Season 3, Episode 10: 19 November 1971 "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"- a classic Brady Bunch line if ever there was one. Poor Jan. She suffered badly from MCS (Middle Child Syndrome) and was constantly flouncing off in a huff, her long blonde hair waving from side-to-side as she went. This is possibly the best example of Jan's suffering. She's been lobbed with one of Marcia's old teachers and because Marcia is so awesome at practically everything Jan feels she's always being compared to Marcia and her impossibly long list of stuff she's awesome at. One day, old teach makes one comparative observation too many and Jan hits critical mass, storming home and going postal on Marcia's neatly displayed trophies and awards. Becoming more enraged with each passing second, Jan scoops them all up and dumps them in the wardrobe. Take that, Marcia! By now she's determined to get good at something, but because she tries so very hard it's almost inevitable that she'll fail. Her try-out for the pom pom squad doesn't end with a smiley face. Poor Jan. If only she had at least a minimal awareness of her own limited abilities. After some sanguine advice from Mom - "find out what you do best and do your best with it" - Jan changes tack and decides to go after something Marcia's never done. She enters an essay contest - and guess what? She wins! But things rarely run smoothly for our poor downtrodden MCS ambassador and the essay contest win is no different. Somehow, she discovers that her score is wrong and realises she didn't actually win at all. She wrestles with her conscience but then, with typical Brady bravery, announces the mistake at the prize-giving ceremony. Result: she comes out of it looking like the greatest, most Bradyest Brady who ever lived. Even Marcia's impressed - what more could a middle child ask for?
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.
