Zwick, Joel

Happy Days - The Complete First Season

Less than a year after Ron Howard played a college-bound adolescent enjoying a final, summer-of-1962 romp with old friends in American Graffiti, he turned up as high school innocent Richie Cunningham in the memorable, ABC television network debut of Happy Days, set a few years earlier in Milwaukee. The show would last a decade and go through many changes in tone, cast, and character development, but that first season got a boost from the natural perception that it had some things in common with Graffiti: Howard, of course, but also fumbling teenage sex, drag races, drive-in food, pesky little sisters, and laconic greasers.

Happy Days: The Complete First Season is a sweet trip back to the Garry Marshall-produced sitcom's 1974 entry in primetime television, before political correctness would make stories about clean-cut boys fixated on seducing girls unthinkable, and long before older kids were defined by angst on the WB and Fox TV. At least in its first year, before Happy Days developed more of a comic-book feel and energy, the show was about Richie's all-too-human inclination to grow up too fast, to bite off more than he could chew and learn poignant lessons in the process. He was a sympathetic naif, not the charming braggart he later became, and major characters appear to have been created to provide both ballast and motivation. Among them is best friend Potsie (Anson Williams), a superficial hustler who typically incites Richie's enthusiasm for booze, reputed nymphomaniacs, and sophisticated, older girls, and fast-talking Ralph Malph (Donny Most), owner of a fantastic, yellow hot rod. More important are counterparts Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), a vaguely dangerous drop-out, and Richie's exasperated father, Howard Cunningham (Tom Bosley), each of whom provides Richie the validation of an experienced male: Fonzie's raw worldliness versus Mr. C's seasoned view of a man's responsibilities. First-season highlights include the pilot episode (co-written by Rob Reiner), "All the Way," in which Richie's typical decency allows him to see past the sex-mad reputation of an amiable girl from school. Season closer "Be the First on Your Block" finds the Cunninghams' plans to build a bomb shelter turning into a popularity contest as Richie's friends vie for a guaranteed spot in the event of nuclear war. --Tom Keogh

The complete first season of the tv series happy days. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008 Starring: Ron Howard Run time: 383 minutes Rating: Nr

Mork & Mindy - The Complete First Season

Children who love Robin Williams as the voice of Aladdin or as Mrs. Doubtfire will get a blast out of the show that blasted him into the stratosphere, and made "Nanoo, Nanoo" a national catch-phrase. Mork & Mindy, a spin-off of a season 5 Happy Days episode, was a tailor-made star vehicle for Williams, who won a Golden Globe for this inaugural 1978 season. The role of extraterrestrial Mork from Ork gave free reign to Williams's stream-of-consciousness riffing as Mork observed life on Earth and reported back to his leader, Orson, on all that he learned about friendship, love, family, and emotions. As Mindy, the down-to-Earth Boulder, Colorado, girl who takes the stranded alien under her roof, fresh-faced Pam Dawber does her best to keep up. When Williams is really in the (Twilight?) zone, it's not acting: she does seem like she's dealing with someone from another planet.

The highlight of this first season is "Mork's Mixed Emotions," a tour-de-force that TV Guide ranked among the top 100 TV episodes of all time (#94, to be exact). Mork believes that emotions are bad, and tries to lock them inside himself, but they are unleashed in a lusty, happy, weepy, angry, envious torrent. Helping to launch Williams as a primetime player in the series pilot are Henry Winkler and Penny Marshall in their iconic roles as the Fonz and Laverne. Another notable guest star in season 1 is David Letterman as an abusive EST-like guru in "Mork Goes Erk." Mork & Mindy rapidly jumped the shark, and much of the '70s sitcom trappings have not aged well, but this first season is a giddy time capsule record of Williams at his most spontaneous and out of this world. Shazbot--the set contains no extras. --Donald Liebenson.

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

It's not surprising that My Big Fat Greek Wedding grew more popular over the course of its theatrical release (whereas most blockbusters open big and then drop precipitously)--not only does it have believable situations and engaging characters, but these characters (particularly our romantic heroine, Toula, played by writer and performer Nia Vardalos) look like actual human beings instead of plastic movie stars. The result is the very accessible tale of Greek-American Toula (whose family sees her as over the hill at 30), who falls for a WASPy guy named Ian (John Corbett) and then has to endure the outrage, doubt, and ultimate acceptance of her deeply ethnically centered family. The actors invest their wildly stereotypical portrayals with sincerity and compassion, giving the movie an honest warmth instead of Hollywood schmaltz. But My Big Fat Greek Wedding ultimately succeeds because of Vardalos; her intelligent, down-to-earth presence and charm carry the film. --Bret Fetzer

When toul portokalos decides to change her life for the better she starts by getting a new wardrobe and ends up getting married! but can the quiet daughter in a loud greek family meet and marry the all-american man of her ddream without breaking a few plates. Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 09/11/2007 Starring: Nia Vardols Michael Constantine Run time: 96 minutes Rating: Pg

Mork & Mindy - The Second Season

After an out-of-this-world first season that unleashed Robin Williams, as extraterrestrial Mork from Ork, on an unsuspecting universe, Mork & Mindy fell to earth. But while season 2 is not as fresh or inspired, it is still worth revisiting to marvel at Williams, a cosmic comic force. There was nothing wrong with Mork & Mindy that a little network tampering couldn't wreck, beginning with a disco-fied version of the show's theme song. Conrad Janis and Elizabeth Kerr, who portrayed Mindy's uptight father and more far-out grandmother, are out (although Janis does return for a couple of episodes, one of them being the inevitable clip show). Jay Thomas and Gina Hecht are in as the sibling owners of the New York Delicatessen. Also joining the cast is Jim Staahl as Mindy's preppy cousin, Nelson, a city councilman candidate, prompting many Mork potshots at politicians. Tom Poston, as grumpy Mr. Bickley and Robert Donner as addled cult leader Exidor enjoy expanded roles.

If nothing else, Mork & Mindy was more ambitious in its second season, with hour-long episodes that veered from allegory (in the season opener, a shrunken Mork finds himself in a parallel universe where he joins a revolution against the Glums, who have outlawed humor) and high camp (Raquel Welch as Captain Nirvana--'nuff said--in "Mork vs. the Necrotons"). The better episodes are those in which extraterrestrial Mork is confounded by human behavior and curious customs. In "Stark Raving Mork," he picks a fight with Mindy (Pam Dawber, holding her own opposite the unpredictable Williams) thinking that it will add excitement to their relationship. In "Mork Learns to See," he befriends Mr. Bickley's blind son to experience life as he does. Mork & Mindy is of more than nostalgic interest. While the pop culture references and topical gags are stuck in the '70s (Mork manages a pun on Menachem Begin's name), Williams' physical shtick is timeless, and Mork's exuberance and innocent, child-like wonder as he tries to find his place in our world will resonate with a (na)new, (na)new generation. --Donald Liebenson

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008

Happy Days - The Complete Second Season

All 23 episodes from the 2nd season Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008 Run time: 575 minutes Rating: Nr

Happy Days: The Complete Second Season finds Garry Marshall's immortal, 1970s sitcom hitting its stride with 23 episodes that continue to be built around Milwaukee native Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his family and friends. But there's also a clear strengthening of one of the show's eventual, major elements: the close, if unlikely, friendship between Richie and Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler). As always, Richie is angling for a way to grow up faster, often getting in over his head. In "Richie Moves Out," the red-haired teen tires of trying to kiss his girlfriend in the goldfish bowl of his house, so he agrees to live with his older brother while finishing high school and holding down a job. The result: there's no time for making out when one is that busy. A similar scheme backfires in "Richie's Car," when the Fonz converts a racing vehicle into a family-friendly, second car for the Cunninghams, only to find after the fact that it's probably stolen. "Fonzie Joins the Band" sees Richie having to stand up to, and disappoint, his greaser pal when non-musical Fonzie presumes to join Richie's band in exchange for outfitting them in slick tuxedoes. Fonzie looks surprisingly downhearted, too, in "Richie's Flip Side," in which straight-arrow, young Cunningham gets a job as a disc jockey and develops an unbearable ego. In "Goin' to Chicago," Richie, Potsie (Anson Williams) and Ralph (Don Most) go on an overnight field trip to the Windy City and discover that stepping into the adult world (they visit a nightclub and end up with a whoppping check they can't pay) takes some preparation and experience they don't yet have. Tom Bosley and Marion Ross still look, in retrospect, as wonderful in the roles of Richie's parents as they did in the early `70s. --Tom Keogh

Fat Albert

The bright cartoon colors of the Saturday morning classic Fat Albert get brought into the real world--or a Hollywood facsimile of reality, at any rate. When a teenage girl named Doris (Kyla Pratt) sheds a tear onto her TV's remote control, her unhappiness summons Fat Albert (Kenan Thompson, Barbershop 2), Mushmouth, Dumb Donald, Old Weird Harold, and the rest of the gang from Bill Cosby's popular cartoon (inspired by his childhood memories of growing up in Philadelphia). Doris is, to say the least, a little freaked out and doesn't really want Fat Albert to help solve her problems--but with the blithe confidence that only cartoon characters can have, Fat Albert and the gang follow her to school to root out the source of her misery. One of the movie's problems (which are legion) is that Doris's world isn't much more real than the cartoon one; it's a sterile, clean-cut caricature of a city neighborhood. In fact, the whole movie feels suspiciously like a commercial for a DVD of Fat Albert cartoons, an advertisement for which actually appears in the movie, making for a bizarrely self-referential product placement. Thompson, surprisingly, hangs on to his dignity in the face of the inane proceedings and even gives Fat Albert a hint of gravitas. --Bret Fetzer

Hey hey hey. The beloved animated characters from the 70s make the leap to live action to help a troubled teenager as they experience the heartfelt emotions and hilarious absurdities of the real world. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 02/12/2008 Starring: Kenan Thompson Bill Cosby Run time: 90 minutes Rating: Pg

The Wayans Bros - The Complete First Season

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/06/2006 Run time: 292 minutes Rating: Nr

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

It's not surprising that My Big Fat Greek Wedding grew more popular over the course of its theatrical release (whereas most blockbusters open big and then drop precipitously)--not only does it have believable situations and engaging characters, but these characters (particularly our romantic heroine, Toula, played by writer and performer Nia Vardalos) look like actual human beings instead of plastic movie stars. The result is the very accessible tale of Greek-American Toula (whose family sees her as over the hill at 30), who falls for a WASPy guy named Ian (John Corbett) and then has to endure the outrage, doubt, and ultimate acceptance of her deeply ethnically centered family. The actors invest their wildly stereotypical portrayals with sincerity and compassion, giving the movie an honest warmth instead of Hollywood schmaltz. But My Big Fat Greek Wedding ultimately succeeds because of Vardalos; her intelligent, down-to-earth presence and charm carry the film. --Bret Fetzer

Step by Step (Television Favorites Compilation)

How do you deal with it when your single parent goes on vacation and comes back married? Well, you deal with it step by step! When two single-parent families join to form one big bunch, there's a lot of adjustment and a lot of laughter. Join the Lamberts and the Fosters as they struggle through the ups and downs of eight very different personalities living under one roof as a new family.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

It's not surprising that My Big Fat Greek Wedding grew more popular over the course of its theatrical release (whereas most blockbusters open big and then drop precipitously)--not only does it have believable situations and engaging characters, but these characters (particularly our romantic heroine, Toula, played by writer and performer Nia Vardalos) look like actual human beings instead of plastic movie stars. The result is the very accessible tale of Greek-American Toula (whose family sees her as over the hill at 30), who falls for a WASPy guy named Ian (John Corbett) and then has to endure the outrage, doubt, and ultimate acceptance of her deeply ethnically centered family. The actors invest their wildly stereotypical portrayals with sincerity and compassion, giving the movie an honest warmth instead of Hollywood schmaltz. But My Big Fat Greek Wedding ultimately succeeds because of Vardalos; her intelligent, down-to-earth presence and charm carry the film. --Bret Fetzer