 |
| Anson Williams, Henry Winkler, and Scott Baio on Happy Days. |
The TV landscape changed noticeably in the early-to-mid-1980s. The sitcoms that had dominated the '70s slowly started to fall out of favor in the new decade, nudged aside by splashy prime time soaps and high-octane action shows. It seems that viewers wanted thrills, not chuckles, during the Reagan era. (At least during Ron's first term. By the end of the '80s, sitcoms were back in a big way.)
One of the biggest series of the era was CBS' oil industry drama, Dallas. When that show's main character, unscrupulous wheeler dealer J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), was shot by a would-be assailant in March 1980, it became a worldwide obsession -- the subject of headlines, water cooler conversations, and at least a thousand jokes. Everyone was asking the same question: "Who shot J.R.?" The attention helped Dallas become the #1 show on television, a spot Happy Days had occupied just a few years previously.
How did Happy Days respond to this paradigm shift in the television business? By and large, it didn't. The show never tried to compete with the new breed of prime time series. It remained very much a traditional sitcom, complete with corny punchlines and tidy morals. But that's not to say the producers were oblivious to what was happening in their industry. Take the March 1981 episode "Fonzie Gets Shot" as an example. The plot revolves around Fonzie (Henry Winkler) suffering an accidental gunshot wound to his buttocks. While the story is played entirely for laughs, not drama, the episode must have been at least partially inspired by the "Who shot J.R.?" phenomenon.
But does this make for a good half hour of television? And, more importantly, who shot Arthur Fonzarelli? Find out when you listen to the latest installment of These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast.