Happy Days Appreciation Thread

[The Toyroom]

I used to love Happy Days back when it was new ... Today it's very hard for me to watch... I don't know why.

There was a cringe-worthy episode on the other night that I never saw....Fonzie sees a shrink who advises him to build bird-houses to channel his anger.

But normally I always like the early seasons of shows....it's where they stick to the original formula and flesh out the characters logically over time....but when the show becomes a hit (or jumps the shark ) all bets are off and things become more outrageous and further removed from the original core of the shows and the characters.

On Happy Days, some of those angles that don't work for me would be Fonzie dating a single mom for almost a year, becoming a full-fledged teacher and then "Dean of Boys" and adopting a young boy by the finale. Bleech!

[The Bat]

I grew up on Happy Days, it was a GREAT show. Naturally...the early episodes were the best.

[Brown Bear]

In my opinion, Happy Days is thee all time greatest tv show in history!!! It will always be my favorite. I own every episide. AYYYYYY.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Count me in as someone who forgot how much they loved Happy Days. Although I was really young during it's hey-day, I was apparently quite the Fonzie freak. I had a leather jacket, the Mego Fonzie, the Mego Jalopy (which is of course Ralph's, not Fonzie's) and, I'm embarrassed to admit, Fonzie paper dolls!

I've been watching the Hub reruns too. The edits are jarring sometimes. You can tell they've gutted many episodes. I really need these on DVD now.

But I am enjoying them. The Pinky 3-parter was somewhat of a letdown to me. Other than the Malachi's, it didn't quite live up to it's legend for me. Most of the other episodes do hold up well though.

I really like this era they are in right now on the Hub. It's after the show became a true sitcom, but before they stopped caring about it's setting, and adding Chachi (who I don't hate, but he pushed things in the wrong direction).

Chris

[The Toyroom]

I really like this era they are in right now on the Hub. It's after the show became a true sitcom, but before they stopped caring about it's setting, and adding Chachi (who I don't hate, but he pushed things in the wrong direction).

Chachi was cool until Joanie finally said "Yes"....After that the push to have them become the center of the show took the show away from Richie's friends (Potsie really got the shaft....turned into a complete idiot) and ultimately led to the "Joanie Loves Chachi" spinoff, which further destroyed the franchise IMO.

[david_b]

The show didn't really come on it's own for me until the 3rd year when they started the three-camera production in front of a live audience.

Those were the memorable episodes for me..

Funny thing about Chachi..? Their spin-off series was pretty popular in Korea, as "Chachi" (자지) is slang for male genitalia.

Oh, and Spike ANY DAY over Chachi..

david_b

[Mikey]

One of the problems with Happy Days was they didn't stay true to themselves and stay in the 50's.

By the time the show ended it literally could have been set in the present (1980-ish) --- turning it into just a plain sitcom.

This started happening from the third-ish season and got worse as time went on.

That 70's Show did the exact same thing.

[DavidCoppola]

The 1st 2 seasons were the best. They were like "mini-movies" all onto them selves.
After that the stories just became too far fetched, especially when Mork entered.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Yeah, the more "sit-com" like it got, the more it shifted from the 50s/early 60s. Even in the 2nd or 3rd season, there are "blips" of this showing up. There was a girl in a very 70s-like outfit in amongst all the cardigan sweaters and poodle skirts the other night.

For me the show is really pretty much dead once Richie and Ralph leave. It's still watchable, like the color Andy Griffiths, but not the same. Notable exceptions are when Richie returns, and the last episode when he comes in at the last minute, and Mr. C breaks the fourth wall to the audience. The Fonzie getting a son part was forced though.

Chris

[Mikey]

For me after Richie and Ralph left it's not even watchable.

By the time they got to the last season I couldn't even watch the opening intro ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3YEt0fViC0

m

[kingdom warrior]

One of the problems with Happy Days was they didn't stay true to themselves and stay in the 50's.

By the time the show ended it literally could have been set in the present (1980-ish) --- turning it into just a plain sitcom.

This started happening from the third-ish season and got worse as time went on.

That 70's Show did the exact same thing.

Yeah that's what pretty much killed the show is that they moved out of the 50's into the 60's. It lost it's flair. After Richie left I pretty much stopped watching. Fonzie became a shell of what made the character popular and pushing joanie and chachi up front was corny and lame.

[Spawn67]

I have been watching Happy Days as well on The Hub. Its amazing how I remember all these episodes. My favorite has to be the the "era" that there showing now. Id say between 76-79 is my favorite for me personally cause thats the period I remember being a kid and watching them with my family.
Id say after this period I totally lost intrest in the show and when fonzie was dating a single mother, when ritchie was gone the show was dead as far as I was concerned.
But yea Happy days for me brings back memories of ..well Happy Days!

Anyone remember the Fonzie Pinball machine?

[Mikey]

One of my favorite episodes was the first Halloween one.

The one where they're having a party in the haunted house... It's one of the early ones with "Bag"

They hardly ever play that one, even back in the day when Happy Days was heavily rerun.

[david_b]

To me, the 3rd year was the best, when Ralph and Potsie's characters started taking off and when Arnold started showing up more and more. I just liked the feel better.

Was NEVER a big fan of Al, so it was wonderful to see Arnold come back for Fonzie's High School graduation.

As for show's not staying in the 50s, MASH did the same thing.. Examples..? Margaret's hairstyles and some storylines near the end..

[Earth 2 Chris]

One of my favorite episodes was the first Halloween one.

The one where they're having a party in the haunted house... It's one of the early ones with "Bag"

They hardly ever play that one, even back in the day when Happy Days was heavily rerun.

They actually showed that one the week of Halloween.

Speaking of Holiday episodes, the first Christmas episode where Richie finds Fonzie, alone eating his can of beans, and then invites him to the Cunningham Christmas has to be one of THE best holiday episodes ever.

Chris