The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang is an American animated science fiction comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Paramount Television and originally broadcast during the Saturday morning schedule on ABC from November 8, 1980, until November 28, 1981.[1] It is a spin-off of the live-action sitcom Happy Days.[2]
| The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Science fiction Comedy Adventure |
| Based on | Happy Days by Garry Marshall |
| Developed by | Duane Poole Tom Swale |
| Directed by | George Gordon Ray Patterson Chris Cuddington Carl Urbano Rudy Zamora |
| Voices of | Henry Winkler Ron Howard Donny Most Didi Conn Frank Welker |
| Narrated by | Wolfman Jack |
| Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Producers | Art Scott (season 1) Don Jurwich (season 2) Duane Poole Tom Swale |
| Production companies | Hanna-Barbera Productions Paramount Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | November 8, 1980 – November 28, 1981 |
| Related | |
Premise
editHenry Winkler (The Fonz/ "Fonzie"), Ron Howard (Richie Cunningham), and Donny Most (Ralph Malph) all reprised their respective roles for The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang.[3]
The series "present day" is set in 1957. The series focuses on Fonzie, joined by an anthropomorphic dog named Mr. Cool, and his friends as they are visited by Cupcake, a girl from the future who pilots a malfunctioning time machine. After Fonzie repairs the machine, a subsequent accident causes the group to become missing in time. The series focuses on Fonzie and his friends as they land in various periods in time, attempting to return to 1957.[4] The introduction to the series was narrated by Wolfman Jack.
Twenty-four episodes were produced. After the series ended, the characters of Fonzie and Mr. Cool were introduced in the series Laverne & Shirley in the Army, which premiered October 10, 1981. The series was subsequently renamed Laverne & Shirley with The Fonz and depicted Fonzie working in the motorpool as the chief mechanic. That series ran until September 3, 1983. Both series were syndicated with an animated spin-off of the series Mork & Mindy as Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour.
Cast
edit- Henry Winkler as Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli
- Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham
- Donny Most as Ralph Malph
- Frank Welker as Mr. Cool
- Didi Conn as Cupcake
- Wolfman Jack as opening narrator
Home media
editOn November 5, 2019, the complete series was released as a made-on-demand DVD-R by CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.[5]
Episodes
edit| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 13 | November 8, 1980 | January 31, 1981 | |
| 2 | 11 | September 12, 1981 | November 28, 1981 | |
Season 1 (1980–81)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "King for a Day" | November 8, 1980 | |
|
In the first episode, in which the time machine winds up in the year 1,000,000 BC, a tribe of cave people select Ralph as their king for a day. But the gang wonders why the previous kings had such a short reign. The answer when revealed may lead to Ralph's doom, unless Fonzie and the gang step in to help him. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "May the Farce Be with You" | November 15, 1980 | |
|
The time machine is close to getting to the year 1957, but it overshoots by a century, causing it to wind up in the year 2057. Worse yet, Cupcake's magic caused it to go into space. The gang manages to get it to the Moon, where they learn of an alien plot to destroy Earth. Can the Fonz stop their invasion plans? | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "Arabian Knights" | November 22, 1980 | |
|
The time machine transports the gang to ancient Persia (now known as Iran), where they help a princess overthrow her uncle, who is aided by an evil genie, and is looking for her hidden treasure. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "Bye Bye Blackbeard" | November 29, 1980 | |
|
The time machine takes the gang to the Age of Pirates, where Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard, needs the gang's help to find a lost treasure. | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Westward Whoa!" | December 6, 1980 | |
|
The time machine teleports the gang to the American Old West in the 19th century, where they help capture the famous outlaw Big Jake, who happens to be a dead ringer for Fonzie. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Ming Fu to You, Too!" | December 13, 1980 | |
|
The gang's time machine takes them to the Ming Dynasty of China in 1371, where the Hongwu Emperor learns of Cupcake's time machine and hypnotizes the Fonz to help him steal it. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Vampire Strikes Back" | December 20, 1980 | |
|
Unknowingly aided by Count Wolfgang Von Wolfenstein, the gang's time machine winds up back to their present time of 1957, but not in Milwaukee. They end up in Transylvania, where they meet the count at his castle and have to overcome various horrors in order to escape -- one of which has a scared Ralph turning into a savage werewolf. | ||||
| 8 | 8 | "You'll Never Get Witch" | December 27, 1980 | |
|
While the gang is experiencing life in Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials in 1693, Cupcake is captured by a crazed witch hunter and now the gang must save her on their own. | ||||
| 9 | 9 | "The 20,000 Drachma Pyramid" | January 3, 1981 | |
| 10 | 10 | "It's a Jungle Out There" | January 10, 1981 | |
|
The Happy Days gang have made it back to 1957, but unfortunately land in Peru, where they stumble upon the lost city of gold in Peru, which belongs to the lost civilization of the Incas, who accuse the gang of stealing their golden idol. | ||||
| 11 | 11 | "Gone with the Wand" | January 17, 1981 | |
|
In medieval Camelot, the gang comes to the aid of King Arthur and Merlin the Magician when the evil Black Knight imprisons Arthur and plots to take over his kingdom. | ||||
| 12 | 12 | "Science Friction" | January 24, 1981 | |
|
In the year 3057, The Happy Days gang discover that humans are being captured by the Crolacs to work underground. | ||||
| 13 | 13 | "Greece Is the Word" | January 31, 1981 | |
|
The Happy Days gang land in ancient Greece, which is being seized by the Medusa-like Umbra. | ||||
Season 2 (1981)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "The French Correction" | Duane Poole & Tom Swale | September 12, 1981 | |
|
The gang teams up with the Three Musketeers to save Queen Anne of Austria in 1625 France. | |||||
| 15 | 2 | "Kelp!" | Diane Duane | September 19, 1981 | |
|
Fonz and the gang end up in 3817 on the ocean floor in a battle between the kelp farmers of Aqua City and a greedy surface-dweller who wants to destroy the city to get at the gold below. | |||||
| 16 | 3 | "Time Schlep" | Duane Poole & Tom Swale | September 26, 1981 | |
|
On their way to Milwaukee 1957, the gang gets stuck in a time storm in the Bermuda Triangle where they meet Ula and her giant ape, Mongo. They are pursued by villains on a hover transport. | |||||
| 17 | 4 | "It's All Downhill from Here" | Paul Haggis & Michael Maurer | October 10, 1981 | |
|
The gang finds themselves in 1864 Greenland and traveling to Jules Verne's Center of the Earth to help Anna find her father. | |||||
| 18 | 5 | "Double Jeopardy" | Joan Brooker & Alexandra Stoddart | October 17, 1981 | |
|
The evil stepmother of the Princess of Siam is plotting against the Princess and only Fonzie and the gang can save her. | |||||
| 19 | 6 | "Fjords and Sorcery" | Diane Duane | October 24, 1981 | |
|
Viking Sorceress Grimhilde strands the gang, so they must find the second magical bracelet to right the situation. | |||||
| 20 | 7 | "There's No Place Like Rome" | Jeffrey Scott | October 31, 1981 | |
|
In ancient Rome the gang must save Claudia from Julius Maximus. | |||||
| 21 | 8 | "Perilous Pauline" | Duane Poole & Tom Swale | November 7, 1981 | |
|
Grimsley Gladewater has foreclosed on Pauline's home and impounded the time machine, so the Fonz must rescue Pauline over and over. | |||||
| 22 | 9 | "Around the World in 80 Ways" | Duane Poole & Tom Swale | November 14, 1981 | |
|
Losing the shrunken time machine in a trophy cup, the gang must enter Jules Verne's race around the world. | |||||
| 23 | 10 | "All This and Timbuktu" | Diane Duane | November 21, 1981 | |
|
Landing in Central Africa around 1100, the team meets a beautiful and capable jungle woman and joins her quest to find her kidnapped astronomer father. | |||||
| 24 | 11 | "Give Me a Hand – Something's Afoot" | Duane Poole & Tom Swale | November 28, 1981 | |
|
Fonz and the Gang meet Sherlock Holmes in 1899 London. They must foil Professor Moriarty's plot to steal the Crown Jewels to use in a more nefarious scheme. | |||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 109–110. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 215–216. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 344–345. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ Clarke, M.J. (2012). Transmedia Television: New Trends in Network Serial Production. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 9781441144133. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang - Complete Series (4-Disc)