The Brady Bunch: Season 03 (1971)

Season three of The Brady Bunch is pretty much the same as seasons one and two, not that anyone is complaining. Once again, the diverse members of the Brady clan, brought together two seasons earlier by the wedding of widow Carol Martin (Florence Henderson) and widower Mike Brady (Robert Reed), do their darnedest to live harmoniously under the same suburban roof, with sensible housekeeper Alice (Ann B. Davis) acting as sidelines observer and occasional plot motivator. The season opens with the series' first multi-episode story, in which the Bradys embark upon a memorable trip to the Grand Canyon -- and along the way are detained by an eccentric old prospector played by Jim Backus, here working for producer Sherwood Schwartz for the first time since the cancellation of Gilligan's Island. Subsequent episodes worth mentioning include "The Wheeler Dealer, in which oldest son Greg Brady (Barry Williams) buys his first car; "The Personality Kid," which finds middle son Peter (Christopher Knight) adopting a zany new personality and living to regret it (remember the "Porkchops and Applesauce" scene?); "Juliet Is the Sun," wherein oldest daughter Marcia (Maureen McCormick) develops a swelled head the size of Massachusetts when she lands the lead in her school play; "Her Sister's Shadow," an exercise in frustration for middle daughter Jan (Eve Plumb), who for the first -- and, astonishingly the last -- time utters the immortal rant "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"; "Getting Davy Jones," the celebrated episode featuring the titular ex-Monkee; "The Teeter-Totter Caper," a potent warning against incipient juvenile delinquency spotlighting youngest Brady kids Bobby (Mike Lookinland) and Cindy (Susan Olsen); and "Sergeant Emma," in which series regular Ann B. Davis delivers a bravura performance in the dual role of housekeeper Alice and her martinet cousin Emma. ~ Rovi