Customer Reviews

What's Happening!!: The Complete Third Season

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Although the third season of What's Happening had a couple of minor changes (minus the mother Mable King, and the addition of Big Earl and Little Earl) in direction, it was a fresh change of pace for the show's characters. I really enjoyed the storylines surrounding Rerun and Raj being roommates, especially the episode when they compete to see who can score with the ladies and stretched the truth!!!
However, I must admit that the evolution of Dee's character was somewhat a disappointment. First of all it seemed like the producers were not sure if they wanted to grow her up by having her go back and forth wearing her hair in those stupid ponytails. Then it seemed like she just read her lines without the zest she had in the first 2 seasons. I am happy to say that storylines surrounding Shirley's character were even funnier when the producers made her presence stronger in the Thomas family home.
All in all it was a great season but was cancelled way too soon! I'm just glad that all three seasons were released on dvd for fans old and new to enjoy!!!

Just for the information, Season Three (September 1978 - April 1979) was the highest in it's rating reaching 28th by oudience size out of the best 30 TV shows.

In 1978 Raj and Rerun graduated from High School and moved into a shared apartment nearby. While Raj Entered College and rerun went to work. Their new neighbors were Big Earl (Police Detective) and his son Little Earl.

Six years after the 3rd season the show returned with a new name "What's Happening now" with most of the original cast.

I hope they will release "WHAT'S HAPPINING NOW" show so we can have all of the 1980's seasons too. Thanks.

Season Three of "What's Happening" no longer had the magic that the first two seasons did.

With Mama no longer a cast member (though mentioned as if she was still around) the majority of the action happened at Raj's and Rerun's new apartment. Two new cast members are added in the form of their upstairs neighbors, "Big" Earl and his son, "Little" Earl. Shirley is now renting Raj's old room. And Dee, in the show's effort to include her character, starts spending more time at the soda shop and Raj's apartment.

As you watch season three, you start realizing the fat jokes aimed at Shirley and Rerun begin to get redundant. Dee, now that she has grown up, is more annoying than cute and her bad acting really starts to grate. The fact that the three seasons have now been released and there were no extras included in any of the box sets is really disappointing.

Still, it is fun to watch Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun together and the season does have some highlights such as "Making Out" where Raj and Rerun both embellish how well they do on their dates and "The Last Page" where Rerun imagines he's "The Fonz" and "Mork."

Overall, if you're a fan of the show, you'll want to get all three seasons (I did) but if you're like me, you'll spend more time on seasons one and two.

Mabel King left the show after the second season and it went downhill from there. Rerun, Dwayne and Raj are still the same funny, likeable guys they always were and Dee shows a lot of maturity but the formula with Raj and Rerun as roommates just doesn't feel the same. The interaction with "Mama' Thomas was just as much a part of the show as the interaction with the guys, especially with Dee's "Imma tell mama!" threats and Raj giving her money to shut her up. The addition of Big and Little Earl Barnett did absolutely nothing for the show. Except for maybe the purpose of "whitening" things up a little, I really don't know why they were there.

All isn't that bad though. Season Three still had a few decent episodes such as the one where Rerun went credit card crazy and got everything in the apartment repossessed. Anyone who enjoyed watching Rerun dance should get a kick out of the episode where he entered the dance contest after promising everyone who contributed to the entry fee double on their investment. Nothing else, however, was very memorable or compelling. Some say that the series was cancelled too early but given the direction it was going, it was probably about time. All of the starring cast, except for Mabel King, would come back a few years later in the "What's Happening Now" series.

"What's Happening" however, remains one of my favorite sitcoms of all time and the characters are all unforgettable. I would still recommend all three seasons if, for nothing else, to complete the collection and to have a piece of television history in your DVD collection. Don't expect nearly as much out of Season Three as the first two though.

AS A CINEMA/TV MAJOR I MAY BE LITTLE ROUGH SO PLEASE EXCUSE ME
BUT I AM 70'S - 80'S ADDICT-O-HOLIC

I MEAN I WATCH THESE SHOWS DAILY!!!!

AS FAR AS SEASON 3 IS CONCERNED THERE ARE ONLY TWO EPISODES THAT ARE FUNNY {TRUST ME)!

1. THE THOMAS TREASURE
2. THE BENEFIT (THE FINAL EPISODE)

WITH THAT SAID

I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IDIOT CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF WRITING OFF MABEL KING'S (MAMA) CHARACTER.

BECAUSE THAT WAS THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR THIS SHOW

BUT WHAT AMAZES ME IS THE FACT THAT THEY STILL WOULD TALK ABOUT HER IN THE LINES LIKE SHE STILL WAS AROUND OR ON THE PAYROLL. IT WAS REALLY AN INSULT TO OUR INTELLIGENCE AS VIEWERS AND TO THIS TONY- NOMINATED* VETERAN ACTRESS ("THE WIZ" 1975*)

I WOULD HAVE RATHER THEM SAY SHE GOT RE-MARRIED TO BILL AND MOVED DOWN SOUTH AND BRING HER BACK FROM TIME TO TIME....

OR I HATE TO SAY IT BUT .....AT LEAST KILL HER CHARACTER OFF PROPERLY (IF THERE IS SUCH A THING) MAYBE A CAR ACCIDENT OR A ILLNESS.

THAT WAY THE VIEWERS AS WELL AS HER TV CHILDREN ROGER AND DEE CAN HAVE CLOSURE

AND DEE'S ACTING ABILITY(OR LACK OF IT) WAS WAS VERY VISIBLE WITHOUT THOSE CUTE ONE-LINERS SHE WAS KNOWN FOR IN SEASON 1-2

THERE WERE TWO THINGS MAJOR THINGS THAT SEALED THE DEAL FOR
CANCELATION

1. SEASON 3= THE WRITING AND STORY LINES WERE HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. BIG AND LITTLE EARL (ENOUGH SAID)
WELL.... TO ME THEY SEEMED LIKE A BAD CORN FLAKE COMMERCIAL.

THEY ONLY REASON I BOUGHT SEASON THREE WAS BECAUSE I WAS A FAN OF SEASON 1-2 AND WANTED IT FOR MY COLLECTION.

WITH THAT SAID

BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The third season of "What's Happening!" was an overall entertaining and interesting season. I own all three seasons, and, while many reviewers have expressed that this season was not as good as seasons one and two, I feel that it was. Yes, Mabel King is no longer on the show, and Big Earl and Little Earl join the cast, but they were very funny and meshed well with the other cast members. Of course, I missed the presence of Mabel King, but the show was still amusing and contained creative subject matter regardless.

Raj and Rerun move into their apartment. Raj is a student and Rerun holds down a steady job. Dwayne is still in school (and gets more attractive every season!) Dee has matured a great deal physically, and by this season, she becomes even more drab, but less sarcastic. She's not quite as effective as she was in the previous seasons. Because Mabel King is no longer on the show during this season, the writers make Shirley a more valued member of the cast. She takes on more of a motherly role; she moves into the Thomas house and acts as a guardian to teenaged Dee. Some of my favorite episodes include when Dwayne stands in for Big Earl as a coach, and the children end up favoring him over Big Earl, and he has to decide if he wants to take his job, when Shirley gets fired from the soda shop and when Raj tutors Snake.

I highly recommend "What's Happening!", season three because I feel that it can easily entertain any audience. It's, for the most part, suitable for children, so don't even allow that to be a concern.

I am a big fan of this show and own the first 2 seasons on dvd. Sadly,those are the only seasons on dvd that I will ever own. I have seen every episode on syndication and must say that the episodes from the final season were not all that. It could be one of many reasons why the show got canned following the 3rd season. Perhaps they got rid of their original writers and decided to go with the less expensive,amateur writers who just weren't as good? Perhaps it was the departure of Mabel King (Miss Thomas) that led to the downfall? Maybe it was the addition of Big and Little Earl to the cast that killed it? Or maybe,just maybe it was the young cast who were slowly converting from hilarious teenagers to somewhat maturing young adults? Let's see...Rerun went from a flunking highschooler to a responsible roommate working at ABC as a studio tour guide. Dwayne went from this young airhead kid with a big afro with his famous "hey,hey,hey" line to a more mature young adult just trying to act like an airhead. Roger was now renting an apartment with....can you believe,Rerun? And Dee went from a blackmailing brat to a young woman who just wasn't getting on her brother's or Rerun's nerves anymore. If I had a top ten list of my best What's happening episodes,I am afraid not one episode from the 3rd season would make the list. I just can't think of an episode from season 3 that compares to the episode when Rerun's brother-in-law loses 500 dollars in a football bet or when Rerun marries an illegal alien to keep her in the country or when the gang meets the legendary Doobie brothers. Overall,I will still give this show 3 out of 5 stars because of the love I have towards the series. Hey,hey,hey!!!!

I purchased the entire series, just so that I would have my favorite What's Happening episodes on hand. My favorite episode from this season is the "Disco Dollar Disaster." It includes the song "Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose," by Teddy Pendergrass. So much love, so much love!

What's so wonderful about this show is that it truly helps one to relate to the times of 70s although one did not grow up during that era (i.e., myself). I'm someone who appreciates the music of the past (50s, 60s, and 70s) -- so shows like this (visual simply re-enforce my facination with the particular decades of the past.

I AM A TRUE FAN OF 70'S AND EARLY 80'S BLACK TV SHOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING IS # 2 ON MY ALL TIME FAVORITE LIST RIGHT UNDER "GOOD TIMES" WHICH IS #1.......... I MUST SAY THIS, HOWEVER IS NOT THE BEST SEASON THOUGH IT'S JUST THAT I LOVE CLASSIC TV.......... HERE IS A SECRET I LEARNED WHENEVER SOME IS ADDED OR TAKEN AWAY FROM THE ORIGINAL CAST- THE SHOW IS CANCELED AT THE END OF THAT SEASON OR AT THE BEGINING OF THE NEXT SEASON
HERE'S MY CASE:

1. "227" SANDRA LEFT: SHOW CANCELED
2. "GOOD TIMES" MOTHER LEFT (ALTHOUGH SHE CAME BACK BREIFLY)
SHOW CANCELED
3."GIMME A BREAK" 3 GIRLS LEFT: YOU GET THE POINT
4. "SANFORD AND SON" REDD FOXX LEFT: "KAPUT"

I AM BEING VERY GENEROUS BY GIVING 4 STARS
TYRONE JOHNSON