"Citizen Krane"

"Da Doo Ron Ron" came out in 1963 by the way.

"Citizen Krane"
April 5, 1977
B-

I was leaning towards a C+ for Raymond Siller's only L & S story, but I like the admittedly predictable "twist" that impresario Charles Pfister Krane (a parody of then modern-day Orson Welles more than '40s Welles) only wants to continue to mentor Laverne.  Miss DeFazio of course chooses loyalty and friendship over being "molded" into a star.  Note that this episode has a surprising amount of innuendo centered around Mrs. Babish, including a song that refers to her "birthday suit."  Also, this episode arguably gives Boo Boo Kitty her (?) biggest role yet, impacting the plot a little.

Ogden Talbot's second L & S role is as the Delivery Man, while Michael Mann's second is the lackey named Lackey.

Season Two of Laverne and Shirley moved up in the ratings from #3 to #2, just after Happy Days.  (Former king, All in the Family, dropped to #12, just behind newbie Three's Company, but Rob Reiner joked that he wanted his family to continue to rule the airwaves.)  As far as how much I enjoy this season nowadays, well, the grades range from C to B+, averaging out to a B- like Season One, although that didn't have any B+s.  Not every joke or situation works but the show is usually at least a little entertaining and sometimes they do hit those sweet spots.  And I don't think it's a coincidence that some of the best moments, and episodes, involve romance, especially the growing attraction (yes, on both sides) between Laverne and Lenny.  Even the better and funnier Happy Days crossover involves Shirley/Richie.

What doesn't work?  Sometimes the cast is thrown into a situation that is supposed to be automatically funny-- the hospital, the haunted house, etc.-- but no one has worked out what the actual jokes or even ramifications are.  In contrast, the honeymoon suite episode and the one where the gang tries to scare off Frank's girlfriend sound cliched but they work because everyone, including the writers, is giving their all.

I will say, it does feel more like an ensemble this year than last, with Rosie as an honorary regular at times.  Not every episode gets all seven (or eight) onstage at once, and there's not always magic when they do, but the potential is there and (whatever backstage tension was building) the actors and characters do support each well onscreen even in the weaker episodes.  The studio and home audiences knew the characters well enough to anticipate some of the interactions, but it was still fun to see them play out.

From what I recall, Season Three was more of the same, only with, if possible, more slapstick and ridiculous situations.  We'll see if my memories are correct, or if there will be more surprises like this season's "Wait, Laverne and Shirley owned a car?"