Reliving Happy Days

It is September 24, 1984.  The final episode of Three's Company aired last week.  This isn't even Tuesday, but Monday.  Eight p.m. on Tuesdays this Fall will be (as it was for much of last season)  Foul-Ups, Bleeps, & Blunders, now followed by the 3'sC spin-off/sequel Three's a Crowd.  Before long, the outtakes show will be pushed to 9:00 and Crowd will foolishly be placed at 8:00, followed by Who's the Boss? , which has a much longer future ahead of it.  I will keep watching ABC, but I'm sixteen now and have a boyfriend who will eventually be my ex-husband.  The Tuesday Night ABC Line-Up I grew up with will become a set of mangled memories. I don't know if I watched this episode at the time.  I certainly didn't recall anything about it today.  I'm going with a C-, since it's pretty forgettable, except for the talk between Fonzie and Howard. Notes: Howard has been Grand Poobah for five years and has allegedly only recruited Potsie, but what a

As a Very Special Episode about diabetes, this would be a C at best, but add in that, one, we never actually get a sense of the tour with the Beach Boys that Chachi might miss out on, and two, the comic relief is wincey, and I have to go with D+. A couple notes: Neil Thompson, who plays the D.J., had four different roles on Laverne & Shirley. Martin Ferrero plays Omar the pilot again.

An of course simplistic view of drug abuse, including no acknowledgement of the detoxification process.  And I really wish they could've had Joanie as a teacher, I don't know, teach, like not deal with Very Special Crises but figure out her teaching style and stuff.  I'm going with C-. A couple notes: This is clearly set in Winter, although it aired in July. Casting Elinor Donahue of Father Knows Best as the troubled girl's mother adds to the "even nice families have to deal with drug abuse" message, which I have mixed feeling about.  (Not that it isn't true, but it's supposed to be worse that Jesse has a nice home life than if she lived in the expected "hellhole.")

  Chachi defiantly says he'll get a job in show business, and ends up as a dance instructor for elderly women.  Nothing too remarkable here, but it's mostly innocuous, so C+. Notes (not low): Whatshisname, the former crewcut-comber has a little lineless scene where Fonzie has him eat Chachi's food. I think this was alluded to before, but here it becomes clear that Potsie and Chachi are roommates, which could've been an episode in itself.  And it makes Potsie not going to Chachi's wedding even sadder. Potsie is still working at the hardware store, and still annoying Howard. Linda Henning was Army Lt. Quinlan back in '77 and is Jean Kelly (pun intended) here. Al Aidekman wrote eleven Laverne & Shirley episodes but this his only for HD.

My weekend is OK I guess, except that I'm watching Happy Days trickle to its forgettable end.  Let's say C for this. Notes: Billie Bird plays the long-referred-to Mother Kelp, who turns out to have issues with Marion, but not as much as she despises Howard.  At least she likes Joanie. I do like Joanie being supportive of Marion. I was under the impression that Mother K lived in town, but she has a Mork & Mindy looking house in Larsonville. Is Chachi really the only one of Joanie's boyfriends that didn't turn Howard's stomach, or is Howard just trying to be nice?

  The "last episodes," except for that whole "five leftovers for summer" thing.  At the time, I probably felt the feels, although I mainly remember going, "But what about Chuck???" at Howard's speech.  (OK, and finding it implausible that Joanie & Chachi were Kinks fans.)  This time, well, I don't care all that much about Joanie & Chachi getting married (other than she could do much better), although it's nice to glimpse Richie et al. again.  I really don't care about yet another plot of "Fonzie wants to be a father," especially since I've never seen this kid on other episodes.  I'm giving a C for Part 1 and a C+ for Part 2. Notes: Pamela Dunlap is Doris Charles in both parts, and Danny Ponce is Danny in both.  I'll note that allegedly (according to IMDB but not on my copy) Harris Kal is Bobby and Kevin Rodney Sullivan is Tommy, the last time for both.  They were at best filler all these post-Richie seasons, ne

This is tonally odd, as Howard and Marion make life-changing decisions offscreen and Fonzie does not react well.  I can see how this would've worked with better writing though, so a C. Notes: Somehow Fonzie has been living there only six years, but then it was 1959 for a really long time. Roger wants Fonzie to move in with him.  No mention of Flip. There is a mention of Ashley and Heather, when Fonzie is listing the people who have deserted him, a nice touch. Joanie is gratuitously shown in a towel. Maggie Roswell, who plays real estate agent Joyce James (a pun on the Irish writer?), was Lenny's girlfriend Karen on Laverne & Shirley a couple seasons earlier. This time Jerry Paris's daughter Julie plays Ann. And, yes, this title mirrors "Fonzie Moves In," back at the beginning of Season Three.

We jump to late April '84, since they were really parceling out this season.  (Not that I really cared at the time.  That was sort of the season I wasn't really invested in any show, except I guess Cheers,  although things would pick up in '84-'85.)  This is an odd episode in that it's sort of about Fonzie living in the past, but it's also sort of a horror plot.  I'll go with C+.

They are definitely rewriting Chachi's history, with him not having had a real date in seven years or a maybe-date in four, not counting Joanie.  Also, if Chachi is the sweetest, warmest guy Joanie has ever met, she needs to get out more.  I'm saying C-. Note that Chachi says he went on a date with the girl in this episode as a boy and came back a man, and yet he slept in his jeans, making you wonder what he counts as sex.  Meanwhile Joanie offscreen gets jumped on by a guy at the end of a group outing, and it's treated as a joke of course.

Maybe it's my soft spot for Lyle Waggoner, but I kind of like this episode.  He plays Marion's 50-year-old ex-boyfriend, who goes out with 20-year-old Joanie a couple times.  Let's give a C+. Notes: Joanie says a presidential election is coming up, I assume '64 rather than '68, though honestly who knows anymore. On a recent episode, Howard and Marion were engaged 28 years ago.  He used to be three years older than her, but who know about that either. Fonzie does indeed punch Howard in a hotel room, and it's funnier than I expected. On the other hand, Chachi is still a jerky ex. Lyle also played Xerxo on Mork & Mindy, and he was Bobby Burns on HD in '80.

My wish to be done with Patton H.S. has not yet come true.  Not only is the message dubious (it's OK for a teacher to punch a bullying student), but the jokes aren't especially funny.  (Special shoutout to the one Joanie makes about Uncle Tom's Cabin. )  I'm giving a D+. Notes: According to IMDB, the reference to Fonzie punching Howard is to the next episode to air.  No one mentions him throwing a student out the window, although that was Joanie's attempted rapist, so I don't mind that.  But I'm just saying, if you want to prove Fonzie has recently been violent. Joe Mays was Mr. Henri on HD the previous year and is Mr. MacKenzie here. Grant Heslov was Mark on Joanie Loves Chachi and is Dennis Morton here. Jeffrey Kramer had two roles on Laverne & Shirley, was Lefty on HD back in '75, and is Martin Smith here. Nancy Steen had written three of her four HD scripts by this point, but she also acted a bit, for instance as Helen Anderson on Mork & Mind

So here we are in 1984, almost ten years after Happy Days premiered.  It's outlasted all its spinoffs and seem to be concentrating on its core characters, OK, and Roger.  It should be wonderful that this is an episode about Joanie trying to be treated as a strong adult, as she becomes a student teacher at Patton H.S.  But of course the episode shows that her mother and ex-boyfriend are right, and she has to call for help when a student with a "crush" attacks her.  It's Fonzie to the rescue, but no charges are pressed nor does Joanie talk to a therapist, of course.  So the third D of the series. A couple notes: Steven Baio is Joey for the last time, which I hope means this is the last of the Patton episodes. Kathryn Fuller returns as Mrs. Shellenback, who is fleeing to "Chicago," not that you can blame her.

The title is true, since I got this amateurishly burned copy of the Nickelodeon version of an episode that's forgettable (except for maybe the questionable running gag of people repeatedly seeing an offscreen Joanie in some degree of undress) for a low price.  Let's say C-. Notes: The thing of Howard being cheap, which I think came up in another episode this season, is either brand new or Flanderization of some trait I never noticed before. It can't be legal to hire minors for construction work, for school credit or not. I think Joanie is a teacher at Patton High, but it's unclear. Steven Baio is back as Joey. Jerry Paris's son Andrew is Shorty this time. Wayne Morton, Dwight Mesmer here, was a Bartender before, and he played a Doctor on Mork & Mindy.

This is a potentially interesting idea but tonally odd, especially that tag.  I'll go with a C+. Notes: Fonzie's half-brother by his now late father Vito is also named Arthur.  He lives in San Francisco, so I imagine him running into Richie. The episode where Vito brought Fonzie a kimono without identifying himself is referred to, a nice touch. Marc Flanagan and Craig Heller didn't write any other HD episodes, so that might explain a bit why this episode feels different than others. At the time of breakup, Chachi said he didn't want to be friends with Joanie, but we hardly see them hang out with anyone else at this point.

If I didn't care about Fonzie and Roger teaching at Jefferson, I really don't care about them running a "bad kids' school," but the two more recognizable guest stars bump this up from D+ to C-. Notes: The studio audience recognizes Ken Osmond, Leave It to Beaver's Eddie Haskell, as the similarly named Freddie Bascomb.  The New Leave It to Beaver had premiered in March of '83. Nineteen-year-old Crispin Glover was then still unknown, a couple years before Back to the Future.  He's not bad as the redeemable bad kid Roach. Kathryn Fuller would return as Mrs. Shellenback.  She was Helen Hanley on HD  in '80. Scott Baio's brother Steven had played Jerry Wood on Joanie Loves Chachi.  He'd be back twice as Joey.

  Combine my prejudice against boxing plots on sitcoms with my indifference to whether Chachi wins Fonzie's respect, plus the running joke about Roger boxing a stereotypical East German woman, and we're going with a D+. Notes" Chachi wants Joanie to give him a kiss for good luck, even though they've broken up. James Start plays the totally un-noticeable Frank for the last time. Arthur Batanides's final HD role is as the Referee.

This is a little over the top, with Richie drinkin', swearin', and punchin' Fonzie.  And I still wish LB had more depth than the supportive if left out of the loop pregnant wife.  But compared to some of the HD I've sat through sans Richie, let's go with a B-. Notes: Bo Sharon returns as Little Richie.  I assume the role was recast for J & C's wedding. Donny Most is credited for this episode, but I don't see him on this version except in the Previously.  I don't think we get any further closure on Ralph, although he's attending optometry school in Madison.  It was nice to see him again, but I always felt that his character had wasted potential, glimpsed in some of his more serious moments, including his little romance with Leather. Despite the breakup, Chachi still comes over to mooch dinner at the Cunninghams'. Potsie resents Riche getting his slot on the Arnold's baseball team, and he strips off his pants, which seems to be a recurring

Oh gosh, this episode, well, this two-parter.  Now I have to say, at least after watching this again almost 38 years after it aired (and probably not that often in between), I do recall not knowing how to process Richie's suppressed rage and frustration.  Now, shrug, well, it makes all too much sense, the way you have to compromise and give things up and yet still want to dream as you get older.  Ron Howard plays all that well, and there were moments, not simply nostalgia, where I teared up, like when the four "boys" sing "Blueberry Hill" to Ralph's piano accompaniment.  I don't think it's a great episode, but it's definitely a good one.  The timeline is in shambles of course, but I expected that.  Let's say a B. Many notes: Bo Sharon would return as Richie, Jr. in Part Two. Richie and Ralph have been in the Army for three years.  This would make Little Richie under two, but he's pretty articulate. Ralph has given up becoming a comic and

Well, we actually get some closure about Ashley, see below.  And Potsie is around quite a bit.  Plus, Rita Wilson (different character than before).  So C+. Notes: It's a bit of a shock to hear Roger of all people use the phrase "cheap sex." So, Ashley's ex cleaned up his act, came back, and wanted to be a family again. Ashley was torn, but Fonzie stepped aside because of how Heather looked at her daddy.  No one knows about this until Fonzie confides in the Rita Wilson character.  (And I do really like the scene between them.) Chachi doesn't like being trapped in a bed with Roger, but later he thinks the two of them and Potsie should hang out more because they have a good chemistry for picking up chicks. This is clearly set after Joanie & Chachi's breakup. Chachi is now 20. This episode features all seven of the cast we see in the opening credits.  I forgot to mention earlier that there's a different jukebox and a different rendition of the song, but w

I was really fed up with Chachi's behavior in this episode, and not only actively rooting for Joanie to dump him but yelling against the studio audience wanting them to make up.  He is possessive, controlling, and self-centered.  He's had these traits off and on before but they really come to a head.  Still, she does dump him (for now) and her parents made me laugh in some scenes.  So I'll go with an on-the-fence C. A couple notes: We're now in that part of "The Sixties" where some people do the Twist but others wait in line to see the Maharishi, while the Fonz wears 3D glasses. Jerry Paris has an uncredited role as the Professor.

It's September 27, 1983.  I'm a high school sophomore and I'm still tuning in to ABC on Tuesdays out of inertia and what's left of my loyalty.    Laverne & Shirley is gone and Happy Days has been shuffled to 8:30.  ( Just Our Luck, about a modern genie, is on at 8:00.)  Three's Company is starting its eighth season at 9:00. I don't remember what I felt that night specifically, if I noticed how they showed younger and current Joanie and Chachi in the opening credits, how poor Anson Williams got shuffled to just before Ted McGinley.  I do know that I have absolutely no memories of this episode.  (Although I do recall rolling my eyes later in the season when they tried to tell me J & C would've been Kinks fans.)  Anyway, this is a C-, because I just don't care about Fonzie trying another pointless stunt. Notes: It's allegedly been twenty years since Fonzie's mother abandoned him, but maybe he's rounding that off. Harris Kal and Kevin Rod