Cindy Williams, Penny Marshall

If the Fonz was the guy every guy wanted to be, and every girl wanted to bang, then Laverne & Shirley were the girls every female were glad they weren’t, and no guy wanted to bump uglies with. But in the same way that the character of Fonzie on “Happy Days” worked – played amusingly over-the-top and distinctly self-aware – the stars of the hit series’ spin-off, “Laverne & Shirley” worked.

One of the umpteen “Happy Days” spin-off’s – there was only ever two notable ones, this one and “Mork & Mindy” – created by Garry Marshall, “Laverne & Shirley” told of two seemingly outcasted young suburbanites who work dead-end jobs, have dead-end friends, and live together in the apartment the size of a small stage at Paramount. And yet, they’re near always smiling.

Like the character of Fonzie on “Happy Days”, much of the show’s success can be attributed to the actor/s that gave life to the character/s – in this case, Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall (Garry’s sis). With their strong Brooklyn accents and terrifically manic performances, TV audiences latched onto Williams and Marshall’s characters – they laughed at them, but they rooted for them. Also worth noting are Michael McKean and David Lander, who brilliantly portrayed Laverne and Shirley's obnoxious yet lovable greaser neighbors, Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski and Andrew "Squiggy". They made quite the foursome.

In fact, everything about the show worked…. So well, in fact that by the time season 3 hit the DVD, reigning number one series’ “Happy Days” was booted to second place, and “Laverne & Shirley” was the top show!

There’s some typically slapstick - maybe more so than previous seasons, now I look back – episodes in this, the third season. In one ep, the girls have to fly a passenger plane; in another they encounter singer Fabio on a cruise, and later, both become police officers.

Though still good, and still quite funny, it was clear that the idea well is running dry and it wouldn’t be too long before producers’ would have to try something new to keep it afresh (that came in the form of a locale shift, the series moving from Milwaukee to Los Angeles - - as a consequence, the bottom fell out of the series).

Pity they didn't put some effort into the 'DVD extras' component of this set.

Rating :
Reviewer : Clint Morris