Would You Call 'Laverne & Shirley' A Classic Or Just A Former Hit Sitcom?

[visaman666]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Shirley Feeney was likable, but you had to listen to much Laverne in order to get to her.

And while likable, she had her moments where she could be annoying. Why Carmine waited around for her, I'll never know. After a while, he should have given up and moved on.

Shirley never vodeo-vo- doed. Well, she vodeo-voed, but she never doed.

[duckie]

No where near a classic, but it was a very good show.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by visaman666

Shirley never vodeo-vo- doed. Well, she vodeo-voed, but she never doed.

In the pre-L&S episodes of Happy Days, Shirley isn't quite so innocent. In fact, she eyes Richie in a very predatory way on their date and made the first move when they were alone in the Cunninghams' house.

I suspect that maybe they made her more innocent because she was too much like Laverne in regards to being "loose." She was also more combative and would go toe to toe with Laverne.

Two similar characters do not make for a good show, so they tamed the Shirley character over time.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by visaman666

Shirley never vodeo-vo- doed. Well, she vodeo-voed, but she never doed.

In the pre-L&S episodes of Happy Days, Shirley isn't quite so innocent. In fact, she eyes Richie in a very predatory way on their date and made the first move when they were alone in the Cunninghams' house.

I suspect that maybe they made her more innocent because she was too much like Laverne in regards to being "loose." She was also more combative and would go toe to toe with Laverne.

Two similar characters do not make for a good show, so they tamed the Shirley character over time.

[Ian905]

Originally Posted by 704Hauser

What makes you say Laverne & Shirley wasn't a family show? I don't remember anything taboo or adult in any of the episodes (I've seen Seasons 1, 2 + 4), although I can imagine the situation of two women living together would have raised a few eyebrows back in the late 1970s.

While Laverne & Shirley may not have been considered family fare back in the late 1970s, it would most likely fall into that category now.

The scene where Lenny and Squiggy have two dates over and they tell L&S to keep it down because, I quote, they "would like to settle down to a nice quiet orgy".

Or the episode where Laverne gets drunk at a party and starts having morning sickness and realizes she slept with somebody at the party.

And then there was the episode where L&S and Lenny and Squiggy are being held hostage about to be shot, and Shirley starts crying saying that she doesn't want to die a virgin and suggests they sleep with Lenny and Squiggy.

And who could forget the episode where the girls eat pot brownies and marry two British rockstars? Those are just a few of the many examples, I could go on and on.

If you think they didn't slip any adult themes in there, you clearly haven't seen much of the show.

On the point of it being a classic, I would say definitely yes. It rose the careers of these two previously unknown actresses and was one of the first sitcoms to show working class people just trying to get by. At times it relied heavily on 'slap-stick' humor, but that was fairly common of shows at that era. The point is it still stands well today, the DVD's are selling and there was that show that premiered a little while ago on ABC inspired by L&S. Ask anybody from the 70s who Laverne and Shirley are they could probably tell. Heck, even most people from today's era could! There is a reason 7 out of it's 8 season were in the top 30's of TV ratings

Laverne and Shirley is with out a doubt one of the defining 'classic sitcoms'.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Ian905

The scene where Lenny and Squiggy have two dates over and they tell L&S to keep it down because, I quote, they "would like to settle down to a nice quiet orgy".

Or the episode where Laverne gets drunk at a party and starts having morning sickness and realizes she slept with somebody at the party.

And then there was the episode where L&S and Lenny and Squiggy are being held hostage about to be shot, and Shirley starts crying saying that she doesn't want to die a virgin and suggests they sleep with Lenny and Squiggy.

And who could forget the episode where the girls eat pot brownies and marry two British rockstars? Those are just a few of the many examples, I could go on and on.

If you think they didn't slip any adult themes in there, you clearly haven't seen much of the show.

On the point of it being a classic, I would say definitely yes. It rose the careers of these two previously unknown actresses and was one of the first sitcoms to show working class people just trying to get by. At times it relied heavily on 'slap-stick' humor, but that was fairly common of shows at that era. The point is it still stands well today, the DVD's are selling and there was that show that premiered a little while ago on ABC inspired by L&S. Ask anybody from the 70s who Laverne and Shirley are they could probably tell. Heck, even most people from today's era could! There is a reason 7 out of it's 8 season were in the top 30's of TV ratings

Laverne and Shirley is with out a doubt one of the defining 'classic sitcoms'.

I guess it's debatable because this is a show that has not done that well in syndication but has seemed to do well in DVD sales. So I guess the question will always be a ongoing debate.

[smcpoet]

Oddly enough, I've just finished watching Season One on DVD and hadn't seen complete, back-to-back episodes of L&S in ages. I was thoroughly charmed and laughed out loud at many of the shows and it reminded me of how much I loved watching it as a teen in the '70s.

The chemistry between the actors, especially Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, is just wonderful. You really believe they are best friends. I agree with the working class comments earlier and that wasn't something you saw all the time on and (coming from a working class/blue collar upbringing) this was great for me to see on tv as a young person. I lived in a very basic apartment too (more similar to the Evan's family "projects" actually) and the characters wore many of the same clothes over and over too. Where I grew up not everyone had a large house, two parents, multiple siblings, two (or even one) cars etc.

My favourite characters were Laverne (oh, and I liked Shirley too) and Big Rosie Greenbaum (who I wish they had made more of a regular) and I still laugh every time they meet and say "DeFazio!", "Greenbaum!"

Oh, topic? Is this a "classic" sitcom? ::raising a glass of Milk & Pepsi to toast L&S:: You bet your Boo-Boo Kitty it is!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by smcpoet

Oddly enough, I've just finished watching Season One on DVD and hadn't seen complete, back-to-back episodes of L&S in ages. I was thoroughly charmed and laughed out loud at many of the shows and it reminded me of how much I loved watching it as a teen in the '70s.

The chemistry between the actors, especially Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, is just wonderful. You really believe they are best friends. I agree with the working class comments earlier and that wasn't something you saw all the time on and (coming from a working class/blue collar upbringing) this was great for me to see on tv as a young person. I lived in a very basic apartment too (more similar to the Evan's family "projects" actually) and the characters wore many of the same clothes over and over too. Where I grew up not everyone had a large house, two parents, multiple siblings, two (or even one) cars etc.

My favourite characters were Laverne (oh, and I liked Shirley too) and Big Rosie Greenbaum (who I wish they had made more of a regular) and I still laugh every time they meet and say "DeFazio!", "Greenbaum!"

Oh, topic? Is this a "classic" sitcom? ::raising a glass of Milk & Pepsi to toast L&S:: You bet your Boo-Boo Kitty it is!

The show doesn't seem to catch on in 2012

[faraj]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

The show doesn't seem to catch on in 2012

Yeah, in a couple of weeks, it'll be Penny Marshall's 70th birthday.

[santaburger]

I might be biased here, since this is one of my all-time favorite shows, but I'd definitely vote for "classic." I think the show truly stands the test of time, has timeless characters, hilarious episodes, etc.

Now as for consistency - I definitely will agree that this show was far from consistent, and there are MORE than a handful of episodes that are actually painful (actually, entire seasons). But the Milwaukee years are indeed classic, the girls' chemistry is impeccable, and there's just something charming and relateable about the show. Sure, not everyone will enjoy it, and I can totally understand that. I also would agree that Happy Days is way more culturally recognizable, and more of a "classic" in terms of how people regard it. But L&S is still the sentimental favorite in my book.

[JR1]

enjoyable, but it's not really regarded as one of THE great sitcoms of all time. Something like Three's Company isn't, either, but that has enjoyed more enduring popularity.

[comedyfreak]

I think the show is a classic and I laugh at the episodes today as I did when they were first aired.

[TVFactFan]

It's a memorable sitcom in TV history but far from a classic

[lucy&vivfan]

I believe "Laverne & Shirley" could have been a much bigger hit than it was, but the behind-the-scenes feuding eventually impacted negatively on the chemistry and the writing. The first few seasons of the show were brilliant. It was very reminiscent of Lucy & Ethel (or Lucy and Viv from "The Lucy Show"). The show continued to have good episodes all the way up to 1979-1980, but the move to California just destroyed the show.

I've watched reruns of L&S recently on a cable network called HUB. They have been broadcasting some of the California episodes that aired in 1981 and 1982 and I have to say, I never realized a sitcom could be so dull. The addition of Rhonda and Sonny was completely unnecessary. They added nothing to the chemistry and actually their characters seemed to destroy much of the dynamic. Surprisingly, it actually was showing signs of improvement in the final season, 1982-83, sans Shirley actually. I remember thinking "OH maybe Shirley will come back" or maybe it will just be "The Penny Marshall Show". But as I recall, it ended unceremoniously in 1983.

I believe L&S could have been much more, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by lucy&vivfan

I believe "Laverne & Shirley" could have been a much bigger hit than it was, but the behind-the-scenes feuding eventually impacted negatively on the chemistry and the writing. The first few seasons of the show were brilliant. It was very reminiscent of Lucy & Ethel (or Lucy and Viv from "The Lucy Show"). The show continued to have good episodes all the way up to 1979-1980, but the move to California just destroyed the show.

I've watched reruns of L&S recently on a cable network called HUB. They have been broadcasting some of the California episodes that aired in 1981 and 1982 and I have to say, I never realized a sitcom could be so dull. The addition of Rhonda and Sonny was completely unnecessary. They added nothing to the chemistry and actually their characters seemed to destroy much of the dynamic. Surprisingly, it actually was showing signs of improvement in the final season, 1982-83, sans Shirley actually. I remember thinking "OH maybe Shirley will come back" or maybe it will just be "The Penny Marshall Show". But as I recall, it ended unceremoniously in 1983.

I believe L&S could have been much more, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

Yeah it was a hit for the time period it aired on network tv but it's nowhere near a classic