Each is unique, and never to be repeated. We review obscure gems of TV shows that aired for one season (at most) before getting canceled.
Here’s one from the Department of You May Have Been High During the ’80′s, But You Didn’t Hallucinate This One: For one brief shining moment in 1981, there was indeed a Saturday morning Hanna- Barbera cartoon entitled Laverne and Shirley in the Army.
You know how in Multiplicity, Michael Keaton says of his clones, “You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it’s not as sharp as… well… the original”? Well, this little gem was a spin-off of a spin-off of a spin-off, and that is really all I need to say about that.
It was based on a mini- arc of live action episodes of the original Laverne and Shirley, aired in 1979, in which Laverne and Shirley joined the military. And what do you know, comic hijinks ensued.
In the cartoon version, creators actually had the good sense to turn to original stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams to voice their alter egos. Then again, this was during the Hanna-Barbera golden age of random live action celebrities making the occasional transition to the Mystery Machine.
Laverne and Shirley in the Army, however, rather enjoyed pushing the random envelope. Their immediate superior? A pig. Named Sargent Squealy.
This wouldn’t be the only time ‘Verne and Shirl appeared in ink, however; there was yet still more milking of the Happy Days franchise to be done. Those bereaved by the loss of Laverne and Shirley in the Army could still find them on The Mork & Mindy / Laverne & Shirley / Fonz Hour.
Oh– no, you didn’t dream that one, either. Sorry.
