"Mother Knows Worst"

"Mother Knows Worst"
May 18, 1976
B-


Pat Carroll makes her first and only appearance as Shirley's mother Lily in this episode written by Arthur Silver.  We can see where both Shirley's insecurities and her dreams come from, as Mrs. Feeney criticizes Shirley yet wants her to marry a successful man and move to the suburbs.  We also discover that Shirley's parents are divorced and she has a brother named Michael.  And Mrs. Feeney remembers Lenny as the boy who shaved their dog years ago, and yet she refers to Squiggy and Lenny as "Squiggly and Wiggly."  (A detail that I do remember from the time, probably because it would've amused an eight-year-old who loved words and silliness.)

Not exactly a shipping note, but Lenny bites his palm at the idea of him and Squiggy as the girls' "bosom buddies."

Helen Page Camp makes her second and last appearance as Mrs. Havenwurst, who here claims to be psychic.

The first season of Laverne & Shirley ranges from C to B, averaging out to a B-.  It is not quite the show I remember, not yet, but the elements are there and just need to be developed.  (I didn't mention it, but we see Laverne pouring milk & Pepsi in one episode and it isn't addressed, just thrown in there, which says something about the approach to comedy the first year, including not knowing how to do running jokes.)  Season One ranked #3 in the ratings for that year (after All in the Family, with Marshall's husband Rob Reiner as Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man) impressive for a mid-season entry, even one boosted by the Fonz.  The still-running Mary Tyler Moore Show (then in its penultimate season and coming in at #19) asked, "How will you make it on your own?"  But Laverne & Shirley were going to do it their way, yes, their way and make all their dreams come true.  (Well, some of them.)

"From Suds to Stardom"

"From Suds to Stardom"
May 11, 1976
B-


This first of I think at least three Shotz Showcase episodes is a little weak, and yet it does feature the debut of the marvelous Lenny & the Squigtones.  ("I'm Lenny."  "And I'm the Squigtones.")  They here sing the McKean-penned "Starcrossed," which is a '50s parody played straight, including apparently one of those "Tell Laura I Love Her" tragic endings of the late '50s and early '60s.  The girls' attempt at Calypso is much less memorable, although Carmine does ask them to put "sex" into it.  (Mekka did the episodes' choreography.)  The tag even offers L, L, S, and S doing distracting backup (especially Squiggy) to Carmine's "Rags to Riches."  But the sum of all these parts isn't as good as I suspect it would've been a year or two later.  Still, as with so much of Season One, there is potential.

Garry Marshall is onscreen as the Drummer, while Ogden Talbot's first of three roles on the show is as Wilbur.

"How Do You Say 'Are You Dead' in German?"

"How Do You Say 'Are You Dead' in German?"
May 4, 1976
C+

Bob Brunner wrote this episode where a German named Eric (Harold Oblong, who under his real name of Peter Elbling would have three other roles) faints from hunger in the girls' living room while delivering dry-cleaning.  Shirley wants to give him money but Laverne gets him a job as a busboy at the Pizza Bowl.  There is of course the farcical moment of Lenny and Squiggy walking in on Shirley giving mouth-to-mouth to Eric, and then after it's explained, Lenny jokingly invites Laverne to do the same for him. 

The whole thing about the Harlem Globetrotters feels like filler, although there is a pay-off in mime for the tag.  Note the casting of a black actress as the waitress who speaks German, Brenda Verrett's only screen credit.  John Thomas Lenox would direct three more episodes.

"Hi, Neighbor"

"Hi, Neighbor"
April 27, 1976
B-

Lander, McKean, and Shearer co-wrote this episode which has Lenny and Squiggy move in upstairs (four flights up).  It's not as funny as I hoped with that team but obviously of interest on several points.

First of all, we learn that Squiggy still lives with his mother, and stepfather, while Lenny lives with his sister and brother-in-law.  It apparently never occurred to them to get an apartment together until the girls suggest it.  Then poor Shirley is pressured into vouching for them, as one of their oldest friends.  (Helen Page Camp is perfectly adequate as landlady Mrs. Havenwurst and would return once more that season, but she just doesn't have the zest or depth of Betty Garrett's Mrs. Babish.)  Laverne seems more upset about the idea of them as neighbors than Shirley, although she's the one who does more to reconcile them when the guys quarrel and Lenny kicks Squiggy out, causing Squiggy to couch-surf at the girls' place. 

This episode has more physical comedy than we've seen on the series so far, another thing that's surprising in this first season, as things fall slowly into place, the place where the images of the show would reign.  We get three hellos from Squiggy but none is in what would be the template, and in fact one of them is preceded by Lenny's "Hi, Laverne."

Ah, yes, the Lavenny, very one-sided here but nonetheless strong.  It is Lenny who also utters the title phrase, aimed very specifically at Laverne.  Laverne actually pays him two visits, the first to convince him to let Squiggy move back in (and note that it is Shirley who sends her, as if she knows that Lenny will listen to Laverne), the second to return his jacket that she "stole" in order to sew one of her cursive L's to fix the "ONE WOLF" he got in Chinatown.  If I remember correctly, Lenny would wear this jacket for the next few seasons, probably until the Hawaiian-shirt era of the California episodes.  It would be a symbol of not just his illusion that he's a loner but also of his devotion to Laverne, although, like so much on the show, it is subliminal.

It's on that second visit, when she says she wanted to talk to him rather than Shirley (who is, Squigley shippers take note, teaching Squiggy to do laundry), that he asks, "Should I take a shower?", implying that he's willing and almost ready to have sex with her.  And when he sees what she's done to his jacket, he plants a big smooch on her.

Which she is shocked and disgusted by, although he doesn't notice.  And here we come to the one-sided part, although I can say now that it would not always be this unrequited.  Arguably, it could simply be the shock of being kissed when she's not expecting it.  She does like Lenny as a friend, even when she tells him that Squiggy is his only friend.  When Lenny jokingly proposes marriage to Squiggy (is their ship Squigney?  Lengy?), she's very amused.  But Lavenny has a long way to go before it's a plausible ship.

Still no Shirmine by the way.

"Fakeout at the Stakeout"

"Fakeout at the Stakeout"

April 13, 1976

B

This is arguably the funniest episode of the first season, especially the stuff with Lenny & Squiggy.  I laughed heartily when Lenny said they were wearing their "detective" outfits because they didn't want to attract any attention, since it made me think of even nuttier schemes and crazier clothes they would come up with over the years.

Also, I thought the romance between Laverne and Officer Norman Hughes was sweet.  Bo Kaprall is credited as Cop here but his full name (including middle) is given in the episode and it's nice that he'd back six more times.  He's not a hunk, by '70s standards or now, but he's cute and nice, and he likes Laverne's sense of humor.  She could and would do worse.

There aren't any other shipping notes I can make, as this seems to be set after the Carmine & Shirley breakup, as he's now working at the dance studio, and the only thing I can say about L & L or S & S is that Lenny is amused by Laverne's mild put-down of Squiggy, which isn't exactly romantic.

More memorable are Shirley's "pets."  The two birds, Duane and Eddy, had appeared in the episode after their introduction, while here there's at least one of them, whichever one is chirping as the girls discover the break-in.  Also, Boo Boo Kitty makes a debut, in what apparently was just an improvised bit in rehearsal but would go on to be one of the props most associated with this show.

Neil Thompson's first of four roles on the show is as a nameless Man.  I'm glad that Deborah Leschin would write five more episodes.

"It's the Water"

"It's the Water"
April 6, 1976
C+

Greg Strangis's only L & S script is uneven and handles the issue of sexual harassment clumsily, although that of course was typical of the time.  (Three's Company would be worse, repeatedly.)  Shirley gets an "executive position" as a beer-taster, which makes Laverne jealous and causes the guys (including Carmine) to tease Shirley about slumming.  It turns out that the head of the tasting department, Wolfgang Gessler, is interested in more than Shirley's "taste buds," and Lenny and Squiggy are amused at the idea of Gessler planning to get her drunk and "have his way with her."  Carmine is more protective of course.  (I'm guessing the episodes again aired out of order, because Shirley has Lenny and Squiggy go get Carmine from "the gym," although in the previous episode he had quit the gym to work in a dance studio.)

Other than possibly being pushed down the stairs by Carmine, there are no consequences for Gessler.  It's the '50s and there's no reporting him to HR or anything.  In fact, Shirley forgives him when he sends flowers and an apologetic note.  She doesn't even think other women at the brewery should be warned, because some of them might want to have sex with Gessler in order to keep the job, although it's not phrased this way of course.  (The series, thus far anyway, doesn't really say "sex" or words to that effect.  A lot is implied, which I'm sure sailed right over my ponytailed eight-year-old head.)

Other than the Shirmine of Carmine's protectiveness, which again, could be big-brotherly, the main shipping note is that Lenny invites Laverne and the absent Shirley to go to the Tunnel of Love with him and Squiggy.  Later Laverne says defending Shirley "beats being in a swan with Lenny and Squiggy," which Shirley doesn't even blink at.  In any case, I'm sure Lenny was thinking of himself paired off with Laverne, Squiggy with Shirley, but he takes it well when Laverne says she isn't "that hard up."

Note that the timing of the "hello" entrance is off, although the audience does applaud when Squiggy & Lenny enter.  I recalled these entrances as having brilliant timing, but this may be a case where it's not as good before it's established shtick.

Dennis Klein would direct three more episodes.

"Dating Slump"

"Dating Slump"

March 30, 1976

C+

This Arthur Silver story is unfocused and doesn't live up to its potential.  It does, however, manage to feature both Mark Harmon and Robert Hays, as Victor and Tom respectively.  More notably for the history of the show, Carole White is Girl "A" here but is recognizable, despite the hair, makeup, and costume as the girls' future frenemy Rosie Greenbaum.

Carmine returns from a boxing championship in New York City with a new girlfriend, who also lives in Milwaukee.  Shirley has never been in "I love you" love with him, but she always thought that she'd find someone before he did.  Now she enters the slump of the title, partly because her standards are higher than Laverne's, and partly because she's always had Carmine.  So Laverne gets them a double date, not having learned her lesson from the bank robbers.  This leads to an offscreen fight with tough chicks (Girls A and B), in which Laverne almost loses her L.  In the last scene, Carmine offers to be a big brother to the girls and still protect them.

I would've rather have seen an episode with Shirley really dealing with the loss of Carmine as back-up boyfriend.  Still, there are moments I like here, including of course Lenny and Squiggy's persistence in buying the girls' nonexistent Jeep.  (They show up at the door with flowers, but it's not shippy.)

Michael L. McManus, who's Moose here, would be Herb Prange the next year.

"One Flew Over Milwaukee"

"One Flew Over Milwaukee"
March 23, 1976
C

This Warren & Bickley episode, with its Cuckoo's Nest title, is the weakest so far, although not without interest.  It was the middle of the Season One episodes to air, although it's clear that it was made before the previous episode, since Lenny was already in the Army Reserves there, while here he's joining up.  It's also the first time we actually see him and Squiggy with dates, and in fact, Squiggy's hello-entrance is with his tall date, Dolores (Doris Hess, who would return twice each in two different roles, in '79 and '82).  Note that Laverne asks Lenny about his "little date," not in a jealous way but certainly with more curiosity than she shows over who Squiggy is dating.

And there's definitely some Shirmine shipping, as he's protective and concerned about her when her pet bird flies away and she literally waits by the window, while it's snowing, for the bird to fly home.  I felt like too much of the episode was about Shirley's near-obsession with the bird, which while it may reflect Williams's love of animals, just isn't that entertaining to watch.  And if she has to sing "Sixteen Tons" to lull the canary to sleep, couldn't she do that in the living room rather than disturb poor Laverne?  Still, this episode's "friendship" moment is when Laverne buys a new bird for Shirley, who then realizes she's gone overboard.

Oh, and I think this is the first episode that uses the window of the basement apartment for comedic effect.  As I recall, this set became a character in itself as the show went on.  (Until the move to California of course.)

 Michael Kidd has only one other directing credit, from '58.

"Once Upon a Rumor"

"Once Upon a Rumor"

"In your dreams, Fella!" seems to be what she's thinking.

March 16, 1976

B-

Holly Mascott's only L & S script, the first written by a woman, is an uneasy balance between '50s and '70s in relation to the double standard, although of course the idea that a "reputation" for a guy is good while a girl having a reputation makes her a "bimbo" sadly hasn't disappeared, even if the terminology has changed.  Shirley becomes popular for the wrong reason when a proto-Three's-Company misunderstanding leads Lenny to believe that she fooled around in the break room with Squiggy, which Squiggy doesn't deny.  I might've gone with a B, but Laverne scoffing at Shirley's story of being attacked (not raped but "jumped" and I guess fighting the unseen-by-us guy off) doesn't sit well, even allowing for the times.  The argument here is that because Shirley is saving herself for her wedding night, she shouldn't be gossiped about, but what if she weren't a virgin?  Still, that this is even brought up, from the female perspective, is something you probably wouldn't have got on Happy Days.

The shipping notes get a little more complicated this episode.  It was apparent in earlier episodes that Squiggy felt a mild lust for Shirley and he here does ask her on a date as a reward for fixing her zipper, but of course she is Carmine's "Angel Face," and Carmine threatens Squiggy for not telling the truth.  The surprise is Lenny assumes that Shirley only puts out for Squiggy because she's in love with Squiggy, a pairing that Laverne finds nauseating.  Breaking this down a little more, is Lenny a romantic, or does he put Shirley on a slightly higher pedestal because of her virginal image?  Or is it that, as will be made clearer later, he thinks Squiggy is a ladies' man and so he doesn't see any reason why Shirley wouldn't be in love with him?

There's not much Lavenny shipping in contrast, although the second picture I've chosen would suggest otherwise.  (The happily-married-to-other-people Marshall and McKean do have a chemistry that comes through even when it's not supposed to, more so over time, but I'll discuss that as we go along.)

Charles Frank would return later that year as cute upstairs neighbor Jerry Callihan.  Shearer is given more to do as the Public Address Announcer this time, which leads to a payoff with him doing voiceovers with Squiggy, including Squiggy singing "Still of the Night," and Lenny (onscreen) doing backup, a slight hint of their later musical endeavors, as well as a Credibility Gap reunion.  Howard Storm would direct seven more episodes, although I associate him more with his 59 for Mork & Mindy.

"Dog Day Blind Dates"

"Dog Day Blind Dates"
March 9, 1976
B-

This episode's title references Dog Day Afternoon, which came out the previous September, and the girls are held up at the Pizza Bowl by bumbling crooks that they're on a double date with.  The pizzeria has closed early at the dates' request, but Lenny & Squiggy linger, adding some humor in an uneven episode.  Also, when Laverne thinks that the crooks will kill them, she suggests that she and Shirley "vo-de-oh-do-do" (a term that was already established on the series at this point) with Lenny & Squiggy so as not to die as virgins.  This despite the fact that Laverne earlier described the guys as friends she wasn't proud to admit to.  Still, it's a contrast to Shirley, who won't pet on the first date and doesn't want to lie on the floor next to Lenny, although she has to when it's "boy-girl-boy-girl."

I think this the first episode where I didn't hear Williams trying to fit in with a bad Northeast-Coast accent, as if being from New York or New Jersey equates with being low-class.  (Watch the '50s-set "skating rink" scene of The Brady Variety Hour from November of that year for an egregious example.)  And it's as good a time as any to say that I'd forgotten that the girls' last names appear onscreen this season, as if the show is really called Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney.  Good thing they didn't continue this with Mork from Ork & Mindy McConnell.

This is Dale McRaven's only L & S script, although I did recognize the name from Mork & Mindy.  James Burrows would direct seven more episodes.

Bo Kaprall is a nameless Cop here but would play Officer Norman Hughes six times in the next couple years.  Guich Koock, who plays Buck, would go on to Carter Country, where his accent would make more sense, although Buck admits he's not actually from Arizona.  (The "Phoenix"/"Kleenex" rhyme is the main thing I remember about this episode, so I guess they couldn't make him Texan or something.)  And Fred Willard is instantly recognizable as Charles here; he would be a nameless Man in Bathroom later that year.

"Falter at the Altar"

"Falter at the Altar"
March 2, 1976
B-

Arthur Silver wrote this episode (his first of four) where Laverne almost marries her boyfriend of two months, Sal Malina (Paul Sylvan, who would return in the role five years later), until Shirley finally convinces her she shouldn't marry someone she doesn't love.  It's interesting that Laverne fears she'll never be proposed to again, which definitely wouldn't be the case.  And we again hear that her father, who hopes for a grandson, would've preferred a son rather than a daughter, although here he blames the doctor.

Note that Lenny is definitely Catholic, as the previous episode suggested, with the priest saying that Lenny has missed three years of Confession.  He doesn't really have a reaction to Laverne's impending marriage, but they do do the Stroll together when the cast and extras pair up at the end.  (And "Mona Lisa" is kept intact in an early scene so that Laverne can sing some of it later.)

In contrast, Carley (Shirmine?) is a viable if mild ship at this point.  He wins her a bunch of stuffed animals at the (unseen) carnival and when they kiss later, he bursts into song ("That's Amore" this time) after she kisses him.

Prolific Jay Sandrich (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Cosby Show, etc.) does his only directing gig for this series.  Amusingly, Al Molinaro, who was Murray on 73 episodes of The Odd Couple and Al Delvecchio on 146 episodes of Happy Days and 17 of Joanie Loves Chachi, guest stars as Father Gucci.

"A Nun's Story"

"A Nun's Story"
February 24, 1976
B

I vaguely remember this episode more than the others so far, suggesting it struck a chord with me either in first run or in reruns.  The script by Michael Warren and William Bickley (their first of three as a team, compared to fourteen and seventeen respectively for Happy Days) offers a farcical flashback, something I was a sucker for then and, OK, now.  But it's overall solid, sweet and funny.

Shirley is holding her fourth high school reunion in three years, for the class of '56, so we know that this is 1959 and they're about 21.  Obviously, there are going to be timeline errors, but this is the first real information we've gotten on that.  We also get some background details to not only the girls but also Lenny, who makes a confession to their old friend Anne Marie (Rochelle Richelieu, who wouldn't act on film again until Gran Torino more than 30 years later), who has become the nun of the title.  The three girls were "the three Musketeers" in high school, known as Gutsy (Laverne), Nutsy (Anne Marie), and Klutzy (Shirley).  AM got revenge on Lenny and Squiggy's friend Hector (Greg Antonacci, a role he'd return to later that year), and there's a good payoff to this later, helped by Foster bringing out the protective Italian father in Mr. DeFazio.

Note that not only Lenny and Squiggy went to high school with the girls but so did Carmine.  He gets the two of them to sing the alma mater, which starts with Shirley (I played this back a couple times) calling their h.s. "Fillmore Millard" or some or other error, not necessarily scripted.  And after the song, Carmine kisses Shirley's hand.

I don't remember if it started in this episode or the previous one, but we get the girls locking the door and arming themselves, sometimes with baseball bats, when someone knocks.  I'd forgotten this detail, that there wasn't always an open door policy.  So far Squiggy's hellos are either at work or the Pizza Bowl, so that image of his (and usually Lenny's) comedic entrances through the girls' front door doesn't yet match the show.

However, this is very early days and things haven't quite fallen into place.  Still, I felt like this was the first episode to really show the potential of the series.

"Bowling for Razzberries"

"Bowling for Razzberries" [sic]
February 10, 1976
C+

I couldn't help feeling like this episode might've been better done in Season Two or Three.  There's nothing terribly wrong but it's not that funny and the guest stars don't do that much with their roles.  Randy Powell is a partial exception as the nameless Doctor, yet I felt like the sequence with him was missing something, either to editing for syndication or just something in the original script by Marty Nadler, who didn't do any others for this show, although he did five for Happy Days.

The liveliest scene is actually the bowling montage, although I have to wonder if Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin' " will be the only '50s song that will survive the music rights problem.  I do like that Laverne thinks she's outsmarting Shirley but, as in the previous episode, Shirley is on to her.

Note that Carmine, who again sings the "Rags to Riches" line, had called Laverne "Vernie" once in the previous episode, while Shirley uses the nickname a few times.  She also refers to Lenny as "Leonard," and he elongates "Shirley" as if he can't think of how else to respond.  A minor Lavenny moment is when he asks Laverne but not Shirley for butter to get a bowling ball off his hand.  And, yes, although the previous episode was hello-less, here Squiggy says it while dragging Lenny in.

Ruth Silveira plays Karen and would be part of the "Blue Team" in one of the Army episodes.  Alan Myerson would direct eleven more episodes.

"The Bachelor Party"

"The Bachelor Party"
February 3, 1976
C+

G. Marshall's co-creators Lowell Ganz and Mark Rothman wrote this episode that I find cruder and less funny than the premiere, although still interesting, with the obligatory heartwarming moment, as Laverne says that Shirley is the best friend anyone ever had.  Jerry Paris directed, for the only time, although he'd done eighteen episodes for The Odd Couple, and this episode arguably does have more of an OC feel and plot.*

While Mr. De Fazio is in New York to attend his 94-year-old uncle's funeral, he leaves Laverne in charge of the Pizza Bowl.  It's implied here that she's an only child, and that she thinks he would've rather had a son.  We also find out that Shirley has brothers, although not how many.  But the episode is more notable for the introduction of Foster as Laverne's father, and Mekka as Shirley's, um, I still don't know after four decades.

Carmine "Big Ragoo" Ragusa is not the Carmine I remember.  He's rougher and tougher, although he does sing the title line of Tony Bennett's "Rags to Riches."  He comes across as a not-too-bright boxer, although he does, as Fonzie puts it, "have tender feelings" for Shirley.  It's hard to tell if they're a couple or if she's just his "Angel Face," and to be honest, I never was clear how serious their relationship was.  In any case, he chivalrously comes to her rescue after Laverne pressures her into coming out of a cake at a bachelor party being hosted at the Pizza Bowl.

Fonzie is the one throwing the party, and he's in this episode more than in the debut.  He guilts and kisses Laverne to get her to fill in when the scheduled "cake girl" can't make it, but, as we learned in the previous episode, Laverne is a Size 10 while Shirley is a Size 5.  (I don't understand '50s sizes.)  The party is for a character whom we'd never see or presumably hear from again, but he's just the excuse.  It's more notable that Harry Shearer, Landers and McKean's Credibility Gap comedy colleague, does his first of six cameos on the show, as the Announcer.  (And he apparently had an uncredited role in The Robe during his kid-actor days, so I now suspect that the reference to that movie in Episode One was a sort of in-joke by DLL & MMcK, who did some uncredited writing for L & S.)

Speaking of Lenny and Squiggy, they are at the bachelor party and seem already acquainted with the Fonz, although not exactly friends.  I did spot a sort of Lenny/Shirley shipping moment, but a leering one, as Lenny says he "has feelings" for Shirley, too, because of her "cake girl" outfit.


*He would direct the Happy Days half of the "shotgun wedding" crossover night.

"The Society Party"

Fonzie approves.

The Society Party
January 27, 1976
B-

Creator Garry Marshall (yes, Penny's older brother) directed this episode, while Bob Brunner would write one more episode and here plays the Foreman.  It's a good introduction to the characters and basic premise of the show, if at times a shade awkward and/or forced.  I was worried about the Fonzie cameo, since he comes in late and then appears in the "next week" sequence before the closing credits, but Winkler underplays more than I expected, which was refreshing.  This is a spin-off, but it can stand on its own, even if he saves them from being arrested for stealing dresses that Squiggy got them.

Yes, Lenny & Squiggy are there and pretty much as we know them, down to the "hello" entrance (solo for Squiggy this time).  We learn that they went to school with "the girls" and they hang out at the Pizza Bowl.  (There's as yet no mention of Laverne's father, or for that matter Carmine.)  And, yes, there's a bit of Squigley and Lavenny, although in the former case it's Shirley trying to manipulate Squiggy by acting coyly flirtatious with him, while Laverne is just going through the motions.  That it would always be these couples, usually but not always played for laughs, is clear from the first, with Lenny saying, "I guess I get you, Laverne."  Maybe it's because of height or initials, but you rarely saw a Squiggy & Laverne pairing or a Lenny & Shirley.  It'll be interesting to see what exceptions come along.

Initial shipping fodder

As for the relationship of the girls, G. Marshall as you know also did the Odd Couple series, and Laverne and Shirley are presented as very different, although with things in common.  The song goes, "...We're gonna make our dreams come true," but Shirley is very definitely the dreamer of the two, and I did get the feels when she said, "I dream for you, too, Laverne."  Laverne will have her own dreams later, but she is definitely the tougher and more realistic friend.

I was surprised how much of this episode was both about and not about the brewery.  We first see Laverne & Shirley, and Lenny & Squiggy, there, and the party of the title is being thrown by a relative of the Mr. Shotz who owns the brewery.  Much of the credits also take place in and around the brewery.  So while I visualize the girls at home, their workplace is important, even if we don't see much of them actually working yet.

Their economic class matters, but more in relation to the (not really that rich if you think about it) snobs than as a political thing.  We're told they can't afford to buy new dresses, but I don't think that stayed true.  Other than Laverne's speech telling off the snobs (while in her slip!), it can't be described as a political episode.  As for feminism, I wouldn't call this anti-feminist, but it's not The Mary Tyler Moore Show either.  Shirley wants to meet a "nice gentleman" and we don't yet know what Laverne wants, other than a date with Fonzie.  They are "sisters" in the sense that they bicker and are devoted to each other

How '50s is it?  Well, other than fashion and a reference to The Robe (1953), the main '50sness comes through in the background music, although only Fats Domino survived music rights issues for this copy.  I read before ordering the DVD collection that these are the syndicated copies, but I figured that was better than nothing.  I don't remember any L & S episodes from the time in any great detail-- although the lyrics to "Rubber Tree Plant" of course came back to me-- so I won't be able to tell you how these versions compare to the originals, in the way I still can recite chopped-out lines from Bosom Buddies.  But I'll address this if there seem to be any glaring cuts, like lost plot threads or unexplained callbacks.

Richard Stahl makes his first of three appearances on the show, here as Mr. Marshall Stewart, while his real-life wife Kathryn Ish plays Vivien Stewart.

Re the B-, I chuckled a few times and found that reassuring.  L & S in my memory was at least a funny show, whatever else it was.

Introduction

I guess first of all, I need to address why I'm doing a separate blog for Laverne & Shirley, when I usually devote blogs to, e.g. Every TV Show I Own.  Well, L & S came back into my life in fits and starts over the last few years, and I kept returning to watching YouTube clips.  Happy Days didn't stay with me, and in fact I mostly cringe when I see any of it these days, but Mork & Mindy became a huge part of my life at the time and ever after, and I of course bought it when it became available on DVD.  This spin-off, well, I always liked it better than HD, maybe because it had female protagonists.  But I did go years, decades really, with hardly seeing it after it left first-run and then syndication.  It stayed with me, though.

When Penny Marshall died last December, this was still the job I most associated her with.  And then months later, I came across a free copy of Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams: The Stars of "Laverne & Shirley," a fan-book from 1977.  A couple weeks ago, I decided that "the Universe was telling me to buy Laverne & Shirley on DVD."  So I did.

I want to blog about the experience of revisiting the show.  I use the word "revisit" for several reasons, including that the motif of the doorway is such a big part of the show, and not just for Lenny & Squiggy's comic-relief entrances.  This series aired from 1976 to '83, so when I was almost eight until I was fifteen.  Obviously, I'm not going to see it the way I did then, or even as I do in pieces on YouTube.  I will be revisiting my childhood and early adolescence as an ABC-sitcom loyalist, but also that time generally, not to mention whatever version of the '50s and '60s the series presented.

I want to talk about how L & S, and Laverne and Shirley as characters, related (or failed to) feminism and a less political sisterhood.  I want to figure out why I'm still a Lavenny (Laverne + Lenny) shipper and whether that's justified.  I want to see how I really feel about what I at the time (my freshman year in high school) referred to as the "Laverne & Laverne" season.  I want to gasp at guest stars, even ones I know to expect.  I want  to marvel at the cluster of Northeast accents in Milwaukee.  And I even want to cringe at Garry Marshall schmaltz.  Most of all, I want to recount the experience, in broadcast order. 

Deep breath, so here goes.  I'm off to stroll down Memory Lane saying the near-unspellable "Schlemiel!  Schlimazel!  Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!"