The Brady Bunch Sitcom: a Nice Tv Series for Children

“Here’s the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls. It’s the story of a man named Brady, who was busy with three boys of his own. They were four men living all together, yet they were all alone. One day when the lady met this fellow, they knew that it was much more than a hunch that this group must somehow form a family. That’s the way they became the Brady Bunch.” -The Brady Bunch Theme Song.

The Brady Bunch is a typical family-style American sitcom that first aired in September of 1969. It is a classic sitcom that although wasn’t very popular during its first run, has become increasingly popular since. The Brady Bunch is an adequate TVG sitcom for children to watch because it meets several necessary criteria. The criteria for a great American TVG sitcom is: constant plot and character development, good acting, appropriate humor, suitable content for its intended audience, and a good lesson or moral that is highlighted at the conclusion of the show. Some people, however, believe that The Brady Bunch is not a good show for children to watch because of its unrealistic endings. Every episode has a fairy tale ending, however this type of ending is crucial for young children to watch. Children need to see that at the end of the day, no matter what has happened, they will still have a loving and supportive family to go home to. By watching a wholesome TV show like The Brady Bunch, children are being exposed to appropriate content.

Having content that is geared towards the intended audience is one of the first criteria necessary for a TVG sitcom. Since The Brady Bunch was specifically made for young children and families to enjoy, it should be rated accordingly. For a show to be rated TVG, parents need to find that particular program suitable for all ages. When The Brady Bunch first aired in the 1969, there were no TV ratings to determine what was acceptable for kids to watch because parents did not need to worry about their kids watching content on TV that was out of line. Everything shown on TV in the mid 1900’s was suitable for families to watch together. However, when different networks such as Cable, Directv, and Dish began appearing on TV’s, shows that were not appropriate for all ages started appearing. To allow parents to screen what their children were viewing, TV ratings were made. These ratings include TVG, TVPG, TV14, and even TVMA. The Brady Bunch, however, is TVG which means that it is suitable for children. Although the rating TVG does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended because It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations. This is why TVG rated shows are perfectly acceptable for young kids. The Brady Bunch is rated TVG and effectively stays within those boundaries. There is only one episode in the history of the Brady Bunch where there is a small amount of violence. In this episode, Cindy gets taunted and called “Baby Talk” because of her lisp. Later in the episode, her brother Bobby, defends Cindy by punching the kid who was taunting Cindy. Bobby then makes fun of him for his newly acquired lisp. This, however, is very mild violence and content compared to other TVG sitcoms. For example, In “Boy Meets World”, a TVG sitcom in the 90’s, common recurring themes include: sex, partying, underage drinking, and an unstable home life. This inappropriate content doesn’t add to plot or character development, therefore making the show unsuitable for younger viewers and even older children.

The second necessary criteria of a good sitcom is having constant plot and character development. The Brady Bunch first aired when Greg was 14, Marcia was 12, Peter was 11, Bobby was 8, and Cindy was 6. Throughout the course of this show, all of the children were growing and developing from the lessons learned from each episode. The characters almost always got in some sort of trouble, which resulted in them learning valuable lessons and growing emotionally as a person. The trouble the kids got into was easy for American kids outside of the show to relate to. The show followed the Brady kids as they grew into adults. By the end of the show, Greg was 18, Marcia was 16, Peter was 15, Bobby was 12, and Cindy was 10. Greg, for example, had fought through the struggle of high school, girlfriends, and was now facing college. Along with the characters constantly developing, the plot mostly did the same. Although the basic story stayed the same, the characters all stayed together in the same house, and the show always taught the children a lesson; the plot still developed. In the beginning of the show, Mike and Carol were both widowed, but once they met each other, they knew they wanted to get married and settle down. The plot in the beginning developed very quickly to show us the backstory of the show.

Appropriate humor is a sufficient criteria that The Brady Bunch meets. To have acceptable humor, the jokes must stay within the TV show’s rating. This means that humor in the Brady Bunch must stay TVG by containing no drugs, sex, or alcohol references. The humor must also always be acceptable for the show’s intended audience, and The Brady Bunch just so happens to be geared towards families. Many TV sitcoms put a heavy emphasis on humor, but too much humor can be a bad thing especially if it emphasizes inappropriate themes such as drugs, alcohol or even sex. This causes desensitization within the younger generation of kids who are watching seemingly “harmless” TV shows. Children begin to think that the references to drugs, alcohol or sex are the norm. The Addams Family Tv show is rated TVG, but it contains many scenes where the father amuses himself by blowing up model trains. The father also slips some sexual innuendos into the show as he is always trying to kiss and “get cozy” with his wife. Most young kids will not understand, but it just proves how seemingly harmless TV shows use humor to introduce adult jokes. While young children are growing up, they shouldn’t be exposed to this type of humor because they often repeat what they hear. This is because when they hear a character in a show recite a line that made others laugh, they want to experience that same reaction. This is the positive response that children yearn to receive, therefore they may not realize the humor is unsuitable for their age.

An accidental criteria of The Brady Bunch is having funny acting. To have good, funny acting, the actors must not let the show seem “fake”. This means that when a character feels a strong emotion, the viewers should feel that same emotion. If the viewers don’t believe the show's characters, then they simply won’t stay interested. Although The Brady Bunch does contain some over the top acting, that is what keeps the show funny. Just because a scene is slightly cheesy doesn’t mean that it takes away from the content of the show. Because the word “cheesy” is often associated with negative connotations, The Brady Bunch often gets a bad rating for its acting and humor. Although The Brady Bunch does contain some old -fashioned, cliche jokes at times, the directors intended for those to be included. This cheese, however, isn’t over the top. It is just the right amount for parents to roll their eyes at and groan while children giggle. For example, in the episode The Hair-Brained Scheme, the Brady Boys buy hair tonic and use it on themselves. Little do they know that it would turn their hair orange! To show the viewers their orange hair, it is obvious that they boys are wearing an orange wig. The Brady Boys act a little awkward with their new hair and make it obvious that it is a wig. This is just enough cheesy acting to keep the show funny, but not quite ridiculous. This type of humor doesn’t take away from any important dialogue or from the meaning the show is trying to convey.

A very important, necessary criteria for a children’s sitcom is having good lessons or morals that the show highlights. It is detrimental for younger kids to not be exposed to many morals because they are influenced the most during ages 0-8. Morals give kids examples of how to act, and since The Brady Bunch always has a positive ending, young kids associate morals with positive outcomes. Some very common lessons the Brady Bunch mentions are: cheaters never prosper, sibling rivalries, big head syndrome, and respect your elders. Since The Brady Bunch is based off of an average family, the morals highlighted by the show are easy for many American children to relate to because they can see how these morals benefit the children on the show.

The Brady Bunch was evaluated to determine if it is a good TVG sitcom for children. The three necessary criteria the show needed to have was appropriate content, constant plot and character development, and good morals. The Brady Bunch contained clean humor and content because it maintained its TVG rating. The show never contained cursing, suggestive scenes, or extreme violence. The Brady Bunch constantly developed both its characters and the plot. This kept the show interesting and allowed us to see the emotional growth of the characters as they matured. The Brady Bunch also contained great morals and lessons for children. Some of these included respecting your elders, cheaters never prosper, and sibling rivalries. In conclusion, The

Brady Bunch effectively met all the necessary criteria and even managed to meet some additional criteria. Not only did this show contain appropriate content, constant plot and character development, and good morals, the show also had good acting and lots of humor. I believe The Brady Bunch is a great American TVG sitcom that not only kids will enjoy, but parents as well.