"Tell It to the Marines"



The story has potential but the execution is weak.  Putting Fonzie on a God-like level is too much, and it irritated me that, one, it's so hard for anyone to see that he might be wrong, and two, they start the running joke that he can't even pronounce the words "I was wrong."  I did like Howard's continued annoyance with Potsie, and Richie telling Fonzie off.  So I'm going with a C.

A few thoughts:
  • Amy Irving again plays Olivia, who doesn't like Ralph's sense of humor and yet finds the new girl Sheila hilarious when doing similar gags.
  • Suddenly, the timeline makes sense, with Fonzie doing Christmas cards, on an episode that aired on December 16th.
  • According to IMDB, Arthur Godfrey was a pretty controversial figure by the late '50s, although maybe Ralph has been working on his impression for years.
  • His remark that 14-year-old Joanie will be a grown woman when he returns from the Marines is a bit creepy, and it will have an extra spin when he returns from the Army (I think it is) in the final season and eyes her up and down before giving her a big kiss.  But at least her character is 22 or whatever by then.

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