Classic TV Themes Bundle: Happy Days + Spin-Offs

Описание: Successful shows often beget spin-offs; sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Happy Days ran 11 seasons and spun off two shows that were successful, and two that weren't. Enjoy them all in this Classic TV Themes Bundle.

00:00 Happy Days had several cast changes over its run but it never changed its basic premise: nostalgic humor. In the show's early days 'Rock Around the Clock' played under the opening titles. This was soon changed to the 'Happy Days' anthem, by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel that would remain with the show through its 11-year run. We've chosen several openings from the first season to the last to illustrate the changes over the years.

05:46 Laverne and Shirley was the most successful spin-off, lasting eight years, more than one of them without Shirley (contract dispute). The theme 'Making Our Dreams Come True' is another Fox/Gimbel song, performed on the show by Cyndi Greco. You'll hear it several times as we sample show openings through the eight-season run.

11:57 Mork & Mindy lasted four years, a savvy combination of Robin Williams' manic comedy and Pam Dawber's charm and appeal. The theme is by Perry Botkin Jr.

17:07 Now we get to the less successful spin-offs. Joanie Loves Chachi did fairly well in its first season, but a move to Thursday doomed the season two ratings. The show has been kind of pilloried as a bonehead move by people whose hindsight is 20/20. It opened with a song: 'You Look at Me' performed on camera by Scott Baio and Erin Moran, composed by James Patrick Dunne and Pam Phillips.

19:22 Nancy Walker left McMillan and Wife for Blansky's Beauties, a short-run (13 episodes) sitcom about Las Vegas showgirls. The theme 'I Want It All' was courtesy Fox & Gimbel + Cyndi Greco again.

20:53 BONUS: There's argument about whether it's really a spin-off of Happy Days, but one way or another Out of the Blue was a tv disaster. A not-so-fresh take on the angel who comes to earth to help someone it ran only eight episodes, with the remaining four unaired and possibly buried in the LaBrea tar pits. Fox & Gimbel provided the theme. This is not a great quality source item so I relegated it to bonus status; that means you can't complain about it cuz it's free.