MovieChat Forums > Happy Days (1974) Discussion > Are you entirely satisfied with the way ...

Are you entirely satisfied with the way that Happy Days ended back in 1984?

posted 2 years ago by TMC-4 (19460)
13 replies | jump to latest

By ending with Joanie and Chachi's wedding? I bring this up because I was watching this video that reviewed Joanie Loves Chachi, and the commentator, Rowdy C said that Happy Days focusing on Joanie and Chachi's relationship so heavily (especially in the post-Richie/Ron Howard years) became a detriment to the series.

https://vimeo.com/277183241

In other words, they were arguably, a clear-cut example of show executives not understanding the audience by shoe-horning their favorite characters. Rowdy C summed it up by saying that having Happy Days end with Joanie and Chachi's wedding was the "hill that they chose to die on".

In an alternate timeline, I wonder if "Welcome Home: Part 2", the episode where Richie leaves for Hollywood could've worked as a series finale. Instead in the actual context, it's merely to give some proper closure to Ron Howard's character, since he never really got a formal "goodbye" episode back in 1980.

[–] diezman (1828) 2 years ago

I love the first few seasons - once they were in front of a studio audience Happy Days sucked.

It became the Fonzie show.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2390) 2 years ago

I was too young really to fully understand. But in hind sight I don't think they should have focused on Joannie and Chachi. The spin off proved audiences really didn't care about them and their lives. This was just being polite to them and burning off time.

Maybe celebrating Danny getting adopted would have been a better close. They kinda just drop that after the big fight to adopt him. No celebration of that very hard battle now won.

a party about/for a kid getting a parent who really wanted home might have resonated better with us (myself and the other little kids who were watching at home) even if we were not adopted. Winkler drew higher ratings than Baio....Happy Days lasted more seasons than the spin off.

[–] BKB (6382) 2 months ago

Season 1 where Fonzie wore the light blue cloth jacket before his trademark leather jacket were the best, when he barely had any dialogue and was in the background

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20536) 2 months ago

They had a completely different intro during that first season too.

[–] BKB (6382) 2 months ago

Yeah, they played "Rock around the Clock" by Chuck Berry if I'm not mistaken?? 🤔

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20536) 2 months ago

They sure did and it had a completely different feel. It was interesting watching them both and comparing.

[–] BKB (6382) 2 months ago

I think without the Studio audience, it made all the difference in the world

[–] diezman (1828) 2 months ago

Rock around the Clock by Danny and the Juniors.

[–] hyperjet (638) a month ago

From what I understand, Bill Haley rerecorded his hit Rock Around The Clock for the Happy Days intro. If so, it was a dead ringer for the original!

[–] Mustang (5254) 10 months ago

I don't think I ever saw the finale. Those later season without the original gang are a mess. They aren't even trying to dress like the era anymore.

[–] kenburke (2293) 6 months ago

Sure. Thumbs up all the way!!!

[–] BKB (6382) 2 months ago

Or an episode finale of Fonzie settling down and getting married

[–] Mustang (5254) 2 months ago

I think Happy Days is a case study of a show that went on far too long despite losing some of it's main players, Ron Howard being the main one and other characters getting older like the Fonz. In order to try and keep the show going and younger audiences interested they would have believed that focusing on Chachi and Joanie that it would be a success.

Thinking back to those eps the show felt like it was set in the 80's rather than whatever period they should have been up to at that point. C&J also lacked the charisma to carry the show.