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The Brady Bunch Season 3 Episodes
Season 3 Episode Guide
23 Episodes 1971 - 1972
Episode 1
Ghost Town, U.S.A.
Fri, Sep 17, 197126 mins
The kids and Alice are in excited anticipation about the big surprise Mike and Carol are bringing home. The material part of the surprise is sitting in the driveway: a camper trailer. The other part of the surprise is that they will be taking it on vacation to the Grand Canyon. On the start of their trip, the family decides instead of heading for a campground for the first night, they, based on information from a pump jockey at a gas station stop, will head to Cactus Creek, a deserted ghost town, once a gold mining town, where they will set up for the night. After arriving at Cactus Creek and setting up camp, they find the town is as interesting as they had hoped, but it isn't as deserted as they believed. They are met by Zaccariah T. Brown, who has many a fanciful story of the gold rush days. Underneath Zaccariah's friendly exterior, the family will ultimately learn that he has plans for them that they would rather he didn't carry out based on what he believes their reason for being in Cactus Creek is.
Episode 2
Grand Canyon or Bust
Fri, Sep 24, 197126 mins
While stranded in a desert ghost town, most of the Brady family tries to figure a way to save themselves, while Mike and Peter head off on foot for help. They are eventually saved when Mike and Peter return with Zaccariah and their car. Zaccariah really was coming back to set them free after he registered his gold claim. With their vehicle and gear returned, the family heads to their ultimate destination of the Grand Canyon, which does not disappoint them. After spending the first day and night atop the canyon, they descend to the canyon floor on mule-back, much to Alice's dismay. After they set up camp, Mike tells all the kids not to go exploring on their own as they don't know the terrain. But the family hits its second crisis of the trip when Bobby and Cindy go missing. Unknown to the rest of the family, Bobby and Cindy were intrigued by an Indian boy they spotted, who disappeared when they ran after him. Bobby and Cindy eventually get lost. As night approaches, everyone becomes concerned.
Episode 3
The Brady Braves
Fri, Oct 1, 197126 mins
Bobby and Cindy, scared as they are lost on the floor of the Grand Canyon, ultimately find and befriend Jimmy Pocaya, the Indian boy they were chasing when they got lost and who lives in the canyon with his family. Jimmy promises to help them get back to their camp, but in turn he asks them not to tell anyone they saw him as he is running away. In addition to not telling anyone about Jimmy, Bobby and Cindy also promise to bring him some food. After Bobby and Cindy return to the camp and their relieved family, they find that it isn't as easy to sneak away this second time around with their vigilant family watching over them. As such, the rest of the family do find out about Jimmy. Mike tries to understand why Jimmy is running away and provide sage adult advice to him, but only Jimmy can decide to take that advice or not. The result is that the Bradys get a closer encounter with true native Indian life.
Episode 4
The Wheeler-Dealer
Fri, Oct 8, 197126 mins
Despite his father's assurances that he will do fine, Greg is outwardly confidant but inwardly nervous about his driver's test. He does end up passing on his first try. Despite his parents stating that they will lend their cars to him on occasion, Greg would rather buy his own car. Although his aspirations exceed his pocketbook, Greg, vowing to let Mike approve anything he wants to buy, plans to go ahead to buy something immediately. Mike figures that Greg won't buy anything yet as he won't be satisfied with what he could get with only $100 in his wallet. Given the tough sales job by his friend Eddie to buy immediately or risk having someone else snatch it up in the meantime, Greg goes against his word and buys Eddie's jalopy of a car without Mike having seen it. It ends up being a lemon, even after Greg's valiant repair effort. As such, Greg decides he will pull an "Eddie" on some other unsuspecting soul to get rid of the heap of scrap metal, or will his conscience get the better of him?
Episode 5
My Sister, Benedict Arnold
Fri, Oct 15, 197126 mins
Marcia is excited that a high school boy has asked her out on a date. Marcia tells Greg about the date and wants his opinion about the boy. Without yet telling him who the boy is, Greg tells her that the only boy who he would object to is someone named Warren Mullaney. Marcia's date happens to be with Warren, but based on Greg's comments, she figures that she will still go out with him since it is solely Greg who has a gripe with Warren. She however plans on not telling Greg. Greg does find out that Warren is Marcia's date, and he forbids Marcia from ever going on a date with him again. Although she was never planning on going out with Warren again since she ultimately found him nothing special after their first date, she decides to ask him out again solely to show Greg that he can't tell her what to do in this matter. Greg has what he believes is his own scheme to get even with Marcia. Marcia and Greg finally come to a realization that who they are ultimately hurting by their actions is not each other. Meanwhile, the kids are all excited by the upcoming junior high carnival and their contribution to it: a dunk tank.
Episode 6
The Personality Kid
Fri, Oct 22, 197126 mins
A dejected Peter comes home early from Jane's party because only one person talked to him at the party, and the only thing that person told him was that he was dull and had no personality, which he begins to believe. After failed attempts by his siblings to cheer him up through trickery, Mike finally suggests that if Peter isn't happy with his current persona, that he should develop another one. Peter's initial attempts at developing that new personality are taken straight from characters he sees in old movies, to which his parents tell him that he isn't developing a new personality but stealing an old one. Peter finally settles on being the joke teller as his new personality. His parents allow him to hold a party to show off his new personality. The party does eventually cheer Peter up, but not quite in the way that Peter originally thought it would. Bobby and Cindy's safety campaign doesn't help Peter's cause at the party though.
Episode 7
Juliet Is the Sun
Fri, Oct 29, 197126 mins
Although she tried out for the small part of the nurse, Marcia lands the lead role of Juliet in her school's production of "Romeo and Juliet." She isn't happy about this news as she believes her mother, who is Chair of the play committee, influenced the decision, but more importantly that she isn't beautiful and noble as Juliet should be. Once Carol convinces Marcia that she had no influence whatsoever in casting, Marcia's siblings, unknown to Marcia, go on a campaign to make Marcia feel that she is worthy of the role. Their tactic works, a little too well as Marcia not only accepts the role, but becomes a total diva in the process. Marcia's attitude includes feeling that she is queen of the Brady household, and that she knows what's best for the play to the exclusion of everyone else, even to the point of rewriting Shakespeare's words. Marcia's parents and siblings' words to her about her diva-ish attitude have no effect on her behavior, but Miss Goodwin, the play's director, may still have one last measure up her sleeve to ensure that Marcia does not overtake the play and ruin it, a measure approved by the committee Chair.
Episode 8
And Now, a Word from Our Sponsor
Fri, Nov 5, 197126 mins
While Carol and all six of the kids are at the supermarket, they are obviously being spied on by a strange man. He ends up being Skip Farnum, a television commercial director, who wants to use the entire family for a TV ad for Safe laundry detergent. Excited by the prospect of being famous actors, they agree to do it, that is until Mike, who learns that they don't actually use Safe. Wanting to keep their integrity, he insists that they do a wash off between their existing detergent, Best, and Safe, before ultimately agreeing. Even if Safe comes out on top and they decide to do the commercial, Mike in particular is still apprehensive if only because they're not actors, and he doesn't want to come off looking stupid in a public setting. So they ask for the advice of a friend of a friend, an actress named Myrna Carter. Will Myrna's advice change the fundamental nature of why Skip was attracted to the family in the first place?
Episode 9
The Private Ear
Fri, Nov 12, 197126 mins
Marcia isn't talking to Jan because Marcia told her a secret which she told to you know who. Greg isn't talking to Marcia because Greg told her a secret which she told to you know who. Bobby isn't talking to Cindy because Bobby told her a secret which she told to you know who. When Mike and Carol find out that no one seems to be talking to anyone else, they come to the quick realization that the common "you know who" is Peter. They learn directly from the horse's mouth that Peter, just as a joke, has been bugging the boys' and girls' bedrooms with Mike's tape recorder. Peter apologizes to his siblings, but deep down, Greg and Marcia think Peter will keep on doing what he's been doing since his punishment was no punishment at all. So they decide to test their theory by planting a message on the tape recorder concerning Peter himself to see if he ends up listening to it. After Peter takes the bait, some others decide to throw in their own to out-fish the fishermen.
Episode 10
Her Sister's Shadow
Fri, Nov 19, 197126 mins
The gushing that Jan's teacher, Mrs. Watson, does over former pupil Marcia is the last straw for Jan in always being compared to her older, seemingly perfect sister. The plethora of Marcia's awards and trophies in their bedroom does not help matters. To get out of Marcia's shadow, Carol and Mike encourage Jan to find out what she's good at and develop that talent. Jan wants to find something specifically that Marcia has never done. However, an unexpected talent emerges as an essay Jan wrote for Mrs. Watson's class wins first prize in the honor society essay contest with the highest mark they ever awarded. Jan is excited by the fact that the award will be presented at a school assembly with her parents present. However, Jan notices that there is an error in the grading and that she didn't actually win. She has to decide to accept the award or tell the truth and continue to be in the shadows.
Episode 11
Click
Fri, Nov 26, 197126 mins
Greg is nervous to tell his mother that he made the school football team. He is right to be nervous as Carol reacts exactly the way he thought she would: she forbids him to play for fear that he will get seriously injured. Greg and Mike are eventually able to convince her to let Greg play, even though she still reserves the right to be worried. It ends up being an even more exciting venture for Greg when he learns he has made first string, at least for the first practice game. One of the other perks for Greg is that he can get up close and personal with the cheerleaders, Linette Carter the one in who he is most interested. He indulges his interest in photography by taking photos of her practicing her cheers. In this regard, he acts as unofficial mentor for aspiring photographer, Bobby, who he tells that candid shots usually turn out better. Back with football, Greg ends up getting injured during the practice game, he having a hairline fractured rib. As such, both Carol and Mike forbid him to play at least until he is out of any medical danger. Greg ends up feeling sorry for himself in losing all the glory he saw as being first string, including possibly losing Linette as a girlfriend. Greg will learn that he doesn't have to be on the field either to attract a girl like Linette, or to make a valuable contribution to the team. Bobby also learns that there may be some practical good to his candid photographs, his subjects who usually didn't appreciate his efforts.
Episode 12
Getting Davy Jones
Fri, Dec 10, 197126 mins
Marcia and her two friends Laura and Doreen are the entertainment committee in charge of finding someone to perform at their senior prom. With two weeks until the prom, they have come up with no one, when Jan comes up with the idea of Davy Jones who is in town to do some promotions. Marcia, president of his local fan club, is certain she can get him to appear since he once wrote her a handwritten letter stating that if he was ever in town and could help her with anything, he would do so. Marcia finds that even getting in touch with him directly through his heavy security is difficult. Everyone in the family tries to help Marcia in getting through to him. When all Marcia's efforts seem to lead nowhere, she decides to abandon her quest in getting him to perform. By that time, news has spread throughout the school that he is performing at the prom, all based on Marcia's promise. Marcia has to decide to continue on with her quest with failing a possibility, or tell who will be a disappointed Mrs. Robbins, the prom's teacher liaison, that she couldn't come through on her promise but at least give Mrs. Robbins time to find a replacement.
Episode 13
The Not-So-Rose-Colored Glasses
Fri, Dec 24, 197126 mins
Mike and Carol receive disturbing news of an eyewitness account that Jan stole someone else's bicycle from the park. Upon investigating, they find that it was all a misunderstanding as the bicycle that Jan took looks almost exactly like her own and thus she thought it was hers. But when Mike and Carol receive some more bad news about Jan - a note from her teacher that she is unfocused in class and as a result her grades are slipping - they discover what the culprit for all these problems with Jan is: her eyesight. Jan is mortified to learn that she will need glasses, which she feels will make her look goofy, especially troublesome as she is trying to attract one of her male classmates. As such, Jan tries at every turn not to wear her glasses. Jan learns her lesson about the need to wear her glasses as she gets into an accident while riding her bicycle without wearing her glasses. Although she is unharmed, she ruins the photograph of her and her siblings that Mike was going to give to Carol for their third wedding anniversary. Jan does whatever she can to replace the photo without her father's knowledge, which because of the scatterbrained photographer, requires the six kids to take another photograph. Other obstacles include coming up with enough money to pay for the new photograph especially as all the kids are broke having bought their own anniversary gifts, all the kids being able to sneak out of the house in their good clothes, and remembering the continuity between the first photograph and the retake.
Episode 14
The Teeter-Totter Caper
Fri, Dec 31, 197126 mins
Bobby and Cindy seem to be excluded from doing a lot of things because they are considered too small or too young, including going to a relative's wedding reception, to which even the older kids are invited. They decide they need to do something monumental to show everyone that they can do anything that bigger kids or grown-ups can do. Seeing a human interest piece on the television news about two college boys who are attempting it, Bobby and Cindy decide to try and break the world endurance record for teeter-tottering, the current record being 124 hours. When they tell their family, no one really comprehends what they are trying to do until Alice finds out what the current record is. Mike and Carol allow the kids to continue until Bobby and Cindy or their bodies decide on their own to quit despite Mike and Carol realizing that there is no way they can break the record. But will Bobby and Cindy's attempt in and of itself prove their point?
Episode 15
Big Little Man
Fri, Jan 7, 197226 mins
Bobby develops a Napoleon complex, especially after Greg has to save him from a situation caused in part because he ended up doing something he wasn't supposed to since he was too small to handle the job. Bobby does whatever he can to grow, like doing body lengthening exercises, or conversely follow his mother's advice by developing a more important aspect of his self, namely his intellect. But neither of these seems to help at least with Bobby's lack of self esteem. But when Greg and Bobby get in another jam at Sam's butcher shop where Greg has been working part time, Bobby may come to the realization that being small does have its advantages.
Episode 16
Dough Re Mi
Fri, Jan 14, 197226 mins
Greg's written a song, entitled "We Can Make the World a Whole Lot Brighter," but his excitement turns to dismay when they notice something isn't sounding right; Peter's voice is cracking. With the recording date a few days away and the money being non-refundable, the kids have to decide if they will record without Peter (who contributed to the process), or forfeit the $150? Is there another option?
Episode 17
Jan's Aunt Jenny
Fri, Jan 21, 197226 mins
Jan and Cindy come across a photograph of Jan that neither remembers Jan ever taking. Their mother tells them it's because it's not a photograph of Jan, but of their Aunt Jenny, taken forty years ago when she was Jan's age. Jan wants a glimpse into her future and writes to Aunt Jenny asking for a current photograph. Jan regrets doing so as Aunt Jenny forty years older is an odd looking woman, and Jan believes she will look like that when she's Aunt Jenny's age. Jan is even less excited when she hears that Aunt Jenny is coming by for a visit to meet the family, most specifically Jan. Jan can't hide her feelings about Aunt Jenny, to who Jan's feelings are obvious. Aunt Jenny learns what the problem is, but is not offended. But over the course of what ends up being Aunt Jenny's truncated stay, Jan learns that there are far more important facets to Aunt Jenny than what appears on the surface.
Episode 18
The Big Bet
Fri, Jan 28, 197226 mins
Greg dismisses an excited Bobby's abilities to do more chin ups than anyone else in his class as being good for a kid his age, but nothing compared to what an older guy like he can do. Irked at Greg's response, Bobby decides to bet Greg - that Greg can't do twice as many chin ups as him - a bet which Greg readily accepts, with the loser having to do what the winner says for an entire week. The bet gets the entire family involved, with specifically Marcia and Cindy rooting for one person in the battle of the ages. Beyond the swelled head the winner ultimately gets from the challenge, the question becomes if there is a limit to what the winner can tell the loser to do, especially if it directly impacts other important things going on in the loser's life, and has consequences on others not involved in their bet. Meanwhile, Mike has been invited to his twenty year high school reunion. Carol's task at the reunion ends up being to figure out who was Mike's senior year crush, Carol armed only with the knowledge that her nickname was "Bobo." Taking a play from Greg and Bobby, they make a bet that Carol cannot on one guess figure out who Bobo is of the reunion attendees.
Episode 19
The Power of the Press
Fri, Feb 4, 197226 mins
An excited Peter has just been chosen from the many applicants to be the new bylined reporter, calling himself "Scoop" Brady, with his own column for the school newspaper. He wants to be a hard hitting reporter, only telling the truth. He initially finds that topics for his column are hard to come by, and that making those topics interesting difficult. Advice he gets from family to jazz up columns by naming specific people and flattering them in the process ends up being a hit with the people involved, they who shower him with favors. Because this job ends up taking up all his time, Peter neglects his school work, which is especially troublesome as it is final exam time. As such, he fails his final science exam, the class led by who is known as the toughest and dourest teacher in the school, Mr. Price. Peter figures if the flattery worked on his classmates, he will use the power of the press to flatter humorless Mr. Price in hopes of passing science class. Meanwhile, Marcia is preparing a puppet show roasting the teachers for the school's year end jamboree night.
Episode 20
Sergeant Emma
Fri, Feb 11, 197226 mins
Alice is taking a week-long vacation and has arranged for her efficient cousin Emma to take over her job during her absence. Emma is a 20-year veteran, a Master Sergeant with the Women's Army Corps. Emma ends up running the household like it is the Army and the kids are Army privates. She will only allow things that are up to Army regulation. Carol and Mike get off only marginally better as "officers." The kids would like, in their words, an "honorable discharge" from Emma's Army but Mike and Carol realize that it's not possible due to the sensitivity of Emma being Alice's cousin. Is there any way to make their time with Emma less Army and more civilian?
Episode 21
Cindy Brady, Lady
Fri, Feb 18, 197226 mins
Cindy is feeling like a little kid around Marcia and Jan, who are going on dates and getting dressed up. Cindy wants to do all those things her older sisters are doing and tries to act older in an effort to get what she wants. Cindy's new mature attitude seems to be noticed by someone as she ends up getting a secret admirer, who is sending her notes and presents. Mike eventually catches her secret admirer delivering Cindy's latest gift, he who ends up being not who Mike and Carol expect. Despite a talk Mike and Carol have with the secret admirer to tell Cindy certain things, Cindy eventually does meet the person she believes is her secret admirer - who in reality isn't that same person - and learns that acting grown up does have its disadvantages. Her real secret admirer, however, still has to face the music.
Episode 22
My Fair Opponent
Fri, Mar 3, 197226 mins
Marcia is upset, not for herself, but for a classmate named Molly Webber. Their classmates nominated Molly for hostess for senior banquet night, the culmination of their graduation events. The nomination was a gag since Molly is a shy, insecure, clumsy, Plain Jane of a girl who not only has no chance of winning against the most popular girl in the class, Patty Hobert, but will be humiliated through the final selection process. Mike and Carol convince Marcia that if she is so upset about it, that she should do something to help Molly. So Marcia decides to become Molly's version of Professor Henry Higgins. Marcia is able to transform Molly into a beautiful, confident and poised young woman who has a real shot of winning. Marcia even helps Molly write her speech for the selection committee. A problem arises when Patty has to drop out of the race due to a family issue, leaving Molly to run against the first alternate: Marcia. Marcia decides to drop out of the race to allow Molly to be able to bask in her new found confidence. But Marcia soon comes to the realization that she has created a monster in ungrateful Molly, who now sees herself as unbeatable. And an extra incentive to be hostess is the fact that the new guest of honor of the banquet will be alumnus Colonel Dick Whitfield, an astronaut. So it becomes a contest between Marcia and a Marcia creation, who in some respects has the best parts of her creator.
Episode 23
The Fender Benders
Fri, Mar 10, 197226 mins
Carol got into a minor fender bender, with Marcia, Bobby and Cindy in the car at the time of the accident. It occurred in the supermarket parking lot. According to Carol, she was backing out of her stall. Another car driven by Harry Duggan was backing out of its stall across the aisle, he without looking and after she had started backing out when he hit her. Since both cars sustained about the same amount of damage - a dented fender apiece - Mr. Duggan and Carol decided to fix their own cars and leave it at that. However, Mr. Duggan later recants, stating that his car requires major repairs and that the accident was Carol's fault. He threatens to sue unless Carol pays for the damages. The problem for Carol is that Marcia, Bobby and Cindy, as witnesses, can't agree if Carol's story is indeed accurate. The four people in Carol's car have to figure out if Carol was indeed at fault, and if not how to prove that Mr. Duggan's increasingly elevated sense of injustice against him is a total lie.
