On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 7 (Part 1) of Happy Days!
HAPPY DAYS: SEASON SEVEN
1979-1980
1979-1980
25 episodes
It's the end of an era with Season Seven of Happy Days. Ron Howard and Don Most depart at the end of the season. It might have been time for Don Most but the show is never the same after Ron Howard leaves. His send-off season graded out the same as the previous season but it feels more grounded. The show doesn't go to as many crazy places with s many fantasy-based episodes. So even though the grade was the same, it feels like a better season of Happy Days, or at least a more consistent one.
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 (24 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)
Scott Baio as Chachi Arcola (24 episodes)
Scott Baio as Chachi Arcola (24 episodes)
Lynda Goodfriend as Lori Beth Allen (14 episodes)
Ed Peck as Officer Kirk (1 episode)
The Cunninghams spend a vacation at a lake and Richie and Fonzie end up caught up in a shotgun wedding involving Laverne and Shirley and two dairy farm girls.
As mentioned before, Happy Days really knew how to make an event out of a season premiere before that was really a thing and they do that here with a crossover with Part 1 on Happy Days and Part 2 on Laverne & Shirley, which aired two days later. This episode also consciously moves the series into the 1960s with Fonzie referencing "President John F. Kennedy." This episode is almost exclusively Richie and Fonzie among the main Happy Days cast with some characters (Potsie, Ralph, Al, Chachi) doing nothing more than a walk by at the beginning of the episode. It continues the silliness of Season 6 (a Swedish dairy farmer?) but it does have some fun with the event feel of the episode.
RATING: 6.5/10
144. Chachi Sells His Soul (9/18/79)
Chachi is upset that people consider him too young and he dreams that he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for people taking him seriously.
I'm not sure when Ron Howard made it known that he was going to depart Happy Days after the seventh season, but this episode certainly seems to be the show telling us that Chachi will be a major focus going forward. However, this episode feels incredibly similar to the "My Favorite Orkan" episode from Season 5 but without the charm and comedy of Robin Williams. Without Williams, the premise is right up there with the dumbest and sillies the show has done and it's clear that the fantasy bend the show decided to take in Season Six is continuing on in Season Seven.
RATING: 2/10
145. Fonzie Meets Kat (9/25/79)
A ship docks in town and brings sold old rivals of Fonzie as well as a beautiful woman named Kat.
Another bizarre episode, this has a very unusual depiction of what a "ship life" looks like. I don't know why Milwaukee looks like some eastern Europe port city in this episode but it's another example of the show making strange choices and leaning further and further into a fantasy realm. When a show becomes this cartoonish, the plots can go almost anywhere. This episode doesn't really go anywhere and spends an awful lot of time with characters we'll never see again, specifically Kat.
RATING: 1.5/10
After Marion accidentally lets the family car crash into Arnold's, she ends up going to court and then to jail.
This episode is a little preview of what's to come with Arnold's later in the season. It's a much better episode than the start of the season because it's grounded in a believable story and good character work. The cold weather setting was a nice touch too as that allowed for some good comedy. This episode proves that the Happy Days writers were still able to keep things grounded when they wanted to even though they so often didn't. I think some of that was the pressure of being a top show and growing in the ratings thanks in part to some of their earlier stunts. This episode also features another funny guest appearance from Marcia Lewis in a different role than she played in Season Five's "Hard Cover."
RATING: 8/10
147. Richie's Job (10/9/79)
Richie gets a job working in the mailroom of a newspaper and doesn't get along with his co-worker.
This is the first of two straight episodes that lay the groundwork for Richie's departure even though they sort of revert back to regular episodes for awhile after that. They both deal with Richie itching for more than what his current life in Milwaukee is offering. Ron Howard really grounds this series in so many ways and when he fades to the background, as was too often the case in Season Six, the show suffers. His stories are much more rooted in common problems that some of the otherworldly stories that Fonzie takes on.
RATING: 6/10
148. Richie Falls in Love (10/23/79)
Fed up with the antics of his college friends and girlfriend, Richie falls in love with a much older woman he meets at a bar.
This is an even better version of the previous episode as it's a real standout for Ron Howard. This was an episode that needed to happen for Richie because we understand the character's motivation for leaving down the road. I also think it plays much better than when Richie's horniness gets the better of him and gets him in a fight with Lori Beth. This is a much more realistic pull for Richie. Unlike the growth of Richie, this episode puts Ralph and Potsie in a ridiculous costume for a second straight episode though the context here is better.
RATING: 8.5/10
Marion joins a theater group but her co-star and director leaves after making a pass at him so Fonzie fills in.
This is a little bit of a redux of the Season Two episode that gets Fonzie into acting but the premise is different here and at least the show acknowledges that episode at the beginning of this one. The actual play scene towards the end of the episode plays as silly as the one back in Season Two did but the rest of the episode is pretty enjoyable with a nice storyline for Marion. It's such a relief to see the show get back to more grounded storylines in Season Seven. I wonder if that was a note from the network or the creatives after the surreal sixth season.
RATING: 7/10
150. Burlesque (11/6/79)
Howard organizes a burlesque show for his lodge but the troupe he hires gets snowed in and can't perform.
This is the second straight show that has a performance-based plot. The plot isn't as strong in this one though because it seems like a mechanism to give some pretty silly performances from the cast and guest star Irving Benson. It's such a sitcom plot to have something go wrong so the cast has to band together and put on a show. One thing I hate about plots like that is it just takes characters out of their regular traits and throws them up on stage when that would not be natural for all the characters. It's just an excuse to make things more performative and less story-driven.
RATING: 2/10
151. Joanie Busts Out (11/13/79)
Chachi takes a job working for a photographer who shoots nudes and Joanie applies to the agency after a fight with her parents.
This episode is a little bit of a preview of the show Happy Days was going to become with a primary focus on Joanie and Chachi. The episode starts as more of a Chachi story and morphs into a Joanie story but it's also a good chance for the show to grapple with the two characters growing up and starting to get more adult-themed storylines. It's also a fun episode with Richie and Fonzie having pretty extreme reactions to the prospect of Joanie modeling nude and Ron Howard in particular having some pretty funny moments.
RATING: 7.5/10
Richie gets his drink spiked at a college party and makes a fool of himself then he and Fonzie try to get back at the culprit.
This episode is a good one because it allows Ron Howard to have some serious comedic moments. So often the straight man, Howard is very capable of being outrageous when he's called to be and his performance while drugged up is really funny. Although I've gotten a little tired of Fonzie fighting all of Richie's battles, it is pretty funny when they go to take care of things with Henry Winkler having some good moments. I think it's interesting that the show never really had Richie explain what happened to the rest of the friends.
RATING: 9/10
153. Fonzie vs. The She-Devils (11/27/79)
Chachi gets himself in trouble with a female motorcycle gang and Fonzie and the guys have to try to save him.
This is a pretty absurd episode that seems like it belongs in Season Six instead of Season Seven. That being said, Henry Winkler really leans into being the nerdy "Artie" when he goes to infiltrate the She-Devils. But there is a ton of lead-up to that scene that just feels like the episode is treading water. We all know Fonzie is going to get involved eventually so the long lead-up with just Richie, Potsie and Ralph involved seems like a waste of time. This is an episode that could have stood to have a B plot that wasn't just the Cunningham family singing - a very thankless episode for Howard, Marion and Joanie.
RATING: 3.5/10
154. The Mechanic (12/4/79)
Fonzie hires a mechanic in a wheelchair and then struggles to get along with him.
This has the trappings of a "very special episode" with dramatic music and all. I know it's the point but boy is guest star Jim Knaub awfully irritating with the giant chip on his shoulder. He's also just a really bad actor so that hurts the whole point of the episode. I think the show wanted us to feel a little sorry for him but I really didn't at any point in the episode. That, coupled with a clunky 1979-era handling of someone in a wheelchair, makes this episode a big miss.
RATING: 1.5/10
155. They're Closing Inspiration Point (12/11/79)
Richie and the gang find out a highway might go in that would close Inspiration Point and they rally against those in favor of it, including Howard.
It's quite a sitcom cliché for a character to get all upset about some civic issue only to discover that someone close to them is on the exact opposite side. That happens here with Richie and Howard at odds over the often referred to, though rarely seen, Inspiration Point. The episode has a lot going on and it moves along nicely but it's hit and miss on the laugh moments. It doesn't veer into trying to take itself too seriously which could be a risk especially when it tries to tug at the heartstrings, but it seems to keep the perspective better than some episodes do.
RATING: 6.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - A look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at Season 7 (Part 2) of Happy Days!
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