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The Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli thread — Page 2

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I've never actually watched an episode of Happy Days. I know it from reading about it, watching brief clips and actors bios such as Ron Howard's and Pat Morita's. I think I've seen 10 minutes of it, total.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: oojason
Would this be the thread to declare my undying love for Mrs Cunningham?


I have to admit, I always thought she was hot. A MILF long before the term had been invented.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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First season of Happy Days was great when it was on film with a single camera. The characters were real and the emotion honest. We find out Mrs. Cunningham was a racist, Fonzie was going to spend Christmas alone eating Beefaroni from a can, etc. When they went to the three-camera (I don't think it was video, but it might as well have been) set-bound typical sitcom style, THAT was when it jumped the shark. Fonzie became supernatural and the show really went downhill.
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I belive there was even a plot with aliens on it - Robin Williams playing Mork - so I asume it was not a 100% realistic and serious show - it was kinda like Gilligan's Island, set on the 50s...
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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If I'm not mistaken, the Mork episode (at least the first one) was done as a dream episode. When HD first started, as a pilot on Love, American Style and the first season, it was more like American Grafitti. It was a slice of life in the 50s. Eventually, it became Gilligan's Island of the 50s.
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I agree that it was much better in the first two seasons before it became a sitcom, and the '50s elements were all but removed, and it became the Fonzie show. And, yeah, the Mork episode was written as a dream. Correct me if I'm wrong, though, but there is a scene at the end where the Mork character returns and talks to his leader, proving it isn't a dream. I think that scene might have been added after Mork and Mindy was picked up. Nevertheless, there is an episode where Mork returns, and there is no effort to try to make anybody think it's a dream.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Dream episodes are very "Gilligan Island" like. "It was all a dream", that is the worst Deus Ex Machina a sitcom can use.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I agree that it was much better in the first two seasons before it became a sitcom, and the '50s elements were all but removed, and it became the Fonzie show. And, yeah, the Mork episode was written as a dream. Correct me if I'm wrong, though, but there is a scene at the end where the Mork character returns and talks to his leader, proving it isn't a dream. I think that scene might have been added after Mork and Mindy was picked up. Nevertheless, there is an episode where Mork returns, and there is no effort to try to make anybody think it's a dream.


Yeah, but by then Mork was on his own show and had been established as real. They didn't need to make him be a dream. The extra scene on the first episode was indeed filmed later for the reruns.

Speaking of Mork and Mindy, I remember loving it at the time and then not liking it. Researching the show, I had forgotten it was pretty much over by the second season. It crashed and burned as quickly as Welcome Back Kotter, and Chico and the Man. They changed supporting characters, added gimmicks, moved its timeslot. The final desperation move with bringing in Jonathon Winters in the 4th season. Ugh.