''A Very Brady Christmas'' is a 1988 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by Peter Baldwin and starring

Robert Reed Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as the ...

Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson also appeare ...

Ann B. Davis Ann Bradford Davis (May 3, 1926 – June 1, 2014) was an American actress. She achieved prominence for her role in the NBC situation comedy '' The Bob Cummings Show'' (1955–1959), for which she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

, Barry Williams,

Maureen McCormick Maureen Denise McCormick (born August 5, 1956) is an American actress. She portrayed Marcia Brady on the ABC television sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'', which ran from 1969 to 1974, and reprised the role in several of the numerous ''Brady Bunch'' sp ...

Christopher Knight Christopher or Chris Knight may refer to: Film and television *Christopher Knight (actor) (born 1957), American actor * Christopher Knight (filmmaker), blogger and filmmaker * Chris Knight (''Neighbours''), fictional character in the soap opera '' ...

Eve Plumb Eve Aline Plumb (born April 29, 1958) is an American actress, singer and painter. She is best known for portraying the middle daughter Jan Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. A native of Southern California, Plumb began appearing in com ...

Mike Lookinland Michael Paul Lookinland (born December 19, 1960) is an American actor and cameraman. He is best known for his role as the youngest brother, Bobby Brady, on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'' from 1969 to 1974, and its many sequels and spinoffs. ...

, and Jennifer Runyon. It reunited the original cast members of the 1969–1974

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, after ...

'', with the exception of

Susan Olsen Susan Marie Olsen (born August 14, 1961) is an American actress and former radio host. Olsen is known for her role as Cindy Brady, the youngest Brady child in the sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'' for the full run of the show, from 1969 to 1974. Early ...

, who was on her honeymoon at the time of filming. Ron Kuhlman and

Jerry Houser Jerry Houser (born July 14, 1952) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer in ''Summer of '42'' and its sequel, '' Class of '44'', as Dave "Killer" Carlson in '' Slap Shot,'' and the role of Wally Logan ...

both reprised their characters from the short-lived 1981 sitcom ''

The Brady Brides ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, after ...

''. ''A Very Brady Christmas'' premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on December 18, 1988, and was the second highest-rated television film of 1988.

Plot

Mike and Carol Brady have a

savings account A savings account is a bank account at a retail bank. Common features include a limited number of withdrawals, a lack of cheque and linked debit card facilities, limited transfer options and the inability to be overdrawn. Traditionally, transac ...

, which both spouses planned to use to bankroll a vacation for the other; Carol wanted to take Mike to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, while Mike wanted to treat Carol to a trip to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. When they realize their ideas collide, they use the money to try to reunite the entire family for Christmas by paying for airline tickets for their children, grandchildren and their in-laws. However, all of the Brady kids are facing personal obstacles that might keep them from enjoying the festivities: Greg's wife Nora is spending Christmas with her family; Peter is romantically involved with his boss Valerie and his inferior position and salary is affecting his self-confidence; Bobby has dropped out of graduate school to become a race car driver but has not revealed this to his parents; Marcia's husband Wally was fired from his job at a toy company; Jan is separating from her husband Philip and Cindy is fighting for her independence since she is the youngest and still gets treated like the baby of the family. Cindy is currently a college undergraduate and in an issue similar to Bobby's, Cindy lies to her parents about overwhelming college student issues, when in actuality she plans to go skiing in

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

with her roommates. Even their former housekeeper Alice is dealing with a serious issue: her husband Sam has recently left her for another woman. Through each child deciding to spend the holiday and eventually opening up about their issues, Mike and Carol are able to help them out. Jan got back together with Philip, Bobby told his family about that

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

racing circuit, and Wally got a new job at Mike's friend's toy company. Mike knew that Wally was fired and helped them out. Nora arrives to surprise Greg. However, the family's Christmas dinner is disrupted when Mike learns that a ruthless businessman he designed a building for has cut corners, resulting in the building collapsing and trapping two security guards inside. Mike manages to free the trapped employees, but an

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

results in Mike getting trapped in rubble himself. In the end, Mike gets out of the debris after Carol and the entire family sings "

O Come, All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and a ...

" (a nod to Carol singing it in the original series' episode "The Voice of Christmas"). After returning home, the family's dinner is again interrupted, this time by a man at the door dressed as

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

. The kids ask where his bag of presents is, but he tells them that he only has one present, for Alice; it turns out to be Sam, in disguise, who has seen the error of his ways and pleads for Alice's forgiveness. After she takes Sam back, the family invites him to stay for dinner, and everyone ends the film singing a chorus of "

We Wish You a Merry Christmas "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is an English Christmas carol, listed as numbers 230 and 9681 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The famous version of the carol is from the English West Country. Popular version The Bristol-based composer, condu ...

Cast

as Mike Brady *

Carol Brady File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 #Marcia Brady, Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 #Carol Brady, Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 #Greg Brady, Greg Brady rect 0 ...

as Alice Nelson-Franklin * Barry Williams as Dr. Greg Brady *

as Marcia Brady-Logan *

as Peter Brady *

as Jan Brady-Covington *

Bobby Brady File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 15 ...

* Jennifer Runyon as

Cindy Brady File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 #Marcia Brady, Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 #Carol Brady, Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 #Greg Brady, Greg Brady rect 0 ...

Lewis Arquette Lewis Michael Arquette (December 14, 1935 – February 10, 2001) was an American film actor, writer, and producer. Arquette was known for playing J.D. Pickett on the television series ''The Waltons'', on which he worked from 1978 to 1981. Life ...

as Sam Franklin, Alice's husband *

as Wally Logan, Marcia's husband *Ron Kuhlman as Philip Covington III, Jan's husband *

Caryn Richman Caryn Richman is an American actress and singer who is best known for her role as Gidget in the TV series, ''The New Gidget'', which evolved out of her lead role in the 1985 television movie ''Gidget's Summer Reunion''. She played Elena Dekker ...

as Nora Brady, Greg's wife *

Carol Huston Carol Huston (born August 15, 1959) is an American actress and singer. Early life Carol Huston was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois. Huston attended Forest View High School in nearby Arlington Heights, where ...

as Valerie Thomas, Peter's fiancée *

Zachary Bostrom Zachary Bostrom also credited as "Zach", (born January 15, 1981) is an American actor. As a child actor, he was best known for his role as Ernie Henderson in the sitcom ''Harry and the Hendersons (TV series), Harry and the Hendersons'' and Kevin Br ...

as Kevin Brady, Greg and Nora's son * G.W. Lee as Mickey Logan, Marcia and Wally's son * Jaclyn Bernstein as Jessica Logan, Marcia and Wally's daughter

Impact

When ''A Very Brady Christmas'' first aired, it was the highest rated

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

of the season with a 25.1 rating and a 39 share but ultimately finished as the second highest rated television film of the season. Thanks in large part to the film's success,Storm, Jonathan (February 9, 1990)
"'Bradys' Are Back with a Bigger Bunch"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''. p. D01. Subscription required, Retrieved 2019-12-08. CBS and Sherwood Schwartz created a new television series in 1990, ''

The Bradys ''The Bradys'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from February 9 to March 9, 1990. The series is a sequel and continuation of the original 1969–1974 sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'', focusing on its main characters as ad ...

'', continuing the story of the Brady family and its now-adult children. Only six episodes were produced. Critics nicknamed the new series "Brady-something", after the adult-oriented TV drama ''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust anyo ...

'', highlighting the fact that this new Brady series had a more serious tone and more dramatic storylines as compared to the original series. After the network canceled ''The Bradys'', two theatrical films were made later in the 1990s: ''

The Brady Bunch Movie ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' is a 1995 American comedy film that parodies the 1969–1974 television series ''The Brady Bunch''. The film was directed by Betty Thomas, with a screenplay by Laurice Elehwany, Rick Copp, and Bonnie and Terry Turner, and ...

'' in 1995, and ''

A Very Brady Sequel ''A Very Brady Sequel'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Arlene Sanford (in her feature film directorial debut), with a screenplay by Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, James Berg and Stan Zimmerman, and starring Shelley Long, Gary Cole and ...

'' in 1996. A second sequel, ''

The Brady Bunch in the White House ''The Brady Bunch in the White House'' is a 2002 American comedy television film and the second sequel to ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' (1995), following ''A Very Brady Sequel'' (1996). It was directed by Neal Israel and written by Lloyd J. Schwartz an ...

'', aired as a

made-for-television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

in 2002. All three featured a new, younger cast filling the roles of the Bradys.

Home media

On November 18, 1992,

Paramount Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

released ''A Very Brady Christmas'' on VHS, however it has long been out of print. On April 3, 2007, the film was included as a bonus feature on ''The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series'' 21-disc

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

set by CBS/Paramount. On October 10, 2017, CBS/Paramount released ''A Very Brady Christmas'' as a stand-alone DVD. On June 4, 2019, the film was re-released on DVD by CBS/Paramount as a part of ''The Brady-est Brady Bunch TV & Movie Collection'' to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the original series.

References

External links