Reliving Happy Days

I have to go with a C because Jenny is both a heartless bitch and someone we're meant to feel sorry for, although I do admit that I like that we get yet another Hawaiian-themed party, and Fonzie gives good advice, for the second episode in a row. Notes: This is also the second HD episode in a row where the backyard is shown. James Start is Frank and I continue to have no idea who this is. Cathy Silvers's sister Candace returns as her cousin Carla Bee. Ashley and Heather are gone now and I don't remember if it's explained in Season Eleven what happened to them. This is the last episode for both K.C. and Flip, but presumably they either went off to college or returned to their respective parents. Season Ten of Happy Days ranges from D+ to a surprising B, but half of the twenty-two episodes are C+, so this comes out to a low C+ average, better than Seasons Eight and Nine but still not great.  The new characters don't particularly harm the show, but neither do they give...

I was leaning towards a C or even C-, but Chachi does grow up in this episode and apologize some for his jerkiness, so C+. Notes: This not only picks up where the last episode left off but repeats maybe the first minute or so. Al and Louisa not only come all the way from Chicago when they think Chachi is going to propose to Joanie, but they dress as if going to a wedding! Al refers to the Michael Caine movie Alfie (1966). Although it looks like summer might be just around the corner, Fonzie's birthday (once in January) is a month away. I was of course amused that Howard is insulted that Chachi considered asking even Potsie for advice first. It's unclear where Chachi is staying before heading back to Chicago.  With Fonzie maybe? I'm omitting Billy Warlock and Ted McGinley from the over-crowded tags.

The two threads are sort of both about fathering, with Howard looking after Joanie when she's home from touring with "the Canadian flu" (really exhaustion and burnout), and Fonzie looking after Heather when Ashley's out of town.  I was actually more intrigued by Joanie's doubts about the band, after she fought so hard to get her parents to accept it, but it looks like that will be gone into more in an upcoming episode.  Anyway, C+. Note that Fonzie and the Phillips brothers are excited about the Liston-Clay fight, I guess the one from February '64.  Although uncredited, that sure sounds like Harry Shearer doing the fight commentary.

Wow, this is a genuinely funny episode!  Of course it helps that Peter Scolari, like his Bosom Buddy Tom Hanks, guests, but the other people have good material, too.  (Even Ted McGinley, on his exit line!)   I even like the subplot of K.C. auditioning for the school play, although we don't get to see any performances except her practice with her aunt and uncle, all of them hamming it up Southern style.  This is the first B of the post-Richie years, a very pleasant surprise. Notes: There's a nice little joke where Howard says they shouldn't expect a Tony-winning performance, which the studio audience gets.  (Bosley won in 1960.) We get not only the last appearance of Ken Lerner as Rocco Baruffi, but the last of Father Delvecchio, although of course his twin brother would return. Fonzie went to a dance at Shotz Brewery ten years ago, when Laverne and Shirley were presumably still in high school.

Not only does Potsie get Fonzie and Roger up in a prop plane with an unreliable pilot, but he says all the wrong things when everyone worries at the Cunninghams'.  No wonder Jenny calls him an idiot and Howard ushers him out the door.  So I'm boosting this from a C to a C+. Notes: Flip jokes that Jenny won't finish high school while she's a teenager, but it's not exactly a joke. Catherine Gilmour, who's Teresa here, would soon be Patti on Laverne & Shirley. Skier William Woff was Bill Ziegler on Joanie Loves Chachi. Martin Ferrero would return as the pilot Omar, so I guess his parachute worked. There are four writers this time, and they still manage to bring up a possible party and then quickly drop that thread.  Francis X. Feighan has absolutely no other IMDB credits, and Michael O'Mahony wrote more things but nothing else for HD, while Richard Gurman wrote five other HD scripts and Larry Strawther two others.

In Ed Peck's final appearance as Officer Kirk, he is an army officer, a major, in fact.  When Roger, Potsie, and mistakenly Fonzie are called up for the Reserves, he of course butts heads with Fonzie.  I'll say a C+, not too memorable but not bad. Notes: Fonzie's goodbye kiss of Ashley is milder than in the pic above. Fonzie tried to serve during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but he has a bad knee from his motorcycle stunt. It's Heather's birthday.  I didn't notice how old she's turning, but she is in the first grade, so maybe seven. Francis T. Perry Williams is Private Perry here and was a Policeman on Laverne & Shirley a few months earlier. Gary Epp had more lines as Bubba and Bullfrog than he does as an M.P., but his size is used again. Hoke Howell was Sidney in '80 and is the Army General here.

Well, I liked this better than the original version of Fonzie asking Ashley out.  On their six-month anniversary, Fonzie and Ashley, with help from Roger and Heather, recall their nervousness before and during their first date.  I'll go with C+. Notes: Now I want to know who Howard spent the night in a hayloft with when he was young. William Sumper, who plays the Customer, I assume the one with the cigar, had five small roles on Laverne & Shirley. Robin Bach, who was a Waiter at a different restaurant, has been promoted to Maitre D' here, just as snooty as before. Poor Potsie shows up, gets a few lines, is sent to the men's room, and disappears for the rest of the episode. Robert Keats wrote one Blansky's Beauties episode, this HD script, and a handful of others.

The band from Joanie Loves Chachi (but not the middle-aged characters) all cameo over, while their own show is on hiatus.  (More about that later.)  Fonzie wants to help, using bullying and lying.  Even then, I might've gone with a C+, but there were too many insults of Annette.  So C. A couple notes: Dick Yarmy, younger brother of Don Adams, did a ton of television, including one role on Laverne & Shirley and three on Mork & Mindy.  He's Holstein, the record producer, here. Jenny instantly decides that she wants to make Bingo her "love slave," and they are still engaged at the end of the episode.

Although this isn't as good in roughly the last third, it's still one of the better episodes of Season Ten, with the romance between K.C. and a convict surprisingly sweet.  And it's nice to see Officer Kirk again, so C+. Notes: James Start plays Frank again and I still have no idea who he is. Michael Spound, who plays the title character, Jim Walker, was Bob on Laverne & Shirley the previous year. Jerry Paris's daughter Julie plays Julie.  She was Girl #2 on a Joanie Loves Chachi episode and Third Mother on L&S.  Next time on HD, she'd be Ann. This is the first of two HD scripts written by Robert Pekurny, but Lorna Rosenberg and Jeffrey Stamm have no other IMDB credits.

Flip is involved in a drunk driving incident where Heather is hit and, well, there aren't really any consequences.  And the Winter Decoration subplot goes nowhere, and when Fonzie's long-time barber dies, he of course thinks about his own needs more than he gives sympathy to the barber and family.  So D+. Notes: Heather O'Rourke's older sister Tammy plays neighbor girl Tammy. Joe Mays, Mr. Henri here, would be Mr. MacKenzie the next year. Gary Murphy didn't write any other HD episodes, which is just as well. Larry Strawther on the other hand had written one Laverne & Shirley script and would do two more HD.

This has some tonal shift problems, if not as much as the Laverne & Shirley and Three's Company episodes that aired that first Tuesday of 1983.  (Laverne is gang-banged by sailors while in an alcoholic blackout and "Furley learns that Terri's boyfriend is a convicted murderer.")  This at least has a plot that might've worked with better writing, but I just found it implausible that Ashley would get drunk and make a scene at her estranged parents' wedding anniversary.  So, yeah, it's a C-. A couple notes: Ashley's parents are named George and Millicent and they've been married thirty years.  She appears to be an only child. "The Prince of Wales" has gone vegetarian.  Charles was about 16 at the time this is set.

It's hard to get invested in Roger's on-and-off-again romance, and when he and Flip hug goodbye, it means nothing because we've seen almost nothing of these two bland brothers interacting.  Still, there are worse '80s HD episodes, so C. Notes: The title is from a 1959 tune that Roger and his ex, Lorraine, listened to in high school. Wendy Schaal plays Lorraine and would've been most recognizable then for her regular role on It's a Living. Howard and Marion argue as much about Monopoly as they did about bridge in the first season or two.

We get not one, not two, but three estranged families in this episode, which is a bit much.  That and the flatness (including a shockingly subdued studio audience) means a C-. Notes: Richard Paul, of Carter Country etc., plays Howard's brother Dick, whom he hasn't spoken to in 15 or 16 years.  Dick appears to be the elder brother, even though their father was 18 when Howard was born. Jenny says she "still" lives with her parents, but she is in her seventh year of high school or whatever it is by now. I don't like Fonzie pressuring Ashley to reconnect with her parents, but on the other hand, it'd be nice if there was some closure, since it was brought up. Roger and Flip are visiting their  parents, whom they presumably still get along with. Richie calls from California, or wherever he is these days, and we of course don't even get a voiceover. This is Beverly Bloomberg's penultimate HD script, and the first of two for Pamela Ryan.

With a new mall in the neighborhood, Howard's hardware store is in trouble.  Everyone tries to support him, emotionally and financially, but it's up to him to decide to relocate.  This is sort of a C+ and a half, not quite good enough for a B-, although it was nice that Potsie got a bit more to do than lately. Notes: James Start is back as Frank, whoever that is.  (He was on there in '79 and apparently would return thrice more in the next year.) Daniel J. Foster, who's Pete, was Louie on Laverne & Shirley in '80. This time Erin Moran guest stars without Baio, but no one minds. John B. Collins had written four Mork & Mindy episodes and would do one more for HD.

Although this episode did make me laugh a couple times, and it gives Arnold another chance to sing, and we actually get a bit more development of K.C. and Melvin, Fonzie again gives dubious advice, telling Melvin about stalking Ashley, so that Melvin thinks women don't mean it when they say no.  I do like K.C. defending herself, but not her offering a study date with Melvin in two months.  Of course, there are costumes.  So I'm going with a C. Notes: Among the movies referred to as if still in theaters are To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Son of Flubber (1963), and the Gidget series (1959 to '63).  Maybe the Cunninghams go to discount theaters, where the films don't show up until a year or two after release. Clarence plays the drums in Arnold's band.  It's his last credited appearance. Fonzie misses his talks with Richie, as do we all. This is the first of four HD episodes co-written by Nancy Steen and Neil Thompson

I feel like they've used that episode title before, but I guess not.  Anyway, this time it's Fonzie and Ashley.  Even though the man has been engaged at least twice, it's somehow a big leap for him to ask Ashley to go steady.  And in the subplot, Howard reluctantly teaches K.C. to drive.  I'm going with C+. Notes: I remain baffled by how Jenny is still in high school. After an impressive seven-year absence, Melinda Naud returns as Paula Petralunga, who complicates the steadies' lives. Scott Baio is again a special guest star, but Erin is absent, to Marion's disappointment. Ken Lerner and Coleen Maloney return as Rocco and Buffy Baruffi, now parents of two.  He would be back once more. Frances Bay makes her middle appearance as Grandma Nussbaum, who we learn (or relearn?) has been married at least four times, to family disapproval. Ashley Pfister, as you may've suspected, is from the rich Milwaukee family, although they disinherited her when they disapproved ...

This is an episode I remember from the time and I was at least as annoyed with Fonzie now as I was almost forty years ago.  I mean, the guy learned to love classical music!  (He went to a Mozart concert offscreen in the Tom Hanks episode, so it wasn't just a one-off.)  Folk music should not be that hard to adjust to, especially if this is set in '64, when folk rock was coming into being.  (And I assume that it is set in '64, since Joanie and Chachi "guest star" from Chicago.)  Still, I'll go with a C+, since we can see how Ashley helps Fonzie see sense. Notes: It's pretty damn ironic that J & C want to play "rock & roll" at a friggin' hootenanny, especially after weeks of them doing pleasant but forgettable soft-rock '80s tunes. Rick Dano, who plays Felix, had a small Laverne & Shirley role the previous year. Brad Braisdell plays Lou, as he did in "Dreams Can Come True" in '80, but I don't know if it's th...

  This was the first genuinely funny HD episode in ages, thanks to an insane performance from Tom Hanks, post- Bosom-Buddies and pre- Splash.  I was rooting for him against Fonzie, but I actually liked the resolution.  On the other hand, I really don't care about whether Flip and Bobby have their own fight.  So B-. A few notes: Fonzie is 25ish, since it's seventeen years since he was in the third grade. I do feel bad for Arnold, who sees his restaurant destroyed, although at least it's the post-fire Arnold's. Heather sure warmed up to Fonzie quick.

The two parallel plots are about men who have quasi-fatherly relationships with girls: Howard with his niece K.C. (Crystal Bernard) and Fonzie with Ashley's daughter Heather.  I was leaning towards a C, but there are some nice moments in the last two scenes, from Fonzie talking about being raised by his Grandma Nussbaum to Marion showing Howard she prefers him to Cary Grant.  So C+. Notes: Marion's old high school classmate is now a circus clown, married to the bearded lady. Jojo the Dog-Faced Boy is mentioned, as he was at least once on Laverne & Shirley . Howard hasn't spoken to his brother Dick in fifteen years. It's unclear how old K.C. is, so I'm guessing 17 until further notice, just because that is the default age on this show for anyone who's not an adult or small child. K.C. was going to boarding school in Houston. Her father is I think a diplomat, or is in "the Congo" for some other reason.

I had totally forgotten about Arnold coming back to run Arnold's, although I now recall it being a big deal to me at the time.  (Well, a big deal as far as post-Richie HD episodes go.) Notes: Howard is the unadventurous one here but he was the one who wanted to run off to Tahiti years ago. On the other hand, Howard does like to watch TV in the nude. We again hear that Richie and his family are in California. Melvin plays the violin. Ashley speaks Japanese (as apparently so did Linda Purl). Fonzie hasn't seen Arnold in "four years," but "Fonzie's Funeral" aired in '79.  Of course, who knows how much time has passed on the show anymore. 1950s TV moms Jane Wyatt and Harriet Nelson are not playing Margaret Anderson and, well, Harriet Nelson, but characters called Joan and Marge respectively.  They were then in their 70s.