The Brady Bunch Episode #23
Welcome to my review of The Brady Bunch Episode #23. This one was called “To Move or Not to Move” and originally aired on March 6, 1970. The episode is about the kids whining because the house is too small but then whining more when Mike decides to sell it for a bigger house.
The show opens with Greg all pissed off because Marcia is playing her groovy music too loud. He bangs on her door but she doesn’t answer (and she’s naked) so he barges in. He complains that her music is so loud that it’s knocking the plaster off the walls. I didn’t know he was an 80-year-old. Marcia is screaming and annoying me. Carol comes in to see what’s going on.
It turns out that Greg needed to access their shared bathroom through the girls’ room because they always forget and leave it locked. Greg tells his mom that they need a bigger house. Marcia adds that they need another bathroom.
New House
The next scene is of Carol telling Mike that the kids are right and that they do need a bigger house. “Well I think the kids have a point, darling. After all, you have added a wife and three kids and you still have the same number of rooms.” She’s implying that this is the same house Mike had before the wedding. That is not true.
Mike agrees that they need a bigger house and comes home the next day to tell Carol he’s put in a bid on a house. I would be furious if my husband went out and did that without me. How dare he. What a dumb man. That’s something you decide together.
Mike holds a family meeting and the kids are all excited about moving into a bigger house, but that vibe quickly changes. Bobby talks about how he’s never lived anywhere but there (that house). Wrong! The first episode (when Mike and Carol get married) have them in a different house. The girls are sad that the boys won’t be knocking on the bathroom door and walking in on them naked. The kids all decide they like their current house better.
Haunted
Instead of telling their parents they want to stay in the house, they decide to haunt it and scare the crap out of Carol and Alice. The first scary noise is a moan that Alice says “sounded like a cow died in the driveway”. The next are creaking sounds that make Cindy and Bobby run down the stairs into mom’s arms. They fake play terrified pretty good.
The next morning Alice is freaked out because the light in the oven is flashing. Later that night, there’s a big crash outside. Alice tells Peter to go check it out. Way to be an adult. Cindy described the sound as a knight in armor falling down. That’s a pretty good description. Good job, Thindy.
The next scene is realtor Burt telling Mike that they may have a buyer. He plans on bringing the buyer over that evening. Cut to Greg giving the kids all their jobs for haunting the house. “I’ll handle the tape recorder and play the tape with the unexplained noises. Peter, you’re in charge of white sheets and ghostly appearances. Jan, you’re on slamming doors and windows. Marcia, you’re on outside crashes.”
Mrs. Hunsaker, the buyer, is there when all heck breaks loose. The kids are really going all out on this one. Alice is freaked out and lets out a bloodcurdling scream. The jig is up when Bobby and Cindy run out with a sheet over them. Greg admits to the buyer and his parents that it was his idea to haunt the house. The buyer is touched. I wouldn’t be touched. I’d be upset that my time was wasted.
Not for Sale
Mike announces that the house is no longer for sale and the rest of the kids run down the stairs in ecstasy.
The tag is of Carol bringing Mike some coffee in his den. There is some noise but this time the house really is settling. They laugh. The end.
Thanks for reading my take on The Brady Bunch Episode #23. Please check back in a few days for a new post. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by.