"Alice, what did you see?"
The Brady Bunch was a television situation comedy that originally aired on ABC from 1969-1974, starring Robert Reed and Florence Henderson. The premise of this show was two single parents - each with three children - get married and form a new, blended family. Joined by their housekeeper, the series focuses on the Bradys as they adjust to their new life and, later on in the series, deal with issues typical of teen-agers and pre-teen children.
On Family Guy, The Brady Bunch has been the source of several gags. For instance, the Bradys were the subject of the first gag of the series' premiere, "Death Has a Shadow." The gag is based on the 1971 Brady episode "Where There's Smoke," where Greg (played by Barry Williams) experiments with smoking, decides he doesn't like it, then has a dilemma on his hands when he finds a pack of cigarettes in what turns out to be his friend's jacket. On Family Guy, Jan (Eve Plumb) catches Greg smoking and reports this to Mike (Reed); an angry Mike punishes Greg by placing him in a snake pit; Jan is also punished (for tattling) and placed in a fire pit.
Other Brady-related gags include:
- "Holy Crap" - When Peter forms a band, Brian asks the musicians if they can "do that fluttery thing, like when the Brady kids run down the stairs." The Brady kids are then seen running down the Griffins' stairs.
- "PTV" - The episode-ending gag depicts the family standing around the toilet, Cindy showing them "what she made." This is a nod to the fact that the toilet was never seen in episodes with scenes in the bathroom. The gag ends with the signature show-ending of each of the squares containing a family member placed on the screen, one-by-one, with a musical cue from the series.
- "Spies Reminiscent of Us" - Mike Brady apparently kills his first wife after a domestic dispute, and Alice as a witness. Mike intimidates Alice into silence by asking if she saw anything; the housekeeper sheepishly says that all she knows is that she's "getting a raise."
- "Excellence in Broadcasting" - When widescreen television is explained, it shows how Mike and Carol would look in bed, with 3 black guys flanking them on both sides. The traditional Brady Bunch grid is also shown expanded with the additional six black men.