The writing is a little weak on this episode, so a C. It is notable that Joanie has her driver's license and that, when a tornado threatens Milwaukee, Potsie wants to warn everyone at the Pizza Bowl, but doesn't.
Things are settling in a little on this B- February 5, 1974 episode. We even get a glimpse of Ralph's cowardice, which would Flanderize over time. It's the first episode where Richie doesn't kiss or get kissed by a girl, although he has a crush on one of the "Assorted Nuts." Notes: Howard is angrier with Richie about being a drag-race flagger than when Richie got drunk, but Marion intervenes, despite Joanie's hopes of Richie being severely punished. Chuck teases Richie about his basketball skills, while Joanie can go from baton-twirling to shooting hoops. Also, Chuck apparently lives in the dorm, but they still have his bed in Richie's room, which is convenient when Potsie comes to visit. Potsie and Howard are wary of each other, while Joanie (ironically in light of her later crush) calls Potsie a nerd. Two actual nerds steal the spotlight at the end, when all the grounded kids clear out of Arnold's at suppertime. In this first season, including in...
I knew this couldn't live up to its title, but it's not bad for Season Seven. Richie, Ralph, and Potsie are invited to a girl motorcycle gang's "nerd party" (Richie wins, of course), but then find out that the gang has kidnapped Chachi because he jilted a girl. Fonzie saves the day by out-nerding everyone and then making threats as himself. I'm going with C+. Notes: Georganne LaPiere was Corinne back in '75 and is Joy here. The wonderful Judy Pioli, who wrote for Laverne & Shirley and played Terry Buttafucco there, perks things up as the leader of the She-Devils, Bertha. She'd also appear on HD in 1982. Sam Greenbaum didn't write anything else for Garry Marshall, although he did write the one Three's Company episode without Joyce DeWitt.
No, she's not actually Chachi's aunt. Vanessa is Louisa's old friend from high school, now a record producer out to seduce Chachi. Posh Jessica Walter gives the part more than it deserves, as she would a sophisticated regular role a couple years later on Three's a Crowd, but I still don't feel like this show clicks enough to go above a C+ on this episode. Notes: The usual Tuesday night lineup was pre-empted that night, I assume for the midterm elections, but that of course didn't affect JLC and other Thursday shows. There's more of manic rather than monotonal Mario, here at the midpoint of the series. We don't find out what year Vanessa and Louisa graduated, but I assume it was sometime in the '30s. I didn't catch Louisa's maiden name (it might well have been Masciarelli, as in the Marshall siblings), but it definitely was not Fonzarelli. Chachi has a poster of the mop-top era Beatles, so I guess this is '64. (There's an episode co...
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