Stewart Brodian

Musician, composer, performer, actor, radio + TV host,
artist, celebrity impersonator, film maker + more!

I just finished bingwatching the last few seasons of Lavern & Shirley.

It was a spin off from Happy Days.

It ran on ABC from 1976 - 1983.

I wasn't able to watch the last few seasons of it because, as the series ran, I was in high school and then college and between school work and a part time job, I didn't have time to watch that much TV.

Happy Days and Lavern & Shirley took place in the 1950's.

Themes of these two shows changed in the Fall of 1979.

The both graduated into the 1960's and, as  Iremeber reading in some TV preview back then, the themes became a little more serious.

It's interesting to note that in the last few seasons, the show's seting changed from Milwaukee to Hollywood.

Also, the actors were vgiven more complex roles - two of them, in face, played a dual role in some episodes!

Also, there were some changes in the cast - two nwew charaters were added (one simply disappeared within the first season of the show's location) and Cindy Williams, who played Shirley, left after two episodes of the last season due to a contrt dispute.

Interesting how her omage was still used in the show's opening credits (a dance sequence from a previous season) even though she was no longer starrting/appearing in the show.

What I alsos thought was interesting was how some other main characters disappeared from the show.

"Lenny", Squiggy's room mate, was no longer seen or mentioned in the openeing credits

What I also noticed is that some people whom were either up and coming or fairly well known were seen as guest stars.

Jay Leno, Ted Danson, Jim Belushi were guest stars - even some portraying themselves, such as Joey Heatherton and Hugh Heffner!

The DVD I watched made me wonder if soem of the episodes were placed out of sequence on the DVD.

The biography I read said that the "Carmine" character ended u appearing on Broadway but, he was seen in again in the episode after that.

Also, the Father is seen dating but, in an episode after that, he tells his daughter Lavern that his wife, her stepmother whom he married  a few seasons back, had left him.

The gag reels were cute!