On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show by season. Today I am looking at Part 2 of Season 2 of Happy Days! For Part 1, click here!
29. Fonzie's Getting Married (1/14/75)
Fonzie decides to get married and doesn't know the girl he has chosen is a stripper.
This episode is notable for being the first Happy Days episode to be filmed in front of a live audience. It was done as a test run for a possible switch which did happen for the third season. There's a noticeable difference in style as it feels broader. Maybe equally momentous - this is the first time Fonzie hits a jukebox to get the music to stop playing, an iconic Fonzie move. The performances are definitely more geared to a live audience. The story itself is funny at times with a good performance from Tom Bosley but it does feel a little out of place in season two.
RATING: 5.5/10
Richie is the only one home when the Cunningham's house gets burglarized.
I've always been a fan of burglary episodes in comedies. As a kid, they used to freak me out a little but but as an adult, they are usually funny. Of course no sitcom is going to have a super scary burglar, they will range from fake "tough guys" to downright comical. This burglar (guest star Herb Edelman, later known for The Golden Girls and St. Elsewhere) is more the former. His detached demeanor is a funny contrast to the frantic Richie, Potsie and Ralph.
RATING: 7.5/10
31. The Not Making of a President (1/28/75)
Richie starts working for Adlai Stevenson's presidential campaign because of a girl and argues with Howard, who is voting for Eisenhower.
This is a great episode that firmly places the series in 1956. It's not too often that they really tied down a specific time other than the "50s" (and eventually 60s). It's also interesting how much politics has changed since that time period and how much it hasn't. I think if Happy Days was on TV now, this actually could have been an arc for the show but it also works as a standalone episode. There's some funny moments with Fonzie (surprisingly, an Eisenhower supporter) and it provides some nice Richie/Howard scenes.
RATING: 8.5/10
32. Cruisin' (2/11/75)
Richie, Potsie and Ralph make a bet with Bag on who can pick up girls but they're forced to go cruising in the Cunningham family car.
This episode features Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick less than a year after The Brady Bunch left the airwaves (and before all its later iterations). This is a fun, very 50s themed episode as it includes cruising to pick up chicks and a drag race. McCormick has a fun in a role that was pretty similar to Marcia but with just a bit more edge. The whole episode is a little bit silly but it seems to be one where the cast is having a bunch of fun making it.
RATING: 7/10
When "The Howdy Doody Show" is in town, Richie tries to get a scoop for his school paper by photographing the clown Clarabell without makeup.
This is the first episode that shows Richie's interest in journalism, which becomes a focal point more frequently later in the series. It's a good episode featuring an appearance by real life Buffalo Bob Smith, who made a career of the character even after Howdy Doody left the air in 1960. There's a lot of heart to the episode and a nostalgic feel to it. It also has a funny moment when Joanie and then Marion freeze on camera at the Howdy Doody show. While there were funny moments, so many of these early episodes (in the "Rock Around the Clock" era) still were played for heart more than laughs.
RATING: 8.5/10
34. Get A Job (2/25/75)
Richie, Potsie and Ralph get a job building a beautiful divorcee's fence.
Almost all of the first couple seasons had a plot primarily centered around Richie, Potsie and Ralph. The show eventually expanded to have Howard and Marion-centric episodes, Joanie-centric episodes and, of course, Fonzie-centric episodes. But this is very emblematic of the early seasons. Henry Winkler barely appears in this episode. It's also interesting what a scandalous concept divorce was both in the 70s and especially in the setting of the 50s. This isn't one of the top notch episodes but it was yet another solid entry in a very consistent season.
RATING: 6.5/10
35. Fonzie Joins the Band (3/4/75)
Fonzie helps Richie and his band get tuxedos for a gig but wants to join the band and play the bongos in exchange.
This is another example of an early episode where the show still doesn't quite have the Fonzie character down. There are a couple things in this episode that don't track with the Fonzie of later years: would he really care about being in a band with a bunch of guys who are friends of his but not nearly as cool? And would he really love playing the bongos that much? The episode also then turns to being a story more about Richie getting into potential trouble and then Fonzie saves the day. That is much more in line with Fonzie as we know him. The whole episode is a bit of a snooze though.
RATING: 2/10
Everyone doubts that Richie actually knows a member of a rock 'n' roll band playing in Milwaukee and then when they need to stay at his house, he has to keep it a secret.
Howard's bad back ended the previous episode and it starts this one although it's not a continuing story. This episode is also the second straight music-themed episode. It is much better than the previous episode though. There's also a rare Chuck reference even though he hasn't appeared since the Christmas episode. It's a plot heavy episode that has a lot going on and you have to feel for Richie throughout the episode as he's once again caught in a moral dilemma. No surprise, it's a sitcom, so it all pays off.
RATING: 8/10
37. Richie's Flip Side (3/18/75)
Richie suddenly finds himself filling in as a DJ at a radio station and quickly becomes a success.
This is the third straight episode that is at least tangentially related to music. It has a fun premise and a new 50s setting we haven't had yet (a radio station) but it's also a pretty tried and true story about someone's ego getting to their head. It's not too often where Richie really gets his comeuppance because he often is the one making the right choices but he falls flat on his face here. It leads to a pretty cringy scene at Arnold's for a show that doesn't often dabble in cringe comedy. So a few different things happen in this episode and that makes it interesting.
RATING: 7/10
38. Kiss Me Sickly (4/29/75)
Fonzie upsets his girlfriend when he asks Richie to watch her while he's away so she decides to get back at him by flirting with Richie.
This episode features a guest appearance from Didi Conn a few years before she hit it big in another 50s themed property, Grease. But she's not a main guest star, she's just a friend of the main guest star. I like the direction this episode takes because it seems like one plot of Fonzie's girlfriend getting back at him but then it turns the plot on its head with the girlfriend's mono diagnosis after she kisses Richie. It makes for an almost suspenseful episode with Richie fearing impending doom on multiple levels. It's very well constructed.
RATING: 8/10
Richie, Potsie and Ralph go on a trip to Chicago with the choir and they decide to sneak out from their hotel room.
The single camera era of Happy Days ends as season two comes to a close. There are many great things about the broader years that follow but there's also something just so sentimental about the first two seasons. It's a fun episode that takes the three guys out of Milwaukee and into nearby Chicago. The setting is fun but I think the plot could have been a little better. Unlike the last episode, it seemed like there wasn't as much to this episode though the way it tied into the two teachers turned lovers was a funny take.
RATING: 6.5/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON TWO:
6.3/10
The Best Episodes
1. "Haunted" (#22) - 10/10
2. "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas?" (#27) - 10/10
3. "Wish Upon A Star" (#23) - 9/10
4. "Big Money" (#25) - 8.5/10
5. "The Howdy Doody Show" (#33) - 8.5/10
The Worst Episodes
1. "A Star is Bored" (#26) - 1.5/10
2. "Fonzie Joins the Band" (#35) - 2/10
3. "R.O.T.C." (#21) - 2/10
4. "Open House" (#28) - 2/10
5. "Richie's Car" (#18) - 2.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at Season 3 (Part 1) of Happy Days!
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