Laverne & Shirley – The Complete First Season

 

Picture: B-     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Episodes: B+

 

 

Garry Marshall once told a funny story that in order to sell Laverne & Shirley in Islamic countries, he had to contractually guarantee a disclaimer that said before the first frame rolled, that these women were absolutely crazy and that women did not act like this in real life, even in the West.  Well, for women living their lives set in the 1950s, that seems a bit much.  After watching The Complete First Season, I can see what the Middle East was afraid of, because these shows are hilarious and hold up very well.

 

It is easy to forget how great this show was, and some people (much like they often say about The Bionic Woman after The Six Million Dollar Man) like the show more than Happy Days.  It is just that the spin-off had ground to break that the original did not and landed up producing more strong episodes, and the fact that they were groundbreaking television starring women did not hurt.

 

The first two shows are crossover episodes with Happy Days, featuring Henry Winkler as Fonzie in both.  The true test was how the third show would be and it was a mid-season replacement like Happy Days had been.  The first 15 shows are:

 

1)     The Society Party

2)     The Bachelor Party

3)     Bowling For Razzberries (A classic show.)

4)     A Nun’s Story (A former party friend gone Holy visits in this hilarious show.)

5)     Falter At The Alter (Al Marinaro is a priest here before becoming Arnold’s restaurant owner Al on later seasons of Happy Days.)

6)     Dog Day Blind Dates (Fred Willard plays a date the girls will never forget.)

7)     Once Upon A Rumor

8)     One Flew Over Milwaukee

9)     Dating Slump (Mark Harmon delivers flowers and Robert Hays is a bus driver in this amusing show.)

10)  It’s The Water (Is Shirley the target of sexual harassment taste-testing beer?)

11)  Fakeout At The Stakeout

12)  Hi, Neighbor

13)  How Do You Say “Are You Dead” In German?

14)  From Suds To Stardom

15)  Mother Knows Worst

 

 

That third show was so funny that it was obvious that Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams were going to pick up where Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance left off in the crazy situation department and they did a great job.  The great thing is that they were also new characters like we had never met before, and certainly like none of the women from Happy Days.  We’re lucky this happened at all, because it has not happened since.  Williams had been in films like George Lucas’ American Graffiti (1973) and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974), so she was considered a more serious actress.  Marshall had already shown how funny she could be on brother Gary’s big hit TV version of The Odd Couple, so her casting was more obvious.  Somehow, it was figured out that they would make a great team and the chemistry remains some of the greatest in TV history.

 

The full frame images are another pleasant surprise, shot on film by cinematographer Lester Shorr, A.S.C., who came up with a different look for the show to distinguish this from Happy Days.  Note how the show tries for a slightly softer look, then goes for a nice array of more feminine colors.  The range and fidelity here is terrific and brings another aspect of the 1950s to life.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is adequate and on the clean side, but those expecting some kind of stereo remix because of the hit Rock songs should remember that most of those songs were monophonic to begin with.  Harry Shearer did some early voiceover work on the show, decades before his recognized success on The Simpsons.  Remarkably, except for some crossover promotional footage left on the first show, there are no extras on this DVD whatsoever.  Williams & Marshall did have a falling out which caused Williams to leave the show (and be replaced for a time by Carrie Fisher!?!), but there are plenty of stories to tell and there is no excuse for no audio commentaries, documentaries, interviews, or promotional materials.  However, the episodes themselves are a riot and if you have not looked at The Complete First Season of Laverne & Shirley in a long time, you should.  You deserve to be surprised.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo