Getting Davy Jones (From Television Collector Magazine, Fall 1997) Part 1

The quintessential teen dream comes true! Marcia gets Davy and we all imagine ourselves in her place!

Marcia Brady broods as she enters her family's living room and plops down atop a coffee table. The eldest daughter with hair of gold is on a mission to get Davy Jones, the former Monkee, to perform at her prom. Even though the world's greatest tambourine player is in town, her latest attempt to meet him has failed. She sadly sighs as her father offers her these Brady words of wisdom, "Well, you did the best you could, Marcia. That's all anybody could do."

These words have transcended time from the polyester decade into the 1990's. they still ring true. So much so, they sit in bold letters on top of the blackboard in my fifth grade classroom along with a picture of Marcia and her family and other philosophical musings from Henry David Thoreau to John Lennon, Shirley Partridge and others.

The "Getting Davy Jones" episode of the Brady Bunch is celebrating its 25 anniversary this year. Since it first aired in December 1971, Getting Davy Jones became one of the most popular episodes in sitcom history. It has sentimental value for fans and for the star of the show.

"I still have the Brady Bunch blazer," says the captain of Marcia Brady's heart, Davy Jones, "It's a little tight underneath the 'pits. It's something that meant something to me. I don't know why I never threw it away."

Getting an ex-Monkee to appear on your doorstep may not be a realistic task. However, every day teachers try to instill the notion that persistence can lead to success whether it's learning how to read a bicycle, getting a 100 on your spelling test or setting more long-term agendas. As Marcia declares, "If I say I'll get him, I'll get him."

"Not only was the Davy Jones episode funny, it delivered an important message," notes 11-year old Jing Jing H. "With hard work and help and encouragement from your family, dreams can come true!"

Perhaps Getting Davy Jones is a symbol for all our hopes, dreams and goals in life. Davy notes, "I never thought about it before but I think it is. I always knew if you could conceive it and believe it, you will achieve it. After 30 years, I took up my jockey's license this year. I've been working hard--working out and running. On February the 1st, I went to the race track in England, got on a horse and out of the game we came. A minute and 44 seconds later, I won the race. So after 30 years, my dream came true!"

The program featured many other valid verses. Along with "Your real friends will stick by you" and "You have a responsibility to other people," Mr. Brady advised Marcia, "You really shouldn't promise something until you're sure you can deliver," when she seems to have exhausted every option of nabbing the former Monkee.

"I think Marcia learned her lesson and Davy, too!" notes 11-year old Yvonne G. "Davy should not have written her a letter promising a favor he wasn't sure he could do."

Davy actually thanked me for helping him relive "Getting Davy Jones" in depth. BTW, he kept the blazer for many, many years after the episode aired!

Yet for most fans, Getting Davy Jones is not an educational device. Would episode number 63 of the Brady Bunch have sustained its popularity had Marcia tried to nab Bobby Sherman, Donny Osmond (or any other of the former Monkees for that matter?)

No way, says 23-year old April M. of Manhattan, a member of Davy's young generation of "Daydream Believers." "There's his Englishness, his charm and of course, his height. When he stands next to Marcia, he's practically the same size. I remember when I first saw him on the Brady Bunch. It stuck with me forever. It's every gir''s dream. Davy Jones is every girl's dream. The end, when he's her date, was just the perfect crowning moment. Someone thought up the perfect Davy Jones fantasy and let Marcia live it vicariously for all of us. The song ("Girl") is great. It stuck with me. I used to sing it all the time."

Davy says Girl was originally slated to be the theme song to the Sandy Duncan flick, Star Spangled Girl. That's why I sang it on the show--to sell the song and the movie. It's got different lyrics and is considerably longer than the version you hear on the Brady Bunch. But the song's in the act now."