Customer Reviews

Laverne & Shirley - The Second Season

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The most glaring changes are 4 performed songs actually CUT from the episodes:

1. Carmine's performance at the Pizza Bowl at the beginning of "Bridal Shower" as been CUT OUT.

2. Carmine's performance of "Tutti Frutti" at the dance in "Excuse Me, May I Cut In?" as been CUT OUT.

3. A song Mrs. Babish sings in the Christmas show at the mental hospital in "Oh Hear the Angels' Voices" has been CUT OUT.

4. A song Carmine sings in the tag of "Frank's Fling" has been CUT OUT.

The rest I believe is the "jukebox" music that is heard in the background at the Pizza Bowl. You'll notice in the end credits, the names of the artists who's songs appeared in the episodes have been removed since their songs are no longer heard.

You'll also notice that the running time of most of the episodes is 25 mins and the episodes with the cut songs run shorter. That is what led me to investigate as to what had been cut. I checked the episodes with the cut songs against my videotapes of episodes taped from various syndicated and Nick at Nite airings to find out what was actually missing.

That is all I have noticed, if anyone knows if anything else, please let us know.

As the box says "some music has been changed" it does not of course say that some episodes are actually edited.

I only give the set 4 stars instead of 5 because of the cut footage. I am a big L&S fan and even though most of what is cut are just musical numbers, I would prefer to have the episodes unedited. Hopefully future episodes where music is heavily featured will not be altered. We'll have to see.

P.S. I wrote this review very early in the morning so I hope it all makes sense :-)

It's about time! It looks like the two (+) year wait for the second season of Laverne and Shirley is finally over! Season two contains 23 episodes of all-out fun!!! The wonderful chemistry between Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall helped to establish this sitcom as one of the most popular of the late 70's, and in my opinion, also as one of the "all-time" best! Also, you just can't mention Laverne and Shirley without giving credit to Michael McKean ('Lenny') and David Lander ('Squiggy'). TV's original "dumb and dumber" never fail to deliver a huge supply of laughs!

Laverne and Shirley is a wonderful, light hearted trip back to a more innocent time.

HOW CAN YOU HELP TO MAKE SURE FUTURE SEASONS ARRIVE QUICKLY?

By purchasing the product "NEW" from Amazon (or another legitimate retailer) your purchase will "count" and Paramount will "get the message". When you purchase a DVD "used" you'll probably be saving money but your purchase will mostly go unheard by the releasing studio. Paramount (and other DVD releasing studios) are in the business of making money - so make every one of your purchases COUNT and remember to BUY IT NEW!

Here's a very brief break-down of the season two episodes:

- Drive! She Said (9-28-1976) Shirley teaches Laverne how to drive!
- Angels of Mercy (10-5-1976) Laverne and Shirley become volunteers!
- Bachelor Mothers (10-19-1976) "Fonzie" (Henry Winkler) makes an appearance!
- Excuse me, May I cut in? (10-26-1976) Ron Howard and Anson Williams guest star!
- Bridal Shower (11-9-1976) Are the girls a couple of "old maids"?
- Look Before You Leap (11-16-1976) A potentially pregnant Laverne???
- Dear Future Model (11-23-1976) We all know that the girls are total fashion models!
- Good Time Girls (11-30-1976) The girls suddenly become VERY popular!
- Two of Our Weirdos Are Missing (12-7-1976) Lenny and Squiggy.... missing???
- Christmas Eve at the Booby Hatch (12-21-1976) A Laverne & Shirley Christmas - with a CRAZY twist!
- Guilty Until Proven Not Innocent (1-4-1977) Laverne decides to take a five finger discount?
- Birthday Show (1-10-1977) Welp, it's that darn "flashback" episode!
- Playing Hooky (1-11-1977) The girls call in "sick", but hooky leads to a crazy adventure!
- Guinea Pigs (1-18-1977) The girls donate themselves to science!
- Call Me a Taxi (2-1-1977) The girls take up a new job.... dancing!
- Steppin' Out (2-8-1977) A couple of big dates for the girls leads to big laughs!
- Buddy, Can you spare a father? (2-15-1977) Shirley goes on a quest to find her father!
- Honeymoon Hotel (2-22-1977) The girls win a vacation to a hotel for newlyweds!
- Hi, Neighbor Book 2 (3-1-1977) A big Lenny and Squiggy and Laverne and Shirley bash!
- Frank's Fling (3-8-1977) Laverne's father gets himself mixed up with a golddiger!
- Haunted House (3-22-1977) Never buy used furniture out of a haunted house!
- Lonely at the Middle (3-29-1977) Shirley gets promoted. Will all that power go to her head?
- Citizen Krane (4-5-1977) The girls become a snappy singing duo... "the rosebuds".

I'm hoping that Paramount will surprise us with some cool "extras" and "special features". New interviews with the cast and also a few episode commentaries would be outstanding! The lack of "extras" on season one was very disappointing!

2007 is going to be a great year for TV sitcom fans! Not only are we going to finally get Laverne and Shirley season two, but also, (drum roll please) "WKRP in cincinnati" season one!! And if that news alone isn't enough to make you jump for joy, (more drums) "Bosom Buddies" season one and hopefully "Night Court" Season two!!!

Remember to buy it "new" to make your purchase "count". If we have to wait another two years for the release of season three, I think most of us will go insane!

NOTE: SOME MUSIC HAS BEEN CHANGED FOR THIS HOME ENTERTAINMENT VERSION [Quoted from the back of the DVD box]. If anyone knows exactly WHAT music was changed, please post a COMMENT to this review!

-JM

After a long wait, fans finally got Season 2. It's full of fresh, classic episodes, such as Laverne learning to drive and nearly demolishing half of Milwaukee. There are also crossover guest appearances from Henry Winkler as the Fonz and Ron Howard as Richie, to the delight of those who are also fans of "Happy Days."

However, if you enjoy purchasing these box sets for the extras, you'll be sorely disappointed...there isn't any here. I can just imagine all the bloopers they'd have, taping Cindy Williams' and Penny Marshall's physical comedy scenes, and how much fun they'd be to watch. I'd be willing to bet if they added these little things, a lot more people would end up buying them! But, alas.

Finally, after an over 2 year wait, fans of L&S finally get season 2. And what do we get. Edited episodes! As noted by a previous reviewer, Carmine's (Eddie Mekka) songs are missing (although this didn't bother me as much since his solos simply stopped the story line and were basically meant as a showcase for Mr. Mekka's singing talents). After watching this DVD set, I noticed several edits.
1. Betty Garrett's solo in the Chritmas episode, "Oh Hear The Angel's Voices" is missing.
2. In "Drive She Said", there is a scene between Laverne and Norman where Laverne is arguing a ticket with him. In the long shot,the two actors are at the refrigerator. Laverne pulls out a milk and pepsi bottle. She uncaps the pepsi bottle and then the scene cuts to a different angle which shows Laverne wiping her mouth. It then goes back to the long shot, where you can clearly see the milk and pepsi bottles ALONG WITH a glass that is only half full of the M&P. Obviously there was more dialouge where Laverne actually poured the M&P and drank it. (Oddly enough, I also noticed in this episode an edited scene in syndication that has been restored. In syndication, the scene where the girls air their dirty laundry out the living room window was cut down to two lines. "Laverne Defazio is afraid to drive! Shirley Feeney stuffs socks in her bra"! When the episode first aired, there were two other lines...."Shirley Feeney's middle name is Wilemina! and Laverne Defazio went to the junior prom with her cousin Vito"! These two lines are restored on the disc).
3. The episode "Playing Hookey" origionally opened with Laverne walking out of the bedroom, early in the morning, walking like the living dead. Shirley then emerges a few moments later singing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Da (if memory serves me correctly). She ends her song on bended knee in front of Laverne. This is where the episode starts on the DVD.
4. In the episode "Guinea Pigs", when the girls get to the fancy cocktail party, Shirley desperately tries to keep Laverne awake. When Laverne starts to slide down a wall, Shirley picks her up and snaps her fingers in Laverne's face. Laverne then pops awake and starts singing "Hot Diggity Dog Diggity Boom..... at which point Shirley covers Laverne's mouth with her hand to shut her up. On the disc, Laverne's starts sliding down the wall, Shirley props her up and snaps her fingers. It then cuts to two actors watching them. When the camera comes back to the girls, you can see Cindy taking her hand away from Penny's mouth but the little ditty is gone!!
There are several other incidences where there are awkward edits, which make me believe there are more scenes cut. Okay, okay, I know it's kind of weird that after 30 years I can still remember this stuff but hey, I do, and it irritates me that we aren't getting the full episodes as they originally aired. And don't get me started on the lack of extras......nothin', nadda, bupkis, as Laverne and Shirley might say.
Season 2 still has some great episodes though (despite the edits). Hopefully Paramount will bring us Season 3 with all episodes fully intact. Let's just hope we don't have to wait another 33 months for it!

While I agree with the reviewer about buying it new increases the chances of future releases I also feel that because Paramout seems to have a habit of editing the shows (this is not the first time) I can only asume that they have little regaurd for their customers I will be very slow to buy future Paramount releases

We bought seasons 1 & 2. Our family throughly enjoyed the comedy. They bring back memories when TV was fun to watch. As for the purchasing process, buying through Amazon.com was excellent. Shipping was fast and the ordering was very easy. Thank you Amazon!

I was never a huge fan of Laverne & Shirley when I was younger, but my wife said that she wanted me to get the DVD for her. I must say that the show is much better than I remember it being. I guess that so much of the TV programming now is weak that the classics just keep looking better and better.

I am just elated to see the release on DVD! I am a Laverne and Shirley "trekkie" (Ha Ha). I have some of these episodes on VHS. The episode "Future Models" is wildly hilarious. Remember the one with Laverne learning to drive? This also has the laugh till it hurts "Guinea Pigs" episode where the girls loan their bodies to science. Harry Shearer from Spinal Tap (before there was a Spinal Tap) is in that one. Of course, Michael McKean (Lenny) was also in that pseudo band. I could go on and on. I'll sum it by saying I love the funny lines (especially the Lenny and Squiggy ones), and campy, crazy situations and laughs this series packs.

Laverne & Shirley really helped set the stage for future comedic shows that involved physical comedy as well ie Perfect Strangers. I love watching the silliness and the seriousness that the show offered. Never got tired of Lenny and Squiggy. It's weird watching now and knowing about all the goings on like how Shirley and Squiggy had a serious relationship in real life! WOW, it makes you miss those days of not knowing every little detail about every person, producer, and writer on a show. I feel like nowadays we know way too much and it spoils all the fun. This is a great show and a great DVD set. I hope everyone gets a chance to pick it up. Some of my favorite episodes is when Laverne thinks she's pregnant and Lenny offers to marry her, when Laverne learns to drive and nearly kills everyone on the street, when they play guinea pigs and end up starving and depriving themselves of sleep, ahh it's too many to list. Get ready for some great laughs and fun!

Whether it's Laverne and Shirley or The Andy Griffith Show, why are these shows being edited? I think that the people who buy them just want to see the original productions, as they were originally aired on television, no more and no less. When I heard that The Andy Griffith Show was being released as a complete set, I started saving my money. When it became known that the shows were edited, I didn't buy the set. I tried to contact Paramount through their website, but I couldn't find a 'contact us' option.

If anyone from Paramount is reading this, please read our input: We just want to see what we originally saw. It doesn't need to be revised unless there is some legal situation preventing an exact reproduction of the original broadcast. It ain't broke; if you don't fix it, you will make lots of money.