User Reviews

The Cunninghams rent a room to Fonzie.

The changes are Henry Winkler is now second billed, the show is now strictly filmed before a live audience and "sit on it" is used as a new catch phrase. There are some laughs in this one, especially Howard's reaction to Richie telling him Fonzie is moving in. We see Fonzie's grandma who gives a thumbs up. However the subtlety of the first two seasons is gone and the acting is much broader. This is one of the better live audience shows, the show would decline in quality in later seasons.

Based on a touching but funny "pilot" on the show "Love, American Style" (one of the better episodes of that series) "Happy Days" was picked up as a show about a 1950s family, the Cunninghams, starring Ron Howard as the leader of a group of high school boys.

A minor character was Fonzie (Henry Winkler), the biker, who became amazingly popular. To keep him closer, at the beginning of season three, Fonz moves into the room above the Cunningham's garage.

That's not the only change. They'd experimented with filming the show before a live audience (before, the show had been filmed and looked pretty good). I never took to shows performed before a live audience, as most of the shows done that way look stagey. But while "Happy Days" traded some its charm and the acting was lots broader, it became funnier. And the live audience laughter, while raucous, fits "Happy Days" better than the laugh track underscoring unfunny lines in the classier first two seasons.

This episode, where Fonz moves in, is very funny. It's a good start to their new look.