Laverne & Carmine....No! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Gumdrops · 01-08-2016, 09:04 PM

Am I the only one wigged out by the idea of them?

One Heckuva Note is one of my least favorite eps and that's including the California years.
I didn't think they displayed much chemistry. I will admit I'm biased though cause of my love for Laverne/Lenny.

I can accept most of the combos amongst Shirley/Lenny/Laverne/Squiggy/Carmine, but Laverne/Carmine (and Lenny/Squiggy) just squicks me the heck out. I guess there are just some things you have weird, visceral reactions to.

Bonniegirl · 01-09-2016, 12:20 AM

Agree!!! Carmine was Shirley's man!!! I don't see Laverne and Carmine romantically !!!

shotzette · 01-09-2016, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumdrops

Am I the only one wigged out by the idea of them?

One Heckuva Note is one of my least favorite eps and that's including the California years.
I didn't think they displayed much chemistry. I will admit I'm biased though cause of my love for Laverne/Lenny.

I can accept most of the combos amongst Shirley/Lenny/Laverne/Squiggy/Carmine, but Laverne/Carmine (and Lenny/Squiggy) just squicks me the heck out. I guess there are just some things you have weird, visceral reactions to.

I'm actually okay with it. While Laverne/Lenny is my one true pairing, Laverne/Carmine (Lavmine) comes in a close second.

I like One Heckuva Note, because it does address the relationship and the mild flirting that had gone on for a while.

While I would have still liked to have seen Shirley ride off into the sunset with Carmine, TPTB had other ideas. Did anyone else notice that after Shirley left to be with Walter overseas, Carmine was in Laverne's apartment a lot? Granted, I know the show was in a shambles then with Cindy Williams, Michael McKean, and Betty Garrett having left, but part of me always wondered/hoped Laverne and Carmine had sort of a friends with benefits thing going on... ;-)

Gumdrops · 01-09-2016, 06:34 PM

I can't be bothered with season 8, so I probably haven't seen the episodes enough to notice. Lenny is my fave and his absence (along with Shirley's) just changes the show too much.

I guess I could buy a FWB thing with them, but I just can't see it going any further. It just doesn't work for me, maybe because I tend to see Carmine as some kind of extension of or prop for Shirley. The show really shortchanged him on the character development imo.

It's not even that I have a problem with Laverne (or Lenny) being with others; as long as it's a temporary thing on the road to Lavenny.

Honestly, I really like the idea of Lenny and Pinky Tuscadero. They probably never even met or anything, but I just really love the idea of miss 'queen of cool' being into Lenny.

shotzette · 01-09-2016, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumdrops

Honestly, I really like the idea of Lenny and Pinky Tuscadero. They probably never even met or anything, but I just really love the idea of miss 'queen of cool' being into Lenny.

That's a new one! I would watch that episode/read that fanfic.

I adore Lavenny! I think there was a wonderful chemistry onscreen and it pisses me off to no end that TPTB never let it happen.

Gumdrops · 01-09-2016, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shotzette

That's a new one! I would watch that episode/read that fanfic.

I adore Lavenny! I think there was a wonderful chemistry onscreen and it pisses me off to no end that TPTB never let it happen.

It's really irritating. They spent so much of the Milwaukee years outright teasing it. Season 6 has some good stuff too. Even 6 pisses me off though. Because of the Sonny relationship. Nothing against the actor, I liked him in other things, but damnit, we never get any payoff for Lavenny, but season 6 comes around, they introduce this new guy into the main cast and HE gets to be Laverne's guy? Really? I spent five seasons rooting for Laverne/Lenny, and I'm not just gonna accept Laverne/some newbie.
If I had been watching first run, I would've been one livid shipper. Even having never seen the show until decades later, it pisses me off. lol

Even season 7 has a few episodes where they're at least playing on MMK and PM's chemistry; "Moving In" namely, and then there's that cringe-worthy opera sequence in "That's Entertainment" that is totally worth watching if you just mute it and focus on MMK and PM.

Yeah, I don't know where I came up with the whole Pinky/Lenny thing, but I figure, why not? She was Fonzie's girl, and the gang knows him, so it's totally within the realm of possibility that they might cross each others paths at some point. I don't know.

shotzette · 01-09-2016, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumdrops

Yeah, I don't know where I came up with the whole Pinky/Lenny thing, but I figure, why not? She was Fonzie's girl, and the gang knows him, so it's totally within the realm of possibility that they might cross each others paths at some point. I don't know.

Anything in the Marshallverse is possible. Technically, one could ship Fonzie with an Orkan alien living in Denver in the 1970s, LOL!

I read somewhere, totally wish I could quote the source exactly, that the purpose of Sonny was to be a replacement for Carmine if Eddie Mekka proved to be too demanding regarding re signing his contract. I just saw Sonny as a placeholder.

My fave Lavenny eps are "Hi Neighbors!", "Hi Neighbors: Book 2", "Lenny's Crush", "2001: A Space Comedy", "A Visit to the Cemetary", "I do, I Do", and "That's Entertainment".

Gumdrops · 01-10-2016, 03:17 PM

Those are all great, but I'd also add:
* The Beatnik Show
* Honeymoon Hotel
* Look Before You Leap

The Beatnik Show I think might be my fave episode of the entire show, not only because of the Lavenny talk, but also because Squiggy is hilarious off to the side reading his comic.

shotzette · 01-10-2016, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumdrops

Those are all great, but I'd also add:
* The Beatnik Show
* Honeymoon Hotel
* Look Before You Leap

Ack! I can't beleive I forgot Look Before You Leap, which is THE quintessential Lavenny ep.

I'm also a huge fan of the popcorn buttering seen in HH.

Gumdrops · 01-19-2016, 11:41 PM

I find "I Do, I Do" kind of interesting as far as Lavenny goes. I mean, he tells her how much he's always liked her. We already knew that of course, but why did the show itself go to the trouble of bringing it up yet again, when the writing post season 5 has led us to believe that Lenny has given up (or at least learned to hide it better) on that? Lenny was high, they could've gone any route with it, but they decided to bring up Lenny's thing for Laverne again.

And then in "That's Entertainment", they have the opera scene where they're totally flirting and kissing and everything else. Yeah, it's not Laverne & Lenny specifically, but it's still their actors.

It's like they wanted to keep the Lavenny fans on the hook, making them think that hey, there's still a possibility here, keep watching.
Total ship baiting there.

shotzette · 01-20-2016, 04:36 PM

I agree with you, Gumdrop. The writing, especially during the later seasons, was all over the place. Part of the reason was that writers didn't last long on the show with all of the actor drama, but another issue was that most shows of that era, specifically sitcoms, didn't really contemplate series arcs the way they do now.

In Season 6, Carmine decides to move to CA to be with Shirley,and then they are once again loosely dating? Seriously?

Laverne and Sonny are involved heavily during the beginning of Season 6 and then he just vanishes without any explanation?

Someone in the fandom once told me that she read an article in which Michael McKean stated that a Laverne/Lenny relationship was presented to him in his last season as a way to bolster his part--and to keep him from leaving to promote Spinal Tap. He apparently didn't bite since he left after Season 7. I can't really blame him since he and David L. Lander were promised a Lenny & Squiggy spin off years earlier and that never materialized. It would have been awesome, though...

Gumdrops · 01-20-2016, 06:10 PM

I can't really blame MMK for jumping ship. The writing was on the wall as far as L&S went and he had all of these other opportunities so why not strike while the iron was hot? It was a good decision. He's never lacked for work and is easily the most successful of the cast (along with Penny to a slightly lesser degree).

There is this tweet though:

I'm sure he could've just been humoring the poster, but makes ya wonder if he was open to season 9 after all of his Spinal Tap promotion and everything else had wound down.

rcbrad · 01-20-2016, 09:24 PM

It never occurred to me that Lenny and Laverne would be an item. They were friends, but at the same time it seemed to me that Laverne and Shirley viewed Lenny and Squiggy as sort of knuckleheads.

Bonniegirl · 01-20-2016, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcbrad

It never occurred to me that Lenny and Laverne would be an item. They were friends, but at the same time it seemed to me that Laverne and Shirley viewed Lenny and Squiggy as sort of knuckleheads.

To me Lenny wasn't so much a knucklehead on his own! When he was around Squiggy ,he seemed goofier!

Gumdrops · 01-21-2016, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcbrad

It never occurred to me that Lenny and Laverne would be an item. They were friends, but at the same time it seemed to me that Laverne and Shirley viewed Lenny and Squiggy as sort of knuckleheads.

Shirley seemed to practically hate the guys a lot of the time. I understand her being annoyed by them. Given the way they acted and the things they did sometimes, it's understandable, but geesh. She tended to take it a bit far imo.

The 'friendships' on the show don't always feel genuine though, imo. Laverne and Lenny are legit friends, but I have a hard time believing that Laverne and Squiggy really are and the same goes for Shirley with both of the guys. At least with Lenny there were a few scenes where they had a nice moment.

01-08-2016, 09:04 PM	#1
Gumdrops Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 17, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 63	Laverne & Carmine....No! Am I the only one wigged out by the idea of them? One Heckuva Note is one of my least favorite eps and that's including the California years. I didn't think they displayed much chemistry. I will admit I'm biased though cause of my love for Laverne/Lenny. I can accept most of the combos amongst Shirley/Lenny/Laverne/Squiggy/Carmine, but Laverne/Carmine (and Lenny/Squiggy) just squicks me the heck out. I guess there are just some things you have weird, visceral reactions to.
	Last edited by Gumdrops; 01-09-2016 at 03:58 AM.

01-19-2016, 11:41 PM	#10
Gumdrops Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 17, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 63	I find "I Do, I Do" kind of interesting as far as Lavenny goes. I mean, he tells her how much he's always liked her. We already knew that of course, but why did the show itself go to the trouble of bringing it up yet again, when the writing post season 5 has led us to believe that Lenny has given up (or at least learned to hide it better) on that? Lenny was high, they could've gone any route with it, but they decided to bring up Lenny's thing for Laverne again. And then in "That's Entertainment", they have the opera scene where they're totally flirting and kissing and everything else. Yeah, it's not Laverne & Lenny specifically, but it's still their actors. It's like they wanted to keep the Lavenny fans on the hook, making them think that hey, there's still a possibility here, keep watching. Total ship baiting there.
	Last edited by Gumdrops; 01-20-2016 at 01:09 AM.

01-09-2016, 12:20 AM	#2
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,770	Agree!!! Carmine was Shirley's man!!! I don't see Laverne and Carmine romantically !!!

01-09-2016, 06:34 PM	#4
Gumdrops Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 17, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 63	I can't be bothered with season 8, so I probably haven't seen the episodes enough to notice. Lenny is my fave and his absence (along with Shirley's) just changes the show too much. I guess I could buy a FWB thing with them, but I just can't see it going any further. It just doesn't work for me, maybe because I tend to see Carmine as some kind of extension of or prop for Shirley. The show really shortchanged him on the character development imo. It's not even that I have a problem with Laverne (or Lenny) being with others; as long as it's a temporary thing on the road to Lavenny. Honestly, I really like the idea of Lenny and Pinky Tuscadero. They probably never even met or anything, but I just really love the idea of miss 'queen of cool' being into Lenny.

01-10-2016, 03:17 PM	#8
Gumdrops Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 17, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 63	Those are all great, but I'd also add: * The Beatnik Show * Honeymoon Hotel * Look Before You Leap The Beatnik Show I think might be my fave episode of the entire show, not only because of the Lavenny talk, but also because Squiggy is hilarious off to the side reading his comic.

01-20-2016, 04:36 PM	#11
shotzette Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 1,782	I agree with you, Gumdrop. The writing, especially during the later seasons, was all over the place. Part of the reason was that writers didn't last long on the show with all of the actor drama, but another issue was that most shows of that era, specifically sitcoms, didn't really contemplate series arcs the way they do now. In Season 6, Carmine decides to move to CA to be with Shirley,and then they are once again loosely dating? Seriously? Laverne and Sonny are involved heavily during the beginning of Season 6 and then he just vanishes without any explanation? Someone in the fandom once told me that she read an article in which Michael McKean stated that a Laverne/Lenny relationship was presented to him in his last season as a way to bolster his part--and to keep him from leaving to promote Spinal Tap. He apparently didn't bite since he left after Season 7. I can't really blame him since he and David L. Lander were promised a Lenny & Squiggy spin off years earlier and that never materialized. It would have been awesome, though...

01-20-2016, 06:10 PM	#12
Gumdrops Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 17, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 63	I can't really blame MMK for jumping ship. The writing was on the wall as far as L&S went and he had all of these other opportunities so why not strike while the iron was hot? It was a good decision. He's never lacked for work and is easily the most successful of the cast (along with Penny to a slightly lesser degree). There is this tweet though: I'm sure he could've just been humoring the poster, but makes ya wonder if he was open to season 9 after all of his Spinal Tap promotion and everything else had wound down.

01-20-2016, 09:24 PM	#13
rcbrad Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 21, 2007 Posts: 479	It never occurred to me that Lenny and Laverne would be an item. They were friends, but at the same time it seemed to me that Laverne and Shirley viewed Lenny and Squiggy as sort of knuckleheads.