After recently watching this episode--which has been airing in reruns for over 40 years--it is absolutely amazing to me how the vibrance of the series has lost not one ounce of its charm. Everyone remembers The Brady Bunch from way back in the day, and this Season 1 episode is a genuine charmer that all fans should be able to enjoy.
I found young Maureen McCormick to be very sweet and memorable in this episode, which centered around "Marcia Marcia Marcia's" distraught reaction to her very first pair of braces. Slightly overdone, perhaps, but all the more endearing because most women can relate to that feeling of having braces: that feeling that you're uglier, less appealing, and that everyone is looking at you with a silent snicker. To say nothing of the fact that you're in a lot of pain when they are put on your teeth for the first time, and eating something as simple as a bowl of Spaghetti-O's is no easy feat! I've been there, and like Marcia, I can attest to the fact that when you're a kid with braces, statements like "It's not that bad" and "When they come off, your teeth are gonna be beautiful" are not very helpful or comforting--although I must admit that those are the exact things I said to a 12-year-old neighbor last week when she got braces! See what I mean about being able to identify with the episode material? Whether you're 10, 20, 30, or 80, you get it, and that's the magic of it. That's why this show is still airing in reruns several decades later. This is a classic Brady Bunch episode: funny, touching, and as always, accurately in line with any experiences that today's families can encounter in daily life, even if it is slightly cheesy. There's no doubt, however, that if you want to take a 30-minute retreat from everyday reality, you can turn on an episode like this and have a guaranteed smile on your face by the time it's over. It's just that kind of timeless TV that obviously still has something about it that audiences love and want, even after all these years.moreless
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Episode Summary
Marcia is distraught after getting braces and becomes convinced she's ugly. This compounds when her boyfriend Alan breaks their upcoming date, thinking it's due to her braces. Meanwhile, the Brady kids try their best to make Marcia not feel so self-conscious but with little success.
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Robert Reed
Mike Brady
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Florence Henderson
Carol Brady
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Ann B. Davis
Alice Nelson
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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Trivia
ADD TRIVIA- Marcia's date in this episode is named Alan. The press, however, wrote it down as Craig. Edit
- This episode gave the usually sunny and happy Marcia Brady some intense crying scenes. Actress Maureen McCormick has admitted that although her castmates didn't know it at the time, all her tears were real, because she was going through a lot of emotional trauma at home. Shortly before the episode was filmed, McCormick's parents had gotten into a horrible fight, and her father admitted to having an affair with a family friend. McCormick claims that she "summoned the tears easily" for this and any other episode that required her to get upset, and they were actually some of her favorite scenes, because with the difficult home life she had, it was a good release for her. Edit
- In the scene with Cindy and Marcia in the bathroom, Marcia's braces are gone! If you look closely, they have slid up to the top of her teeth and are on her gums. This happens several other times in this episode. Edit
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Notes
ADD NOTES- This is the only episode that Marcia is seen wearing braces. Edit
- Peter and Greg are the only Brady kids that never get braces. Edit
- Viewers familiar with The Brady Bunch would see the situation - involving family members unknowingly (and separately) asking three different boys to go to a school dance with the dateless, luckless pre-teen daughter - on Family Matters (incidentally, the first episode to feature Steve Urkel). Like the sitaution on Family Matters (involving Laura) attempts by Mike, Greg and Alice to find a date for Marcia go wrong. Edit
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Quotes
ADD QUOTES- Marcia: Well, some people say things just to be nice. Jan: Would we say things to you just to be nice? Bobby: We're your brother and sister. Marcia: Then you didn't really mean it. Alice: Of course they meant it. Marcia: I wonder if I can ever believe what anyone in this family says to me ever again, at all! Jan: Honest, it's a real pretty dress! Bobby: Even if it doesn't cover up your braces. Edit
- Marcia: Tell me the honest truth. Do I look funny? Cindy: Of course not, Marcia. You look beautiful. Jan: Thanks, Cindy! Cindy: But how do you get the toothpaste through all that barbed wire? Edit
- Jan: (when Cindy is about to go into the bathroom) Marcia's in there. Cindy: Daddy said to act natural--and I always barge in on Marcia when she's in the bathroom! Edit
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Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS- In this episode, Marcia's braces are on. Then, next they are off. Then they're on. It goes on the whole episode Edit
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