If The Series Had Been Set In The 70's

[Duster76]

Would it have been better for the show in the long run if it had been set in the 70's? The whole renewed interest in the 50's had started to run its course by the time Laverne & Shirley came on the scene, and in fact Happy Days de-emphasized the 50's as time passed. I'm not suggesting the show dwelled on the fact that it was set in the past, what I am suggesting is that it was an unnecessary distraction and may have impeded to some extent the development of stories that might have been more interesting to the audience tuning in.

[RetroGuy2000]

If the show had been set in the 1970s, eventually we'd see characters in clothes from 20 years into the future: Guess jeans, flannel shirts, overalls, etc.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by Duster76

Would it have been better for the show in the long run if it had been set in the 70's? The whole renewed interest in the 50's had started to run its course by the time Laverne & Shirley came on the scene, and in fact Happy Days de-emphasized the 50's as time passed. I'm not suggesting the show dwelled on the fact that it was set in the past, what I am suggesting is that it was an unnecessary distraction and may have impeded to some extent the development of stories that might have been more interesting to the audience tuning in.

If I remember right, it seems like toward the end, it was in the 70s... The later episodes almost cut all their Happy Days ties

[Chocolate Moose]

agreed. don't think it would have been very different

[shotzette]

Originally Posted by Duster76

Would it have been better for the show in the long run if it had been set in the 70's? The whole renewed interest in the 50's had started to run its course by the time Laverne & Shirley came on the scene, and in fact Happy Days de-emphasized the 50's as time passed. I'm not suggesting the show dwelled on the fact that it was set in the past, what I am suggesting is that it was an unnecessary distraction and may have impeded to some extent the development of stories that might have been more interesting to the audience tuning in.

Well, the show was based off of an episode of a show set in the fifties, so??? Would you have started the premier episode with "Hey, Shirl! Remember that time we went on a double date twenty years ago?" That wouldn't have worked very well.

"Laverne & Shirley" premiered in December of 1976, and the 1950's fad was still going pretty strong by then. "Happy Days" premiered in January of 1974, so the shows weren't that far apart.

[Duster76]

[QUOTE=shotzette;5928882]Well, the show was based off of an episode of a show set in the fifties, so??? Would you have started the premier episode with "Hey, Shirl! Remember that time we went on a double date twenty years ago?" That wouldn't have worked very well.

"Laverne & Shirley" premiered in December of 1976, and the 1950's fad was still going pretty strong by then. "Happy Days" premiered in January of 1974, so the shows weren't that far apart.

Happy Days created its own reality, Mork was set in modern day America, Fonzie was a surreal character, so there's that. The 50's fad began somewhere in late 1970 and had peaked well before Laverne and Shirley began in January of 1976. Happy Days set in the 50's began to deemphasize the 50's setting at the start of the 75-76 season. Keep in mind Good Times which premiered in 1974 had taken the character of Florida from Maude, moved that character to Good Times and completely altered her backstory to such an extent that the Good Times Florida couldn't possibly be the Maude Florida. My point, moving Laverne & Shirley from their 1950's Happy Days beginning to their own series set in the 70's would have been doable.

Since the series did little with the retro setting, I was wondering if folks think it might have been better if the series was set in 70's.

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

There might have been some problems for Garry Marshall: take the girls out of the Fifties and all you have is a knockoff of the Odd Couple.

I think Laverne and Shirley was Garry's take on the Lucy and Ethel (or the later Lucy and Viv) relationship. The fact that the show was set in the past became a burden on story development particularly as the show aged.

[Samme]

It would mean no more Poodle Skirts. The 50s had a lot more charm than the 70s, in everything. And Lenny and Squiggy wouldn't work nearly as well. It would kill the whole fun feeling of the show.