HAPPY DAYS: GREAT EXPECTATIONS (TV)
Summary
One in this series of comedies about life in the 1950s. In this episode, Richie, Potsie, and Ralph goof around during a screening of “Shane,” already bored with their summer vacations. When Potsie and Ralph leave, Richie makes a move on Diedre, a nearby moviegoer who’s sitting alone. She explains that her car is broken down and Richie takes her to the Fonz’s repair shop. Fonz reveals it’ll take a couple days to fix the vehicle and thus Diedre will have to stay in town a little longer. Richie brings her back to his parents’ home and she joins them for dinner. The Cunninghams are surprised by her oddball ways, with Joanie accurately labeling her as “a beatnik.” Howard doesn’t like that Richie brought a “stray” back to their home. Later, Diedre faints and is taken to Chuck’s bedroom. There, after she revives, Richie reads her some poetry he wrote. Diedre then reveals that she fainted because she is pregnant. Richie wants to find Diedre’s estranged bongo player boyfriend and Fonz points him to a beatnik club, the Purple Eagle. There, Richie locates her boyfriend, Lawrence, and tells him of Diedre’s condition. Meanwhile, Potsie and Ralph take the guise of beatniks and visit the coffee house. They trade barbs with waitress Marsha, who’s moonlighting from her job at Arnold’s. Richie brings Lawrence back to the Cunningham home and Howard is furious at how the beatnik lifestyle has influenced his family, having also found out about Diedre’s pregnancy. Richie claims that his father simply doesn’t understand things. Later, Lawrence reads Richie’s poetry and claims it is missing “life.” Thus, Richie decides to go on the road to have new experiences with Diedre and Lawrence. In the morning, Howard and Marion are shocked to get a note from Richie explaining that he has left home. Richie goes to the garage to meet his two beatnik friends, who reveal they are no longer making the trip, but are instead getting married. Richie, too, decides against the trip. Howard picks up Richie at the garage, apologizing for not having listened to his feelings. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: April 16, 1974 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:55849
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1974-1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Thomas L. Miller … Executive Producer
- Edward K. Milkis … Executive Producer
- Garry K. Marshall … Executive Producer, Created by
- William S. Bickley … Producer
- Claude Binyon, Jr. … Associate Producer
- Jerry Paris … Director
- Bob Brunner … Writer
- Michael Leeson … Writer
- Peggy Elliott … Writer
- Ed Scharlach … Writer
- Pete King … Music by
- Norman Gimbel … Theme Music by
- Charles Fox … Theme Music by
- Ron Howard (See also: Ronny Howard) … Cast, Richie Cunningham
- Marion Ross … Cast, Marion Cunningham
- Anson Williams … Cast, Potsie Weber
- Tom Bosley … Cast, Howard Cunningham
- Henry Winkler … Cast, Arthur "Fonz" Fonzarelli
- Donny Most … Cast, Ralph Malph
- Udana Power … Cast, Diedre
- Danny Goldman … Cast, Lawrence
- Erin Moran … Cast, Joanie Cunningham
- Beatrice Colen … Cast, Marsha
- Valerie Curtin … Cast, Poetess