What's Happening!!

What's Happening was loosely based on the movie "Cooley High". It is sometime shown in reruns along with its vastly inferior sequel, What's Happening Now.

The heart of the show was the relationship among the three high school buddies, studious Roger, dim bulb Dwayne, and clownish Rerun. The late Shirley Hemphill got off some good zingers as the surly waitress of the malt shop the guys hung out in. Dee was the perfect snide and bratty kid sister to Roger, and Mama dished out discipline and love.

One of the best episodes was a two-parter that is seldom shown in reruns. Roger, Rerun and Dwayne were forced into illegally taping a Doobie Brothers concert (the rock group appeared as themselves) by some criminals. The tape recorder is discovered when it falls out from underneath Rerun's coat, and one of the musicians sees it. The Doobie Brothers then work with the three buddies to catch the criminals.

Anyone who is in their late thirties to forties should remember laughing to the antics of Raj(Ernest Thomas), Dwayne(Haywood Nelson), & Rerun(late Fred Berry) from the popular sitcom "What's Happening!" The show was centered around three ghetto Los Angeles black high school boys & their hilarious high jinks. Roger Thomas(studious & spectacled), Dwayne Nelson(nervous but loyal), & Freddy Stubbs(chubby & dimwitted) were the best of friends who spent a lot of time together at school & at Rob's Soda Shop. At Rob's was Shirley(late comedian Shirley Hemphill), the wise-cracking & worldly waitress who provided sparkling wit with insults to spare. When not with Dwayne & Rerun, Raj came home to strict but loving divorcée mother Mabel Thomas(late Mabel King) & cute but pain in the keister little sister Dee Thomas(Danielle Spencer). From one kind of trouble or silly situation to the next, the three guys never split up, always help each other, & find a way to persevere when the going gets tough.

The show was quite successful & can be shown in reruns on TVLand or Nick at Nite. Oldschoolers & kiddies alike can enjoy a show that gave me hours of unadulterated pleasure as a kid. "What's Happening!" did expand to an unsuccessful spin off called "What's Happening Now!" which featured the core cast all grown up. Raj & Shirley bought & co-owned a diner while Raj pursued a writing career. Raj also is married in this show to Ann-Marie Johnson & cares for her niece. Dwayne & Rerun are off on their careers while sharing an apartment. Dee Thomas is all grown up & in college. The comedy was not as sharp as the original series but kept loyal fans watching. The show did not last but entertained some nonetheless.

All said, "What's Happening!" holds fond memories of a time long gone. Three of the show's actors have passed on in recent years & the core thespians have been low key since the show ended. For those who watched & enjoyed the show, you know that successful sitcoms are hard to come by. Those of you who have not seen "What's Happening!", you missed out on a small piece of 70's Americana.

One of the best sitcoms made. It is a shame TV Land or Nick at Nite does not have "What's Happening!!" on their network. This show deserves to be played again, there are so many people who have not seen it. "What's Happening!!" was not meant to be a permanent show on ABC. It went for a trial run on ABC,but viewers like it so much it returned in the fall. One thing I like about "What's Happening!!" is it deals with a single parent in the house hold. When the father comes around the children sometimes have bad experiences with him. We do not see this anymore in sitcoms that much. If you look at family sitcoms today most of them have the two parents. But "What's Happening!!" was not affraid to be different, not afraid to show how a child's parent (the father) could not be a good person. But then again "What's Happening!!" also showed the good times Roger, Rerun & Dwayne could have (getting into unsuspected trouble). This is a great show and I hope to see it repeated on television.

Believe me, WHATS HAPPENING came out on a perfect time. There was'nt a better TV show to grow up on! Who could ever forget 1)Raj, the wise, bird-cracklin nerdish dude who could never sit in a chair the right way! 2) Rerun, the round, always-in-step party mover 3) Dwayne, the not so smart, heckling nervous breakdown "They cut off your fingers and your toes, man!" 4) And good ol' bratty sister Dee, who reminded you of everyone's sister!

WHATS HAPPENING is really missed by this commentator. Come on TVLAND, give us some RERUNs! RERUNs!

I have to say that I grew up on these reruns. I was surprised to see and remember how much I enjoyed the show during the recent TV Land marathon. The show was still groundbreaking too. I never understood why Mabel King who played Mama so beautifully left. I still remember Rerun, Dwayne, Raj, Dee, and Shirley as a happy group of people in working class Los Angeles, California. I'm not black but I can relate to the financial struggles that they held despite maintaining a happy suburban life. They provided many memorable moments for me over the weekend. It was nice to see Irene Cara in a guest appearance and Alice Ghostley and others too many to mention. The sitcom was probably criticized in its day but today, I can see it as a brilliant piece of realistic comedy touching on subjects tactfully and carefully like teenage pregnancy, marriage, divorce, single-parent home and of course, financial problems like all families share. I believe it was the first sitcom in my memory to feature divorce in a positive light rather than negative. Enjoy it!