Question for People who liked Laverne and Shirley better than Happy Days

[TVFactFan]

Just curious to know why you preferred L&S over Happy Days. Isaw that L&S came storming out of the gate when it first premeired and surpassed Happy Days in the ratings in three out of it's first 4 seasons

75-76 season
L&S-#3
HD-#11

77-78 season
L&S-#!
HD-#2

78-79
L&S-#1
HD-#3


So just would like to know what made you choose L&S

[JT]

I like L&S more than HD because I'm so sick of HD being overated. "Happy Days" fans act as if their show is the BEST IN ALL THE LAND and if you don't like it, you're going to hell. L&S was LOADS funnier anyway...

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by JT
I like L&S more than HD because I'm so sick of HD being overated. "Happy Days" fans act as if their show is the BEST IN ALL THE LAND and if you don't like it, you're going to hell. L&S was LOADS funnier anyway...

I agree, L&S was funnier. HD was not really funny but interesting to watch.

[Jrnygrl]

I agree with both of you.

[Sean Snow]

I dunno...I don't think HD is very funny and it bores me. Laverne & Shirley, on the other hand, cracks me up. It never has a really dull moment and I don't think it was ever 'bad' until its last season. I also loved the physical comedy.

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by Sean Snow
I dunno...I don't think HD is very funny and it bores me. Laverne & Shirley, on the other hand, cracks me up. It never has a really dull moment and I don't think it was ever 'bad' until its last season. I also loved the physical comedy.

Yeah there wasn't much physical comedy in Happy Days

[TVJunkie101]

I like L&S better. Much funnier, and more slapstick humor. It's been great seeing it again on Lifetime. Not that it's been off that long, but still...

I think Happy Days is a good and - as Solomon said - interesting show, but L&S is much funnier.

[Crusinforabrusin2.5]

Laverne And Shirley was genuinely funny to watch. Squiggy and Lenny were always up to no good with their shananagins. Laverne and Shirley had excellent chemistry as well and were equally hilarious.

Happy Days wasn't funny at all. Both L&S and Happy Days are nostalgic shows but only one of them was truly funny.

[Bonniegirl]

I like L & S way better than HD !! I agree with all the posts !!

[Duster76]

The Fonzie overload was so bad that the show was unwatchable. I mean, having his "office" located in a men's room, it was embarrassing. There was no comparison in my opinion, Laverne and Shirley was a much better show and much funnier.

[icecream]

I like Laverne and Shirley some, but it is nowhere near as good as Happy Days.

[RetroGuy2000]

Happy Days became bad when all the episodes started revolving around Fonzie, and the original characters were forgotten. Laverne and Shirley stayed good until that final, awful "Laverne and That's It" season.

[Sal]

I happen to be a big fan of both shows and I still watch them every day. I still consider "Happy Days" to be my favorite series of all time and it has been for quite some time. I grew up watching it every week and hardly missed an episode even during the often painful later seasons. Back in the day, the Fonz was the greatest character on TV. As far as I can remember, no one I knew ever spoke of him in a bad way. If you weren't trying to be like the Fonz (or Vinnie Barbarino), you really were a nerd.


Last month, I saw the first season on TV again (Season 2 began yesterday) and I couldn't believe how great it was and how much better and different it seemed than when it ended. Therein lies the problem. It seems that today, people tend to remember "Happy Days" for how badly it ended --- partly because of the infamous "Jump The Shark" episode but more likely because of the departures of Ron Howard and Donny Most and the arrivals of Ted McGinley and Scott Baio that hurt the series a lot --- than the early years, when a young Richie was growing up in the 50s and enjoying life. This to me seems a bit unfair as I believe the series stayed great for at least the first 4 and possibly 5 seasons. The sore point for TV fans tends to begin at Season 3 when it switched to a live audience and marked the beginning of "Fonziemania". I didn't see a problem with it at all. I thought it was a big improvement and so did the show's fans which quickly brought its ratings all the way to #1.

Before Season 3, the ratings weren't very high and it looked like it was going to be cancelled. The show was getting creamed by "Good Times" and its star Jimmie Walker was getting huge laughs every week so creator Garry Marshall decided to film before a live audience and increase Fonzie's profile, and it worked. (I have watched "Good Times" a few times on TV recently and I can't believe how bad it was. I'm still wondering what all the fuss was about. Damn you, Norman Lear!) I still believe that Season 3 of "Happy Days" was the greatest single season by any sitcom of all time! That's because there were so many classic episodes to be found in it: "Fonzie Moves In", "Motorcycle", "Fearless Fonzarelli Parts 1 and 2", and "A Date With Fonzie" which is where we first meet Laverne & Shirley. That episode led to another great series which I also still love and watch today.


Comparing "Laverne & Shirley" to "Happy Days" is really like comparing apples to oranges or, in sitcom terms, like comparing "Green Acres" to "Petticoat Junction" a decade earlier. Both existed in the same town and same parallel universe but they both tried to attract viewers in a different way. "Happy Days" was for fans who were nostalgic for not only the 1950s but the great family sitcoms of that era like "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Leave It To Beaver" that presented families in a warm and gentle fashion and were more likely to make you smile as well as laugh. "Laverne & Shirley" went for the gut, going for big laughs and more physical comedy and operating at a faster pace. (I happen to enjoy both types!) A lot of credit for that should go to Lenny and Squiggy who were both hilarious and should have got a series of their own but the girls had their moments as well. There were times when I thought that they were just as good as Lucy and Ethel were on "I Love Lucy" and Penny Marshall (who I miss a lot as she died too soon) even admitted this in her book, yet they also had their softer moments where you realized how great they were together, even when they moved to Hollywood and the series turned bad. Like "Happy Days", the best episodes and memorable moments happened in the first three seasons. ("The Society Party", "The Bachelor Party", "Laverne and Shirley Meet Fabian", "Excuse Me, May I Cut In?", "The Slow Girl", "Why Did The Fireman---?"). I think of "Laverne & Shirley" as one of the greatest spinoffs of all time and one of the all-time best sitcoms ever, with a strong and funny cast, episodes that you'll want to keep watching, and positive messages and role models that kids can follow and enjoy emulating --- including Lenny and Squiggy! But I still have to admit that I like "Happy Days" better, and I'm fine with that.

[BigManMike]

I think both shows are great. I am actually watching Happy Days all the way through right now. I started at the beginning back at the end of April and I am on Season 10 right now. Even though it’s had lots of changes throughout all these seasons for me there’s never a dull moment. It’s a great show. I will probably finish it sometime later in October. I will probably watch Laverne and Shirley in its entirety sometime next year. It’s a great show too.

[lakesgirl]

Both shows were great with memorable characters. That said, I remember so many times laughing hysterically while I watched L&S. It was so funny. Good show and good memories.