On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 9 (Part 2) of Happy Days! For Part 1, click here!
Instead of deciding between the University of Milwaukee and UCLA, Joanie makes a decision to not go to college which upsets Howard, Marion, Fonzie and Chachi.
This is a nice episode because it really focuses in on the good characters on the show: Fonzie, the Cunningham family and Chachi. It's weird to count Chachi as one of the best characters on the show but at this point in the run of the show, that's absolutely true. This feels like the first episode in awhile that was really family-driven. And though it was a pretty ridiculous moment, it was still a funny sight gag to see Fonzie climbing into bed with the Cunninghams. It's also interesting to see a "go to your room" joke back in the mix after the series used that often in the early years.
RATING: 7.5/10
202. Southern Crossing (1/12/82)
Outraged by seeing a beating of a black man in the south on TV, Al convinces Fonzie to join him on a trip to the south for a civil rights demonstration.
Happy Days is not a show that was cut out for dealing with race issues. But at least the show remembered it was set in the early 1960s for one episode. It feels like it has been forever since the show really placed itself in the time period. This episode definitely feels awkward with Al sort of playing the "white savior" role. But you have to remember this aired in 1982 and the show was definitely well-meaning with this episode. It would be a more egregious fail if it came out now but at the time, you have to at least credit it for trying even if it doesn't work.
RATING: 4/10
203. Grandma Nussbaum (1/19/82)
Fonzie and Chachi are concerned about their grandma living on her own and her memory so they try to convince her to move into a retirement home.
The great character actress Frances Bay makes her first of three appearances as Grandma Nussbaum. Bay had a 30+ year career playing little old ladies before her death in 2011 and she does a great job in this episode. She and Henry Winkler have a natural chemistry and the episode is one of the best uses of Fonzie on the show in awhile. The episode also randomly brings Pat O'Brien back as Uncle Joe but they weave him in well. It's jus a little odd to have a one-off character return and not have the episode be about him. Still, this is a strong entry.
RATING: 8.5/10
204. Poohbah, Doo Dah (1/26/82)
Al gets put in charge of the annual "Poohbah Doo Dah" when he says he can get his cousin, Frankie Avalon, to perform.
This is another episode that seems to be an excuse for all the actors to perform and be a little bit self promoting. Or maybe it's a pipe dream of the writer or director. Either way, it is just sort of irritating. There's also a guest appearance by Frankie Avalon and while his voice was still just as golden twenty years later, he was a fortysomething year old playing a twentysomething year old so the Jenny Piccolo stuff doesn't really work. And while Henry Winkler is game for the physical comedy bit he's asked to do in this episode, he's no Lucille Ball or Dick Van Dyke when it comes to stuff like that.
RATING: 3/10
Fonzie falls for a music teacher and goes along with her plan to bring in a classical group for a concert instead of a rock 'n' roll group.
First things first, isn't Jenny Piccolo supposed to be a student and Roger supposed to be a teacher? There are some weird dynamics at play if that is the case. Like dynamics that would result in someone getting fired. This is the second straight episode with a creepy Jenny Piccolo moment. But I digress because this episode is better than the previous one in every other way. It's a decent evolution of the Fonzie character to not instantly be on the side of the "kids" as the show seems to finally be realizing that Fonzie needs to grow up a little bit. The fantasy sequence knocks it down a point or so.
RATING: 6.5/10
206. Hi-Yo Fonzie, Away! (2/9/82)
For Fonzie's birthday, the Cunninghams and Chachi try to get him the chance to meet the Lone Ranger, who is in town.
This episode sort of plays with the idea that Fonzie is growing up and changing but is also still a child at heart. And surprise, it actually works. This episode balances the two different Fonzie personalities quite well because the character makes more mature choices about things that throwing tantrums over little things. And then his real childlike reaction to meeting the Lone Ranger has a sweet feeling instead of a pathetic feeling. It's interesting how later episodes of Happy Days varied so wildly on if they knew how to write for Fonzie.
RATING: 8.5/10
207. Great Expectations (2/16/82)
Fonzie tries to help Roger with hitting on women. Joanie and Chachi decide to try their hand at songwriting. Marion hopes to be the lead in a local production of "Oklahoma."
This is the second Happy Days episode titled "Great Expectations" as there is also an episode in season one with the same title. That's an odd choice even for a time when episode titles were not really given much thought. This was almost a decade later, maybe they just forgot? Speaking of forgettable, this episode really is just that. There's several different plots but none of them pop at all. They are all just nothing. Happy Days really fails when they try to give Ted McGinley a lot to do, especially when it's supposed to be funny.
RATING: 2.5/10
Roger's younger brother, Flip, comes to town and Roger doesn't quite know how to handle him.
Billy Warlock joins the cast in this episode as Flip, Roger's younger brother. Considering I already don't care about Roger as a character, it's real hard to care about his younger brother. He is also thoroughly unlikable in this episode even though the show tries to redeem him at the end of the episode. It's a sign of the very weird season to come on Happy Days. There is a funny bit at the end of the episode with a prank on Fonzie that is much better than the episode that precedes it.
RATING: 2/10
209. Chachi's Future (3/2/82)
After a fishing trip with Howard, Chachi starts to worry about his future as he realizes he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life.
Just as we started to get a hint of the next season of Happy Days with the previous episode, we now get an episode setting up the departure of Joanie and Chachi as they got ready to head out on their own spinoff, Joanie Loves Chachi. Because Chachi has become one of the more reliably decent characters on the show by this point, the episode works pretty well and Scott Baio does an OK job with the physical comedy in the sales scene at Arnold's. Several characters have just one tiny little part in this episode such as Roger and Jenny at the end (which is, again, creepy considering Jenny is supposed to be a student and Roger is supposed to be a teacher).
RATING: 6/10
210. Tell-Tale Tart (3/16/82)
Jenny gets jealous when Joanie starts hanging out with a new girl and starts a rumor that spreads and ends up involving Fonzie.
Crystal Bernard guest stars in this episode as Mikki shortly before she joins the cast as an entirely different character. She must have made a good impression on the creative team with this episode even though she really only appears in the first couple scenes. The episode is ultimately much more about Jenny Piccolo and it's not a surprising character turn for her but the story never really develops that much. Fonzie gets mad and the rumors spread and then it all resolves pretty quickly. It's just another "meh" episode.
RATING: 3.5/10
Al decides to propose to Chachi's mother but Chachi is skeptical of his plan.
I just need to once again express how icky the Jenny/Roger stuff is. First of all, Roger is hanging out with his students but here as Jenny blatantly comes on to him, he does mention that he's a teacher and she's a student. So the show knew what it was doing which begs the question, why. It's so cringeworthy. This episode aired the night that Joanie Loves Chachi premiered and it sets up the spinoff with Scott Baio, Erin Moran and Al Molinaro departing the series and joining the spinoff along with Happy Days guest star Ellen Travolta. It feels a little forced because it's not like we've been seeing a relationship develop for Al.
RATING: 5/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON NINE:
5.5/10
The Top Episodes
1. "Grandma Nussbaum" (#203) - 8.5/10
2. "Hi-Yo Fonzie, Away" (#206) - 8.5/10
3. "Fonzie the Substitute" (#196) - 8/10
4. "Not With My Mother, You Don't" (#192) - 7.5/10
5. "Just a Piccolo" (#197) - 7.5/10
The Bottom Episodes
1. "Hello, Flip" (#208) - 2/10
2. "The Nun's Story" (#198) - 2/10
3. "Great Expectations" (#207) - 2.5/10
4. "Hello, Tough Guy" (#200) - 3/10
5. "Poohbah, Doo Dah" (#203) - 3/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at Season 10 (Part 1) of Happy Days!
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