Laverne & Shirley: The Complete 2nd Season

After its first half-season as a 1976 mid-season replacement, Laverne & Shirley entered its first complete season with a well-deserved place at the top of the ratings. The show's connection to Happy Days remained essential to its success, and after its first two episodes, the second season boosted its profile with back-to-back episodes ("Bachelor Mothers" and "Excuse Me, May I Cut In?") featuring appearances by Happy Days stars Henry Winkler ("Fonzie"), Ron Howard ("Richie Cunningham") and Anson Williams ("Potsie"). After that, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) were on their own, and the best friends and Shotz Brewery bottle-cappers settled into a popular season of sitcom highlights. As these 23 episodes make abundantly clear, L&S was steeped in the primarily Jewish traditions of Vaudeville humor, by way of I Love Lucy and other vintage sitcoms, and much of the show's charm comes from the unspoken fact that Laverne and Shirley are virginally pure, eager for fun but clearly saving themselves for the elusive men of their dreams. Sex--which is to say, dating--is a common theme in these episodes, but most of them deal with the girls protecting their virtue, as in the hilarious "Good Time Girls" (from November 30, 1976), in which L&S cope with would-be suitors who found the girls' phone number etched on the wall of a men's public restroom. Like several other episodes this season, it's a prime showcase for slapstick humor, with Marshall and Williams clearly taking their cue from the legacy of Lucille Ball, and matching Lucy's lunacy with truly inspired bits of their own.

Season 2 is also highlighted by the regular appearances of Laverne and Shirley's underachieving neighbors Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) who continue to make priceless, well-timed entrances, with Squiggy's trademark "Hello!" as one of the series' most crowd-pleasing running gags. The show's supporting cast members are all given moments to shine, and this season is further enriched by the hilarious rivalry between Laverne and her social-climbing nemesis Rosie Greenbaum (Carol Ita White) who appears in four episodes to taunt the girls with belittling insults. Fun-loving music is also a common factor here, and the season finale "Citizen Krane" takes its cue from Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane, with the girls making their dubious show-biz debut as a singing duo, promoted by a Milwaukee impresario named "Charles Pfister Krane" (played with ham 'n' relish by character actor Severn Darden) who dubs them "The Rosebuds." It's a good example of the season's consistently high quality, owing mostly to the charms of its stars. And for those looking for a bit of pop-cultural perspective, consider this: Six weeks after Laverne & Shirley's second-season finale, Star Wars made its theatrical debut, and the world of entertainment would never be the same. (Note: There are no bonus features in this 4-disc set, and for legal and licensing reasons, some song performances and/or background music have been edited out or changed from the original TV broadcasts.) --Jeff Shannon

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 9/28/1976 1. Drive! She Said

Shirley offers Laverne free driving lessons in exchange for some money to buy a new car.

Director: Howard Storm Writer: Jack Winter

Guest starring: Bo Kaprall

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 10/5/1976 2. Angels of Mercy

Laverne & Shirley become hospital volunteers.

Director: Howard Storm Writer: William Bickley / Michael Warren

Guest starring: Charles Frank

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 10/19/1976 3. Bachelor Mothers

Since the girls have no dates that night, they agree to babysit Fonzie's godson. When they get a call for a big date only one of them can go, the other has to stay home and watch the baby. Laverne gets to go but when the date gets cancelled, Shirley has to stop Laverne from getting on a bus and going to Chicago to meet her date. Shirley asks Lenny and Squiggy to watch the baby while she goes to get Laverne. When the girls return to the apartment they find Lenny and Squiggy there but the baby is gone. Lenny and Squiggy gave it back to a guy who claimed to be it's father, the girls go berserk thinking all manners of horrible things has happened only to find out in the end it was indeed the father that they gave the baby to.

Director: Howard Storm Writer: Barry Rubinowitz

Guest starring: Henry Winkler, Udana Power

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 10/26/1976 4. Excuse Me, May I Cut In?

Laverne and Shirley's tv breaks down, and when the contest offering a prize of a new color set arises Shirley acts nice to Richie Cunningham so that he'll ask her and Laverne to the dance, but also the real reason is that they want Richie to ask his friend Potsie Weber, who happens to be the school's best dancer, to partner Laverne. Potsie gets injured and can't dance so Laverne teams up with Richie at the last minute to win the TV. When back at the flat, the girls have to come clean about them just wanting the TV, but the guys are so nice about it that they get a little of what they were hoping for anyways.

Director: John Thomas Lenox Writer: Jr. / Fred Fox

Guest starring: Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Stephanie Faracy

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 11/9/1976 5. Bridal Shower

Laverne & Shirley get an invitation to a bridal shower, but are afraid to go because they're the only ones left unmarried.

Director: Alan Myerson Writer: Paula A. Roth / Judy Skelton

Guest starring: Carole Ita White, Barbara Brownell, Valorie Armstrong, Abbe Kanter

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 11/16/1976 6. Look Before You Leap

After a party at the brewery, Laverne comes home to find she's wearing a pair of men's boxer shorts. She starts to feel ill in the mornings but was so drunk the night before that she can't remember what happened. She fears that she's pregnant. So Lenny and Squiggy have a contest to see which of them will ask Laverne to marry them, Lenny wins and in a touching scene proposes to Laverne, of course in the end we discover that Laverne is not pregnant and that she was wearing the boxer shorts because she had been made an honorary guy at the brewery.

Writer: David W. Duclon / Deborah Leschin

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 11/23/1976 7. Dear Future Model

Laverne & Shirley decide to become high fashion models and take a home modelling course.

Director: James Burrows / Barbara Robles Writer: Judy Skelton / Barbara Robles

Guest starring: Billy Sands, Rebecca Dianna Smith, Sandra Wirth, Deborah Harmon, Sandra Will

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 11/30/1976 8. Good Time Girls

The girls get plenty of offers for dates after Icky Hector puts their names and phone number on several men's room walls.

Director: James Burrows Writer: Laura Levine

Guest starring: Greg Antonacci, Stephen Nathan, Bruce Kimmel, Fred Willard

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 12/7/1976 9. Two of Our Weirdos Are Missing

Lenny and Squiggy disappear after Laverne & Shirley decide not to go to the circus with them. The girls phone around and find that they've gone to join the circus. When they get to the circus they discover that the ringmaster doesn't want to hire them, the girls find Lenny and Squiggy rehearsing and tell them they're fired from the circus. They then offer to help them out of all their problems and it all ends happily with the girls showing that they do care about their friends.

Director: Howard Storm Writer: Bob Sand / Bo Kaprall

Guest starring: Carl Ballantine

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 12/21/1976 10. Christmas Eve at the Booby Hatch (aka Oh, Hear the Angel Voices)

Carmine calls the gang together at the Pizzabowl and asks them all if they're willing to help him put on a Christmas show for the local hospital. Carmine and none of the others know that it's a mental hospital. When they get there they're greeted by one of the patients pretending to be a doctor. The real doctor enters and tells the group that it is a mental hospital. Shirley immediately becomes anxious as her parents always used to threaten her when she was a little girl that she would be placed in such a place along with her dotty aunt. The shows starts with Edna doing a song and playing a small guitar, followed by Carmine singing ""Jingle Bell Rock"" and tap dancing, then Lenny and Squiggy sing ""The Jolliest Fat Man"" and finished off with Laverne and Shirley baton twirling and singing. The show ends on a warm note getting the message to the viewer that they shouldn't forget the poor people who are on their own at Christmas.

Director: Howard Storm Writer: David W. Duclon

Guest starring: Howard Hesseman, Roger Garrett, David W. Duclon

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 1/4/1977 11. Guilty Until Proven Not Innocent

Laverne is arrested for shoplifting, so Shirley tries to get her released.

Director: James Burrows Writer: Bob Sand / Bo Kaprall

Guest starring: Louis Nye, Jeannie Linero, John Moskoff, Bo Kaprall, Barbara O Jones, Marilyn Redfield

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 1/10/1977 12. Anniversary Show

While the girls are stuck at a train station in Canada, the rest of the gang is waiting for them to have a surprise party at the Pizzabowl. To pass the time they sit around and reminisce through flashbacks of scenes from previous episodes.

Director: John Thomas Lenox Writer: Roger Garrett / Paula A. Roth

Guest starring: Richard Stahl

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 1/11/1977 13. Playing Hooky

The girls both call in sick to Shotz and decide to have 'fun' instead. They go to the movies where they see a couple of guys and Laverne waves at them throughout the picture. Later in the children's play park, Shirley goes to get fudgecicles. One of the guys from the movie theater comes over and talk to Shirley, then goes back to his friend. Later, while at their apartment, the guys, who have followed them home invite themselves in. They play a game of charades and one of the guys goes out to buy pink champagne. The other guy offers the girls $100 to buy something for themselves. When they take it, he handcuffs them and arrests them for being ""pros"". His friend comes back to find the girls upset and crying. When he finds out his new rookie partner, who's on his first case, offered the girls money, he tells him that's not allowed because it's entrapment and orders him to free Laverne and Shirley. To try to make it up to them, they offer to take them out to dinner and show them a good

Director: John Thomas Lenox Writer: Barry Rubinowitz

Guest starring: Archie Hahn, Victor Holchak

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 1/18/1977 14. Guinea Pigs

The girls become guinea pigs in order to raise money to go to a cocktail party. Laverne is allowed to sleep for a few minutes at a time, and Shirley has to eat dirt.

Director: James Burrows Writer: Jack Winter

Guest starring: Harry Shearer, Kip Gilman, Robert Cornthwaite, Richard Young, Jack Lukes, Bob Basso, Paddi Edwards

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 2/1/1977 15. Call Me a Taxi

The girls take jobs as taxi dancers when they get laid off.

Director: Alan Myerson Writer: Paula A. Roth / Deborah Leschin

Guest starring: Julie Payne, Frances Peach, Larry Hankin, Peter Elbling

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 2/8/1977 16. Steppin' Out

The girls have big dates now if only they can get themselves together in time.

Director: Dennis Klein Writer: Deborah Leschin

Guest starring: Ron Prince

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 2/15/1977 17. Buddy, Can You Spare a Father?

Shirley goes to a sleazy bar to look for her father.

Director: Jr. / Ray DeVally Writer: Eric Cohen / Monica Mcgowan Johnson

Guest starring: Jack Perkins, Bill Fiore, Scott Brady

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 2/22/1977 18. Honeymoon Hotel

Shirley wins a vacation at a newlywed hotel. Laverne and Shirley plan to use Carmine to fool the hotel staff into letting them in, thinking they'll be left alone after the inital photos. Unfortunately they never get a moments peace and a mass party ensues.

Director: Gary Shimokawa Writer: Eric Cohen / Monica Mcgowan Johnson

Guest starring: Geoffrey Lewis

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 3/1/1977 19. Hi, Neighbor Book 2

Laverne & Shirley come to the rescue when Lenny and Squiggy get stood up.

Director: Jr. / Ray DeVally Writer: Michael McKean / David Landers

Guest starring: Gino Conforti, Roger Till, Lynne Marie Stewart

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 3/8/1977 20. Frank's Fling

Laverne asks Lenny, Squiggy and Carmine to dress up as gangsters in order to scare away a golddigger who wants to marry her father.

Director: Howard Morris Writer: William J. Keenan

Guest starring: Maureen Arthur

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 3/22/1977 21. Haunted House

The girls want new furniture and go looking for a used couch, in a haunted house. Lenny and Squiggy go with Laverne and Shirley to the haunted house to help them remove a couch if they buy one. Of course, the cast start to disappear one by one until there's only the girls left, they can't get out. In the end discover that it is the owners of the house who are trying to scare people away so they don't have to move. Shirley discovers that Abe Lincoln once slept in the house and suggests they have the house marked as a piece of history which saves the building.

Director: Alan Myerson Writer: Andrew Johnson

Guest starring: Shirley O'Hara, Dan Barrows, Mickey Morton

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 3/29/1977 22. Lonely at the Middle

Shirley is promoted to supervisor and has the other workers hating her for it.

Director: James Burrows Writer: Jack Winter

Guest starring: Byron Webster, Pat McCormick, Holly Irving

Seen it: Yes 30 mins 4/5/1977 23. Citizen Crane

Milwaukee's most prominent citizen, Charles Feister Crane, decides to make Laverne and Shirley his newest singing discovery, a singing duet called ""The Rosebuds"".

Director: Jr. / Ray DeVally Writer: Raymond Silver

Guest starring: Ogden Talbot, Severn Darden

Phil Foster
David L. Lander
Penny Marshall
Michael McKean
Eddie Mekka
Cindy Williams	Shirley Feeney
Leslie Easterbrook
Ed Marinaro
Kenneth Mars
Betty Garrett	Edna DeFazio
Vicki Lawrence