Customer Reviews

Bradymania!: Everything You Always Wanted to Know--And (25th Anniversary Edition)

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"The Brady Bunch" is one of that elite group of television programs (such as "Star Trek" and "The Simpsons") which have become icons of pop culture. Since the initial 1969-74 run of the series, the Bradys have returned in numerous TV, musical, and motion picture incarnations. Elizabeth Moran's "Bradymania" is an essential guide to the Brady universe.

Moran's well-written book includes profiles of both the major Brady characters and the actors who played them, an episode guide to the original series, a profile of "Brady" creator Sherwood Schwartz, a guide to the Brady TV spin-offs, and many other fascinating features. There are even floor plans to the legendary Brady home! And Moran thoughtfully includes Cousin Oliver, the "lost Brady," in the profiles.

The book could have been improved with more detailed information on the "Brady" spin-offs; I think those short-lived shows deserve the same episode-by-episode treatment that the original series gets. But that's a minor complaint. This is a wonderful book, full of great photos and revealing snippets of interviews from cast members. So if, like me, you are a devoted Bradyologist (that is, scholar of all things Brady), you'll want this book for your library.

As a child, I grew up on Brady Bunch every Friday night in the series run 1969-74 and continued to watch when the show went into re-runs. The things I liked most about the Brady Bunch are these: Family Values, Family Closeness, Lessons Learned, Togetherness, All for one and one for all. Even now, I love the Brady's and watch the Bunch on Nick at Nite; I never tire of the Brady Bunch. I still love the humor, tacky 70's outfits; words like groovy, far-out.

Bradymania is well-written by Elizabeth Moran, an enjoyable read from cover to back with really interesting tidbits about the Brady's; it's everything that we Brady fans have always wanted to know and things we didn't.

Elizabeth Moran talks about the actors/actresses real-life experiences and interests as well as their fictional characters. She talks about a typical day on the set and about studio school for the Brady kids. There is interesting information about the casting of the Brady characters. The Brady actors/actresses have had prior acting experience and they were perfect for their roles on the Brady Bunch. I learned some things about Sherwood Schwartz, the Creator of the Brady Bunch And about the house on Clinton Avenue.

Real life can get complicated and problems that plague us today can, at times, seem insurmountable. The Brady Bunch, on the other hand, is simple and problems are easily solved. Monumental problems in the Brady household include things like: Getting Braces (invisalign was not available then), Jan getting glasses, Sibling rivalry (Marcia and Jan), Greg sneaks a goat (Coolidge H. S. mascot) into his room and, Popularity.

I really enjoyed the Brady quizzes and did quite well on them. I am a true Brady fan. I love the `never before seen' Brady photos. There is also a little something about Tiger and Fluffy (the girl's cat seen in the pilot).

I have read every word of BRADYMANIA, and I'm very grateful to Elizabeth Moran for writing an amazingly and fully researched and accurate book on the Brady's. If you are a true Brady Bunch fan then this is the book you need in your collection. As webmaster of The I Love Maureen McCormick Website I give this book two thumbs up!

This is one of the best Brady books yet, you'll really enjoy all of the rarely seen photos and the quizes. It just may convince yourself you're more than a casual fan when you put it down. The story of The Brady Bunch is a fascinating one!

In terms of spinoff coverage, this is the best I've seen so far. While they're not the focus of the book, Moran does talk about each one in more detail than anyone else so far. There's no episode guide for the spinoffs, but I suspect the problem there is availability. I bet a lot of us would do our own episode guides if we could just see the shows again, uncut!

Moran's book also talks about the stage show, and speculates about the "upcoming" (at the time!) theatrical film, the first Brady Bunch movie from 1995. Moran was shooed away from the ultra-high-security movie set in her quest for tidbits!

I have yet to find the true ultimate Brady book. Like the rest of the Brady books, the episode guide in this one could be a lot plumper. But Moran's book is a good balance of character trivia, actor trivia, producer trivia, episode trivia, etc. Read every word, and you just might pass the trivia challenges at the end of the book!

You can find more in-depth actor trivia in "Growing Up Brady," and good "outside-world" trivia in the "TV Treasures" book. However, if you are looking for a little of everything, "Bradymania" will do the trick.

I loved the book I learned a lot about my faviourt show the brady bunch.I have other brady bunch books but this was the beast one I've ever read befor.someone gave me rthe book an I loved it! I LOVE THE BOOK!

Recently, I devloped an obsession with the Brady Bunch and I picked this book up on a whim. Now it has a special place on my desk! This book is very informative, including a complete episode guide, and informative tidbits about the actors. Mike Lookinland has seen the Grateful Dead over 100 times! Who knew!?!?

I'm a fan of the wonderful Brady Bunch sitcom and some of the made for television reunion movies so I bought Elizabeth Moran's Bradymania book and I liked it and thought it was interesting and fun. I loved the episode guide which was actually the main reason I bought it but I loved all the rest of it too including the cast biographies and I highly recommend this book and also Growing Up Brady which was written by Barry Williams who played Greg Brady.

After reading Bradymania, I bought the book for friends that I knew would get a kick out of it! I even played a trivia game with friends and family, utilizing the Bradymania book as my source of questions about the show!

Elizabeth Moran did her homework. The famous TV show which first aired October 3, 1969 accumulated a lot of trivia, and Moran found most of it,

It is as if she read every Brady Bunch fan site and spoke at length with every Brady contact.

I'm not a Brady collector, and found "Bradymania!: Everything You Always Wanted to Know" to be an entertaining book about a show I grew up with.

Learn about every episode, the careers before and since the show (including Oliver and Sam, and even 'Tiger the Dog' and 'Fluffy the Cat'). Incidentally, there were as many as 36 cats (all named Rhubarb) that may have played Fluffy.

There are sections on how the actors became Brady kids, how they were schooled on the set, how they relaxed, and why the show was eventually canceled.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com