that Fonzie seemed happier to see Richie than Richie did to see him? I was watching that episode on Hallmark channel a few days ago and couldn't help but notice than when Richie and Ralph came back from the army Fonzie was really excited to see Richie. Richie didn't seem all that excited to seem him though, I mean Fonze walked up to him and gave him a big hug and really looked happy to see him while Richie just seemed to have a meh "oh hi Fonze" attitude to seeing him for the first time in 3 years. I may be thinking too much about this but to me it came off as while in the army Richie somehow outgrew Fonzie and maybe became closer to Ralph who I assume became his new best friend. Especially in the end when they say goodbye to each other and Fonze gets choked up telling Richie he loves him.

Anyone else notice this and think maybe at that point in time the Fonze liked Richie more than Richie liked him?

no i did not notice that i thought richie seemed very happy to see fonzie

that Fonzie seemed happier to see Richie than Richie did to see him? I was watching that episode on Hallmark channel a few days ago and couldn't help but notice than when Richie and Ralph came back from the army Fonzie was really excited to see Richie. Richie didn't seem all that excited to seem him though, I mean Fonze walked up to him and gave him a big hug and really looked happy to see him while Richie just seemed to have a meh "oh hi Fonze" attitude to seeing him for the first time in 3 years. I may be thinking too much about this but to me it came off as while in the army Richie somehow outgrew Fonzie and maybe became closer to Ralph who I assume became his new best friend. Especially in the end when they say goodbye to each other and Fonze gets choked up telling Richie he loves him.

Anyone else notice this and think maybe at that point in time the Fonze liked Richie more than Richie liked him?

You know your right. Fonz did seem happier. Not that Richie was NOT happy to see Fonz or to be back home, but Richie probably felt like he matured. I guess it true what they say, you can't go home again. Weird thing about when you go back, to say your old high school or high school reunion is that sometimes it's exactly the same way you remembered it and your left feeling a little bummed. Or even if you go back to your home town and everything has changed, that leaves you bummed too. So there is no right answer really?

You know your right. Fonz did seem happier. Not that Richie was NOT happy to see Fonz or to be back home, but Richie probably felt like he matured. I guess it true what they say, you can't go home again. Weird thing about when you go back, to say your old high school or high school reunion is that sometimes it's exactly the same way you remembered it and your left feeling a little bummed. Or even if you go back to your home town and everything has changed, that leaves you bummed too. So there is no right answer really?

Good points I agree, I guess it wasn't that Richie was unhappy to see Fonzie he did seem glad to see him but Fonzie was just more excited to see him.

Interesting! My impression is that Ron Howard was sort of rusty with regard to being "Richie" at this point, and it came through in his performance ...

I do remember sort of thinking this, too - it certainly wasn't the same old "Richie"!

Interesting! My impression is that Ron Howard was sort of rusty with regard to being "Richie" at this point, and it came through in his performance ...

I do remember sort of thinking this, too - it certainly wasn't the same old "Richie"!i know he was in a rotten mood for most of the ep and i have read elsewhere online that other fans found his moodiness somewhat disturbing me i can sort of understand why he seemed so restless but one thing i dont understand is why he thought that lori beth would not be supportive of his dream ?

i know he was in a rotten mood for most of the ep and i have read elsewhere online that other fans found his moodiness somewhat disturbing me i can sort of understand why he seemed so restless but one thing i dont understand is why he thought that lori beth would not be supportive of his dream ?

I didn't like seeing Richie pissed off nearly 100% of the time eaither. Really unsettling and one could almost assume or connect the dots that Ron Howard might have felt a little aggravated to have to be playing the role of same old "Richie" again.

I didn't like seeing Richie pissed off nearly 100% of the time eaither. Really unsettling and one could almost assume or connect the dots that Ron Howard might have felt a little aggravated to have to be playing the role of same old "Richie" again.you might be right about that

I didn't like seeing Richie pissed off nearly 100% of the time eaither. Really unsettling and one could almost assume or connect the dots that Ron Howard might have felt a little aggravated to have to be playing the role of same old "Richie" again.
Maybe, but no one forced him to come back though... I think if he didn't want to do the part on some level then he just wouldn't have done the part. It's not like he needed to do it. Plus, he wasn't returning for good, just for a few episodes in the last season. It seemed like the episodes were written specifically for his return, and if Ron Howard didn't want to return even for just that one storyline, then they simply would not have done the storyline.

I did notice that Fonzie seemed happier to see him than he was to see Fonz, but Richie really didn't seem all that happy to see anyone or even really to be there at all. I assumed that it was all connected to the fact that he wanted to be in California, not Milwaukee (storyline again!). After all, at that point they were not there for a visit, they had come home, and that is not where he wanted to be. He obviously had spent most of the 3 years in the army thinking about that dream and also had obviously not talked seriously to Lori Beth or anyone other than Ralph about it, and, while he of course wanted to see his family and friends, he wanted it to be just a stop on their way to their new life after the army. But I think he just felt now that they were there, they would end up staying there. But once he got that all out of his system and realized that he could try to pursue his dream and have everyone's support (at the very end), then he was much more like the old Richie. Just my opinion though.

Ron had become a serious movie director and I don't think he was happy returning to Happy Days. He said in an interview, that although he loved his work on Happy days, that he needed to move on to bigger things, and work toward his dream, which was working in motion pictures. Look at him now. He even has a daughter who is a wonderful movie actress. Not many child TV Stars come out of a TV series and make it as a big movie director. As we know, most of them end up in trouble or screwed up in some way. I think Ron did great, and if he was reluctant to come back to Happy Days, even for 2 episodes, it was probably because he wanted to move forward, not backward.

keep in mind richie had a hard time telling his parents that he wanted to move his family to california.he knew the family and fonzie wanted him to stay.so it wasn't that he wasn't happy to see them just torn on how to tell them all.

Now that you mention it, yeah Fonzie was excited to see Richie but Richie kinda wasn't.

It could be just he was grown up and wanted to go to California but felt obligated to come home. I could understand his irritation towards the family since he wanted to do something and suddenly his father/mother tell him no.

I think it's like when you leave home, everything is the same but you feel you need to make your own decisions and not let anyone else do it for you.