| The Brady 500 | |
| Season 1, Episode # 1-2 Number (#1-2) in series (117 episodes) | |
| Network: | CBS |
| TV series: | "The Bradys" |
| Guest star(s) | Jerry Houser Ron Kuhlman Caryn Richman Martha Quinn Jaclyn Bernstein Jonathan Taylor Thomas Michael Melby |
| Production code: | 1-2 |
| Writer(s) | Sherwood Schwartz, Lloyd J. Schwartz |
| Director | Bruce Bilson |
| Original airdate | February 9, 1990 |
| Episode Guide | |
| Episode chronology | |
|---|---|
| « Previous N/A, Pilot |
Next » "A Moving Experience" |
The Brady 500 is the pilot 2-hour movie of the The Bradys, the short-lived 1990 spin-off of the The Brady Bunch. Written by the original series' creators, father and son Sherwood and Lloyd J. Schwartz, the episode premiered on CBS on February 9, 1990.
The movie consists of two 1-hour episodes, "Start Your Engines", and "Here We Grow Again".
Summary
The movies opens with Mike, Carol and Alice at the Brady house, watching Bobby racing at Riverside 400 on TV. Elsewhere, Greg, Nora and Kevin are watching the race at their home, Marcia, Wally, Jessica and Mickey watch it in their home, Peter watches it from a portable TV in his office, Jan and Philip watch it in their cruise ship cabin, and Cindy watches it in her radio office.
Bobby eventually wins the race, and in his hotel room, is congratulated by Mike and Carol as they call him, and inform him that they will come see him race in his next race - Nashville 500. However, just then, Marcia, Wally and their kids arrive at the Brady house, after Wally had just lost yet another job.
Only Mike, Carol and Cindy are able to come see Bobby race in the Nashville 500, with Greg and Peter being busy with work, the Logans can't afford the trip due to Wally's employment loss, and Jan and Philip are still on their cruise.
At Nashville raceway, Mike and Carol and Cindy, from her radio booth are watching the race, when suddenly Bobby loses control of his car. However, just as he regains control, he is blindsided by another car, and ends up being taken to hospital. Seeing the crash on TV, Peter breaks up with his fourth fiancee, Valerie, after she still refuses to go to Nashville with him. Also, Wally decided to take his family to Nashville, by using the credit card.
One by one, the Bradys with their families gather in the Nashville hospital waiting room. Greg (a doctor himself) tells the Bradys that Bobby is paralyzed.
The Bradys return home, and Carol, Cindy, Jessica, Mickey and Alice decorate the house for Bobby's return while Marcia and Wally install the ramp for Bobby. Carol asks everyone not to cry when they would see Bobby in the wheelchair. However, each time they expect Mike to wheel Bobby in, first comes Peter instead, then an insurance salesman, who offers Wally a job, and then Bobby's physical therapist. Finally, when Mike and Bobby arrive and Carol greets them, she still bursts into tears. The family looks at Bobby with sorrow, but he tells them all that while me might be in the wheelchair, he's still glad to be home.
Meanwhile, Greg is considering going back to medical school and changing his speciality to orthopedics; Jan and Philip can't concieve kids of their own; Bobby begins rehabilitative therapy with Wally; Peter gets a new job at "People For a Better Planet" and becomes a womanizer; and Mike intends to have the public buildings remodeled to add ramps for wheelchairs.
Jan and Philip, still unable to concieve a child, counsel with Greg and Nora, and eventually agree to adopt; Cindy begins dating her boss, Gary Greenberg, a Jewish widower with two teenagers; and Bobby reunites with his ex-girlfriend, Tracy. At first, though, he wants to send her away, not wanting the pity, but Carol tells him that it might not be about the pity that she showed up again, and eventually Bobby proposes to Tracy in the park.
The Bradys prepare another wedding (mainly due to the fact that Tracy's family won't be in town for long). On the wedding day, the Brady kids all show up, with Jan and Philip having now adopted Patty, a five-year old girl from Korea. Tracy's sister, due to go in labor, suddenly has contractions, and when Greg arrives in the house, he goes to help her, as Bobby and Tracy are married. Greg then decides to stay with the obstetrics. Also, the Bradys recieve the letter that Mike's bill on ramps in public buildings has been passed.