the Brady home has been put back together in one form or another for purposes of popular entertainmentamp160 With the boom in Brady interest we decided to trek down memory lane and revisit some of the many Brady house recreations preHGTV and the results were surprisingamp160 That is to say we learned a lot about something with which we were already very familiarFor example it turns out The Brady Bunch is the only show ever to have appeared in some original form on four broadcast networks and now on cable marking another milestone for the classic series amp160Check out our Very Brady Recreationamp160Retrospective belowamp160The Brady Bunch Variety Hour amp160197677Two years after The Brady Bunch was cancelled ABC decided to bring the family back in a variety hour amp160Eve Plumb chose not to return as Jan amp160Helmed by Sid and Marty Krofft HR Pufnstuf Donny ampamp Marie the series didnamp8217t even attempt to recreate the familiar Brady home instead placing the family in countryinspired surroundings amp160However incorporating a staircase was a nice nod to the original seriesamp8217 digsThe Brady Girls Get Married 1981February 6 1981 would see the entire Brady clan reunite for the first time in this NBC TV movie in which both Jan Eve Plumb and Marcia Maureen McCormick announce theyamp8217re getting married amp160Apart from the fact that Mike Robert Reed and Carol Florence Henderson were empty nesters and Alice Ann B Davis was no longer in their employ only minor changes were made when the network recreated the Brady home for the first time since the original showamp8217s cancelation amp160The familiar horse still had pride of place in the living room but gone were the dark frosted table lamps and hexagonal side tablesamp160 Theamp160matching green chairs along with the floral couch had been updated to more contemporary white furnishings and the orange lucite grapes were gone amp160It also appears that the shutters to Mikeamp8217s den had been replaced with blindsWhen it came to the famous Brady kitchen NBC left good enough alone for the TV movie amp160Burnt orange and brown were still the dominant colors with the only noticeable changes being the color of the Saarinen tulip chairs green to white and the hanging fish trivets on the wall amp160The network eventually set up another shortlived series The Brady Brides but with the girls being the main focus the home wasnamp8217t featuredA Very Brady Christmas 1988On December 18 1988 CBS took its first of two turns at becoming the home of the Bradys without Susan Olsen as Cindy though amp160This TV movie marked the first experience viewers would have with a Brady renovation with the home undergoing major changes from 1974 amp160The white living room furnishings inspired by The Brady Girls Get Married remained along with the bureau and the everpresent horse but almost every inch of the home39s original midcentury charm was undone in the interest of a more contemporary feel amp160Gone were the multicolored wall panels replaced by hideous glass bricksamp160 No moreamp160clear glass table lamps either amp160Anything earthtoned was painted white and a new pastelinfused dining setting was added amp160Sadly the iconic kitchen didnamp8217t escape this makeover madness and was drabbed down with bamboo coverings on the cabinets amp160The Saarinen tulip chairs were also MIA and a garden window was added for effectDay by Day 1989On February 5 1989 NBC took another spin at recreating the Brady home for episode 11 of the second season of its longforgotten Julia LouisDreyfus sitcom Day by Day amp160In the episode Ross Christopher Daniel Barnes dozed off during a Brady Bunch marathon and daydreamed he was a Brady surrounded by Mike Robert Reed Carol Florence Henderson Alice Ann B Davis Peter Christopher Knight Bobby Mike Lookinland and Marcia Maureen McCormick amp160NBC didnamp8217t go all out recreating the famed Brady digs for the episode but did a very respectable job replicating the living room complete with the horse staircase and signature brickwork amp160The episode would also provide star Barnes with his first taste of the Brady lfe as he would later portray Greg Brady in both The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady SequelThe Bradys 1990With A Very Brady Christmas ranking as the second highestrated TV movie of 1988 the 1990 series The Bradys was born amp160CBS returned to the madeover home featured in Brady Christmas for this shortlived drama series featuring the original stars sans Maureen McCormick and an expanded brood of spouses and grandkids amp160Carol and Mike had added some striped couches to the living room and the daybeds in the family room were replaced by more practical couches amp160The kitchen appliances were updated and the original indoor barbeque was been reduced to what looked like a pizza ovenamp160 Thankfully the original brickwork was left intactMike and Carolamp8217s bedroom also received a makeoveramp160 Their bed had a new white headboard which along with aamp160painting covered the flowered ricepaper backdrop amp160The series would last only five episodes but The Bradys provided the biggest renovation in Brady history when after getting notice that the house was to be demolished to make way for a new freeway the entire residence was cut in half loaded on the back of a semiamp160and hauled to a nearby vacant lot amp160So that happenedThe Brady Bunch Movie 1995Paramount went all in with this one faithfully recreating the house for the first Brady bigscreen outing starring Shelly Long as Carol and Gary Cole as Mike amp160The recreation was faithful to the original series down to the house appearing without the small fence that was added in the amp821690s although it was reported that a similar home in Encino was redressed to resemble the original located in North Hollywood amp160The lucite grapes even made a welcome returnEverything in the movie appeared to be in its rightful place kitchen and family roomwise and the producers even reverted to the plainamp160pink walls in the girlsamp8217 room as they appeared in the first season of the original seriesA Very Brady Sequel 1996The same attention to nostalgic detail was evident inamp160the 1996 sequel to the hit Bradyamp160movieamp160 The famed quotbrokenquotamp160vase made a return taking its proper place next to the horseamp160 The only notable change was theamp160white pane in place of the yellow one on the famed pop art wall featureApart from a hanging pendant light above the informal dining area a change from the original setamp160there wasamp160nothing to fault in the sequel39s kitchen recreationamp160Growing Up Brady 2000On May 16 2000 the Brady home was again seen on NBC in Growing Up Bradyamp160 Based on Barry Williamsamp8217 autobiography the TV movie featured a preThe OC Adamamp160Brody as Williamsamp160and future The Big Bang Theory star Kaleyamp160Cuoco as Maureen McCormickamp160 It also featured another faithful recreation of the home with the exception of the vase atop the landing entryAgain recreations of the kitchen and family room were spot onThanks to the behindthescenes aspect of the movie we got to see more of the house than beforeamp160 In one brief scene there we could see the incredibly faithful recreation of the Brady backyardamp160 The girlsamp8217 bedroom was also given the first seasonamp8217s pink paint treatmentThe X Files Sunshine Days 2002The Brady home got the Poltergeist treatmentamp160on May 12 2002amp160after a man named Mike David Faustino and his buddy Blake wereamp160killed by something inhabiting the house that was used for exteriors on The Brady Bunchamp160 It wasnamp8217t the actual North Hollywood house seen in A Very Brady Renovation amp160Turns out a mysterious inhabitant named Oliver Martin aka Cousin Oliver played by Michael Emmerson was creating the Brady interior with his psychokinetic powersamp160 It has been said that the interior of the house was recreated for the episode but the fact it was for Foxamp160leads us to believe that it may have also been the set for the next Brady movieamp160The Brady Bunch in the White House which Fox telecast the same yearamp160 The only flaws were the blue pane in the pop art wall feature was white and thereamp8217s a ballpendant light above the informal dining tableamp160 Oh and theamp160horse is facing the wrong wayThe famous vase made a return as did the floral couch and hexagonal side tablesamp160 The Brady boys39 dresser was also featured in one shot although it was not a perfect match and the corkboard above it was missingThe Brady Bunch in the White House amp8211 2002Fox reentered the Brady zone on November 29 2002 with aamp160TV movie that reunited Shelley Long as Carol and Gary Cole as Mike amp160It also gave Hallmark Channel and future The OC star Autumn Reeser who played Marcia a taste of being a Brady amp160The house was seen in only the first 30 minutes of the film as Mike who had become President of the United States you read that right packed up the family and headed eastSharks may have been jumped but in terms of the Brady house we believe the sets in this production to likely be the most faithful recreations attempted before A Very Brady Renovationamp160 The horse although facing the wrong way and amp8220momamp8217s favorite vaseamp8221 appeared in the living room amp160The daybeds and artwork appeared in the family room and the burnt orange Formica in the kitchen really popped with the addition of undercabinet lightingThankfully the hanging pendant light in the informal dining room was removed and Mike and Carolamp8217s bedroom proved to be a faithful recreationThe Brady Bunch 35thamp160Anniversary Reunion Special Still Brady After All These Years 2004On September 29 of 2004 TV Land went Brady for this reunion special hosted by Jennyamp160McCarthy that featured all the surviving original cast membersamp160along with the showamp8217s creator Sherwood Schwartzamp160 Schwartz39 photo is prominently displayed atop Alice39s dresser in A Very Brady Renovationamp160 It39s a lovely tributeamp160 TV Land impressed with its recreation ofamp160the kitchen used in one scene amp160While it was obviously for background it was so well done that it deserved a mention hereSure the popart backdrop is way tooamp160low on the back living room wall but you canamp8217t fault the placement of the Brady horse and staircaseA Very Brady Renovation Behind the Build concludes Monday October 14 at 9 pm on HGTVClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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A "Very Brady" Renovation Retrospective

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