On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show by season. Today I am looking at Season 4 (Part 1) of Happy Days!
HAPPY DAYS: SEASON FOUR
1976-1977
1976-1977
25 episodes
Season Four is the season that Happy Days shot to #1 in the ratings and with good reason. It's certainly the show at its best in its multi-cam era. Everything is clicking for the show at this point with a particularly good stretch of episodes starting with "Fonzie's Hero." You can tell that this is a show that is confident with what it was doing and it is not tired yet. Everyone seems enthused by the studio audience and the performances are strong and funny. Sure, a jump over the shark was looming but it didn't happen in the fourth season.
Starring
Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham (25 episodes)
Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli (25 episodes)
Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham (25 episodes)
Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham (25 episodes)
Anson Williams as Potsie Webber (25 episodes)
Don Most as Ralph Malph (25 episodes)
Erin Moran as Joanie Cunningham (25 episodes)
Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio (23 episodes)
Pat Morita as Arnold Takahashi (1 episode)
Ed Peck as Officer Kirk (1 episode)
Neil J. Schwartz as Bag Zombrowski (1 episode)
Fonzie begins a relationship with old flame Pinky Tuscadero and the two of them decide to compete in a Demolition Derby. Richie gets a new job as a news reporter.
Season Four kicks off with a three part "event" episode and the show would continue to kick off seasons with events for several more seasons. You can tell that the show is a hit by this point. The audience is loud and there's a lot of energy. This episode marks the debut of Al, the new manager of Arnold's. I liked Pat Morita but I prefer Al Molinaro's character. The show attempted to emphasize the relationship with Pinky is different for the Fonz but I'm not sure how earned it was. Not only was there very distracting moments due to the obvious California (and not Wisconsin) landscape, but a montage wasn't the best way for us to really understand why Pinky matters as a character. That being said, Roz Kelly and Henry Winkler do have some chemistry and they make a good team with each other. There's a lot of great moments in this episode which feels big and event-filled while still not jumping the shark... yet. It's also worth noting that this episode is when the show starts to launch in earnest the on-going arc of Richie becoming a journalist.
RATING: 7.5/10
66. Fonzie Loves Pinky Part 3 (9/28/76)
After Fonzie's victory at the Demolition Derby and Pinky's injury, Fonzie proposes to Pinky.
The cliffhanger from the one hour premiere gets resolved pretty quickly and the episode pivots to the next chapter in the Fonzie and Pinky love story. As I said in the recap for the first hour, there is decent chemistry between Fonzie and Pinky but the love story just doesn't feel earned. This was typical of series back in the 1970s. The show decided Fonzie would have an epic love story so what would now happen over the course of perhaps half a season gets crammed into a three part premiere. It's hard to feel too much for the Fonz about his relationship when we didn't really get to know them as a couple.
RATING: 4/10
67. A Mind of His Own (10/5/76)
Fonzie sees a psychiatrist to deal with his anger and begins building birdhouses as an outlet.
This is a bizarre episode and one that doesn't work because it's not at all based in truth to a character. Happy Days spent three seasons showing us that Fonzie is someone who can keep himself under control and doesn't have to fight (the strong season three episode "Richie Fights Back" plays off that concept rather effectively). This episode seems to suddenly imply that Fonzie's physical aggression is such a problem that he has to see a psychiatrist about it. That's because the writers thought Fonzie with a psychiatrist and building birdhouses would be funny without honoring the character they've created.
RATING: 1/10
Fonzie and Richie take care of a pregnant woman who is married to a friend of Fonzie's.
This episode started with some pretty predictable reactions to seeing a pregnant woman (wouldn't they know if they were potentially responsible? The only shocked reaction that actually made sense was from Howard and Marion). However, it got better after that. Fonzie and Richie had some good moments and the surreal scene in the hospital with a birthday party and a baby coming was a funny bit. It's not a great episode all the way through but has enough decent moments to make it a workable premise and enjoyable one.
RATING: 6/10
69. Fonzie's Hero (10/26/76)
After Potsie saves Fonzie's life, Fonzie tells him he will give him anything he wants and Potsie wants to pal around with Fonzie.
This is one of the first real Potsie-centric episodes and while Potsie does come across as a pretty big loser throughout a lot of the episode, the ending is actually pretty sentimental and it makes Potsie a sympathetic character. The episode goes through a nice journey with Fonzie first feeling very grateful to Potsie and then it going too far only to swing back a little bit. The loyalties and sympathy to the characters fluctuate quite a bit during the episode and that's a sign of a good premise and the skating scene provides pretty good humor. Howard, Marion and Joanie are barely seen in this episode.
RATING: 8.5/10
70. A Place of His Own (11/9/76)
Richie feels like he is having trouble with girls because he doesn't have his own place so Fonzie agrees to give up his place for a night.
Although this has a similar premise to the Season Two opener when Richie moves in with the since disappearing Chuck. However, this episode is a much better version of the premise thanks to a good amount of hijinks that happen throughout the episode. Some highlights include Fonzie explaining the four phases to Richie, Richie's frantic attempt to not appear to have taken advantage of his date and of course the resolution when they all end up in Fonzie's apartment. It's a fun episode and the second in a stretch of strong entries.
RATING: 9/10
Fonzie and Joanie enter a marathon dance contest but Fonzie has a motorcycle mishap and has to compete while injured.
I have always loved this episode. First of all, it has the setting of a dance marathon which makes it one of the more clearly 50s-themed episodes. That was common in early seasons but less so as the series go on. Secondly, it's a great testament to the Fonzie character. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint Joanie in any way and it shows just how loyal the character is. Finally, the episode is just pure fun. The dances are fun, there are great lines (especially Fonzie's impersonation of Joanie's rival and insults of her partner) and it has a ton of energy. Fonzie's final dance after being delirious is pretty epic. This is a highlight episode of Happy Days where the best elements of the show all come together.
RATING: 10/10
72. The Muckrakers (11/23/76)
Richie uncovers a story involving bad meat at the high school and follows up by exposing the Fonz's aversion to liver.
This is a great episode that has a story that seems to be going one way (the muckraking part of it) and then turns into a story about Richie and Fonzie's friendship. Both parts of the episode are great. The scene in the kitchen with Richie posing as a foreign exchange student and the audience founding out about Fonzie's liver fear is hilarious. Then the fight between Fonzie and Richie feels very earned and not forced into a story where it doesn't work. This is something that could cause a rift between friends and there's a good scene between Howard and Richie.
RATING: 9.5/10
73. A.K.A. the Fonz (11/30/76)
Officer Kirk gets promoted to sheriff and becomes determined to run Fonzie out of town.
I absolutely loved this episode as a kid because I loved the whole cast defending Fonzie against Officer Kirk and the climactic moment with them all wearing leather jackets. I still think it's a good episode but watching it back as an adult, it does veer a little bit into the corny territory. The audience, which is always a little annoying, is super annoying during that scene too. I also think the entire premise of this episode doesn't really hold up to scrutiny because Fonzie is such a non-threatening character and to try to make him out to be some type of hood doesn't work all that well.
RATING: 7/10
74. Richie Branches Out (12/7/76)
At Christmas time, Richie falls in love with a pin-up model and tries to figure out a way to meet her.
This episode takes place during the Christmas season but it isn't really a Christmas episode in the way that others in the series are. That was sort of unusual at the time as most TV sitcoms either had their full-fledged Christmas episodes or nothing. It's sort of nice to see a non-Christmas plot happening during December. That being said, the plot is only okay. Richie is borderline creepy in the episode (not to mention a little bit out of character though not totally). Also, the plot seems like it should be funnier than it is so it doesn't all work but I still like the Christmas backdrop.
RATING: 5/10
Fonzie starts dating an older and more sophisticated woman but it turns out she is married.
This episode features Diana Hyland in a guest starring role. She was dating John Travolta at the time and passed away from breast cancer just a couple months after this episode aired. The plot of this episode is interesting because Travolta was 18 years younger than Hyland so there was some truth to this story. It's interesting because even though this is just one episode, the show actually makes more of an attempt to develop this relationship than they did with Fonzie and Pinky to start the season. Because of that, the stakes get raised and the episode works better.
RATING: 7.5/10
76. Time Capsule (1/11/77)
While preparing a time capsule, Richie and others get locked in a janitor's closet at Howard's store.
This episode features the classic "locked in" concept that used to be so much easier for TV shows to do before the age of cell phones. This is the first appearance by Lynda Goodfriend but she's not playing Lori Beth, Richie's eventual girlfriend turned wife. She's playing a character named "Kim" and though she isn't given all that much to do, the producers must have seen something they liked. This is an okay episode, but it follows most of the usual tropes of characters being stuck in a room together. I think I would have preferred an episode more specifically about the time capsule.
RATING: 4.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at Season 4 (Part 2) of Happy Days!
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