"American Graffiti"-styled television show that ran a decade (1974-1984) and completed a mind-blowing 255 episodes in all. The show followed the Cunningham family (father Tom Bosley, mother Marion Ross, son Ron Howard and daughter Erin Moran) in Milwaukee throughout the 1950s. Howard, his friends (Don Most and Anson Williams) and their misadventures with school and girls dominated the show's story-lines early on. Would-be motorcycle tough guy punk Henry Winkler (aka Fonzie) stole the show from minute one and he was the main reason why the show survived so long. Cast departures (Howard, Most and diner owner Pat Morita) and additions (Ted McGinley, Scott Baio, Al Molinaro and Morita again) did nothing to change ratings as the show consistently stayed high on the Nielsen scale. Also the father of two lesser spin-offs ("Laverne & Shirley" and "Joanie Loves Chachi"), "Happy Days" proved that one amazing character (Fonz) could basically carry a program's list of shortcomings. 4 stars out of 5.
