When the Bradys Became a Bunch

Here’s the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls.

If by now the Brady Bunch theme song isn’t dancing around in your head, you haven’t had the TV set on much in the last 20 years.

Very few people admit they watch the Brady Bunch. It’s a little like Hostess Twinkies: Everyone says they don’t eat them, but then how come everybody knows how they taste?

And most people-whether they are proud of it or not-are very familiar with the Brady clan: the angel-faced girls and their easygoing mother, and the cereal-commercial cute boys with the likable dad.

In the series’ first episode, “The Honeymoon” (Thursday at 1:35 p.m. on TBS), the two broods merge to become the early ‘70s version of The Perfect Family (Dad works, Mom stays home and has a housekeeper).

The Bradys do have their problems (Greg wants his own room; Jan feels ignored; Marcia is wrongfully punished), but nothing that can’t be permanently cured in half an hour.