"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.)
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