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| William Sumper (center) and Henry Winkler (right) on Happy Days. |
Happy Days was not big on serialization. It was a "status quo" sitcom that emphasized tidy endings and problems that could be solved in half an hour. And yet, by virtue of being on the air for eleven seasons, Happy Days was forced to evolve and adapt. Some actors left the show. Other actors joined the show. Everyone grew up or grew old. The TV industry changed. And gradually, little by little, Garry Marshall's nostalgic little sitcom mutated into something other than what it had been. An episode from 1983, like the one we're covering this week on These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast, barely resembles an episode from 1974.
I think the character that changed the most over eleven seasons was Fonzie (Henry Winkler). In Season 1, he was a mysterious, taciturn, and vaguely threatening figure—a greaser hoodlum who dropped out of school to hang out in the parking lot of the local hamburger joint. Garry Marshall thought of him as Happy Days' answer to Gary Cooper. But the show quickly domesticated Fonzie, having him move into the Cunninghams' house and essentially join their family. He got his high school diploma and became a respected member of the community, even returning to his former high school to teach, a la Welcome Back, Kotter. And we learned plenty of things about Fonzie's background and even got to know several of his relatives.
Fonzie's personality also changed over those eleven long seasons. At first, Fonzie's personality was defined by the single adjective "cool." That was Fonzie—tough, unflappable, aloof, and unknowable. But once Fonzie was housebroken, so to speak, he became a real motormouth and showed that he was often a nervous wreck behind his "cool" façade. That's certainly the case with Season 10's "Nervous Romance," in which Fonzie blunders his way through a date with his classy new girlfriend, Ashley (Linda Purl). All hell breaks loose when the two lovebirds go to the snootiest French restaurant in Milwaukee, the humorously-named Quail and Snail.
Does "Nervous Romance" make the grade? Or is this a misfire? Find out by listening to the podcast below!