 |
| Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) prepares to lose the big game in "A Shot in the Dark." |
During its fourth season, when it topped the A.C. Nielsen ratings, Happy Days focused increasingly on the character of Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli. The ultra-cool, motorcycle-riding mechanic, as played by Henry Winkler, captured America's imagination and became a pop culture phenomenon whose influence was felt far beyond the show. Kids imitated him on the playground, and there was a plethora of Fonzie merchandise on store shelves. It was Fonzie who almost single-handedly saved the show from cancellation after its rocky second season, and the producers rewarded Henry Winkler with more airtime than ever before. The third season saw the gregarious greaser move into the suburban Cunningham house, while the fourth season was essentially The Fonzie and Friends Show, starting with the epic "Fonzie Loves Pinky" three-parter.
As a result of these changes, the show's original protagonist, nerdy high school kid Richie Cunningham, became more of a supporting character and a foil to the Fonz. He was still important to the series, but he didn't excite the audience the way Fonzie did. Eventually, actor Ron Howard became tired of being Fonzie's "goody two shoes" sidekick and left the series for a prosperous directing career. In the eyes of many fans, Happy Days never quite recovered from Howard's departure.
But even during the Fonzie-crazed fourth season, there was still room for the occasional Richie story. Case in point: "A Shot in the Dark," in which the red-headed honor student becomes an unlikely star on the Jefferson High basketball team, only to have the newfound glory go to his head. That's the episode my co-host Peter and I are reviewing on this week's brand new installment of These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast. We hope you'll give it a listen.