Laverne & Shirley
After its first half-season as a 1976 mid-season replacement, Laverne & Shirley entered its first complete season with a well-deserved place at the top of the ratings. The show's connection to Happy Days remained essential to its success, and after its first two episodes, the second season boosted its profile with back-to-back episodes ("Bachelor Mothers" and "Excuse Me, May I Cut In?") featuring appearances by Happy Days stars Henry Winkler ("Fonzie"), Ron Howard ("Richie Cunningham") and Anson Williams ("Potsie"). After that, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) were on their own, and the best friends and Shotz Brewery bottle-cappers settled into a popular season of sitcom highlights. As these 23 episodes make abundantly clear, L&S was steeped in the primarily Jewish traditions of Vaudeville humor, by way of I Love Lucy and other vintage sitcoms, and much of the show's charm comes from the unspoken fact that Laverne and Shirley are virginally pure, eager for fun but clearly saving themselves for the elusive men of their dreams. Sex--which is to say, dating--is a common theme in these episodes, but most of them deal with the girls protecting their virtue, as in the hilarious "Good Time Girls" (from November 30, 1976), in which L&S cope with would-be suitors who found the girls' phone number etched on the wall of a men's public restroom. Like several other episodes this season, it's a prime showcase for slapstick humor, with Marshall and Williams clearly taking their cue from the legacy of Lucille Ball, and matching Lucy's lunacy with truly inspired bits of their own.
Season 2 is also highlighted by the regular appearances of Laverne and Shirley's underachieving neighbors Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) who continue to make priceless, well-timed entrances, with Squiggy's trademark "Hello!" as one of the series' most crowd-pleasing running gags. The show's supporting cast members are all given moments to shine, and this season is further enriched by the hilarious rivalry between Laverne and her social-climbing nemesis Rosie Greenbaum (Carol Ita White) who appears in four episodes to taunt the girls with belittling insults. Fun-loving music is also a common factor here, and the season finale "Citizen Krane" takes its cue from Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane, with the girls making their dubious show-biz debut as a singing duo, promoted by a Milwaukee impresario named "Charles Pfister Krane" (played with ham 'n' relish by character actor Severn Darden) who dubs them "The Rosebuds." It's a good example of the season's consistently high quality, owing mostly to the charms of its stars. And for those looking for a bit of pop-cultural perspective, consider this: Six weeks after Laverne & Shirley's second-season finale, Star Wars made its theatrical debut, and the world of entertainment would never be the same. (Note: There are no bonus features in this 4-disc set, and for legal and licensing reasons, some song performances and/or background music have been edited out or changed from the original TV broadcasts.) --Jeff Shannon
Shirley wants to buy a car but needs half of Laverne's money to afford it. Laverne refuses to help buy the car and Shirley reveals Laverne's secret fear: she's scared to drive.
Shirley talks Laverne into volunteering with her at the hospital.
One Saturday night when the girls have no dates, Fonzie drops by and asks them to babysit his godson and they agree. But when a date opportunity materializes, they play odds-and-evens to see who stays with the baby, and Shirley--who usually wins--loses. After she leaves, the guy calls to say he can't keep the date after all, so Shirley asks Lenny and Squiggy to go catch Laverne, but they refuse. Shirley goes and asks them to watch the baby. When she returns to find the baby gone, the guys say someone came, said he was the father, and took the baby. Then the mother shows up.
The girls get Richie and Potsie as partners for a dance contest.
The girls have trouble fitting in at a bridal shower.
Laverne tries to remember the events of a wild night when she wakes up with morning sickness and fears she may be pregnant.
The girls decide to start a new career in modeling.
The girls end up getting phone calls after Hector scribbles their number in a men's room.
Lenny and Squiggy vanish without a trace.
Carmine talks the girls into singing at a Christmas show.
Laverne gets arrested for stealing.
The girls remember experiences from the past year.
Laverne and Shirley call in sick to take a day off of work and have fun; they go on a bike ride, go to the park and meet two men who they have a great time with, until they're arrested for solicitation.
In order to raise the money to go to a cocktail party, the girls sign up to be paid volunteers for scientific experiments.
A temporary layoff at work forces the girls to take jobs as taxi dancers. They earn money by dancing with men for ten cents a dance.
As the girls rush to get ready for a big date, they face wardrobe and hair problems, as well as complications from a house fire raging across the street.
Shirley goes looking for her missing down-and-out father at a sleazy bar on the waterfront.
Shirley wins a honeymoon vacation in a fancy hotel and she and Laverne decide to take advantage of it. Carmine poses as Shirley's husband and they sneak Laverne in, but after Carmine leaves, the girls quickly find out the hotel is intent on getting as many publicity photos of the married couple as possible throughout the vacation.
When Lenny and Squiggy get stood up, Laverne and Shirley take pity on them.
The girls conspire to get rid of Frank's girlfriend.
Laverne and Shirley want to buy a new couch and find out about a furniture sale in a house Shirley says is haunted. When they and Lenny and Squiggy go to buy the couch, they find out she may be right.
Shirley gets promoted to head of the bottle-labelers division at the brewery.
The girls are headlined in a musical extravaganza by an impresario who promises them fame and fortune.
|
Penny Marshall | Laverne DeFazio |
|
Cindy Williams | Shirley Feeney |
|
Michael McKean | Lenny Kosnowski |
|
David L. Lander | Andrew 'Squiggy' Squiggman |
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Eddie Mekka | Carmine 'The Big Ragoo' Ragusa |
|
Phil Foster | Frank DeFazio |
|
Betty Garrett | Edna Babish |
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Carole White | Rosie Greenbaum |
|
Bo Kaprall | Officer Norman Hughes |
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Sandy Wirth | Lucille |
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Michael Mann | Lackey |
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Jack Perkins | Patient |
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Fred Willard | Man in Bathroom |
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Harry Shearer | Harold |
|
Geoffrey Lewis | Mr. Gunther |
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Larry Hankin | Tall Dancer |
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Henry Winkler | Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli |
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Lynne Marie Stewart | Barbara Tedesco |
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Howard Hesseman | Dr. Grayson |
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Stephanie Faracy | Debra Lee |
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Gino Conforti | Waiter |
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Archie Hahn III | Bob |
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Garry Marshall | Drummer |
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Ron Howard | Richie Cunningham |
|
Paddi Edwards | Receptionist |
| Packaging | Keep Case |
|---|---|
| Nr Discs | 4 |
| Screen Ratios | 1.33:1 |
| Audio Tracks | ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Mono [CC] |
| Distributor | Paramount |
| Layers | Single side, Dual layer |
| Edition Release Date | Apr 17, 2007 |
| Regions | Region 1 |
| Purchased | For $ 29.99 |
|---|---|
| Index | 2212 |
| Added Date | Dec 12, 2012 01:15:26 |
| Modified Date | Nov 14, 2019 01:49:41 |