You have to love it when a company who consistently produces
great cards, like Rittenhouse Archives, takes on a beloved subject matter, like
the Brady Bunch. 2011 Rittenhouse
Archives The Complete Brady Bunch Trading Cards delivers a set of cards that
causes episodes of this popular show to replay in your mind. It is impossible to go through these
cards without pausing to get a full view of each episode, front and back. Add to that great autograph cards
and you’ve got a set that would be perfect if it weren’t for one person,
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! But even without the inclusion of Maureen McCormick in
the autograph group, this is still a must purchase for fans of all things
Brady.
The Complete Brady Bunch falls under our premium cards
category. Each box contains 59
episode cards that feature all 117 episodes, plus 5 autograph cards signed by
Barry Williams (Greg), Christopher Knight (Peter), Mike Lookinland (Bobby), Eve
Plumb (Jan) and Susan Olsen (Cindy). Each box is individually numbered to
500. As a bonus, if you purchase
two sets, you get an autograph card signed by Ann B. Davis (Alice).
Here are some of the cards we pulled from our set.
The Episode Cards
"Father of the Year", "The Slumber Caper", "The Not-So-Ugly Duckling"
"Where There's Smoke", "Will The Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up", "Our Son, The Man"
"Dough Re Mi", "Her Sister's Shadow", "Getting Davy Jones"
"Hawaii Bound", "Pass The Tabu", "The Tiki Caves"
"Amateur Night", "The Subject Was Noses", "Adios, Johnny Bravo"
"Mail Order Hero", "Welcome Aboard", "The Hairbrained Scheme"
The Autographs
Barry Williams (Greg), Christopher Knight (Peter), Mike Lookinland (Bobby)
Eve Plumb (Jan) and Susan Olsen (Cindy)
Overall Look
Stylistically, these cards have the look of the times. Everything from font selection to
color coding works well. The
autograph cards are excellent, providing a few looks for the actor and plenty
of space for autographs, which is used perfectly. These are some of the best signatures we have seen
from any series of cards.
Quality and Variety of the checklist
You’ve got every episode plus the lyrics to the theme
song. Short of delving into the
post Brady series appearances, which really should not be a part of this
release, this is a complete checklist. While it would have been nice to see the guest stars such as Davy Jones, Vincent Price or Joe Namath on their respective episode cards, or even the inclusion of characters like Sam the Butcher, one has to guess it would have been a licensing nightmare and their absence does not detract from the appeal of the set.
Do the Hits satisfy?
Yes they do.
These are beautiful autograph cards and it is a shame that Maureen
McCormick is a no show. Having a
Florence Henderson 4 set incentive autograph would have been nice too but there
is still enough here to provide your Brady needs.
Will you keep coming back for more?
While buying a second set to give to a friend while keeping
the Ann B. Davis Autograph for yourself might get a raised eyebrow from Mike
Brady along with a lesson about “putting others before ourselves” it would be
completely understandable.
Rating
4/12 out of 5
For Brady fans, 2011 Rittenhouse Archives The Complete Brady
Bunch Trading Cards is an easy purchase and should be part of your Brady collection. It is a great
walk down memory lane and a fitting tribute to this beloved television show.
