Miko and Kelly's obsession with Jo (Happy Days discussion, too) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2020, 02:05 PM

In Season 3, the writers introduced Miko, a new Japanese student at Eastland who is obsessed with Jo. She loves how Jo drives motorcycles, etc. She actually states she's fascinated with Jo. Although Miko only appears in two episodes, in both episodes, she hangs out in the cafeteria where her idol hangs out.

Then in Season 5, we're introduced to Kelly, who also has a very similar obsession with Jo. At one point, Kelly is in charge of a contest and the other characters imply that Kelly rigged the contest in favor of Jo because they know how obsessed she is with Jo.

Thinking about this today, I started wondering why the characters of Miko and Kelly were written so similarly, with regard to their fascination with Jo. Here is my theory.

Remember the character of Spike in Happy Days? He was only in a few episodes, but he was basically a mini-me clone of Fonzie: a younger, shorter version of The Fonz. The character didn't last long, maybe because the producers realized the limitations of a mini-me clone character wouldn't allow for long-term growth. But after Spike left, Chachi, Fonzie's younger greaser cousin suddenly appears, taking on a lot of the mini-me character aspects.

When the producers of FOL decided to add the character of Jo, they definitely were influenced strongly by the film "Little Darlings", as they based the entire "New Girl" script on the film. However, it seems quite clear to me that they based some of Jo's attributes not so much on Kristy McNichols' character but instead on Fonzie: she's a biker chick and the original character's name was Foxy, before they settled on Jo. They even gave Jo an ethnic last name, in the tradition of Fonzarelli on Happy Days.

Jo was meant to be the character who shook the show up, much like Fonzie on Happy Days. It seems natural, then, that since they modeled Jo on Fonzie, that they had this idea that other characters should worship her, much like the characters on Happy Days worshiped the Fonz. So Miko and Kelly become obsessed with Jo.

But the Fonz was almost like a superhero character: he could hit a jukebox at the diner and cause the exact right music to play. It was kind of stupid, but it was that character's trademark. Jo, being on a somewhat more realistic sitcom, didn't have superpowers, and she often failed at things, something which rarely happened to the Fonz. Therefore, Miko and Kelly's fascination with Jo seemed to play very differently: they worshiped someone who was just an ordinary girl with extraordinary (for the time) interests. It came off looking strange... not necessarily in the "strange" way Blair calls tomboy Cindy in Season 1, but "strange" as in, "why are these girls worshiping someone who is just a normal person?" way.

In making these two characters worship Jo, I think the writers helped doom these characters: they ended up having little depth, when they should have had their own attributes that viewers could have latched onto. And viewers may not have understood their obsession. What are other viewers' thoughts?

valentina warner · 10-18-2020, 02:18 PM

I know i'm the only (or one of the few) person who always liked KELLY (even though she sabotages 'EDNA's EDIBLES'): she was a strong character, whereas the likes of MIKO and ALEXANDRA were rather weak clones or admires!

Impressions · 10-18-2020, 02:25 PM

I didn't like the "mini me" characters. They lack depth, have no shelf life and they are a feable attempt on cashing-in on the success of the most popular characters. They work in the short-term, but not long term. Had Jo had some super star status, it would made the audience understand their idolization better, but yeah, Jo was just an "Average Jo(e)," so it didn't make sense to keep their characters going.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2020, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valentina warner

I know i'm the only (or one of the few) person who always liked KELLY (even though she sabotages 'EDNA's EDIBLES'): she was a strong character, whereas the likes of MIKO and ALEXANDRA were rather weak clones or admires!

Nothing wrong with liking a character most others don't, Valentina! In fact, that's a good thing, as these boards need varying perspectives to discuss things properly.

You're right that Kelly was a strong-willed character. It would take a heck of a lot of chutzpah to vandalize Mrs. Garrett's shop. Neither Miko nor Alexandra could ever do such a thing.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2020, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Impressions

I didn't like the "mini me" characters. They lack depth, have no shelf life and they are a feable attempt on cashing-in on the success of the most popular characters. They work in the short-term, but not long term. Had Jo had some super star status, it would made the audience understand their idolization better, but yeah, Jo was just an "Average Jo(e)," so it didn't make sense to keep their characters going.

I like the term "Average Jo(e)"! I mean, Jo was above average in many ways, but I agree she was just a normal person, not a hero.

The lack of depth of these characters makes me wonder if that was done on purpose; like, was it a conscious decision by the writers to focus on building up the character of Jo to hero status, and was that why they didn't want to build these new characters into their own roles? Or were they just throwing things into scripts to see what would stick?

Clearly, in Kelly's case, they wanted to duplicate the success of Jo, but seemed to forget the lessons that had made Jo the critical and popular success that she was: giving the character emotional depth with her fish-out-of-water storyline, bringing out the many conflicts in her family, and alternately showing her tougher side and her softer side. These character attributes gave the viewer sometimes obvious and sometimes more subtle hints as to why the character has been going down the wrong path before being "saved" by Mrs. Garrett and her trio of girls. Kelly the "street hood" in the town of Peekskill (population 18,236 in 1980) just couldn't ring as true.

valentina warner · 10-18-2020, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I like the term "Average Jo(e)"! I mean, Jo was above average in many ways, but I agree she was just a normal person, not a hero.

The lack of depth of these characters makes me wonder if that was done on purpose; like, was it a conscious decision by the writers to focus on building up the character of Jo to hero status, and was that why they didn't want to build these new characters into their own roles? Or were they just throwing things into scripts to see what would stick?

Clearly, in Kelly's case, they wanted to duplicate the success of Jo, but seemed to forget the lessons that had made Jo the critical and popular success that she was: giving the character emotional depth with her fish-out-of-water storyline, bringing out the many conflicts in her family, and alternately showing her tougher side and her softer side. These character attributes gave the viewer sometimes obvious and sometimes more subtle hints as to why the character has been going down the wrong path before being "saved" by Mrs. Garrett and her trio of girls. Kelly the "street hood" in the town of Peekskill (population 18,236 in 1980) just couldn't ring as true.

Why did you write trio Retro???? MRS G had 4 girls (not 3)

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2020, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valentina warner

Why did you write trio Retro???? MRS G had 4 girls (not 3)

Because Jo can't be saved by a quartet of girls that includes herself, right? She was saved from a life of crime by Mrs. Garrett and three other girls.

Jo becomes the fourth girl in "The New Girl", but before she joins the Core Four, there are only three girls in the cafeteria scene; the three girls who teach her what the Eastland spirit is. She's not taught by four girls.

80s Dude · 10-18-2020, 03:36 PM

I never understood what they producers wanted to do with the Miko character. Did they want another person of color to make the cast look more diverse? They even had an entire episode centered on her (a very slightly recycled script from Overachieving) and then pretty much dropped her like a hot potato.

I think Jo was a hybrid of Fonzie and Chaucci. She rode a motorcycle and dressed like the Fonz, but didn't have his maturity and wisdom. No one really looked to her for wisdom or advice. She had lots of Chacchi in her. A rebel without a cause who still had the streets in her, especially the first few seasons.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2020, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

I never understood what they producers wanted to do with the Miko character. Did they want another person of color to make the cast look more diverse? They even had an entire episode centered on her (a very slightly recycled script from Overachieving) and then pretty much dropped her like a hot potato.

I think they definitely wanted another POC character (though this was long before the term POC became mainstream). Norman Lear wanted all of his shows diverse and hand-picked Geri; there clearly was an effort to promote diversity.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to Miko, other than being Japanese and idolizing Jo, but there could have been, given some time and reconstruction of the character. I mean, had Miko been seen in more than two episodes, we couldn't rightly expect to see Miko idolizing Jo in every episode; that would have been as weird as what happened with Kelly. After a while, Jo would have started avoiding Miko, and it might have turned into Single White Female.

Of course, we'll never know, now. Warren Littlefield was probably just off camera, silently screaming, "There are too many girls in this scene! Twenty-four, forty-eight!"

Quote:

I think Jo was a hybrid of Fonzie and Chaucci. She rode a motorcycle and dressed like the Fonz, but didn't have his maturity and wisdom. No one really looked to her for wisdom or advice. She had lots of Chacchi in her. A rebel without a cause who still had the streets in her, especially the first few seasons.

Huh. I never thought about Jo being like Chachi. I definitely have to think more about this.

valentina warner · 10-18-2020, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I think they definitely wanted another POC character (though this was long before the term POC became mainstream). Norman Lear wanted all of his shows diverse and hand-picked Geri; there clearly was an effort to promote diversity.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to Miko, other than being Japanese and idolizing Jo, but there could have been, given some time and reconstruction of the character. I mean, had Miko been seen in more than two episodes, we couldn't rightly expect to see Miko idolizing Jo in every episode; that would have been as weird as what happened with Kelly. After a while, Jo would have started avoiding Miko, and it might have turned into Single White Female.

Of course, we'll never know, now. Warren Littlefield was probably just off camera, silently screaming, "There are too many girls in this scene! Twenty-four, forty-eight!"

Huh. I never thought about Jo being like Chachi. I definitely have to think more about this.

Personally, i would have preferred if BRENDA became a regular: she seemed to mock BLAIR on one of the episodes where she had her birthday on (when she asks her how old she was) and i can see her ganging up with JO and NAT, trying to make fun of BLAIR's hair and snobbish attitude.
I can also see MRS G trying to mold BRENDA into loosening up, and become eventually part of the gang....

As for MIKO: she didn't fit it and had absolutely no chemistry with any of the girls (at least BRENDA had some dynamic with BLAIR and a quite a sharp tongue) except her absurd admiration for JO!!!!!
Sorry, but i don't get all this idolization for JO: she's just a normal kid (not GANDHI or MOTHER THERESA lol!)

80s Dude · 10-18-2020, 06:12 PM

Ironically Happy Days began with 4 main characters (Ritchie, Potsie, Mr. & Mrs. C.) and added more characters as the show went along. While Potsie was Nancied, he was never written off from the show. Warren Littlefield would have said "We got 10, 12 boys. It's too confusing. Get rid of some. I don't care who. Reduce the cast."

The Fonz wasn't even a main character in the first couple of seasons.

Lorimar Television · 10-18-2020, 06:37 PM

They must've been on SO around 2001

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2020, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Ironically Happy Days began with 4 main characters (Ritchie, Potsie, Mr. & Mrs. C.) and added more characters as the show went along. While Potsie was Nancied, he was never written off from the show. Warren Littlefield would have said "We got 10, 12 boys. It's too confusing. Get rid of some. I don't care who. Reduce the cast."

Maybe someone overheard him, and that's how Chuck Cunningham got written out!

"Pick four! Forget everybody else!" Richie, Potsie, Ralph, and Fonzie were the "kept boys".

80s Dude · 10-18-2020, 06:52 PM

They had Jo call Mrs. Garrett "Mrs. G." just like the Fonz called Marion Cunningham, "Mrs. C."

The nice thing about the first season cast was that they had a big diversity of girls. Later on, they tried to clone other girls to be another Jo.

valentina warner · 10-18-2020, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

They had Jo call Mrs. Garrett "Mrs. G." just like the Fonz called Marion Cunningham, "Mrs. C."

The nice thing about the first season cast was that they had a big diversity of girls. Later on, they tried to clone other girls to be another Jo.

I couldn't agree anymore with you 80s!!!

season 1 casts were all originals (no clones or copies of any sort) and it was a rather bad move for the writers to let them go, and no amount of JO could ever replace them: each one of those 'lost girls' had their own special personality.....

10-18-2020, 02:05 PM	#1
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	Miko and Kelly's obsession with Jo (Happy Days discussion, too) In Season 3, the writers introduced Miko, a new Japanese student at Eastland who is obsessed with Jo. She loves how Jo drives motorcycles, etc. She actually states she's fascinated with Jo. Although Miko only appears in two episodes, in both episodes, she hangs out in the cafeteria where her idol hangs out. Then in Season 5, we're introduced to Kelly, who also has a very similar obsession with Jo. At one point, Kelly is in charge of a contest and the other characters imply that Kelly rigged the contest in favor of Jo because they know how obsessed she is with Jo. Thinking about this today, I started wondering why the characters of Miko and Kelly were written so similarly, with regard to their fascination with Jo. Here is my theory. Remember the character of Spike in Happy Days? He was only in a few episodes, but he was basically a mini-me clone of Fonzie: a younger, shorter version of The Fonz. The character didn't last long, maybe because the producers realized the limitations of a mini-me clone character wouldn't allow for long-term growth. But after Spike left, Chachi, Fonzie's younger greaser cousin suddenly appears, taking on a lot of the mini-me character aspects. When the producers of FOL decided to add the character of Jo, they definitely were influenced strongly by the film "Little Darlings", as they based the entire "New Girl" script on the film. However, it seems quite clear to me that they based some of Jo's attributes not so much on Kristy McNichols' character but instead on Fonzie: she's a biker chick and the original character's name was Foxy, before they settled on Jo. They even gave Jo an ethnic last name, in the tradition of Fonzarelli on Happy Days. Jo was meant to be the character who shook the show up, much like Fonzie on Happy Days. It seems natural, then, that since they modeled Jo on Fonzie, that they had this idea that other characters should worship her, much like the characters on Happy Days worshiped the Fonz. So Miko and Kelly become obsessed with Jo. But the Fonz was almost like a superhero character: he could hit a jukebox at the diner and cause the exact right music to play. It was kind of stupid, but it was that character's trademark. Jo, being on a somewhat more realistic sitcom, didn't have superpowers, and she often failed at things, something which rarely happened to the Fonz. Therefore, Miko and Kelly's fascination with Jo seemed to play very differently: they worshiped someone who was just an ordinary girl with extraordinary (for the time) interests. It came off looking strange... not necessarily in the "strange" way Blair calls tomboy Cindy in Season 1, but "strange" as in, "why are these girls worshiping someone who is just a normal person?" way. In making these two characters worship Jo, I think the writers helped doom these characters: they ended up having little depth, when they should have had their own attributes that viewers could have latched onto. And viewers may not have understood their obsession. What are other viewers' thoughts? Attached Images
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10-18-2020, 06:37 PM	#12
Lorimar Television Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 06, 2007 Posts: 7,034	They must've been on SO around 2001
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10-18-2020, 02:18 PM	#2
valentina warner Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 31, 2020 Location: The Uk Posts: 3,154	I know i'm the only (or one of the few) person who always liked KELLY (even though she sabotages 'EDNA's EDIBLES'): she was a strong character, whereas the likes of MIKO and ALEXANDRA were rather weak clones or admires!

10-18-2020, 02:25 PM	#3
Impressions She died the way she lived Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 08, 2002 Posts: 4,640	I didn't like the "mini me" characters. They lack depth, have no shelf life and they are a feable attempt on cashing-in on the success of the most popular characters. They work in the short-term, but not long term. Had Jo had some super star status, it would made the audience understand their idolization better, but yeah, Jo was just an "Average Jo(e)," so it didn't make sense to keep their characters going.

10-18-2020, 03:36 PM	#8
80s Dude Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 24, 2019 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,820	I never understood what they producers wanted to do with the Miko character. Did they want another person of color to make the cast look more diverse? They even had an entire episode centered on her (a very slightly recycled script from Overachieving) and then pretty much dropped her like a hot potato. I think Jo was a hybrid of Fonzie and Chaucci. She rode a motorcycle and dressed like the Fonz, but didn't have his maturity and wisdom. No one really looked to her for wisdom or advice. She had lots of Chacchi in her. A rebel without a cause who still had the streets in her, especially the first few seasons.

10-18-2020, 06:12 PM	#11
80s Dude Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 24, 2019 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,820	Ironically Happy Days began with 4 main characters (Ritchie, Potsie, Mr. & Mrs. C.) and added more characters as the show went along. While Potsie was Nancied, he was never written off from the show. Warren Littlefield would have said "We got 10, 12 boys. It's too confusing. Get rid of some. I don't care who. Reduce the cast." The Fonz wasn't even a main character in the first couple of seasons.

10-18-2020, 06:52 PM	#14
80s Dude Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 24, 2019 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,820	They had Jo call Mrs. Garrett "Mrs. G." just like the Fonz called Marion Cunningham, "Mrs. C." The nice thing about the first season cast was that they had a big diversity of girls. Later on, they tried to clone other girls to be another Jo.