During the show's five-year run, the Brady's went on three neato trips across the USA. Last year's three-parter pilot had them going to the Grand Canyon, and this year's opening had another vacation three-parter. Mike comes home from the office, with a small box. Carol and Peter see it and are really interested in it, but Mike refuses to tell yet, as the surprise is for the whole family, and tells Peter to get his siblings downstairs. When the kids finally get there, Mike lets Carol open the box, which contains airline tickets. Apparently, Mike's boss, Mr. Phillips, sent him on business trip to check on a building designed by him, and since the kids were currently on the summer holiday, he suggested that Mike took the family with him on the trip. And so, the Bradys were... "Hawaii Bound".
The United' DC-8 touches down in Honolulu, and the Bradys embark for this epic trip, where they are greeted with Native Hawaiian ladies giving them leis and a kiss on the cheek (which has Greg trying to flirt with one of the girls, Peter ducking, and Bobby being disgusted when he gets the kiss, and Alice getting covered in leis.) One of the local construction workers at Kipula, David, then meets the Bradys at the airport, and takes them to their hotel - the Sheraton Waikiki opened just last year, and then offers to take them sightseeing, as his boss thought the Bradys may just want to do that. So the Bradys check into their rooms, change into their Hawaiian clothes, and off they are.
While the Bradys are at the Pearl Harbor, at the construction site, one of the workers suddenly uncovers an ancient tiki idol. As he is about to reach for it, his co-worker, a superstitious older man, Hanalei, tells him not to touch it, as the idol is taboo and horrible things will happen to whoever touches it. He then tosses it aside with the shovel.
Some time later, David, with Mike and the boys, arrives at the construction site. While Mike goes to talk with the boss, and Greg and David talk, and decide to go talk about the "more important" things - bikinis, and surfing - for tomorrow is a big surfing contest, where David will be judging, and can even get him a spot in the contest (but reminding him to keep his eyes on the waves, not the bikinis), Peter and Bobby wander off to the building site, where Bobby comes along the idol, saying that he'll put a string on it and wear it around his neck for good luck.
Ouch, Bobby. Don't speak too soon.
Next up, at the hotel, Bobby and Cindy are sitting outside, and Bobby is trying to play an ukulele, but is really bad at it. Then Don Ho and Sam Kapu come along, and serenade "Sweet Someone" to the youngest two, and even give their autographs to them. While Bobby attributes it to his newly-found "good luck charm", then just as he sits up again, he failed to pay attention, and ended up crunching the ukulele.
And in the boys' room, as they are about to hit the sack for the night, Peter and Bobby tease Greg about his surfing skills. After which, Greg throws a pillow at them, but misses, and instead knocks a heavy decoration off the wall, which nearly misses Bobby. He again attributes missing being crushed by it to his "good luck charm".
The next morning, the boys leave for the beach early, so that Greg can practice some more before the contest, while the girls will be going to a hula lesson. Bobby dismisses it "Who needs a hula lesson to learn how to hula?" and makes some very funny movements, during which he drops the tiki. Just seconds after they leave, Carol, Alice and the girls leave for the hula lesson, and Alice comes across the tiki, deciding to pick it up and give it to Bobby later. Bad move. note And during the lesson, Alice throws out her back while wearing the tiki around her neck.
Now at the beach, the family has gathered to watch Greg surf, and Alice gives Bobby the statue back. And as Greg is now getting ready for the contest, Bobby runs over to him, wrapping the tiki around his neck, for good luck.
The contest is on. And Greg is doing quite good, which Bobby once again attributes to his good luck charm.
Too soon, Bobby. Again. Because just seconds later, Greg takes a nasty wipe-out, and Mike races in to rescue him.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Age-Inappropriate Dress: All three Brady girls, including 10 year old Cindy, wear revealing bikinis, while watching Greg surf at the beach.
- Cliffhanger: Greg wipes out on his surfboard at the end of the episode, and crashes – hard – into the water. He surfaces just seconds before we are left to wonder ... is he OK? Tune in next week to find out.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: While not an actual musical episode, Bobby is really awful at playing the ukulele.
- Special Guest: Hawaiian singer Don Ho makes a cameo appearance, performing "Sweet Someone" to Bobby and Cindy.
