"Shirley and the Older Man"

"Shirley and the Older Man"
May 15, 1979
C+

Barry Rubinowitz wrote this story where Shirley is platonically dating a rich, older man, played by 65-year-old but still distinguished-looking Robert Alda.  I might've gone with a B-, but the last line has Laverne saying something about how you can only tease a man for so long before he hits you in the eye.  (Laverne has been away in Chicago for most of the episode, balancing out a bit the episodes where Shirley was mostly gone.)

Susan Barnes has her first of four L & S roles as Adele Harrison.

Season Four of Laverne & Shirley ranges from C to A-, averaging out to a B-, like the first three seasons.  (I'm counting the hour-long season premiere double.)  The series was #1 in the ratings again, although this time Three's Company was #2, while Happy Days tied with Mork & Mindy.  ABC, sitcoms in particular, and admittedly mostly juvenile sitcoms (Taxi was an exception), ruled the airwaves in this time when cable TV still wasn't really a factor.  L & S mostly stuck to its winning formula of slapstick and sentiment, although there were moments when the characters pushed against their not quite Flanderized characterizations, like Shirley as a stripper or Lenny as a sensitive soul.

I recall Season Five as much the same, and it would be the last to take place entirely in Milwaukee.  We'll see next week how my vague memories match up to reality....