Happy Days

Having been a fan of "American Graffiti", the movie it pretended to be based on, I had somewhat high hopes for this show. That lasted about 10 minutes. It was kind of amazing to see how fast it began to spiral into complete, pandering silliness. After the first season it was obvious that the Fonz craze was upstaging just about any other aspect of the show. The fad became the money maker and, as soon as that was revealed, the PTB apparently had one goal; to keep it going and the cash flowing as long as possible. Even if it meant sacrificing any thought of quality and required a severe dumbing down (well, maybe severe is going a bit far). And, I must say, they did an excellent job of it.

According to Happy Days 1959 lasted about 10 years in Milwaukee, which seems about right.

It was cheesy at best,but it was better than "Grease",the movie with the soundtrack from the bowels of hell.

Lasted about 8 years too long for what should have stayed a 1950s-based sitcom. The first couple of seasons captured the essence of the era but then when they decided to make side character Fonzie into a central character, the show began to "jump the shark," even before Fonzie actually DID jump the shark.

Damn...if only there was some sort of phrase to describe the moment a show lost its relevance...

Anything after the first 5 minutes of the first episode was too long, as far as I'm concerned. This was an asinine piece of shit from the get go. Who could imagine that a "comedy" based on teenage hormonal bullshit would be such a success? Oh, wait a minute, check that......

I like this series now more than I did as a kid. It's funny though. When I watched it as a kid in the 1970s it seemed to be based on ancient history. Then when I was channel surfing in the late 1990s I happened across an episode and it made me feel old that it had been as long since the series ended as between the series and the time it was depicting. But my childhood didn't feel like "ancient history," until that moment. I should say that 'That 70s Show" doesn't feel anything like the 70s. However, Dazed and Confused, the movie, took me right back.

I think they milked this programme for all it was worth until there was nothing left. I loved the early Happy Days episodes with Richie, Fonzie, Potsie and Ralph. When they later introduced Chachi and pushed Joanie to the front and then had that awful spin-off "Joanie Loves Cachie" this show truly died a good death. I was watching a THS of Scott Baio and even though he waas grateful for his time on there you got the sense that even he had to admit that Happy Days had run its course.

The 1st 4 seasons were amazing! Fonzie almost married Pinky Tuscadero, which would've been the 1st nail in the coffin. Richie's older brother Chuck disappeared after the 1st season. Fonzie's nephew Spike disappeared after the 4th season (he's seen witnessing his uncle's graduation, never to be heard from again). Then comes season 5- Spike is replaced by Chachi (who has a fondness for muscle T-shirts, 1960's style shag cuts long before the Beatles make their American debut and an annoying expression "Wah-wah-waaaaahh!"), Pinky is replaced by Leather Tuscadero who starts the musical element and Fonzie literally jumps a shark in L.A. to exchange his white T-shirt for a black one. Ok, we can't expect Richie, Potsie and Ralph to stay in high school forever but too much changed during this season, which had its moments (Marion dons a belly dancer costume, hilarious and she actually looks good in it!). The season 6 opener worked a little better, with Fonzie rescuing Joanie who has a close cal... Read more

slightly better than the Brady Bunch but still not nuts about it

Once the original cast started leaving and the writers couldn't bring nothing new to the table it should have ended.

yeah, happy days was on way too long....they even had Ted McGinley aka Jefferson Darcy towards the end.

Even in its "prime", it never qualified as "great" TV, unless you equate "The Beverly Hillbillies" or "Mr. Ed" with "The Honeymooners" or "All In The Family" ("All In The Family" in the beginning, anyway, when it was great-- it didn't stay great, unfortunately). Even at its "best", it was a bland, homogenized rip-off of "American Graffiti" with anything provocative or genuinely funny from the original movie removed (Terry the Toad had become Potsie)-- lacking any irony or insight, the Cunningham's might just as easily have been the family from "Leave It To Beaver" or "Father Knows Best", except that we as a country had been through Vietnam, assassination, Watergate, civil rights, etc., in the interim, and what might have passed for entertainment in the 1950's or early 1960's just seemed pitifully insipid and ridiculous by the time "Happy Days" aired in 1974. Granted, it was a popular show, and I'll confess I watched my share of it (as a stupified teenager during the summer months, with... Read more

This is the show that gave us the term "Jump the Shark" when a television show peaks and goes into decline. I only saw the episode on replay, but Fonzie and the gang were on the West Coast, Fonzie was water skiing in his leather jacket, and he jumped over a shark that was penned up in some display on the beach.

Fonzi was getting old. No one wants to see a 40 year old guy picking up chicks.

THe 50's lasted for about the first 3 seasons. Then...it was suddenly...go figure...the 70's. What started out as a great show turned into a sad parody of itself. A mercy killing was in order LONG before Scott Baio (sp) joined the show.

Great show and still like even today!

Happy days should have ended at least two seasons earlier. I stopped watching it because most of the main characters were gone and replaced by forgettable characters. It was no longer the same show.too bad it was fun to watch when it was first on when i was a teenager myself. by the time it ended i was having kids of my own.

henry winkler was not my idea of a tough guy

About four seasons too many.

ABC really milked this cow!

The first chink in the armor was obviously when Ron Howard and Donnie Most left the show, but it was still okay for the first season or two after. By the time it ended it was barely a shadow of the original show, centering on newer charecters that nobody cared about. The waited at least a year or two too long to pull the plug on this one.

Early Happy Days was great, but as with many shows, it lingers on far too long and gets sloppy with new characters that aren't near as interestig and enjoyable as the originals.  Mork and Mindy suffered the same thing.  Happy Days, in it early days, was great.  Fonzy was great as the cool dude, and Ritchie was wonderful as the nerdy kid.  It was fun to watch...but then we had Chachi, and that little nephen of Fonzie's.  It got all too mushed up for me.

Joanie loves Chachi !!!

This is where the phrase "jumped the shark" jumped the shark.

then, not now

Chachi was the bomb back in the day!

INCREDIBLE!!!!

Who didn't love it ~ and who didn't either want to BE the Fonz or be WITH him.

Great show! The cast was so good and people still go around saying "eeeyyyy". They don't come much cooler than Fonzie and the Cunninghams were the coolest straight family around.

Not the best written show in the world but for some reason every time I watch this thing I suddenly remember the Fonzie posters on my wall and the fact I had a crush on Joannie. It takes me back.

fonzie made this show,it was very funny.

I'm the second youngest of 6 kids in my family. Most of them were somewhat familiar with the 50s and they watched this show till it almost made me puke. I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me, but, I think you had to be a part of the 50s scene to enjoy the show.

I used to watch the old reruns of this when I was a kid. Very good show, even if it is old. Funny, well-written. Good acting.

I never went TOO bananas for this show.It was a nice little show.I hear a lot of people on this post beating up on the Fonz.I think that Fonzie should have been used a bit less,not because he was not funny but characters that provide comic relief should be used sparingly.Leave 'em wanting more is a good rule of thumb.

Nobody could have been that Happy. Shows just how moronic we really can be.

Like Mash there were two happy days the early ones which tried to keep focused on Richie and the ones where it was the lobotomized fonzie obsessed ones.The stupid sit on it jokes.It seemed like the show was trying to commit Irwin Allencide.Irwin Allen would make a pretty good show and concept and then when he tired of it.He would kill it with silly plots.Only Happy Days would not die.I think Happy days is the marking point of when peoples minds were turning to mush.If only they would have dumped fonzie and kept chuck(richies never talking basketball dribbling brother wriiten off early).

This was a good show when it first came on, but later tanked when Richie left and Fonzie settled down with one woman and her annoying little girl.

One of the best sit coms ever. The need of the day in 1975 and following was not for another show to remind us of all that was wrong in our country. There were plenty of shows to do that. What the country needed was for a show to remind us of what is good in the country and Happy Days did that. Sure, there were some sexual inuendos, but, that notwithstanding this is a terrific show.

How about the way Chachi had a late 70s hairstyle in a 1963 setting?

Loved that show growing up.... Fonz for prez...was that the nixon election? No wait that was Ford.

I LOVE Happy Days and i'm only 15! I love how it follows the growth of a teenaged boy, but it's not completely sickening to the max. I love Richie to death and the Fonz is great!

Happy Days is my favorite show. It is an instant classic with characters like the fonz and ritchie. I loved the later years after ritchie was gone, chachi and joanie kept things goings and fonzie really was developped as an actor. It will always be the best in my books!(and ratings!!)

This seems like a show where everybody just had a ball making it. The relationship between Opie, uh, I mean Richie and the Fonz was a good TV matchup. Probably the best Retro show ever.

Started out very well (especially when it was originally presented on Love American Style)as a fun romanticized representation of the 1950's. Turned into swill when it became a Fonz-Fest & Henry Winkler overshadowed the other characters with his horse face & obnoxious demeanor.

I am the first to admit this show was not really well written or acted and stupid but being a little kid I LOVED it!!!!I will still watch sometimes due to the nostalgia element. This show started before I was born and I believe lasted well into the early 80's so you have a whole generation who grew up watching this..This like the reruns of Brady Brunch are just a huge part of so many childhoods ...for that it gets 5 stars

they had a good stat and then went down hill all the way.

Classic show top 10 of all time for sure

i still find this series lovely and i am not old

This show disappointed me because having a comedy set in the 1950s was such a great idea to start with. Unfortunately, it quickly became a program about people with 1970s values, 1970s haircuts, and 1970s manners. Only the cars looked authentic. People in the 1950s did not call each other nerd and families didn't relate to each other the way they did on this program. People were also able to have conversations without shouting nearly every line. As one season of Happy Days followed another, the plots got sillier, the added cast members got worse, and the audience got noisier. It became a mere caricature of the 1950s, and a poor one. The writers also managed to sneak political messages into some episodes. It did have one saving grace: Ron Howard's presence on this or any other show makes it better than it would have been otherwise.