TV We Loved: Laverne & Shirley
February 3rd 2011 20:14
Laverne and Shirley was a TV spin off from the 70s series Happy Days that successfully ran for almost seven years.
Starring Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, roommates who, as the series began, worked in a Milwaukee brewery known as Shotz Brewery.
Set in roughly the same time period as Happy Days, the first season goes through the processes as far as introducing the tough-talking street-smart Laverne Marie De Fazio who grows up with her Italian immigrant family slated against the oh so innocent yet perky Shirley Wilhelmina Feeney.
Partnered alongside the goofy Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski and his best friend and roommate Squiggy (who both live upstairs from Laverne and Shirley's basement apartment the other main character to endear themselves to audiences (besides the occassional appearance by Laverne's father) is Carmine "The Big Ragu" Ragusa - Shirley's high school sweetheart and on-again, off-again romance.
In short , the tempo of the series seldom altered - and outside one or two episodes never delved into any geuninely serious issues - choosing to keep to the relative safe waters of situational comedy and light hearted entertainment.
The recipe worked.
Whereas several other programs of the era - such as Good Times tried (sometimes successfully) to mix social conscience issues with comedy to send a message to the masses - Laverne and Shirley never tried to be too much more than 30-minutes of fluff and feel good for all the family.
It's legacy lives through DVD releases and re-runs of course with the show still screening in over 20 countries around the globe - justifying its place in the annals of TV programs we loved.
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