It Might Be Too Brady – Even For Me

I love these old shows making a comeback.  I’m a huge fan of nostalgia.  Bring back the music I loved growing up. Bring back those tv shows we loved to watch.

Like the Brady Bunch.

Last week was the first episode of this new HGTV show – A Very Brady Renovation.  Taking the house that was always used in the OUTSIDE shots of the show – The Brady Bunch – and renovating the inside to look like the studio set.

Not an easy process. They had to add a second level.  They have been searching all corners of the earth to find everything that was used in the show.  All that OLD stuff. And boy, are they ever paying attention to detail.

The first episode I was HOOKED.  This show was awesome.  All the surviving cast members are back – actually PARTICIPATING in the renovation.  Doing the hard work.

My favourite Brady’s.  Greg, Marcia, Jan, Peter, Bobby and Cindy.  All grown up.

But they share through the episode about what life was like as a character on one of the most loved shows of all time.  They share what they remember about different episodes.  They share memories of each other.

Lots of nostalgia. Lots of good memories.

But after watching last night’s second episode, I’m wondering if we’re going too far.

They talk about themselves like they ARE the Brady family. If one more person walks through the door with “Honey I’m home” – a nod to the late Robert Reed, I think I might have to stop watching it all together.  They use the word “Brady” like it’s part of another language.  Like the Smurfs did in their old cartoon. It’s getting a bit annoying.

It’s becoming a bit too much.  And that hurts my heart to say because it’s one of my favourite shows of my childhood. At one point I asked my husband “Do they EVEN KNOW the Brady Bunch isn’t REAL?” – (smile)

Last night’s episode focused on “Mike’s Den” and the Boys and Girls bedrooms. The den brought back all kinds of memories of “Mike Brady”.  His words of advice and words and wisdom shared over the years.  He seemed to have been a real father figure to the cast.  You can see his presence is missed. The den was a touching tribute for sure.

The bedrooms and “Jack and Jill bathroom” though. Wow.  Impressive detail for sure. They had wallpaper custom made.  The bedspreads.  The lamps. The smallest of details was paid attention to.

At first I thought it was pretty cool.  Now I’m thinking it’s a bit strange to go this far.

First of all, the amount of money they must be spending to get every detail accounted for – I can’t even imagine.

And second, unless they turn this house into a Brady museum of some sort, what is going to happen to it?  Because in all honesty, as much as I loved that show and all the cast, I’m not sure I would actually want to LIVE there.  It would be cool to visit and take a look around.  Especially if the cast happened to be hanging out too.

But WHO would actually appreciate it enough to live in it as it is?  What family would realistically KEEP it the way it looks?  Like it’s stuck in the 70’s.

Lots of questions after last night’s episode for sure.

Are you watching?  What do you think?

We seem to be having a bit of an obsession with nostalgia right now.  Stranger Things got that 80’s fever back.   Then shows like 90210 and now the Brady Bunch cast back on TV in the spotlight, and now today, word of a Saved By The Bell reboot among others.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan