For the number two show in America, this season of "Laverne & Shirley" was surprisingly uneven.
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It's been compared to "I Love Lucy" and also famously dubbed "TV junk food" by critics, who resented the show's quick rise to the top of the Nielsen ratings. Say what you will, there was something about these two "girls" that appealed to Americans. Maybe it was the odd-couple combination of Shirley's wide-eyed hopefulness and Laverne's tough cynicism. Maybe it was the fact that these two opposites were linked together because they were "good girls" at a time when there were the ones who "vo-dee-oh-doed" and the ones who didn't. Maybe it was the way in which the show addressed class, with these two blue-collar brewery workers constantly reminded of their lowly station in life but trying, all the same, for something bigger and better. Maybe it was the likeable cast. Or maybe--just maybe--it was that their brand of comedy really did remind folks of TV's beloved Queen of Comedy, Lucille Ball.
"Happy Days" fans will know immediately that Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) made a brief debut on that show as friends of Fonzie. Like "Happy Days," this is the 1950s, but seen from the point of view of two Shotz Brewery workers in Milwaukee. Instead of a coming-of-age nostalgic sitcom, it was a show about two roommates trying to find happiness outside of high school. The girls worked as bottle-cappers at the brewery, where their friends, Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) were truck drivers. As quasi-cool greasers, they were the male equivalent of Laverne and Shirley--two people who thought they had more going for them than they really did, and two people who played off each other well in order to generate laughs.
"Happy Days" had the protective parents, and wild-haired, wild-eyed comedian Phil Foster serves that function here as Laverne's dad, Frank, who runs The Pizza Bowl-which doubled as a kind of Arnold's and a place for Laverne to work on the side to pick up extra money.
After finishing third in the Nielsen's its first season, well ahead of "Happy Days," at the end of the second season"Laverne & Shirley" found itself in the number two spot behind the top-rated show in America: "Happy Days." Its third and fourth seasons it would incredibly become the number one show in America.
Despite the show's popularity, the second season is really pretty uneven as far as the comedy goes. Some of the best episodes are, in fact, the ones that go at slapstick head-on, without embarrassment and without hesitation. When Laverne and Shirley wrestle with two dates who got their number off a men's room wall and Laverne has one of them pinned with her foot on the couch and is pushing against the other while Shirley runs for help, it's a classic Lucy moment with a blue-collar twist. Episodes like "Good Time Girls," "Guinea Pigs," and "Guilty Until Proven Not Innocent" are the comedic highlights that make up for some of the so-so episodes.
Here's a rundown on the 23 season installments, which are included on four single-sided discs in a nifty clear keep-case that's the same size as a standard DVD case, but which has a plastic "page" that holds two additional discs:
1) "Drive! She Said"--Shirley cons Laverne into going "halvsies" on a car, but the problem is that Laverne can't drive, except to drive pedestrians hurriedly out of her way.
2) "Angels of Mercy"--Aren't these two a little old to be Candy-Stripers? Laverne catches the volunteer bug from Shirley.
3) "Bachelor Mothers"--Laverne and Shirley baby-sit an infant whose mother is on the road with Fonzie (Henry Winkler).
4) "Excuse Me, May I Cut In?"--Two more "Happy Days" alums put in an appearance, as Richie (Ron Howard) and Potsie (Anson Williams) try to help Laverne and Shirley win a dance contest. One of the more entertaining trips down memory lane.
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