jrWHAG42 said:
I don't know much about the...franchise(?), I've never seen the original show or any of its spinoffs. I only know that Fonz and the Happy Days Gang exists because a certain person on YouTube who reviews cartoons. But that's kind of hilarious, that the spinoffs got spinoff cartoons as well. Which of all the spinoffs/cartoons is the absolute worst, and which is the best? Is the original show leagues above all else?
Well it is not like today, there was no planned franchise. I doubt producers were even thinking in those terms. TV Networks were pretty simple, if something is a success, let's make more of it. Hit movies would get ripped off and turned into tv shows. A hit tv show would get a spin-off.
Hhhmmmm.... maybe things haven't changed at all... LOL!
Of the cartoons, they are ALL TERRIBLE.
They have nothing to do with the live action shows. Skip them. lol
Of the HAPPY DAYS shows, all were produced by legend Garry Marshall, who knew how to balance quality with network demand.
And he was smart enough to make each spin-off show unique in its own right, always with a focus on characters (or maybe just excellent casting?) and heart.
HAPPY DAYS is the best of the bunch for me, just because it stayed the course for its 11 season run. Even with major cast departures, the show's quality remained pretty strong and consistent. It is a story of a family and their friends in 1950s and 60s middle America, a coming of age story... it could be heartfelt and sad, it could be slapstick, it could be over the top adventure.... it did it all. As I said the show was huge... I remember how they would do big epic 3 part episodes to launch each new season or climatic character in danger cliffhanger two parters. All very new for tv sitcoms at the time. It seems bizarre to say, but Happy Days was in its own right a revolutionary tv comedy for its time. It really does not get the recognition or praise it deserves.
side note: Originally Happy Days aired as pilot as part of the anthology tv series LOVE AMERICAN STYLE. The network passed on it. But when the movie AMERICAN GRAFFITI (also starring Ron Howard) was a box office hit, the ABC Network looked to cash in and realized they already had the perfect project in the can.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMEQEK_XFfQ[/video]
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY starts out strong in its early seasons, the story of two lower class working girls in the 1950s trying to get ahead in the world and their zany friends. It is a relatable story to anyone first starting out in life with all the odds against them. Sort of think of it as a predecessor to the current TWO BROKE GIRLS. The series takes a nose dive in the last two seasons, as the characters get moved to California and Shirley is written out of the show due to contract dispute (or was it a pregnancy... I can't remember). But still worth watching for the first 4-5 seasons.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX5OYb_ByYE[/video]
MORK AND MINDY, honestly the only reason to watch this show is for the genius of Robin Williams.... well, Pam Dawber is gorgeous and was a fantastic straight man to William's kooky madness. A very silly show, but again lots of heart. It only ran 4 seasons and each season it would get a slight retooling as the producers never seemed sure what to do with the characters.... eventually Mork and Mindy get married and have an adult baby (hatched from an egg) played by the comedic legend and Williams's hero, Jonathon Winters.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUVmmlByx2c[/video]