TMC
10-06-2021, 04:33 AM
https://jacksonupperco.com/2021/10/05/the-six-best-laverne-shirley-episodes-of-season-one/
Not only is Laverne & Shirley set as a nostalgic ’50s/’60s piece, it also deliberately “throws back” to standards of both realism and comedy that suggest this earlier era, particularly with regard to the characters, who are conceived more rudimentarily — propped up by one-dimensional star personas rather than story-enabling flaws, objectives, and perspectives that could make for well-rounded (and story-pushing) characterizations. This is consistent throughout Marshall’s shows; none of his Big Three truly offer rich characters who are then able to encourage plots that validate the series’ premised identity; more often than not, the leading players are merely maneuvered and showcased in idea-first narratives that alone determine value — unattached to the givens of the “situation” (i.e., said characters). However, while Happy Days‘ core idea-led trapping is nostalgia, which it uses lovingly to evoke a sentiment that corroborates its title, Laverne & Shirley, despite being set in the same era, adopts the attitude that was overtaking Happy Days upon the spin-off’s genesis during that show’s third season (when the twosome first appeared in a November 1975 excursion that’s actually well-written), as it was downplaying its setting within story in deference to a more star-focused utilization of Fonzie. Accordingly, Laverne & Shirley does not boast nostalgia as its comedic engine, for unlike Happy Days, which always maintains an affiliation with its era even when it’s not as well-applied in weekly story, it instead lands on another, more specific, feel-good mechanism that can be evocative of an earlier time, flattering stars who don’t have much definition but are also going to flamboyantly stand in the spotlight: slapstick.
Not only is Laverne & Shirley set as a nostalgic ’50s/’60s piece, it also deliberately “throws back” to standards of both realism and comedy that suggest this earlier era, particularly with regard to the characters, who are conceived more rudimentarily — propped up by one-dimensional star personas rather than story-enabling flaws, objectives, and perspectives that could make for well-rounded (and story-pushing) characterizations. This is consistent throughout Marshall’s shows; none of his Big Three truly offer rich characters who are then able to encourage plots that validate the series’ premised identity; more often than not, the leading players are merely maneuvered and showcased in idea-first narratives that alone determine value — unattached to the givens of the “situation” (i.e., said characters). However, while Happy Days‘ core idea-led trapping is nostalgia, which it uses lovingly to evoke a sentiment that corroborates its title, Laverne & Shirley, despite being set in the same era, adopts the attitude that was overtaking Happy Days upon the spin-off’s genesis during that show’s third season (when the twosome first appeared in a November 1975 excursion that’s actually well-written), as it was downplaying its setting within story in deference to a more star-focused utilization of Fonzie. Accordingly, Laverne & Shirley does not boast nostalgia as its comedic engine, for unlike Happy Days, which always maintains an affiliation with its era even when it’s not as well-applied in weekly story, it instead lands on another, more specific, feel-good mechanism that can be evocative of an earlier time, flattering stars who don’t have much definition but are also going to flamboyantly stand in the spotlight: slapstick.