Hey There!

I have to say, and I've always said it, that the powers that be really put in a great effort to keep this show going after the departure of a major character, and took care of its fans.

I've been watching some of the eps currently running on Hallmark, and while yes, Fonzie did get a little fat, and Potsie was given a lobotomy, but the episodes really aren't that bad, and contained a lot of payoffs for the longtime fans.

Here's a selected list ... please feel free to add to it!

1) Jenny Piccolo came to life! Cathy Silvers nailed it. Someone posted that the writers should have had her and Joanie move in together - that would have been great!

2) We saw Rosa Coletti!

3) Grandma Nussbaum!

4) The Falcons reunion! They got the same bad guy back!

5) They took Fonzie in different directions, and it was mostly good. While making him a restauranteur, teacher, and garage owner was a little far-fetched, it also was a move away from "Super Fonzie," and made him a good role model for little guys like me (at the time). The Ashley thing wasn't that great, though. Too much screen time taken away from the veteran characters!

6) There were some heartwarming stories ...

7) Chachi came into his own ...

What else?

I liked that they made Fonzie an auto mechanic teacher at the high school and had him grow up a little. Too see him pushing 40 and still hitting on high school chicks is embarrassing. They had some good scripts in there here and there. True.

The only bad thing was Flip arriving but I'm well glad Flip left & we never saw him again

The only bad thing was Flip arriving but I'm well glad Flip left & we never saw him again


I liked Flip. He was ok. I enjoyed the post Richie era. I remember when NAN stopped showing it and in 2000, we signed a petition for NAN to start airing the show. NAN would only air the first six eps and then cut back to season one. I hated that. My local affiliate in Tampa, FL would air the post Richie eps. I'd call just to find out what the eps would air and they would have someone tell me. When the show went to TV Land in 2002, the network aired the post eps.

The only post Richie characters I liked were Roger & Jenny

I liked that they made Fonzie an auto mechanic teacher at the high school and had him grow up a little. Too see him pushing 40 and still hitting on high school chicks is embarrassing. They had some good scripts in there here and there. True.

Doesn't make it much better but remember Fonzie's (not Henry Winkler) supposed to be 19 in Season one. So Fonzie (the character) would have been 30 at the end of the series.
I was watching regularly as the show aired in the most Richie era and while I still enjoyed it and agree while the writers tried hard too much had changed. The show in reality, somewhat turned into Happy Days: The Next Generation without a change in title.

For the first time in my life I finished the entire series tonight. Season 8-11 were quite good. Never a dull moment with the Fonz. Henry Winkler was certainly at the top of his game when Ron Howard and Donny Most departed. Some amazing scenes with Henry. The best of which was when Flips friends were drink driving and hit little Heather. Such a powerful scene when Fonzie found out who did it. And the one where the Fonz thinks he found his mom and he went off at that customer who was touching her inappropriately. Henry really was a superb actor and such a sweet person in later seasons and he became the voice of reason for the most part.

Roger's character was one of my favourite of the newcomers and Eugene Belvin was hilarious. Also, Potsie really did disappear in a lot of the later episodes. His episode count was 50 more than Ron and Donny despite being in season 8-11 which had a total of 88 episodes.

I started watching season 8-11 again, and you know they are NOT that bad. Some of the episodes are pretty good. With the exception of all that silly Joannie Chiachi drama. I liked the way they matured Fonzie, but did not like how they ended it with Ashley but I suppose they needed to continue to come up with some sort of new Fonz situations so it's understandable.

Even though Happy Days lost its central character when Ron Howard left, Henry Winkler became the star and Fonzie matured a lot throughout the remainder of the show's run. After teaching auto mechanics at Jefferson High School, he joined Roger at the George S. Patton Vocational School as Dean of Boys.

Howard's departure also expanded Joanie and Chachi's roles. There was one episode I remember when they sang on a folk music TV show and fonzie was upset about the loss of rock and roll.

I wasnt that keen on the post Richie era. It was ok. It was pretty obvious they tried to keep filling voids in. I mean Roger came in to replace Richie. Flip and K.C. came in to replace Joanie and Chacai. I dont know what Flip was there for. I will say the person who suffered the most, I think, was Potsie. The poor guy was hardly on after Richie and Ralph left. He could've been used more considering Richie and Ralph were gone.

I wasnt that keen on the post Richie era. It was ok. It was pretty obvious they tried to keep filling voids in. I mean Roger came in to replace Richie. Flip and K.C. came in to replace Joanie and Chacai. I dont know what Flip was there for. I will say the person who suffered the most, I think, was Potsie. The poor guy was hardly on after Richie and Ralph left. He could've been used more considering Richie and Ralph were gone.


Sometimes it worked better than others. The episodes where they had Roger, Potsie and Chachi as a new trio were fun. One of THE highlights of the show for longtime viewers IMO was we FINALLY more of Fonzie in action and saw why for years why he was so respected as a fighter. Most notably the one punch knockout in "Glove Story".