Hey guys,

30 years ago this fall

Happy Days returned for its record setting 11th and Final Season on abc

Henry Winkler was back as The Fonz, Marion Ross and the late Tom Bosley were back as Marion and Howard Cunningham, also returning were Scott Baio and Erin Moran as Chachi Arcola and Joanie Cunningham, Anson Williams as Warren "Potsie" Weber and Ted McGinley of Married...with Children Fame as Roger Phillips

For the show's 11th and final season, the theme was rerecorded in a more modern style. It featured Bobby Arvon on lead vocals, with several back-up vocalists. To accompany this new version, new opening credits were filmed, and the flashing Happy Days logo was reanimated to create an overall "new" feel which incorporated 1980s sensibilities with 1950s nostalgia (although by this time the show was set in 1965).

Here are some more notes:

Scott Baio and Erin Moran returned to join the cast for the final season, while Cathy Silvers was removed from the cast due to her character leaving the show, although she returned for the finale.

Linda Purl's character, Ashley Pfister, was written out of the show (along with her daughter) because the show had to cut back on its number of extras.
Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Scott Baio, and Tom Bosley appeared in all episodes.

Erin Moran was absent for two episodes.

Ted McGinley was absent for eight episodes.

Anson Williams was absent for sixteen episodes. Williams actually quit sometime in 1983, although he managed to complete some of the final season's episodes before his departure.

Recurring cast members and characters include Pat Morita as Arnold, Kevin Sullivan as Tommy, and Harris Kal as Bobby.

and now, here's the opening and closing to the 11th and Final Season of Miller-Boyett's longest running sitcom

Happy Days

Check'em out!

11th Season Opening
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The Final Scene of Happy Days
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11th Season Closing
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30 years ago already wow time flies.

30 years ago this fall I began my final year of HS. Time sure flies. :eek:

30 years ago this fall I began my final year of HS. Time sure flies. :eek:I was in my second year of college.

The sad thing about Anson Williams leaving is that I didn't even noticed. He had just about disappeared as a cast member by that time anyway. The only show I clearly remember him on from that year was when Richie and Ralph returned. It's too bad he couldn't return for the final.

I was in my second year of college.

I was in my first year of college. ;)

:thumbsup:

Why did Anson leave the show? He was pretty much losing screen time from season 8, on. By season 10, you barely saw Potsie and it seemed like the first part of season 11, they tried to make him a part of the show again. But after the Richie/Ralph, "Welcome Home" episode, he disappeared without explaination.

Also, same with Cathy Silvers. Why did they give her the ax? Joanie was back, so didn't she need a friend? Guess not.

The 11th and final season of Happy Days consisted of 22 episodes, five of which were burned off during the summer of 1984, with the last one airing on 24 September (!), after the official finale episode ("Passages") had aired on 8 May 1984. The five episodes could have easily aired during March and April of 1984. The show's ratings had already tanked, with the show ranking in 63rd place during the 1983-84 season.

I was starting 3rd grade LOL


My favorite eps from this season is Richie Returns Home

I was starting 3rd grade LOL


My favorite eps from this season is Richie Returns Home
Now I do feel old. lol

Now I do feel old. lol


LOL,


I didn't even watch HD once on ABC like I did Three's Company. I didn't discover it until it aired in local syndication

Its too bad Happy Days was up against The A Team!

I was in my first year of college. ;)


I was in the FIRST grade! LOL. :lol:

I know one thing about the final season...I loved Marion's new hairstyle!

The show though....no wonder it was the final season is all I can say. Even though I did like the episodes where Ritchie came home and the finale was great.

I was in the FIRST grade! LOL. :lol:
I was in 7th grade. My first year at jr. high.

Yay! I LOVE Happy Days! Such a great show. And I enjoy it all the way through, from the first season to the 11th. season. The series finale was a wonderful episode too- it would have been good for Potsie still to be in there, but then- it also would have been good to see Ralph there at Joanie and Chachi's wedding too.
But oh well- it's still good. And the episode where Richie returns home is a really great one too.:) :cool:

I was in my first year of college. ;)

So was I, though I was a sophomore by the time the final originally-aired episode appeared on 9/24/84. I was in third grade when the show premiered, and I remember preferring Good Times to it when the shows ran against each other during S1 or S2 of both shows. Which reminds me of another set of funny lines from a different sitcom altogether, during a toast [Three's Company S3: Larry's Bride]:

Jack: Happy Days!

Janet: Good Times!

Chrissy: Little House on the Prairie! :lol:

Its too bad Happy Days was up against The A Team!

Ya know something? The 83/84 Season was a not good season for TV Sitcoms

with the exception of Kate & Allie (which was not only the #1 NEW Comedy of the season and the only sitcom that was in the Nielsen Ratings Top 10), Benson, Diff'rent Strokes & The Facts of Life, TV Sitcoms were in trouble on Prime Time Television

One Day at a Time, Happy Days and Three's Company were in their Final Seasons and The Jeffersons and Alice which were in their 2nd to last seasons and TV Dramas (Cop Shows, Mysteries, Prime Time Soaps, Adventure Series) were takin' over that year

Dallas, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, The A-Team, Hardcastle & McCormick, Riptide, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I., Knight Rider, Airwolf, Simon & Simon, Dynasty, Hotel, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, T.J. Hooker, Cagney & Lacey were dominating Prime Time Television

and after Happy Days, One Day at a Time and Three's Company left, in came The Cosby Show and that's when Television Dramas would soon be in trouble

Ya know something? The 83/84 Season was a not good season for TV Sitcoms

with the exception of Kate & Allie (which was not only the #1 NEW Comedy of the season and the only sitcom that was in the Nielsen Ratings Top 10), Benson, Diff'rent Strokes & The Facts of Life, TV Sitcoms were in trouble on Prime Time Television

One Day at a Time, Happy Days and Three's Company were in their Final Seasons and The Jeffersons and Alice which were in their 2nd to last seasons and TV Dramas (Cop Shows, Mysteries, Prime Time Soaps, Adventure Series) were takin' over that year

Dallas, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, The A-Team, Hardcastle & McCormick, Riptide, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I., Knight Rider, Airwolf, Simon & Simon, Dynasty, Hotel, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, T.J. Hooker, Cagney & Lacey were dominating Prime Time Television

and after Happy Days, One Day at a Time and Three's Company left, in came The Cosby Show and that's when Television Dramas would soon be in trouble


It didnt matter what show happy days went up against because at that point of the show richie and ralph was gone

I was surprised Anson didn't return for the final episode. With Ritchie and Ralph gone the Potsie character really suffered. He was just brought on to do something dumb while the other characters rolled their eyes and looked annoyed with him. His character became a punchline.

I was surprised Anson didn't return for the final episode. With Ritchie and Ralph gone the Potsie character really suffered. He was just brought on to do something dumb while the other characters rolled their eyes and looked annoyed with him. His character became a punchline.


It was no need for his character to be on the show anymore once Richie and Ralph was gone

It was no need for his character to be on the show anymore once Richie and Ralph was gone

True.

I did post this a number of times and i do agree that Potsie wasn't really needed when Ron Howard and Donny Most both left the show. It drastically changed the dynamic to Fonzie being the star and Joanie and Chachi's roles expanded.

True.

I was Donny Most stayed and Anson Williams left lol

I was Donny Most stayed and Anson Williams left lol

Same here

To be fair, the cast decided to end Alice in 1985. It probably would have gone another season.

I was an infant when the final Happy Days episode aired (and not yet born when the “finale” aired)! The show was clearly declining at that point. What were the ratings at the end of season 10 to warrant a renewal?

Agreed on Potsie being completely useless after 1980.

To be fair, the cast decided to end Alice in 1985. It probably would have gone another season.

I was an infant when the final Happy Days episode aired (and not yet born when the “finale” aired)! The show was clearly declining at that point. What were the ratings at the end of season 10 to warrant a renewal?

Agreed on Potsie being completely useless after 1980.


17.4 rating and 31st ranked show after season 10

Was looking at the shows ratings over the years...

1975-76- the finished 11th for the season
1976-77- they were #1
1977-78 - #2
1978-79 - #3
1979-80 - #17
1980-81 - #15
1981-82 - #18
1982-83 - #28
1983-84 - out of the top 30

Was looking at the shows ratings over the years...

1975-76- the finished 11th for the season
1976-77- they were #1
1977-78 - #2
1978-79 - #3
1979-80 - #17
1980-81 - #15
1981-82 - #18
1982-83 - #28
1983-84 - out of the top 30


1983-84....#63

Akron Beacon Journal, May 27, 1984

It’s interesting how splitting up the Happy Days/Laverne and Shirley block in 1979 (L&S moved to Thursday night) weakened both shows. HD didn’t move time slots and dropped from #3 to #17. L&S eventually went back to Tuesday, but the combo never reached its former heights.

It’s interesting how splitting up the Happy Days/Laverne and Shirley block in 1979 (L&S moved to Thursday night) weakened both shows. HD didn’t move time slots and dropped from #3 to #17. L&S eventually went back to Tuesday, but the combo never reached its former heights.


That drop was probably because of losing ron howard and donny most

I want to ask this right now: Exactly why was Potsie absent from the "Passages" finale?

Even though he was still technically part of Happy Days's main cast, Potsie (Anson Williams) was absent from sixteen of the twenty-two installments of HD's final season. The episodes that Potsie did appear in:

"Where the Guys Are"
"Welcome Home" (parts 1 and 2)
"Glove Story"
"Low Notes"
"Fonzie's Spots"

I want to ask this right now: Exactly why was Potsie absent from the "Passages" finale?

Even though he was still technically part of Happy Days's main cast, Potsie (Anson Williams) was absent from sixteen of the twenty-two installments of HD's final season. The episodes that Potsie did appear in:

"Where the Guys Are"
"Welcome Home" (parts 1 and 2)
"Glove Story"
"Low Notes"
"Fonzie's Spots"

I remember reading that he had left the show during the final season.

I remember reading that he had left the show during the final season.
The sad part is I don't even think anyone noticed he was gone. Except for the Richie and Ralph homecoming episodes He was practically AWOL from the show the last few years.

The sad part is I don't even think anyone noticed he was gone. Except for the Richie and Ralph homecoming episodes He was practically AWOL from the show the last few years.

He was in the way anyway lol

That drop was probably because of losing ron howard and donny most

No. Howard and Most didn’t leave until the summer of 1980. This drop happened for the season that started in the fall of 1979, when both were on the show.

No. Howard and Most didn’t leave until the summer of 1980. This drop happened for the season that started in the fall of 1979, when both were on the show.

That's interesting because the CBS and NBC show that aired at 8pm that season wasnt even in the top 30 so I wonder why the show lost viewers that season.

I remember reading that he had left the show during the final season.

Well, then, how was the Potsie character written-out?

He wasn’t. There was no real reason for Potsie to be hanging out at the Cunningham’s after Richie’s departure. You just assumed he was still in town but we didn’t see him. He was still in the opening credits during last last season, even though he didn’t not appear in most of the episodes. He was only signed to do six episodes that year, so it wasn’t that he left; he fulfilled his deal for those six episodes.

He wasn’t. There was no real reason for Potsie to be hanging out at the Cunningham’s after Richie’s departure. You just assumed he was still in town but we didn’t see him. He was still in the opening credits during last last season, even though he didn’t not appear in most of the episodes. He was only signed to do six episodes that year, so it wasn’t that he left; he fulfilled his deal for those six episodes.

That's just the problem with old/"classic" TV series in general: Writing-off characters without any explanation whatsoever. I guess this would make Potsie Weber the new Chuck Cunningham. Did Anson Williams decide against appearing in the Happy Days series finale, too? This just doesn't make any sense. :(

When a character has been on the show that long they should not fade away into oblivion without any explanation. He was a lame character by that time but still.

I just watched an episode from one of the last seasons and the way the writers treated Potsie was beyond bad. lol it was the episode where Roger and Fonz are missing in a plane crash. And potsie does not even care and he is dumber than he has ever been. The other characters look like they have grown to hate him at this point. I wouldn't blame Anson if he had enough by that point.

Happy Days dropped to 63rd in the ratings out of 101 shows airing during the 1983-84 season, averaging a 13.9 rating and a 20 share.

The season premiere on September 27, 1983 ranked 36th out of 65 shows that week, with a 15.1 rating and a 23 share.

The series finale on May 8, 1984, ranked 10th out of 61 shows that week, with a 19 rating and a 29 share