Richie Cunningham
and his friends and family grow up and learn valuable lessons during
the 1950’s. The complete first season DVD contains sixteen episodes on
three discs.
CRITIQUE
When I was younger,
I saw a few episodes of Happy Days and never thought much of
them. However, looking at them now, I never realized what I had
missed. Happy Days is an incredible (if somewhat passé) look at
growing up in the 50’s. While the show does suffer from being a 30
year old nostalgia pieces, every theme presented in the show still
holds true to today.
When one watches
this collection of the first season, it’s interesting to note how
three-dimensional most of the characters are. Unlike the shows of
today, in which characters are nothing more than gimmicks for jokes
(the gay neighbor, sarcastic co-worker, etc) the major characters have
real depth and personality. Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) is a teen
conflicted with doing the right thing and doing what his friends (and
more importantly, his hormones) want to do. By doing the “wrong thing”
he is able to learn from his mistakes.
A good example of
this is an episode in which Richie and Potsie (Anson Williams) get
fake ids and sneak into a strip club, only to learn that the rumors
they heard are greatly exaggerated. Fonzie (Henry Winkler) is the most
surprising character of all. While one could, at first (and without
knowing who “the Fonz” is), pass him off as a simple gimmick, he is
the tough guy who spews worldly advice at the right moment - right?
Wrong. We are shown many different sides to his character, especially
in an episode in which he goes back to school. The Cunninghams are
fair parents, who understand what their son is going through and try
to teach him what’s right and wrong, but also allowing him to make the
mistakes that teach him these important lessons.
The show also is
surprising in its choice of topics. It deals with real issues of
growing up – sex, drinking, responsibility and even race relations.
And even though this is a sitcom, each topic is treated seriously.
Yes, there are jokes to add levity to the situation, but the show
never stretches to make a joke, as many sitcoms of today would. The
first season of Happy Days is well written and still works,
even 30 years after airing.
THE VIDEO
The video is
presented in full screen and varies in quality. While most of the
transfer looks clean, there are times in which the film quality drops.
It’s a shame that the transfer couldn’t have come from a better
source.
THE AUDIO
The show is
presented in mono and sounds pretty good. The dialogue is never lost
underneath the laugh track, nor is it obscured in any way.
THE EXTRAS
There are no
extras.
OVERALL
The lack of extras
is a shame for an otherwise really good set. The video quality is
varied, but it’s nothing that fans of the series would mind. The first
season of Happy Days is definitely worth owning.
