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| Erin Moran and Tim Dial on Happy Days. |
By early 1978, Happy Days was deep into its fifth season and one of the most popular shows on television. Only its own spinoff, Laverne & Shirley, had (slightly) better ratings. It could be said that Happy Days really helped turn ABC around to the point where the network could compete for advertising dollars with the juggernaut CBS, home of M*A*S*H and All in the Family. And to think -- just a few years earlier, ABC had nearly cancelled Happy Days because it was getting trounced by CBS' Good Times on Tuesday nights. That had certainly changed by 1978!
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| Evidence of Fonziemania!!! |
How did Happy Days go from death row to easy street? One word: Fonzie. At ABC's command, Happy Days shifted its focus to Henry Winkler's ultra-cool, womanizing mechanic, elevating him from supporting character to star. Happy Days essentially became The Fonzie Show. The episode titles from Season 5 reflect this change: "My Fair Fonzie," "Fonsillectomy," "Fonzie the Movie Star," "Fonzie the Rock Entrepreneur," etc. This strategy had worked well in Seasons 3 and 4, so the show stuck with it for Season 5. Why fix what ain't broken?
But how many consecutive scripts can you write about Fonzie? Apparently, even Happy Days had its limits, because in January 1978, the show started focusing on its other characters. Scripts that month included "Potsie Gets Pinned," "Grandpa's Visit," "Marion's Misgivings," "Richie Almost Dies," and the episode we're reviewing on These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast this week, "Joanie's First Kiss." The plot has the youngest Cunningham (Erin Moran) going out on a date with handsome high school senior David O'Dooley (Tim Dial), causing anxiety for her father Howard (Tom Bosley) and overprotective brother Richie (Ron Howard). Keep in mind, Fonzie does not disappear during these episodes. The writers always give him something to do. (Fonzie and Richie have quite an amusing scene together in "Joanie's First Kiss," for instance, demonstrating self-defense on a date.) He just isn't the character driving the plot during these shows.
What did we think of "Joanie's First Kiss"? You can find out by listening to the latest episode of our podcast right here!