Happy Days - Les jours heureux

I am 14 years old and I love Happy Days- there should be more programs like it now! I am a fan of older TV shows, as well as new ones [I love Starsky and Hutch], but If I ever need cheering up- I always put Happy Days on. I think I watch at least one episode a day and it puts me in a good mood!

All the characters are fantastic- Richie, Potsie, Ralph, Joanie etc..and who could ever forget The Fonz? What I love about Fonzie is that he is so cool but is also a softie and loves his 'family' The Cunninghams so much.

Watch Happy Days- you won't regret it!

To Happy Days!

Yes, those were Happy Days, when I watched this show as a child. For quite a while, this was the best show on tv. It outstayed its welcome, but it shined for a time.

The success of the show rests heavily on the performances of Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Tom Bosley, and Marion Ross. Henry Winkler had tremendous charisma and handled his role with great subtlety, until the writing got out of hand. Ron Howard was the rare case of a child actor whose talent matured with his body. Tom Bosley and Marion Ross were outstanding character actors who brought life to Howard and Marion Cunningham. The cast was rounded out by fine supporting players and guest stars.

It was interesting to watch the 50's nostalgia evolve to the point that the time period was no longer mentioned in the show. It seemed that, by the end, it was set in the present. It's interesting to watch the earliest seasons, with episodes revolving around Adlai Stevenson vs. Eisenhower, or Rock 'N' Roll shows; and compare those to shows revolving around Fonzie as a teacher.

It's a shame that memories of Happy Days are tainted by the later years, and that stupid "jumping the shark" phrase. For a time, this show was unbeatable. It created successful spin-offs, like "Laverne and Shirley" and "Mork and Mindy," as well as less successful ones like "Joannie Loves Chachi." It ruled Tuesday nights and was one of the top ten shows for a long part of its existence.

The one question that remains from this show is, "What happened to Chuck?" Maybe he died in Vietnam, with the Beaver. Oh, wait, that was an urban legend. Maybe he was recruited into the CIA.

I remember when this show was King, c. '76 or so, Tuesdays at 8pm. It was one of those shows that you watched faithfully, got into the characters, jokes, knew the punchlines beforehand every time, and talked about the day after w/ friends. Kids loved it the most, as the Fonz Was a TV hero like you don't see anymore.

I always felt that this should have ended about 5 years before it did too-when Malph and Richie left. Putting the show on in the 80's w/ Chachi as a lead, set in the '60's, Ted McGinley, etc--it was really outta gas and a shadow of its former self. If you ever see the repeats from c. '82 you know what I mean.

Happy Days was the Malachi Crunch, Fonz jumping things on his bike, swarmed by 'the chicks', Richie learning about adulthood from Fonz, and of course Mr and Mrs C offering their bemused, befuddled support. That was the show. I don't think you could make it again.

*** outta ****

I don't know what Joel S. was watching when he was making comments about Fonzie being a loser.

Fonzie was supposed to be older than the rest of the gang, but not by that many years. Perhaps it was because Henry Winkler was older than the rest of the cast that he looked, as you said, twenty years older.

Fonzie never dated high school girls. He knew they were too young for him. He had morals.

Fonzie being an illiterate high school drop-out? I don't know where you got that from. Fonzie had dropped out of high school when the show started, but one of plot points of the episode where Richie graduated high school was that Fonzie revealed that he'd been secretly going to night school to earn his high school diploma. He graduated with the rest of the gang.

Fonzie living above the Cunningham's garage. That was because he'd given up his own apartment to his grandmother after she'd been forced to leave her own place. He stayed above the garage for so long because he loved he Cunninghams like his own family. He essentially was a part of the family. In the last season, he did move out into a regular apartment. In the last episode he bought a house so that he would be allowed to adopt an orphaned boy he'd befriended. Gee...buying a house so you can provide a good home and be a good parent? Doesn't sound like a loser.

As well, Fonzie also worked several jobs at once. He was (or became) the owner of the garage he worked at. When Arnold's burned down, he put up money to help Al rebuild and became the part-owner. Then, he started teaching shop class at Jefferson High. He later went to a tough school and became the Dean of Boys, so he could help kids who needed guidance.

So, I think Fonzie was a cool character not because of his leather jacket, or motorcycle, or his prowess with girls. I think he was cool because he was a good person who was always willing to help a friend in need. Did you ever see the episode where Al wants to go down to Alabama to join a Civil Rights march? (This was a later episode when the time was the 1960's). Fonzie is concerned about Al's safety and goes with him to look out for him. Fonzie joins Al and a young African-American man in a sit-in at a diner. That doesn't sound like something a loser would do.

Cool show, lots of fun, heart warming and really charming and entertaining, and, last but no least, Happy Days got Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarell, the coolest cast in town. Like Mork & Mindy, I Dream of Jeannie or Get Smart and many other shows, this one is still excellent entertainment now flavored with a good shot of nostalgic superpowers. There is just one question left: what happened to the movie business? Neflixed, disneyed and superheroed to death, I guess. At least we got still all those exquisite shows of gone times just waiting for us to visit them again.