Season 1, Episode 1: 26 September 1969 There are so many reasons to consider 'The Honeymoon' the second-best Brady Bunch episode ever. All else aside it sets up the cheese-factor of The Brady Bunch on a grand scale, although despite the overpowering reek of pressed milk curd throughout the episode the show would never again be quite this cheesy. First and foremost, 'The Honeymoon' establishes the whole story of the lovely lady, the three very lovely girls and the man named Brady with three boys of his own. And it all kicks off with The Peppermint Trolley Company's exceptionally cheesy original rendition of the now-famous theme. There are so many plot elements of note in 'The Honeymoon'. Mike and the boys and with Alice the housekeeper are living in a house that's not the one they'll share for the rest of the series; the girls' are sleeping in a bedroom that's suspiciously reminiscent of the one they'll share in the other house for the rest of the series; there's an implication, rather than explicit confirmation, that the boys' mother is dead; the girls' cat Fluffy and the boys' dog Tiger both make their first appearances - after another brief appearance towards the end of the episode, Fluffy's never seen or spoken of again; Carol's married name is Martin and her maiden name is Tyler; Carol's parents also make their first appearance and, like Fluffy, are never seen or heard of again - perhaps they retired to some far-off destination with Fluffy? As anyone would on the first night of their honeymoon, Mike & Carol start to miss their kids. So they do as any newly re-married couple would: they drive home, pile all six kids and the cat (which nobody seemed to notice until later) into Mike's two door convertible and take them back to the hotel. Alice the housekeeper dutifully turns up with the dog shortly afterwards, though given she can't actually drive, it's unclear how she got there in the middle of the night. It's also unclear why a hotel manager would be manning reception in the wee small hours (although it would explain why Mr. Pringle sounds like an uppity school headmaster) but, much to his bemusement, the family marches upstairs to enjoy Mike & Carol's honeymoon together. All nine of them presumably in the honeymoon suite, since nobody dared ask Mr. Pringle for another one. 'The Honeymoon' was the pilot episode of The Brady Bunch and was actually recorded in October 1968, nearly nine months before the show was given the green light and almost a year before it first aired. Not only do the kids look noticeably younger than in later episodes, but the tone of this one is also quite different to the rest of the first season. Although the entire season is permeated by the sickly sweet stench of cutesyness and a sense of family values that was probably just as old-fashioned then as it seems now, the rest of the season isn't drenched in quite the same volume of saccharine as 'The Honeymoon'.
I'm just a guy who loves words. I discover vast tracts of uncharted enjoyment by chucking words together and coming up with stuff that talks about the things I enjoy and love most. I'm also a massive listaholic, so I'm probably talking about a list, looking at a list or banging away at another What Culture list as you read this. My tone's pretty relaxed and conversational, with a liberal sprinkling of sparkling wit, wilting sarcasm and occasional faux-condescension - with tongue almost always firmly planted in cheek.
