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| Happy Days - The Complete First Season | 
 enlarge | Directors: Art Fisher, Joel Zwick, George Tyne, James Tayne
Actors: Ron Howard, Henry Winkler
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $16.47
You Save: $13.51 (45%)
New (56) Used (25) Collectible (1) from $14.02
Avg. Customer Rating:  91 reviews
Sales Rank: 173
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Dolby, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 3
Running Time: 383
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.5 x 0.9
MPN: PARD053774D
ISBN: 1415700761
UPC: 097360537741
EAN: 9781415700761
ASIN: B000291Q3Y
Theatrical Release Date: January 15, 1974
Release Date: August 17, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The complete first season of the tv series happy days. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008 Starring: Ron Howard Run time: 383 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
Less than a year after Ron Howard played a college-bound adolescent enjoying a final, summer-of-1962 romp with old friends in American Graffiti, he turned up as high school innocent Richie Cunningham in the memorable, ABC television network debut of Happy Days, set a few years earlier in Milwaukee. The show would last a decade and go through many changes in tone, cast, and character development, but that first season got a boost from the natural perception that it had some things in common with Graffiti: Howard, of course, but also fumbling teenage sex, drag races, drive-in food, pesky little sisters, and laconic greasers. Happy Days: The Complete First Season is a sweet trip back to the Garry Marshall-produced sitcom's 1974 entry in primetime television, before political correctness would make stories about clean-cut boys fixated on seducing girls unthinkable, and long before older kids were defined by angst on the WB and Fox TV. At least in its first year, before Happy Days developed more of a comic-book feel and energy, the show was about Richie's all-too-human inclination to grow up too fast, to bite off more than he could chew and learn poignant lessons in the process. He was a sympathetic naif, not the charming braggart he later became, and major characters appear to have been created to provide both ballast and motivation. Among them is best friend Potsie (Anson Williams), a superficial hustler who typically incites Richie's enthusiasm for booze, reputed nymphomaniacs, and sophisticated, older girls, and fast-talking Ralph Malph (Donny Most), owner of a fantastic, yellow hot rod. More important are counterparts Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), a vaguely dangerous drop-out, and Richie's exasperated father, Howard Cunningham (Tom Bosley), each of whom provides Richie the validation of an experienced male: Fonzie's raw worldliness versus Mr. C's seasoned view of a man's responsibilities. First-season highlights include the pilot episode (co-written by Rob Reiner), "All the Way," in which Richie's typical decency allows him to see past the sex-mad reputation of an amiable girl from school. Season closer "Be the First on Your Block" finds the Cunninghams' plans to build a bomb shelter turning into a popularity contest as Richie's friends vie for a guaranteed spot in the event of nuclear war. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 86 more reviews...
 Happy Days are here again December 31, 2004
69 out of 72 found this review helpful
How can it possibly be thirty years already since Happy Days first premiered? That fact makes a guy feel very old, for I can't imagine having grown up without Happy Days; fortunately, being able to watch these classic episodes brings back great memories that almost make me feel young again. As a little kid growing up in the 70s, Happy Days was - without question - the show. I was trying to be Fonzie - strutting around, giving thumbs up, and saying Heyyyy! all the time - even before I learned to read. The show remained a constant presence in my life throughout the 1980s, as well, as it was a staple of after-school programming (back before all the talk shows took over). The first season's episodes were never really my favorite - mainly because a lot of changes were made at the start of the second season, Richie was a little wild that first year, Joanie was still a few years away from babehood, Fonzie was basically just a peripheral character, and - let's face it - there was just way too much Potsie in these early shows. In the first season, Potsie was the second-most important character, although Howard and Marion came on strong in the last half of the season.
Richie really wasn't a clean-cut paragon of virtue in Season One. In the very first episode, he set out to go "All the Way" with a girl who had a "reputation." Over the course of the next fifteen shows, he came home drunk (accompanied by a stripper) from a Marine's bachelor party, got arrested after he snuck out of the house to attend a drag race, put himself through "The Deadly Dares" in order to join The Demons, used a fake ID to get into a strip club, lost his band mates' money in a poker game, came close to leaving home with a bunch of beatniks, almost got a tattoo to impress a girl, and almost got himself into a rumble with The Dukes. Of course, he learned important lessons from all of his adventures - except the lesson that he should stop going along with all of Potsie's hare-brained schemes and plans. There are some truly classic moments in these first 16 episodes, such as Fonzie selecting Richie (in drag) to dance at the sock hop, Richie's first drunk in "Richie's Cup Runneth Over" and Richie's blind date with a really tall girl in "Because She's There."
The gang's all here for the most part, but Ralph Malph is just a jokester you see at Arnold's or parties/dances, and Fonzie is largely just the local king of cool. Both characters' presence tends to increase as the season progresses, but the only real character development we see of Arthur Fonzarelli comes when Fonzie decides to go back to high school in "Fonzie Drops In." Then, of course, there's Chuck, the infamous oldest son of the Cunninghams who simply disappears after this first season. The question is not really why his character was purged from the show with such Stalinist diligence; instead, it's why was he ever there to start with? He did nothing on the show except dribble a basketball.
It's interesting to see how the show became a little more serious as the first season drew to a close. While thoughts of making out with girls were never far from Richie's mind, we witness a rather poignant example of growing up when Richie and Howard square off over the beatnik way of life, see the show take racism head-on in "The Best Man" when Howard has his black army buddy's wedding at his house in spite of his neighbors' protests, and take a moment to reflect on the dangers of the nascent Cold War and the A bomb back in the 1950s.
I hope this Happy Days Season One collection sells like hotcakes because I want all of the other seasons ASAP. I like the next few seasons better, but a lot of fans probably have a special love for these early episodes. If you're a rabid Fonzie fan, don't expect to see the Fonz you know and love in these first season shows, though - there are only glimpses of the central character he would become. Keep in mind, as well, that there are only 16 shows in this first season - Happy Days debuted on January 15, 1974. There are also no extras whatsoever included on these 3 DVDs, a fact which is quite disappointing. Frankly, that means this collection is overpriced. At least we have the episodes themselves, though - and that is a treasure in and of itself.
Bring on season 2!!! January 28, 2005
39 out of 40 found this review helpful
I am part of the camp who thinks the earliest seasons of Happy Days were the best. This first season aired in the first half of 1974, and The Fonz was a smaller character (he's not even in the opening credits in season 1). However, these early single-camera episodes bring out the best of the series IMO.
If you compare these episodes to a season 4 episode for example, you can see vastly different tones for the series (it went live in season 3). The earlier episodes are a lot more authentic 50's, while it became more and more a product of the 70's and 80's in the latter years.
When the show went live, we didn't see as much outside action, as many of the funniest moments of the first season take place outside of Arnold's.
I hope Paramount announces season two soon, I love the early (first 4) seasons of this show and will gladly add them to my library as soon as they come out.
$39.99 might seem insane for a show without extras, but these are the uncut (over 25 mins on average) episodes as they haven't been seen since 1974, and as icing on the cake, it is very cool to see the old-school red Paramount tags that have long been replaced at the end. The only downfall is that some scenes have really dirty prints, but I am willing to overlook it. Happy Days does not look this great on tv.
My prayers have been answered May 29, 2004
25 out of 30 found this review helpful
I loved watching this series as a little girl, and am thrilled that somebody in Hollywood is finally listening to our suggestions. Happy Days needed to be released on DVD a very long time ago.
Although I was unusual in wanting to be like Fonzie to help others (the apparent early stirings of an activist!) and instead wanted to date Warren 'Potsie' Webber (I still cannot remember why I thought he was hot!) I still loved the series. Even in grad school, I schedule afternoon appointments around the time Happy Days comes on the local station so I can watch the series again.
The first season is special in it's own right because later-discarded older brother Chuck Cunningham, a nice (if prototypical) all American jock is shown. Fonzie is dressed in a windbreaker jacket to soothe network in-house censors who imagined the series would accidentally promote criminal activity among American youth if that character wore a black leather jacket. Plus, instead of the phenomena which he assumed in later seasons, Fonzie himself is a minor character this season; The show was originally supposed to revolve around the Cunningham family's Cold-War era Wisconsin life.
I only hope the studio eventually releases all seasons and does not(as with Charlies Angels) release one or a couple of seasons and then later decide that the public no longer wants to see this show. Syndication on many 2004 cable and network channels clearly indicates the enduring longevity of Happy Days---and so does a leather jacket on permanent display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. All seasons must be released!
 Great set, although its a little lean, and wheres the pilot? August 27, 2004
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
Its nice to finally have the 1st season of Happy Days on DVD, but this set is a little lean with 16 episodes, and no extras at all. Considering all the 'Happy Days' specials that have been on TV over the years, you'd think Paramount would have something to add as an extra.
Also, the pilot episode titled 'Love & The Happy Days' is not included. The pilot was originally an episode of the the show Love American Style, and included most of the same actors from season 1 of the regular series.
Mabey they will include the pilot on later season sets of Happy Days, or on a Love American Style season set if that ever makes it to DVD.
 Happy Days (Happy Only in the First Couple of Seasons) July 8, 2004
18 out of 22 found this review helpful
Watch the very early episodes of HAPPY DAYS before Fonzie became the main focus of the show. The viewer will see a late 1950's,nostalgic, coming-of-age type show. The characters were well defined, low key, and the Cunningham family along with the rest of the cast were not caricatures. The show was born out of a segment of ABC's anthology show LOVE AMERCIAN STYLE called "Love and the Happy Day". Then it was given the go ahead for a tv series with the success of the film AMERICAN GRAFFITTI (which also starred Ron Howard) and because 1970's America had a thirst for 50's nostalgia. The first couple of seasons of HAPPY DAYS are the funniest and the best because it tackled Ritchie Cunningham growing up in the 50's and focused on his relationship with his father Howard (Tom Bosley). Howard Cunningham was a throwback to the traditional "father" characters of 50's sitcoms as was the rest of the Cunningham family. Some of the storylines focused on life of a teen growing up in a 1950's midwest highschool tackling issues of dating, fitting in, and family relationships. If anyone can pinpoint when the show switched gears in terms of losing its point of view and 50's heartwarming nostaligia is the two-part episode, season opener (3rd or 4th season?). Fonzie thought he was losing his cool and had to jump over a bunch of garbage cans with his motorcycle to break some kind of record. Anyone who watched the show regularly would also notice that the Cunningham household set design had changed also. This is because in the first couple of seasons, the show was put on film, but then switched to taping in front of a live audience so they can record the sounds of the cheers and cat-calls when Fonzie appeared in a scene. Also,Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" no longer opened to the show's credits but was changed to the song of the show's namesake. The other notable characters such as Potsie Webber (Anson Williams) and Ralph Malph (Donny Most) were very funny, but one will notice as the show progressed over into the "Fonzie" period (under the direction of Jerry Paris) these characters became too cartoony. The "Potsie" character early on was more of a "Eddie Haskell"-type character and friend to Ritchie Cunningham. When Fonzie became the star of the show, all the other characters were relagated to being nerds. The Fonze (Henry Winkler) was understated in the early episodes and not flamboyant. In essence, he was really cool. However, ratings rose with the popularity of Fonzie and the character took on a life all its own. The Fonze became too over the top and as the series progressed, it wasn't a show about the 50's anymore. It was a show that just happened to be in the 50's, with The Fonze in the foreground. This reviewer would only recommend the first two or three seasons of HAPPY DAYS. The rest of the episodes after these seasons should be called the FONZIE SHOW.
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