"Fonzie for the Defense"

This season-closer (from the night that Laverne & Shirley wrapped up their third season) manages to be both anti-racist and racist (the latter with Richie, Ralph, and Potsie's "Three Caballeros" number and related dialogue), and I was afraid that the subplot about Marion and the paint sale was going to be about her acting scatter-brained, but they saved it in a Gracie-Allenesque way.  The "one lone juror" thread is not terribly original, and was done on, for instance, That Girl (and I think The Odd Couple), but overall a C+.

Notes:

• I'm going to assume unless I learn otherwise that the reason why they didn't have the jury meet in the jury room but instead stay in the courtroom is that they didn't want to get out the old jury room set at Paramount, while they'd used the courtroom last year for "Blansky for the Defense" if not more recently.
• Ralph Wilcox is the defendant, Jason Davis, and would later be Lionel Collins.  He also had a couple roles on What's Happening!! and of course some other TV and movie work.
• I wondered if the last name of the racist-to-the-point-of-making-jokes-about-hanging Mr. Burch was spelled with an I (as in the John Birch Society), but apparently not.
• I will never not think wearing a tie with a leather jacket looks bad, unless it was a leather tie.
• Richie's frat, Alpha Tau Omega loses to Kappa Kappa Kappa, yes, KKK.
• As with Season Four, they're not exactly going out with their strongest material.

Happy Days placed Number Two in the ratings that year, just behind its first and most successful spin-off, but Three's Company was Number Three and nipping at their heels.  It was a blockbuster of a lineup, until ABC busted the block, but right now Tuesday nights were golden, and HD was the solid anchor, even if plots were getting a little more far-fetched.

This season ranges from C- to B+, and it averages out to a C+, just like the third and fourth seasons.  So I wouldn't say it's jumped the shark, not quite yet.  The addition of Chachi is mildly annoying but not a problem yet, and he's more than balanced by the recurring new female characters Lori Beth and Leather.  Yes, I wish there was more for Goodfriend to do than just be "Richie's girl," but, hey, this material is like Shakespeare after Blansky's Beauties.  (I'll discuss Who's Watching the Kids another time.)  Quatro doesn't get to match her stunning debut as yet, but she definitely perks up episodes when she's there.  

As for the guys, Fonzie is showing more maturity this season and I'm glad that the "Three Caballeros" have been allowed to finally go to college, even though it hasn't yet impacted the plot, beyond occasional references to classs and of course their frat.  I remember Season Six as more of the same, but we shall see....