I wrote over five months ago, "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."
- While I haven't addressed feminism in every episode, I do want to say that having two female leads (albeit ably supported by mostly male regulars), on what was one of the most popular shows in America, was in itself an inspiring sight, and that Penny Marshall went on to become a successful film director does mean something. Laverne & Shirley were like sisters, in good and bad ways, sometimes supporting each other and sometimes working against each other. (And this is true of Penny and Cindy behind the scenes.) Was Laverne & Shirley as a show feminist? Yes and no. It sent mixed messages about sex and love, and work and success, but it was also about two very different women who were people, in a way that not every female character was on television in that era. Both women were gorgeous in approachable ways, but they weren't just about their appearances.
- Tracing the meandering path of Lavenny, and other ships, has been one of the most interesting aspects of this project. Why was I a Lavenny shipper? Because Penny Marshall and Michael McKean had incredible onscreen chemistry when their characters absolutely weren't required to, sometimes not even allowed to. Laverne and Lenny as characters balance each other in a different way than each character does with her/his best friend, and they often bring out the best in each other. The show wasn't designed for this ship, not like "will they or won't they?" Tony & Angela on Who's the Boss?, and sometimes Lenny and Laverne had other attractions, momentary or more serious. But it's easy to see why I and so many others are invested in their frustrating relationship, more than we are in Shirmine or Fredna or, hell, the weird ships like Fronda and Carmine/Squendelyn. (Squiggy/Beehive Girl though remains OTP!Endgame!)
- Sadly, there was not enough of Laverne, particularly as we knew her, in Laverne & Laverne.
- Oh, did I gasp at guest stars! So many, from kind of obscure to "Jeff F***ing Goldblum!" as I put it on Facebook.
- Seriously, as someone wrote on Youtube once, why is everyone in the '50s Italian?
- I cringed but I was also sometimes warmed by the schmaltz, if it was earned rather than Garry M trying to shoehorn it into an abomination like "The Monastery Story."
- I've recounted the experience, in broadcast order, trying to recall what I thought at the time but also finding that this series really was a lost part of my youth, not irrevocably lost but distant in so many ways.
- Thank you for reading my revisiting of Laverne & Shirley. I could stay longer, tell you what I really think of Laverne & Shirley XXX: A Dream Zone Parody (short version, "Why doesn't Laverne have an accent?"), and the legacy of the show and all that. But I'm off to read Garry Marshall's My Happy Days in Hollywood, including the chapter called "Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Laverne and Shirley Are Driving the Writers Crazy."
