When this show originally aired on ABC, it was part 1 of 2, concluded on Laverne & Shirley (1976). In syndicated reruns of "Happy Days", a new ending was later filmed with Henry Winkler and Tom Bosley. A stunt double runs by pretending to be Richie, who had been let go by the farmer in the original part 1 ending. In "Laverne & Shirley" re-runs, part 2 of the story plays as it originally did on ABC.
This is the very last crossover episode with "Laverne and Shirley," which existed in the same fictional universe from 1976 to 1983. Heretofore, none of the "Laverne and Shirley" characters are ever mentioned again on "Happy Days."
The title refers to an act of forced marriage brought on by the lost of honor/virginity or the unplanned pregnancy of a girl to her male suitor/companion usually by the father of the girl through the threat of the use of firearms. The term is also used in other marriages where the threat from some other financial or legal source.
Originally, this was a two-part crossover episode, with Part 1 airing on Happy Days (1974) on Tuesday night, and Part 2 airing on Laverne & Shirley (1976) on Thursday night. However, for the syndicated rerun of Shotgun Wedding: Part 1 (1979), a "coda" scene was filmed to wrap up the episode. In the scene, Richie runs by a fishing Howard Cunningham, shouting that Fonzie needs to be rescued - only to have the Fonz show up and explain to Howard that he escaped the shotgun wedding by promising the farmer that Ralph and Potsie would marry his daughters.