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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Happy Days" needs no
introduction. It's the retro, taking place in the
1950s, but filmed in the 1970s homage to America,
mom and apple pie -- all tinged in that inimitable
'70s raunchy lack of good taste. Inspired by
George Lucas' motion picture, "American Graffiti"
this television series introduced us to the
Cunningham family, made Henry Winkler's "the Fonz"
an overnight superstar and gave Ron Howard's
career a new lease in Hollywood as the teenage
innocent, Richie. An instant smash with audiences,
the show successfully launched several television
spin-offs, including the highly successful
"Laverne & Shirley."
The "First Season" of this memorable television
series includes the episode in which Ralph Malph
(Donny Most) coaxes Richie into faking his I.D. in
order to get into a burlesque show with an exotic
dancer; the episode in which Fonzie re-enrolls in
high school with the expectation that Richie will
help him pass; and the hilarious coming of age
reality check episode in which both Richie and
Potsie attend a wild bachelor party and develop
magnificent hangovers for their revelry efforts.
(Aside: for those expecting the trademark "Happy
Days" theme song to accompany your viewing
experience, you can forget it. The series original
title track was Bill Haley's classic "Rock Around
the Clock."
Paramount's DVD is not nearly as pristine as one
would have liked. There is an excessive amount of
film grain present as well as age-related
artifacts and general grit throughout these
episodes. There's also a soft characteristic
inherent in most of the transfers so that fine
detail is never fully realized. Colors can be well
balanced but flesh tones tend to have a pasty,
faded and overly pink characteristic. Black and
contrast levels are never entirely solid or right
on. The overall characteristic of the picture
quality is inconsistent. The audio is mono and
generally cleaned up. There are no extras. I
suppose vintage film stock and the general ravages
of time are more to blame on these episodes than
DVD mastering. Unfortunately, this is certainly
not the way I want to remember my "Happy Days!" |
