Whew!
Now that we're past that, how is the box set of the first season of this iconic show of the '70s? Well, it's pretty darn keen. Thanks for asking! Here's why:
The Brady family video cleans up rather nicely during its transfer onto DVD. Colors pop, blacks are reasonably black, and while the transfer does have a little fuzziness, that's probably due to the overall age and quality of the original masters (it was about 35 years ago; some kids today marvel that they even had color TV back then).
The audio is really of no concern. Like the video, there are obvious legacy issues that simply will not be made up for, even if this stuff is re-issued in the year 2929 on tiny video capsules that are injected directly into the brain. What you get are Dolby Digital mono mixes that do recapture the original audio and the tinny laugh tracks. All that?s missing is the sound of Mr. Pop popcorn cooking on the range in the background.
The extras are okay, but nothing to write to your Aunt Petunia about.
The three scene-specific audio commentaries are engaging, but considering how much fans of the show already know about the antics of Greg, Peter, Bobby, Carol, Alice, Mike, Marcia, Jan, and Cindy, maybe they're only engaging for people who don't travel to various Brady convention events and who don't sit around memorizing trivia from books and magazines. Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of the show, talks about the show?s first episode, "The Honeymoon". Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, and Susan Olsen (three Brady kids) offer some humorous anecdotes as voice-overs for "A-Camping We Will Go", and "The Hero", but once again, it has the feel of the viewer crashing one of their little slumber parties (and not getting all the inside references and sly comments).
There is also a 17-minute featurette titled "The Brady Bunch -- Coming Together Under One Roof", and it is pretty much the real deal. It brings together pretty much everyone to talk about how this show got off the ground and how it became such a sizzling steamroller of a hit.
The only other offerings in the box set are previews for Happy Days: Season One, Laverne & Shirley: Season One, Mork & Mindy: Season One, and MacGyver: Season One. Hmmm... was that the sound of one hand clapping out there? No, I thought not!! The Fonz might just give you that stare of his, and you don?t want that.
Overall, The Brady Bunch: The Complete First Season is a really peachy set of Brady episodes. Anyone with a hankering to roll back the clock should consider dropping by a thrift store on the way to the local DVD outlet ? to shop for bell bottom pants, ruffled shirts, and anything at all with loud paisleys. While it isn't completely necessary to dress the part to watch these The Brady Bunch: The Complete First Season, it makes the Twister party afterward an absolute hoot.
Oh, and for those of us who made it this far... the Bradys never had anything to do with The Howells or Gilligan's Island. Well... at least I don't think so...
