On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 10 (Part 1) of Happy Days!
HAPPY DAYS: SEASON TEN
1982-1983
22 episodes
This is the infamous season of Happy Days. Ron Howard and Don Most are long gone. Scott Baio, Erin Moran and Al Molinaro are only there occasionally as they spent their time on Joanie Loves Chachi and Anson Williams has become an afterthought by this point. So we are left with a shell of the show Happy Days once was. Henry Winkler, Tom Bosley and Marion Ross are still around but this season is primarily focused on brand new characters or characters we barely got to know up to this point. It's a rough one all around. I'm glad Happy Days got one more season after this one to right some of the wrongs because this would have been a sad season to go out on.
Starring
Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli (22 episodes)
Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham (22 episodes)
Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham (22 episodes)
Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham (22 episodes)
Anson Williams as Potsie Webber (5 episodes)
Cathy Silvers as Jenny Piccolo (17 episodes)
Ted McGinley as Roger Phillips (17 episodes)
Ted McGinley as Roger Phillips (17 episodes)
Linda Purl as Ashley Pfister (15 episodes)
Crystal Bernard as K.C. Cunningham (15 episodes)
Erin Moran as Joanie Cunningham (6 episodes)
Scott Baio as Chachi Arcola (6 episodes)
Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio (1 episode)
Heather O'Rourke as Heather Pfister (12 episodes)
Billy Warlock as Flip Phillips (12 episodes)
Pat Morita as Arnold Takahashi (8 episodes)
Kevin Sullivan as Tommy (5 episodes)
Scott Mitchell Bernstein as Melvin Belvin (4 episodes)
Harris Kal as Bobby (4 episodes)
Ed Peck as Officer Kirk (2 episodes)
Fonzie has a desire to settle down when he meets a woman named Ashley, but she is not interested in him.
The tenth season of Happy Days premieres with a very revamped show. Joanie, Chachi and Al are gone, Jenny and Roger have finally made it to the opening credits and the show has added Linda Purl, Heather O'Rourke and (officially) Billy Warlock. It feels like a very different show. The smart move is adding in a long-term romantic interest for Fonzie, and not one who feels like all the other girls. The show seems to recognize with this plot that it was necessary for Fonzie to grow up some. On the other hand, the better choice might have been to just end after the ninth season.
RATING: 6/10
213. Letting Go (10/12/82)
Joanie and Chachi return from a summer in Chicago but Joanie gets into a fight with Howard and Marion after telling them she wants to live in Chicago.
This episode feels like it was intended to be the season premiere. There's no mention at all of Ashley and very little interest in the new characters in general. Instead, it centers on wrapping up Joanie and Chachi's storyline on Happy Days as they head out to Joanie Loves Chachi (which had already aired for a few episodes the previous season). This is a nice episode with some sweet moments for Howard, Marion and Joanie. It just seemed weird being the second episode of the season. We also get a rare look at the Cunningham bathroom.
RATING: 7.5/10
214. Empty Nest (10/19/82)
Marion and Howard have a hard time being empty nesters after Joanie moves out. Fonzie decides to sell his half of Arnold's.
I always think of Season Ten as a really weird season but the beginning of it isn't half bad. This is another nice story because it focuses on the best remaining character plus there's the return of a great former character in Arnold as Pat Morita returns to the show. The Howard and Marion storyline is actually quite sweet but there's some funny moments too (the plastic furniture allows for a good sight gag). On top of Morita's return, there are also fun cameo appearances by Harriet Nelson from Ozzie & Harriet and Jane Wyatt from Father Knows Best. It's a very strong entry.
RATING: 9/10
215. A Night at the Circus (10/26/82)
Fonzie takes Heather to the circus in an attempt to bond with her. The Cunninghams take in their niece, K.C., who moves to Milwaukee after her boarding school closes.
Yet another new character joins the cast with this episode. After playing a different role at the end of Season Nine, a pre-Wings Crystal Bernard joins the cast as the southern cousin K.C. Cunningham. It certainly feels like a desperate attempt by the show to give the dynamic of Howard and Marion as parents right after an episode that proved they could have interesting stories as empty nesters. Nothing against Bernard but it's disappointing the show chose to go in that direction. So many shows in later years feel the need to do stuff like that though. The circus story isn't anything special either.
RATING: 2.5/10
When Fonzie receives a civic award, a former classmate of his from third grade arrives to seek revenge for a childhood incident.
The great Tom Hanks guest stars in this episode shortly after the cancellation of Bosom Buddies and shortly before he became a big film star. I love Tom Hanks, as do most people, but this is not his best performance. He's pretty obnoxious here and way overacting. He has a couple funny lines at the beginning of the episode but then the character is just given way too much leeway to act ridiculous. The point seems to be that Fonzie isn't going to fight anymore but I feel like the show has addressed that before and no one really thinks Fonzie would stoop to the level of a third grade bully. Also, why does Billy Warlock always wear midriff shirts?
RATING: 2/10
217. Who Gives a Hootenanny? (11/16/82)
Fonzie worries about folk music replacing rock 'n' roll at the same time that Joanie and Chachi are performing as a folk duo for a TV show.
One of the things I like about Happy Days in Season Ten is that the show finally deals with Fonzie getting older, probably a few years later than they should have. But boy he is pretty immature in this episode and it's hard to root for Fonzie when he is acting like a petulant child. That worked a little better in the early days when Fonzie was still learning social graces but now that the show has made him a very respectable member of society, his pining for something like rock 'n' roll feels pretty juvenile. The addition of Joanie and Chachi help this episode along though.
RATING: 6/10
218. Going Steady (11/23/82)
Fonzie decides to commit to Ashley and go steady with her while also dealing with an old flame. Howard teaches K.C. how to drive.
This is another installment in the "Fonzie settles down" narrative, but it doesn't work as well as the previous episode even though Fonzie is much more tolerable in this episode. The rest of the episode doesn't really work and that's the problem. The show can't quite seem to shake Joanie and Chachi as Scott Baio randomly returns for this episode one episode after both of them were back. It was like the show is trying to move on and live in the past at the same time.
RATING: 3.5/10
219. Such a Nice Girl (11/30/82)
Everyone is concerned about K.C. staying home on the weekends and not dating anyone so she gets fixed up with Melvin Belvin.
This episode is a great example of the show treading old ground now that they have K.C. in the fold. There was already an episode where a seemingly nerdy guy tried to take advantage of Joanie. There was already an episode where they tried to toughen up Melvin's equally nerdy cousin Eugene. This is all just tired retreads of stories and the show trying to cling to its old ways instead of going on a different path forward as they sometimes try in Season 10.
RATING: 3/10
After a competing hardware store at the mall nearly puts Cunningham Hardware out of business, the gang works with Howard to try to keep the store afloat.
It's no coincidence that the episodes focused on the "legacy" cast are better episodes in this weird season of Happy Days. This episode focuses largely on Howard and his hardware business and also features a healthy dose of Marion, Potsie and a guest appearance by Joanie. As a result, it feels much more like old time than ones like the previous episode with a spotlight on Melvin and K.C. It's not a fantastic episode but it's a mostly enjoyable episode. The kind of one that might have felt ho-hum in other seasons but feels like a highlight in this one.
RATING: 6.5/10
221. All I Want for Christmas (12/14/82)
At Christmas, Fonzie tries to get Ashley to make up with her parents. K.C.'s parents come to visit and Howard tries to bury an old feud with his brother.
The final Happy Days Christmas episode is a decent one though not up to the standards of episodes like "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas?" or "Christmas Time," which are among the all-time great Happy Days episodes. This one still has a decent mix of sentiment with humor. It certainly could have taken itself too seriously and it didn't here because the fight between the brothers is pretty funny and the seemingly sweet moment of Ashley calling her parents has a funny resolution. It feels festive and fun. Happy Days always knew how to do holiday episodes.
RATING: 8/10
222. Since I Don't Have You (12/28/82)
An old flame of Roger's re-appears and breaks his heart just as she has many times before.
This is a Roger-centric episode so that probably tells you what I think of it. Ted McGinley is just such a bad actor. His temper tantrum after Lorraine leaves is just a really terrible moment of TV. The only thing I like about this episode is I really like the song "Since I Don't Have You" so I enjoy hearing that at various points of the episode. There's very little of the rest of the characters and even a decent guest appearance from Wendy Schaal can save this episode thanks to McGinley.
RATING: 2/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week!
Next Thursday: A look at Season 10 (Part 2) of Happy Days!
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