There were just two things I needed from my dip into Happy Days, season four; I got them both plus a little more than I’d hoped for.
Here was my short list: seeing Pat Morita (he returned in an episode featuring graduation); and catching any bit that was used in the Buddy Holly video (I got that one from a clip episode that showed Fonzie’s crazy, arm-flinging dance).
Honestly, I’d forgotten about the happiness found within a clip episode. I know they’re cheeky and just cheap to produce, but there’s something really comforting about a slim story bolstered by someone saying “I remember a time when…” and throwing us into a flashback.
It was noticeably Fonzie’s season; I can’t remember too much about watching the show in reruns when I was a kid, but it feels like he was probably taking over like Bart did for a while with The Simpsons.
Without trying to wax too sentimental about “the way TV used to be,” I was struck by how easily just about everyone on the show wasn’t just there for acting, but could throw in a song or a dance when required - my favourite instance being Tom Bosley doing a little waltz n’ croon.
The series opened with a three part arc featuring a demolition derby in which Fonzie and his estranged love go up against the Malachi Brothers and their feared Malachi Crunch maneuver. Beyond how awesome that synopsis is, I went down a lovely rabbit hole as I knew I knew one of those brothers, and I knew he was a bad dude.
Boy, did I know him ... and boy, is he a bad dude.
Godspeed, Michael Pataki.
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