"Fearless Malph"




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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Guess Who's Coming to Visit"

Image
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...
Read more

"Joanie's Weird Boyfriend"

Image
The title is ambiguous, since it seems at first to be about her nerdy boyfriend Roger (Marc McClure in a different role), who says "keen" a lot and doesn't kiss her at the end of the date.  And then, tired of being treated like a child by her family and flattered by the attentions of the gangleader of the Red Devils, she dresses in a Jenny-Piccalofied outfit, including heavy makeup.  Then she is at the risk of being "initiated," i.e. gang-necked.  Until the guys ride to the rescue, with help from a guest star. Notes: One of my all-time favorite YouTube comments is on a clip of this episode, something about "the Grandpa's Trunk Hat Gang." Derrel Maury's first role on the show is Leroy. This is set on St. Patrick's Day and aired on March 1st, which is pretty timely for HD. It's presumably set before "The Physical," since Richie says that he, Ralph, and Potsie are almost eighteen. As when Joanie had her first date, Richie is prot...
Read more

JOANIE LOVES CHACHI: "Everybody Loves Aunt Vanessa"

Image
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...
Read more