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By
NICK ZEGARAC
On the heels of "Happy Days"
came the spin-off series, "Laverne & Shirley," a
wacky teaming of two lowbrow brewery workers,
Lavern DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney
(Cindy Williams), who aspired to do better for
themselves. The show's lunch bucket appeal easily
translated to a profoundly enchanted feel-good
series.
Apparently not entirely convinced of the show's
self-sustaining potential, we get to see cast
members from "Happy Days" reappear in several
episodes in this box set (most notably, Fonzie,
played Henry Winkler) which contains the show's
first 15 episodes. Though it's widely known that
neither Marshall nor Williams got along with each
other on the set, the overwhelming success of the
series forced the two to work out their
differences in front of the camera. The sustained
bitterness sometimes shines through.
Highlights in this box set include an episode
where Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L.
Lander) secure prom dresses for the girl's big
entrée into society; a riotous high school reunion
episode where an old classmate comes back to town
as a nun; the wacky apartment episode in which
Lenny and Squiggy move into the girl's apartment
complex, only to discover that they can't live
together; and, the hilarious dating episode in
which Shirley finds herself the recipient of
multiple male admirers and is flattered until she
learns that Squiggy has been spreading a rumor
that she is a "fun" date. In the annals of
television sitcoms, "Laverne & Shirley " deserves
a special place as one of the all time greats.
Paramount DVD has done a magnificent job of
remastering these episodes to DVD. Colors are
ultra rich, vibrant and extremely well balanced.
Fine details are magnificently realized. Black
levels are solid and deep. There are very few
instances where age-related artifacts can be
detected and even less of an opportunity to spot
film grain. Also, there's a complete absence of
digital anomalies for as picture that is supremely
smooth and easy on the eyes. The audio is mono, as
originally shot, but so nicely cleaned up and
balanced that one can forget its shortcomings.
There are no extras on this DVD -- a real shame.
It would have been nice to have at least a
retrospective featurette or perhaps a few audio
commentaries thrown in. Nevertheless, this DVD box
set comes highly recommended for its stunning
transfer quality that will surely not disappoint! |
