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Hello! I’m sorry I missed my August Brady Bunch review, but I was quite sick. I’m all better now and here to present my review of The Brady Bunch episode #15 which is called “54-40 and Fight”. This show originally aired on January 9, 1970. I wish I could go back to the 70′s. Those were good times.

The show opens with Greg, Marcia, Peter, and Jan at the kitchen table pigging out. Alice walks in through her special door with groceries. The kids start digging through the bags looking for cookies and chewing tobacco and canned air to huff. Marcia finds the trading stamps and claims the girls have been saving them since they were little kids. Greg says the boys have been saving them too. Uh oh. Alice whips out her stash of trading stamps (a whole drawer full) and the kids are very excited. The boys want a row boat and the girls want a sewing machine. Stupid. I would have gone for the X-box or iPhone or something cool like that.

The DVD I’m watching cuts to a scene where Alice is washing Tiger. That scene is from a different episode. It’s from the one where Jan is allergic to Tiger’s new flea powder. (Episode number five called Katchoo.) Mmmm…..I wonder why they put that scene in this episode. Odd. Maybe they cut something else out and needed a filler.

They show all the kids licking stamps. That’s so gross. Do they know how much mouse poo and other stuff is on that adhesive? Why wouldn’t they use a sponge? I guess people licked anything and everything back in the 70′s.

The kids decide to combine their trading stamps and get something groovy for the whole family. The girls have 40 books and the boys have 54 books (hence the title of this episode). Cindy says “that maketh theventy eight bookth”. Smart.

The kids can’t decide on anything so they want their parents to decide for them. Carol thinks they should get a grandfather clock. Are you stupid? What kid wants that? Mike thinks they should get a pool table. I think that’s a great idea, but Carol says the girls don’t know how to play. So? Why can’t they learn? Stupid.

Tragedy strikes the next morning when Alice reads an article in the paper about Checker Trading Stamps going out of business. They only have 30 days to cash in their stamps. Oh no!

Since nobody can decide what to get, Greg and Marcia come up with the idea for a contest where winner takes all. They come up with contests involving weight lifting, swimming, hopscotch, running, ping pong, and other dumb things. Alice finally suggests building a house of cards. Alice to the rescue once again.

When they start building their house of cards, Thindy says she should go first. When Bobby asks why she should go first, she says “Because I’m a lady”. When Bobby tells her she’s full of crap, she says “I AM a lady. If you say I’m not, I’ll bop you”.

The house of cards quickly grows as the kids get more and more tense. Marcia is wearing this stupid charm bracelet that keeps getting in the way and almost knocking the cards over. Uh…..why not take it off? As they start their tenth floor of the house of cards, they show Marcia having lots of trouble because of the bracelet. I don’t understand why she didn’t take it off. Oh yeah, I guess the writers needed suspense. It’s Greg’s turn now. Just as he’s putting his card on the tenth floor, Tiger runs in and jumps on him. He falls into the cards and everything topples over. Haha.

Carol drives the girls to the store to get their sewing machine. The store is closed but they see a man sweeping the floor. Carol says “Perhaps he’ll take care of us” and they start pounding on the door. Did stuff like that really happen in the 70′s? The store is closed. Go away and come back the next day. The guy lets them in because Cindy puts on her sad face and she’s so darned cute. The store has two different sewing machines and the women can’t decide which one to get, so they end up getting a color TV instead. That way the whole family can enjoy it. That’s great and all, but why couldn’t they figure that out to begin with? Was the color TV not listed in the catalog they went through? I guess the whole story wouldn’t have worked if they had agreed on something in the beginning of the episode. Okay. Whatever. The end.

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Welcome to my review of The Partridge Family episode #9. This episode is about Danny thinking he’s funny when he’s not. Hey, kind of like real life for Bonaduce. Kidding! This episode is entitled “Did You Hear the One about Danny Partridge” and originally aired on November 20, 1970.

The show opens up with the band in concert. I love their blue outfits! What is Laurie doing with her right hand? She fake plays almost as bad as Chris and Tracy. Is she aware the chord needs to change in her left hand? The band is singing Somebody Wants To Love You which was the B side to the I Think I Love You 45 rpm. I Think I Love You, coincidentally, hit number 1 on the Billboard charts the week this episode aired.

Danny gets tangled up in his cords during the closing song and freaks out. Never panic on stage, Danny! When trying to get his foot out of the tangle, I guess he unplugged his amp. When Shirley announces her family to the audience, Danny is missing. He’s in back of the amp trying to plug stuff in which really makes no sense since the concert is over. Danny comes out from behind the amp after Shirley announces the band and says “I can’t find my thing”. FYI, I think Bonaduce may still be looking for his thing. Anyway, everyone laughs at lame Danny Partridge. He gets embarrassed and hides out in the bathroom. He throws a lovely pity party while in there. Reuben is able to talk Danny out of the bathroom by telling him how hilarious he is and how he wants to add the comedy bit to the show.

Danny then goes to see Ziggy Shnurr (Morey Amsterdam) to buy jokes. He brings his lunchbox full of pennies (his life savings of $21.47) to buy jokes. Ziggy is a loser and sells Danny lame and stupid jokes.

At the show the next night, Danny tells his dumb jokes. The audience laughs, but they’re laughing at his lameness. Shirley has to bitch slap him to get him off stage. Even then, he keeps coming back. That in itself is funny and the audience laughs. Danny thinks he’s a success.

After the show, they cut to a scene of the family driving in the bus. Reuben and Shirley are talking while Reuben is driving the bus. I think that’s rare. He seemed to arrive at the venues on his own most of the time. I wonder why Reuben and Shirley never hooked up. They’re kind of cute together.

When Danny skips band practice the next day to rehearse his jokes, Shirley and Reuben concoct a plan to have a pro listen to Danny’s routine. Danny goes to see Max Pepper (Jackie Coogan) who tells him he sucks ass. Danny realizes he sucks and thanks his mom for not being a bitch to him. He was happy to figure stuff out on his own and learn his own lesson instead of being protected by the Shaun Cassidy look-a-like.

The tag is Danny and Shirley going to see Ziggy to take advantage of his money back guarantee. Ziggy tries to sell him other stuff and they end up walking out before they get their money back. The end.

This wasn’t one of my favorite episodes but I am impressed with the work that 10 year old Danny Bonaduce did. He had tons of dialogue and was spot on. The writers and producers must have realized early on that Bonaduce had great comedic chops. He owned many of the episodes. David Cassidy wasn’t a big part of this episode at all. I wonder how that made him feel. Oh well.

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Welcome to my Brady world! Why isn’t this show on in reruns anymore? I own every DVD ever made, but it would be nice to see it while channel surfing. Anyway, this is my expert critique of episode number 11. This episode is called “Vote for Brady” and originally aired on December 12, 1969. Greg and Marcia both compete for class president at their school. It’s boys against the girls again in the Brady household!

The show opens with Carol and Alice gardening in the fake backyard. Marcia runs in yelling “Mother, Mother!” Who the hell calls their mom “Mother”? Can you please pass the grey poupon? Marcia is all excited because she’s been nominated for president of the student body. Greg then runs in with his big ole alien eyes and says the same thing. Both Brady kids have been nominated to run against each other for president. Uh oh!

The fighting starts almost immediately with Greg and Marcia. They start screaming at each other over the use of the phone. Maybe it’s time for the pay phone again. Marcia gets pissed at Greg and slams the phone down. Mike bitch slaps her. And when I say bitch slap, I mean he lectures her.

The next scene is in the boys’ bedroom and shows Peter and Bobby fighting with Jan and Cindy over who will make the better president. There’s a hippity hop there. I loved those as a kid. I just saw an adult one for sale on eBay. I think I’ll get one and hop around my house and scare my dog. Anyhoo……

Mike and Carol decide to let Greg and Marcia know they’re not taking sides and that they’ll be there if they need them. Mike shows Greg how to use a tape recorder. That seems funny. Weren’t tape recorders common in 1969? Greg goes to show off his groovy cassette player at school the next day but realizes the tape has been erased. That dastardly Marcia! Of course he blames Marcia, but he probably screwed it up himself.

Marcia and Greg are all pissy at each other again. Marcia thinks Greg took the plans for her campaign slogans and Greg thinks Marcia erased his tapes. Mike and Carol come in to save the day. Lecture number three thousand.

Alice, Jan, and Cindy decide to help out Marcia by creating campaign posters for her. Cindy (Thindy) makes one that says “Vtoe fro Mriaca”. Why am I not surprised? Stupid.

Greg and Marcia give their speeches to the family for practice. What family owns their own podium? While Marcia is giving her speech, the boys are giving her death looks. Marcia can’t take it and starts her fake crying again. Thindy doesn’t get it and starts clapping. That part always made me laugh. Brady lecture number three thousand and one. “We’re going to be a family for a lot longer than either Marcia or Greg would be in office.”

Greg is out in the backyard with his campaign people when one of them suggests they start a rumor about Marcia. That’ll be a sure way for Greg to win! “Marcia was seen in the balcony at the movies last Saturday afternoon with that creep, Felix Brown!” Yeah…….that should make her lose the election. Stupid. Marcia overhears everything as she hides behind a twig in the backyard. Greg threatens to “knock your head in” if those rumors get started. He then fires his campaign manager. What a sweet brother.

During the speeches at school, Marcia reconsiders her candidacy because she thinks Greg is “real groovy”. Alice bakes a cake for Greg and Marcia and everyone is happy. Mike says he wants a rose. Thuper!

The tag is Thindy excitedly yelling for her mommy. She’s very happy that she was voted crossing guard for a whole week. The down side is that she beat out Bobby for the position. Uhhh…..what school has a six year old crossing guard?

Check back next month for another review of The Brady Bunch. You can also check out my website at www.ztams.com for over 15,000 pinups and posters. Join me on Facebook by clicking the link below. I post a fact once or twice a day about a celebrity and include a pinup. It’s cool. You should join and tell your friends. See you in three days for my next blog!

Why, hello there. Thank you for joining me for my seventh Partridge Family review. This was one of my favorite episodes as a young child. I can remember laughing over this episode with my older sister, Lori. This episode is entitled “Danny and the Mob” and originally aired on November 6, 1970. BTW, “The Partridge Family Album” was released in stores that week. By the end of the year it had sold over one million copies and had reached number 4 on the LP charts. This episode is about Danny being roughed up by the mob. Sounds cool, huh?

The show opens with a strobe light. Awesome. The band is rehearsing and singing one of my favorite songs, “That’ll Be the Day”. Chris is messing up the tempo and going faster than he should because the strobe light is at a different tempo than the song. Yeah, that’s the reason you suck. Reuben is saying how it’s Vegas and how you need big production items like strobe lights. Why not do some dry ice? Maybe Keith could spit fire. Maybe Danny could vomit blood. Wait. I think that came later in his life.

Hot chick LaVon LaVeen LaVern walks up and Reuben hits on her. She declines. Loser! Keith then walks up and tries to hit on her. She makes David Cassidy look like the little midget man that he is. Danny ends up winning the woman and leaves with LaVon. It turns out that Danny is innocently tutoring LaVon in the stock market. It’s nothing sexual at all.

LaVon’s fiancé, Harry, hears about this Danny Partridge dude and wants him roughed up. Harry is actually Schneider, the building superintendent from One Day at a Time (Pat Harrington). LaVon is pissed at Harry because they’ve been engaged forever. She doesn’t think they’ll actually get married. Not knowing that Danny is only 10, Harry gets his mob like thugs to “lean on” Danny and scare him.

One of Harry’s two thugs is Mel from the TV show Alice (Vic Tayback) which also starred Dave Madden (Reuben). Anyway, the two thugs find Danny at the pool. They realize that Danny is just a kid but always follow the rules of the boss. They grab Danny while he’s wearing his ducky life preserver. I remember laughing as a kid over Danny’s line “You’re squeezing my duck, sir”.

Danny is convinced that the mob is after him because he’s involved with the boss’ girlfriend. He’s scared, so of course he goes to see his buddy Rueben. “Mr. Kincaid, Danny Partridge here” should be a drinking game. Danny asks Reuben if they can leave Las Vegas. When Reuben says they have a contract to fill, he asks Reuben to help him write his will.

Danny is terrified and locks himself inside his hotel room. When Shirley, Reuben, and LaVon try to coax him out of his room, Danny runs out the other door and into the elevator. Look closely. That’s not Bonaduce running into the elevator. It’s a double.

Harry breaks the fourth wall (talks into the camera) and says “How come nobody ever believes you when you take the 5th amendment”. I don’t recall a fourth wall being broken on other Partridge episodes. I’ll have to look more closely as I continue my reviews.

I love the montage when Danny is running away from everyone. They show Danny running through the streets of Vegas which looks exactly like the Partridge neighborhood. Danny drives the riding mower he stole through town. How come he passes Janet’s dress shop from the episode before? They’re supposed to be in Vegas. FYI, you can see the Friends fountain during this montage. The song “That’ll Be the Day” plays throughout. All of the people chasing him are doing so to tell him that everything is okay. Danny doesn’t know this and is running for his life. Funny.

Everything works out in the end. The police want to arrest Harry and his thugs but Danny has a better idea. Danny pushes Harry to marry LaVon LaVeen LaVern or else go to jail. That’s a good reason to get married.

BTW, Susan Dey looks beautiful in this episode but she’s too skinny.

Come back in three days for my next blog. I’ll be back with another Partridge Family review next month. My website at www.ztams.com has over 500 Partridge Family, David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, etc. pinups and posters.

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I saw Willie Aames on an Eight is Enough reunion this week on the Today show. He actually looks really good. The last time I saw him he had man boobs and was an angry little fat man on Celebrity Fit Club. He says he’s a financial advisor in Kansas City now. Something like that. I guess he’s trying life outside of the business.

Willie Aames was a 1970′s teen idol. He wasn’t as big as Leif Garrett, Shaun Cassidy, David Cassidy, or Scott Baio, but he was definitely a well known heartthrob. He had two big TV shows during his teeny bopper days, Eight is Enough and Charles in Charge. He was also on many other well known shows such as:

• The Courtship of Eddie’s Father
• Gunsmoke
• Adam-12
• The Waltons
• Medical Center
• Swiss Family Robinson
• Little House on the Prairie
• Family

WILLIE TRIVIA

• Got hooked on painkillers after beating cocaine and alcohol. I wonder what he’s traded that addiction for.
• Dated Eight is Enough sister Connie Needham (Newton). Gross.
• His son Christopher is a bass player.
• Is very religious.
• Portrayed Bible Man. Oh, awesome.
• Originated the role of Leonard Unger, the son of Felix Unger on The Odd Couple. That role was later played by Leif Garrett.
• Filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Wait, he’s a financial advisor now?
• Attempted suicide on Thanksgiving 2008. Suicide is never the answer.

I’m glad he appears to be doing well. I don’t know that he’s a what you see is what you get kind of guy. He appears happy on the outside. I’m not sure about the inside. He’ll hit the big 5-0 this year. I hope it’s a good year for him. Go Willie! Wait, isn’t that the name of a man’s pee pee? Maybe he should go with the more mature “Will” as he approaches 50.

Check out my website at www.ztams.com where I have over 14,000 pinups and magazines. You can also join me on Facebook by clicking the link below. I post a fact once or twice a day about a celebrity and include a pinup. It’s cool. You should join and tell your friends. See you in three days!