The Brady Bunch
March 8, 1974,
The Brady Bunch aired its final episode on ABC. This was a case of they really didn't know if this was going to be the last episode while filming it, but, really now? I am a big fan of the series, but I can say that some episodes weren't very strong or good. I do think the fifth season, the final season, also seems to be the weakest and oddest of the entire series. There's even
an episode that was trying to be a pilot to get out of here.
For the cousin Oliver dis-likers, yeah this is the season he shows up. I will add that he doesn't do anything to make the show bad, he's alright, if anything, it's because season 5 and the show was tired. Oliver didn't kill the show. All of this is weird for someone who is a fan to say, but we're doing it.
The final episode doesn't have that feeling of finality, again because someone there was confident enough to think we can get a new season, we're awesome! Also even ending in March wasn't uncommon for a season of this series, so it ending on March 8 didn't give a sense of it wasn't going to be back.
There's one person you don't see in the final episode at all, that's Robert Reed, you know Mike Brady. He didn't like the episode at all. Reed had many times argued over scripts and things as writing shows has people and human emotions and ideas. This one apparently was like "I refuse" to even touch it. He didn't even like storm off and never return he was also watching the episode get filmed, so that's dedication of something. There are sources that say he didn't the episode was good quality television, which I mean, it's not a very good episode, but odd line to draw here. Or he didn't like the idea that hair tonic was written to cause someone's hair to turn orange, thinking that was unrealistic. I am concerned too. (something here)
It's time. "The Hair-Brained Scheme" , season 5, episode 22.
The episode starts with Greg is getting ready to graduate, but that's not the plot of the episode, because that's really only there for the comedic drama of what happens to Greg before that big milestone. The plot is about Bobby ordering hair tonic to resell. Bobby paid for 12 bottles for $1 each (oof 1974 money) and the company says why not sell it for $2 a bottle. Cindy has also been inspired and is going get rabbits to mate -not joking, to sell rabbits, she buys the rabbits from the pet store, where people can go also buy rabbits, so she can sell baby rabbits to people who could also go the pet store and buy rabbits.
Bobby decides to enlist Oliver into his whatever this is and now Bobby will have to sell more bottles to be a millionaire. They go to Greg, (you remember Greg , right?) and he doesn't want to play in whatever this is and tells them to go away. (how true people react to salesmen) Cindy's new plan is get two rabbits from the pet shop, let them make babies and sell the babies back to the pet shop. Oh.. also someone taught Cindy where babies come from apparently.
Carol Brady is like just kind of here this episode. She's like hey my son bought hair tonic, well it's his stupid way of spending money, oh well. Oh my daughter has bought rabbits, oh well, I wish I was with Mike, he's been standing outside our house for some reason. She's very accommodating this episode. Bobby isn't good at selling this hair tonic, he insults a woman, bothers a man with no peddlers sign on his house, and a bald man. He should be happy that they didn't think he was wearing a toupee.
Bobby wants to quit. Carol decides that Bobby shouldn't quit. I think this time, Bobby should have quit, he's selling dodgy magazine hair tonic, well I mean trying to sell, this isn't like playing the trumpet or something. I think there are good reasons to quit. Show don't play that music here, this isn't a good moral in this case. The context if a line saying "The Great Ones Never Quit" whilst Robert Reed quit the episode was that written in there out of spite? Were they calling him out? (Things are happening) Did Thomas Edison quit? There's an elephant that wished he quit. Also there's a few people who wished he did. Did Robert Reed Quit? Well? / Copyright Paramoun
I will say that I don't think the episode is bad through the whole thing, it's being goofy here , but nothing that really makes it awful. Carol and Bobby's moment was pretty nice, even if she's like please don't quit selling the dodgy hair tonic. Even as someone who is a Bobby fan, I do feel they had a better plot in the background of Greg getting ready to graduate, him giving Peter his jacket is nice. Would have been better to have a plot about maybe Greg getting nervous about the whole thing and stuff happening.
Greg feels bad for Bobby and decides to buy hair tonic. The three brothers moment was pretty fun. Bobby really wants it to be proven that Greg didn't buy it out of pity instead of just accepting the money and letting Greg go on with his day. He wants Greg to put some on.
Bobby puts it on his eldest brother's head, then freaks out and runs away. The episode doesn't give away what happened at first. ( I wonder if Greg is bald now) Then it shows he has orange hair, which is the most amazing hair dye ever , how fast it did it.
The episode turned into "Lol, what if Greg's hair turned orange?". Which I'm sure the real red heads enjoyed. Oliver has turned away from Bobby and will work with Cindy instead. I will say this is the first and only episode where the word "sex" is mentioned. All with a joke where Oliver makes Carol flustered trying to explain why male rabbits don't have babies. (how very un-PC)
Cool it Oliver, you can't say sex on a TV G show, wait huh? /Copyright Paramount
Carol doesn't want her eldest son to kill her youngest son. So she finds away to help things. Oh the scammy hair company was a shady? I'm shocked. Also Carol was like I knew they were shady, but she was earlier saying Bobby shouldn't quit things like selling the shady company's hair tonic. Greg has to go to the beauty salon to get fixed. Episode is like "Lol, Greg has to go to the beauty salon and sees two girls from school there." He also makes up to the girls that's his mom is actually bald.
I've covered my eyes to hide my lie/ Copyright Paramount
Also, guess what Juliet , of the rabbits named Romeo and Juliet, is a boy rabbit. Which is the least tragic twist characters with those names have experienced. The two plots help each other out as Bobby has to pour out the hair tonic and accidently pours it on the rabbits and makes them orange. The pet shop ends up buying the fake orange rabbits.
I'm sure someone would have not really enjoyed the idea of orange/red hair being seen as awful probably wouldn't have enjoyed the episode from that aspect. Greg getting green hair also could have worked, I'm saying that because that was even a suggestion of how it could have been worse for Greg? But it also can be passed as saying that Greg was worried about his hair getting ruined or something, and if it wasn't safe tonic. I don't think the episode was bad because of that and I don't think it was going after red heads in general.
There is some weirdness to the plot. Carol shows skepticism about the hair tonic, but thinks it's alright her son can sell it, then when Bobby decides to quit, she's like woah. I get the message of "don't quit" it doesn't fit this episode when it probably was for the best for him to take his loss and quit. Then she's like I knew they were shady when she finds out they were taken down by the FDA. Episode didn't know what do with Carol there at all. Maybe there were things set for Mike and that ended up being Carol's lines. Maybe Mike was supposed to be the one to encourage his son to not quit because that seems like something he'd say, and then have it go back to Carol when she's the one to find out the shady company was actually shady. Otherwise, pick a lane episode.
I don't know why the episode mentions Greg's graduation where it really does nothing for the plot, except give an urgent recent as to why he wants his hair to go back to normal quick. That could even be swapped for really anything else and still fit. It doesn't make the episode feel more grand or give it a sense finality -even for a season finale- where if the show was going to come back, what happens to Greg? Or , I mean, what would the show have done?
I do think the episode isn't that good, but not an awful episode. It fits with how the show worked, with a goofy plot that seemingly decides to go with at least Bobby didn't sell that stuff to some random person, after all. The Cindy and the rabbits part kind of just happens without questioning it too much, there is the fun that the two plots did come together, but kind of worrying that someone wanted the hair tonic to sell people fake orange rabbits.
Maybe Reed did overreact or was very bothered by hair tonic being demeaned, or red heads.... It's not even the strangest Brady Bunch plot. I don't know. Funny enough, for how much Oliver has been maligned, there's really nothing he adds or takes away from the episode. If he wasn't there nothing changes. I guess the mention of sex doesn't happen, but sure.
That's it for now, tune in next time when we wonder how the episode would have gone if Greg had gone bald.
