To the untrained eye I might appear to be just a disc jockey, but those in the know understand that I am a paid observer of life. Of the many things these wise old eyes and ears have had the opportunity to observe over the years is television. As Kenny Rogers would say, I know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em, at least as far as when a great TV show is about to go belly up. I call it the Brady Curse and I will explain.

The Brady Curse happens when a television show breaks with their audience winning format and takes the show on the road. Sometimes it's for business or sometimes it's the family vacation but either way it's a momentum killer.

The TV show Modern Family has been a monster when it comes to winning Emmy awards. The cast is great, the characters unique and the storylines are well crafted. However, even this machine of great television can not escape history and I will explain. There are no new ideas in Hollywood, for example last year we saw the reboot of Hawaii Five-O. This year we have a relaunch of Charlie's Angels to enjoy. But what does this have to do with Modern Family going in the tank?

It's the opening episode that is the omen of evil things to come, it's the dreaded "vacation show". That's right the Modern Family season premier finds the gang at a dude ranch, this can only mean the writers are running dry on ideas. I have history to back me up on this. Do you remember when the Brady's went to Hawaii?

Sure it was nice to see Jan and Marcia in bikinis and Alice doing the hula was truly a treat for the eyes. It also signaled the beginning of the end for Mike and Carol and the whole darn bunch. Here is another great example of a TV show going on vacation. Do you remember Roseanne going to Disney World?

I'm not through bringing the proof y'all do you remember the Facts of Life heading down under to Austrailia? You probably don't remember because people had started to stop watching at that point. The writing was bad, Jo was looking more like a drag queen and Tootie had blossomed so big that you could barely see her face!

Okay one more example of why when TV shows go 'on vacation' we all should be prepared for a midseason replacement series. Does any one remember the fascinating theatre that was Blossom in Paris? Of course you don't, but Blossom went to Paris.

There are countless other examples of TV shows giving up good writing and great acting for the thrill of being on location. I guess the producers do that so they can write off a vacation on their taxes, it certainly isn't because it makes for better TV. From Family Ties in London, to Scrubs in Aruba, to Head of the Class in Moscow we salute you former great TV shows that left us for vacation and did not come back tanned, ready or rested enough to entertain us!

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