Happy Days: Season 2

After my very long and uncomfortable wait that additional seasons never would see the light of day, Hollywood finally realized that Happy Days still captivates the American public.23 episodes of this 1974-1975 ABC series once again have us rocking out. Because of the longer season, there are MANY more classic episodes for us to enjoy.An appreciable change of course is that the Fonz is actually wearing a leather jacket, more suited to riding motorcycles and convincingly being a 1950's greaser. Despite actually having no experience with motorcycles, Henry Winkler himself even had said something realizing that a gray windbreaker was ridiculously unrealistic for this role. I hope the network executives who thought a leather jacket would scare young children and/or prompt us to `act up' lost their jobs over that concern just because it was so absurd by the 1970's!He's also living in his own off-camera apartment apart from the Cunningham family during this season. However, he still gets just enough screen time to dispense Richie and company lots of advice. Plus, he actually `goofs up' too as opposed to being a perfect know-it all in the middle seasons ("Fonzie joins the band").As opposed to the "PC" version which Henry Winkler himself apparently was encouraging in ending seasons (when he would eventually fall in love with a single mother!), this Fonz clearly supports the sexual double-standard. In "Fonzie's getting married" he stresses that the girl has to be untried--while he obviously has not saved himself for a theoretical wedding day. Upon finding out that his intended wife works as a stripper, Fonzie decides to stick with bachelorhood for now.Doing work for a young divorcee provides the boys with an air of intrigue in "Get a job". Because divorce was really taboo in the 1950's and American divorce laws were just getting reformed in the mid-1970's, the episode was especially poignant. I know that even some other fans of this show get nitpicky about historical `goofs' which transcended eras nicely, but I think this episode was important because divorce wouldn't become a `mainstreamed' subject until MUCH later than the 1970's.Ritchie encounters another sexual dilemma during this season. Thinking the Fonz is cool--especially with the ladies, he ultimately has a problem learning that his sister plans to go out with Spike-- who is a miniature version of his `Uncle Fonz' ("Not with my sister you don't"). He worries what ultimately will happen to Joannie considering how much Spike looks up to Fonzie for everything and Fonzie's reputation with women. Personally, considering that Spike looks much younger than junior high, I actually wouldn't have gone out on a date with him--even if our date only would end at the kitchen table playing Monopoly. Ritchie worried for nothing!"Guess who's coming to Christmas" is another classic Happy Days episode for one reason. They tried to make him work first with Gavan O'Herlihy and then Randolph Roberts cast in the role as `the older hoop-shooting brother', but Chuck Cunningham could never click with us viewers, so this was the character's last episode and the Cunninghams subsequently and officially shrank down to just `two kids' with no additional explanation of what happened. Subsequently reformatted in later seasons to fit in with that plot development, the episode ranks among the best episodes of an already great series-- certainly no small feat!There are no extras in this season and some of the period music was tampered with, but I can live with that.Paramount unfortunately DID not refrain from attempting to pile the DVDs directly on top of each other in the packaging Unlike the season one release, the DVD discs are not in separate snap cases, something I thought was cheap at first but retrospectively now believe to be conscious of our desire to avoid the inevitable DVD scratches (even with careful handling) while wanting to produce the season sets cost effectively. Disc decoration is irrelevant, but I can't believe somebody in the company authorized the horrible discs directly on-top of each other concept.Since this series IS in the American History Museum of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., I am especially amazed the studios gave it such low budget production treatment. This is one of the few series gennuinely deserving the red-carpet-release treatment.Perhaps additional customer lobbying--will sway the studios to finally get it right. If they know the series is economically viable on DVD they will go the extra mile.

Happy days are here again

This series was so HUGE when I was a kid, thought I'd really love this. I did love the show content, the first 2 original seasons had a really factual, good-quality flair to the stories and acting, that changed when the series went live (I believe that was 3rd season). So my rating is not for the show itself, as the episodes were entertaining to me, and appeared to be largely intact, not lopped off as series sometimes are in reproduction. And the little sentimental music blips and "shooby doos' they were famous for in cementing the ambience are there. The poor rating is for the crappy treatment this show was given in its reproduction. Episode guide inside box was important to me, since I don't remember specific episodes, but the crucial point is that the "Rock around the clock" theme song was missing from every episode and replaced with some crappy music, and that really, surprisingly, changed the tones of the show. The original theme song, really, tied in with what the meaning of the show was about, and the replacement song was just done very, very badly, like the DVD makers just didn't give a damn what they put on, they were just ordered to erase the theme song, so there was not even good quality to the replacement song. When I buy a DVD of a movie or show, I expect the entirety of the program, not some cut-up poorly made job!!

I was one of those who constantly called Paramount to get , what I believe is the best season out;two. I was about to boil when I heard about the opening music being changed, as I have been a fan of Happy Days since it began over 33 years ago. The opening has been changed to 'Happy Days', instead of Haley's 'Rock around the Clock'. This is the only real disappointment I had, but it is a pretty significant one. However, the stories themselves are intact, and the minor original music is still there (opening and closing acts). Also, the ending with the old 'Happy Days' song is still there, as well. I have to admit, I had fun watching this. It was so much easier than dealing with vhs tapes, with their commercials. Once the stories start, it's still the same old Richie and Fonz...good to see them on dvd. So, I have to give this only four stars because of the altered opening theme. Everything else looks good.

I loved this show as a kid. The best part about it was the music. You can’t tell me that paramount could not afford to buy the rights so we could see it exactly as it was when the episodes aired. One of my favorite episodes was when Richie went to the dance with the movie star played by Cheryl Ladd. In her hotel room Richie sets the mood and puts on the song Earth Angel. In this dvd they replaced it with a horribly sung song, but I didn’t even know what the song was. What made the scene so real and tender was Earth Angel. The whole series was great because of the music that was chosen. I didn’t much like the show from season 3 and on when it went live. It became the Fonzie show and not cute anymore. I purchased season 1 and 2. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT to the real fans of this show!

Good show about a simpler time. Sad to see cute lil sister Joanie played by Erin Moran who turned into a raging alcoholic drug addict and has dropped dead.

Just as wonderful now as it was originally all these years ago. Children who weren't born when the original was shown love it as much as their parents and grandparents did then.

I'm working my way through the series. How dated the first two look now (I know it's supposed to be dated). Expect the next series to get better.

At last, I have season 2 of happy days. It works on my DVD and the show itself, it is so funny!!!!! Give it a shot

Nostalgia

Very Good