MIKE AND MARCIA BRADY ON VEGAS

title: VEGAS episode: THE PAGEANT stars: Robert Urich, Maureen McCormick, Robert Reed rating: ***

In an episode of the Michael Mann created/Aaron Spelling produced VEGAS starring Robert Urich as private eye Dan Tanna solving cases in Sin City, we begin with a beautiful young lady walking to her car… she’s very familiar to classic sitcom fans.

MAUREEN McCORMICK played Marcia Brady on THE BRADY BUNCH, and after the surprise of seeing Maureen's character getting attacked (and raped) within the first three minutes of an episode titled THE PAGEANT, the next minute, when her father calls Dan Tanna to solve the case, will really trip you out.

Robert Reed as Maureen McCormick's father... again

ROBERT REED, known worldwide as the patriarch of the Brady clan, plays Marcia’s, or rather, Maureen’s father. Which means, for the first time, Reed is playing Maureen’s actual father...

Mike Brady was a step dad in BUNCH, a fact often forgotten since the family was so close throughout the five seasons.

Maureen McCormick

It’s a decent episode of VEGA$ where Urich, hired by Reed, tries finding the rapist... leading to a beauty pageant run by the Tony Curtis’s flamboyant Roth character.

It turns out to be the lighting guy, who, with a big 70’s mustache and wide shoulders, makes a fitfully creepy (and formidable) predator.

Two Bradys reunited in VEGAS

Alas, the Brady alumni don’t have much screen time here despite being the first and second billed guest stars, and they're the catapult of the initial plotline...

But it’s nice seeing them there, on the small screen, together again.

Maureen McCormick

In the acting department, Maureen turns in a moving performance, showing heavy emotions in one particular scene attempting to recall the incident (years later she'd play a truck stop waitress raped by Peter Jason in Gary Graver's exploitation flick TEXAS LIGHTNING).

And Robert Reed successfully portrays the fitfully angry father who, it turns out, could have something to hide politically.  

As yours truly ventures further into the VEGA$ series, perhaps Florence Henderson and Barry Williams will turn up… as lovers!

Thanks to Dan Tanna, this case is closed

Maureen thanks Dan Tanna for a job well done

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