"Westward Ho!," Parts 1 and 2

It is September 12, 1978.  Last week, Happy Days delayed their season premiere, so that Laverne and Shirley and the gang could go to New York in a one-hour premiere,.  It's only fair that the girls take the night off so that the Cunninghams et al. can head West, this time to Colorado rather than California.  (And Jack will be juggling dates at 9 p.m., as Three's Company comes back for a third season.)  And, um, it's not a very good HD premiere, although they're certainly trying hard.  I'd go with a C- for the first half and a C for the second half, since it's got that dance-off and of course a cliffhanger.  But compared to jumping trash cans and a shark, a ditch isn't too impressive.  Also, the first half has an "Indian maiden," with no lines. 

Notes:

• Chachi stays in Milwaukee but Al has to go and cook, so Molinaro makes the opening credits and Baio has to wait.
• We hear about but never actually see Marion's Uncle Ben, which is weird.  They might as well have killed him off and had Marion inherit the dude ranch.
• You'd think Joanie's parents would be more upset about her trick-riding, but they honestly make more of a fuss about her putting on nail polish when there's a train to catch.
• The Richie/Thunder romance is odd, not only because of LB but because Richie doesn't even try to kiss Thunder and might just platonically admire her.
• And then there's Fonzie's jealousy and competition with Richie because Thunder turns him down repeatedly, even though women, horses, and cows still respond to him.  (Yeah.)
• The corny jokes that Ralph gives Howard to read aren't any worse than the worst lines in this script.
• Jerry Young is Hank in all three parts, and Brad Wilkin is Phil, Joanie's love interest, in all three.
• Ruth Cox is of course Thunder McCoy in all three, and she's I guess almost adequate in the role.  (She would be better the next year as Lisa, the girl who seduces Billy Tate into a cult on Soap, her unnatural line readings working better there.)
• Jason Evers is the villanious H.R. Buchanan in every part, which gives Cox a chance to say that she thought the Milwaukee group was working for H.R., although no one makes the Human Resources joke except me.  (Dallas had started in April, but I don't know if this is a "J.R. Ewing" reference.)