Nostalgia has always been a popular theme in our society. It seems that every generation wants to go back to the styles of the past. It is a sure sign of getting older when you realize that the current youth are remembering times that you lived through. In the mid sixties this trend manifested itself with a fascination with the fifties. People saw it as a simpler time with strong family values and the rise of rock and roll music. Okay, there was that but they tend to forget the McCarthy era and being told by teachers to hide under the desk in case a commie H bomb hit as if that was going to help. Of all the television series with a nostalgic premise there was one that stood out from the pack; ‘Happy Days’. It was a light hearted sit-com that appealed to young and old alike. It was not a factual representation of the fifties or even how many of remembered this time. What made this series so successful is it represented the way we wanted to remember this decade. This series is also the pinnacle of the often employed studio ploy of the spin off. ‘Happy Days’ has more than its share of spin off series including ‘Laverne & Shirley’, ‘Mork & Mindy’ and ‘Joanie Loves Chachi’ and a few animated shows. It was also itself a spin off of the risqué romantic comedy anthology series ‘Love American Style’. This is a testament to the popularity the show had at its peak. In its third season it hit number one in the ratings. The forth season, under consideration here, it slipped to second place. The next season would have an episode that led to the term that refers to a show past its prime; ‘jump the shark’. Still, in this season the show was definitely still at its peak as far as entertainment value goes. Back in 1976 when this season originally aired my wife and I would meet another young couple for dinner and rush back to their Greenwich Village apartment to watch it. So much for the wild days of being in your twenties, this was a show that no one missed. CBS Paramount has one of the most coveted libraries of classic and current television around. They have been releasing full season sets of this series for a few years now. They are now up to season four and it is one that you will want to get and enjoy with the whole family.

The series followed the most well used format for a sit-com; the family. In this case it was the Cunninghams who lived in Milwaukee. Family patriarch Howard (Tom Bosley) owns and operators a small hardware store. His wife Marion (Marion Ross), like most women of the time, was a stay at home wife and mother. There was an eldest son Chuck who disappeared in season two never to be seen again. One has to wonder if there was a darker side to this innocent family. That promoted Ritchie (Ron Howard) to the position of number one son. He was well liked and sociable always willing to help out his friends. Like most of his friends he is still in high school and starting to look forward to college. His younger sister Joanie (Erin Moran) is now in high school and starting to think about boys. Other than that she is the annoying foil to her older brother. Richie has tow best friends in school; Ralph Malph (Don Most) and Potsie Webber (Anson Williams). It does seem than an inordinate number of names in the fifties ended in ‘ie’. Ralph is the typical sit-com class clown. He is always ready for a practical joke or some scheme to succeed without really trying. Potsie is the kind of kid we all knew; the perpetual sidekick who goes along with the crowd. Occasionally a minor character on a television series becomes so wildly popular that he overwhelms the regular cast. This was the case with one character here; Arthur ‘Fonzie’ Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler). He was the tough kid in town. With his leather jacket and motorcycle every guy wanted to be him and every girl wanted to be with him. He could start the jukebox with a tap of his fist and never backed down from anything. In any show about teens you need to establish a local after school hang out. In this case the place to gather was Arnold’s. Owned by the always belabored Al Delvecchio (Al Molinaro) this was the place to meet and make the plans that would drive the story lines. Also showing up was the owner of the joint "Arnold" Takahashi (Pat Morita).

This season opens with something that was almost never done in a sit-com; a multi episode story. In this three part story a new character was introduced into our popular culture Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly). She was the female equivalent of the Fonze complete with a love of motorcycles and usually garbed in a pink short shirt tied at the waist and very tight hot pants. Pinky and her crew all sport pink scarves. She is a well known stunt cyclist and craves excitement. Pinky is the only woman who is a match for the Fonz. Of course a relationship begins to develop. Trouble sets in when Fonz chooses Ralph to be his partner in the upcoming demolition derby. Fonz doesn’t want to take the chance that Pinky will be hurt. After wining the derby Fonz proposes to Pinky. Things go off track again when she is asked to appear on the Ed Sullivan show and everybody starts calling him Mr. Tuscadero. The Fonz cannot live in the shadow of any woman. Other episodes contain the expected high jinx of a high school sit-com. In one the pregnant wife of an old friend of Fonzie stops by and he lets her rest in the Cunningham’s house. Everybody jumps to the conclusion that he is the father. Joanie gets some more screen time this season. She enters a dance marathon and asks Fonzie to be her partner. She is obsessed with beating out the head cheerleader who just cut her from the squad. Unfortunately, Fonzie’s car breaks down and he has to push it 12 miles making him to tired to stand let alone dance for twenty four hours. With the kids almost grown Marion begins to reconsider being just a stay at home mom. She manages to get a job as a waitress at Arnold’s much to the chagrin of her kids and their friends. The always included ‘fish out of water’ theme is taken on when Fonzie falls for a woman who invites him to play tennis at the country club.

This is a classic piece of television Americana and needs to be a part of your collection. It is a gentile little show that became so popular because people could readily identify with and understand. CBS Paramount has a lot of classic television on DVD and this is one of the best they have to offer.