"Passages," Parts 1 and 2

 

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, never as annoying as the Belvin Brothers/Cousins but never doing anything particularly remarkable.
  • I'm not tagging Anson Williams or Donny Most for their appearances in vintage footage.  At least we'd see Anson again.  It is sad that Potsie can't make it to Joanie's wedding, all things considered.
  • Frances Bay returns as Grandma Nussbaum.
  • I'm going to skip tagging the writers, just because of the tag limitations.  But they are in alphabetical order William S. Bickley, Fred Fox, Jr., Brian Levant, and Michael Warren.
  • Al Molinaro pulls double duty as both Delvecchio Brothers.  Also, it appears to be a vaguely Catholic ceremony because Father D officiates.
  • Lori Beth of course no longer looks pregnant, but I have no idea where Little Richie and the new baby are.
  • I'm going to assume that the remaining episodes are de facto flashbacks, but we'll see.

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