Alex Carson
We all have our “favorite” and “least favorite” episodes of The Brady Bunch, so it’s no surprise that the cast does, too. After decades of reruns, the cast has finally revealed which episodes they loved, and which episodes they hated. In this video, we’re taking a look at the best and worst episodes according to the cast! And if you want to go back and watch any of these episodes in full, you can use the link below to sign up for Paramount Plus and stream every single episode of The Brady Bunch.
Barry William’s Picks
There are many memorable episodes of the show’s 117 episode run. And for Barry Williams, one of his favorites is the one that introduced us to the beloved family: the pilot episode. Barry, who played the oldest Brady son Greg Brady, says the series opener had a sense of innocence to it which set the tone for the series while the Brady Bunch cast was getting to know each other. The pilot episode, called “Honeymoon,” showed Mike and Carol Brady’s wedding and honeymoon, where hijinks and hilarity ensued.
Interestingly enough, the cat named Fluffy that in the pilot episode is never seen again in future episodes. However, Tiger the dog is a staple throughout the series. While Tiger continued to make appearances, he actually played by 3 different dogs over the years. In addition to the pilot, Barry also enjoyed “Pass the Tabu” which aired in 1972.
Barry is fond of this episode because he got to work with a certain 8 legged co-star – a tarantula! Another one of his favorites is “Adios, Johnny Bravo”. In this episode, Greg becomes a rock star and gets arrogant and swollen-headed, only to learn he was signed by the agent for his looks instead of his talent. On the flipside, an episode that Barry called cringe-worthy is one from season 5 called “The Driver’s Seat” that aired in 1974. In this episode, Greg and Marcia compete in a boys vs girls style obstacle course to settle a debate about who is the better driver.
The family watches Greg and Marcia as they smoothly drive in between orange cones. And with Greg avoiding contact with every cone until he gets to the last one. He knocks the last cone of the obstacle course over, and Marcia declared the winner. They agree they are both safe drivers, and that is all that matters. Barry didn’t think it was a believable story line, and wished the writers would have included some “Evel-Knieval type tricks.”
Mike Lookinland’s Picks
As for Mike Lookinland, who played the youngest brother Bobby Brady, his favorite episode included a celebrity guest star. Joe Namath was an NFL player who spent most of his football career with the New York Jets and appeared on the 1973 episode “Mail Order Hero”. In the episode, Bobby fakes being sick in order to meet Namath. After Cindy sends him a letter requesting a meeting due to Bobby’s illness. Clearly, Mike must have been just as starstruck to meet the player as his character Bobby was. He fondly described how quiet the set got when Namath made his entrance, and he had a wonderful experience acting alongside him for the episode.
Mike didn’t have the easiest time after the show though, as he struggled with the fame of being a child star and almost succumbed to alcoholism. Like many other child actors in the business, he never felt that he got a real childhood or a chance to be a kid. Since his childhood filled with adult responsibilities. He felt that he had to make up for it in his 20s. In 1997, he totaled his Ford Bronco after driving home from work in Utah. He drunk, and his blood alcohol level discovered to be three times the legal limit. Luckily, he did eventually get help and become sober.
Christopher Knight’s Picks
Christopher Knight, who plays Peter Brady, had a unique experience with all the fame that came as a result of the Brady Bunch’s success. He revealed that his parents forced him into acting, and that he too struggled with fame and being in Hollywood. He eventually quit acting to pursue his true passions. However, he loved his experience filming the 1972 episode “Pass the Tabu”. The cast spent much of their time in Honolulu during the filming of the episode, which centered around Peter finding a tiki idol during their trip.
Peter thinks the tiki idol is a good luck charm, but finds out that the locals consider it to be a bad omen. This becomes more apparent after bad luck consistently befalls his siblings who took turns handling the tiki idol, named Tabu. His least favorite episode was 1972’s “Dough Re Mi ”, as he felt very left out and isolated due to being the only Brady sibling not singing in it.
In fact, he went as far as to say he hated the episode. In it, Peter is left out of the singing group because he is coming into puberty and his voice starts cracking. Christopher thought the whole storyline revolved around finding a way to make sure he didn’t sing during the episode, and felt hurt by it. Soon after the Brady Bunch and it’s spinoffs. Christopher stopped acting and entered into the computer software industry where he found success. He got involved in multiple business ventures before later returning to acting to do a few small projects. One of which notably involved John Ritter.
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Susan Olsen’s Picks
Susan Olsen played Cindy Brady, the youngest Brady sibling. One of her favorite episodes is 1973’s “The subject was noses,” mostly in part for her admiration of Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady. In the episode, Maureen had to get hit in the face with a ball but never flinched or complained, which Susan very impressed by. Another one of Susan’s favorites is 1973’s “Peter and the Wolf.” In this episode, Greg convinces Peter to dress and act like an older guy so he could accompany Greg on a double date.
She thought it was hilarious, particularly Peter’s fake mustache – which then falls off during the date! Just like Christopher Knight, another top favorite of Susan’s was “Pass the Tabu.” Eve Plumb, who played middle sister Jan Brady, also said “Pass the Tabu” is her favorite episode. And really, who doesn’t love a Hawaiin getaway with cast members you consider family? They may have played a family on TV, but Susan considers her close co-stars family in real life as well.
On the flipside, Susan Olsen found the 2nd season episode “The Tattle-Tale” particularly troublesome for her in real life. Her friends had a difficult time differentiating Susan from her character Cindy. Because of this, they thought she was a real life tattle tale and isolated her in school. This was distressing for Susan, as she was so young at the time. This is the same reason she dislikes 1974’s “The Snooperstar.” In the episode, Marcia catches Cindy reading her diary. And which again leads to Susan’s friends seeing her in a different light and shunning the young actress.
Maureen McCormick’s Picks
As for Maureen McCormick, who played the oldest female sibling Marcia Brady. Her favorite episode was also “The subject was noses.” In it, Marcia gets dumped by her crush after she gets hit in the nose with a football and suffers a swollen nose. Maureen eventually became disenfranchised by the end of the show, when she was an older teen. She believed it too family-friendly by the end. And wanted more mature and controversial storylines to be introduced into the show. While the cast members were smoking, drinking, and generally maturing off set in their own ways. The siblings maintained their innocence on the show. To quietly assert her dislike for the lack of mature storylines, Maureen started taping the episodes without wearing a bra.
She even convinced Eve Plumb to join in with her. It was a way to rebel, but without doing anything too obvious or dramatic. Her rebellion however didn’t last long. One of the show’s producers quickly caught on to this and made it known that it was unacceptable. Maureen revealed that she always struggled to come to terms with how many people look up to her. It took her awhile, but she eventually came to peace with her character and came to love and accept Marcia Brady.
Despite this, Maureen has said she never watches the show. Although she loved being on the show, she hates watching herself and finds it weird. Another reason she dislikes watching the show is because it reminds her of some somber memories attached to that time in her life. She developed a cocaine addiction and it cost her many opportunities in her career post Brady Bunch. She did eventually sober up though, and has stayed that way for over 30 years.
That concludes our video about the Brady Bunch cast’s favorite and least favorite episodes. If you need to catch up with the Bradys, don’t forget to use the link below to sign up for Paramout Plus and stream all of the episodes online!
Most of the cast agrees that Pass the Tabu was their favorite episode. Is this your favorite episode, or do you have a different one? Leave us a comment and let us know! And be sure to like this video and subscribe to the channel for more videos like this!
