Happy Days

- Season 1

(1974)

Richie Cunningham's dreams seem about to come true when he's invited to babysit with Mary Lou Milligan, a pretty girl with a racy reputation.

Embarrassed to be seen driving the family car, Richie convinces his dad to let him and pal Potsie go in together on a used jalopy, naively trusting a slick used car dealer to give them a good deal.

Richie pays the price after getting plastered in a beer drinking contest at Potsie's cousin's bachelor party.

Ritchie sneaks out after dark with Potsie Weber to watch Fonzie drive Ralph Malph's newly souped up ride in a midnight drag race against challenger Skizzy Scollick.

Howard falls ill and needs his tonsils removed, and with his employee (on vacation) and Chuck (basketball game) unavailable, Richie is pressed into working at Cunningham's Hardware on Saturday, typically the store's busiest day. Richie agrees, even though he may miss a huge rock concert - and in the process, takes responsibility when a glass pane in the front door of the store is accidentally broken.

Richie and Potsie get Fonzie's help to join the Demons (a social club for pranksters), but are on their own going through their initiations, called "The Deadly Dares".

Soon after patting himself on the back for convincing drop-out Fonzie to drop back into high school, Richie risks his neck by refusing to help the intimidating tough cheat on a test.

Richie and Potsie try to score fake ID's to get into a strip club to see the infamous Bubbles McCall.

Richie and steady girlfriend, Arlene, find themselves suddenly dateless when they quarrel and break up just before their very important Junior Prom.

Richie and Potsie get taken to the cleaners in a rigged poker game after their band's first gig and lose the money the rest of the group entrusted to them.

Richie's enthusiasm for Ralph Malph's costume party begins to wane when he finds out that his and Ralph's parents are chaperoning and Potsie has set him up with a blind date who is tall enough to go dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

Richie is smitten after the most popular girl in school asks him to kiss her while he's tutoring her in English.

The Cunninghams get an unexpected glimpse inside Bohemian counter-culture when Richie befriends a beatnik and brings her home for an evening with the family.

1950's racial intolerance is explored from both sides of the aisle after Howard Cunningham is asked to be best man at the wedding of a black, former army buddy.

Richie gets into the good graces of Dukes gang leader Frankie Melina when he rescues the tough's little sister from bullies and walks her home, but trouble still brews when he dares to tread on the Dukes' turf while trying to retrieve Potsie's stolen bike.

The height of the Cold War and fears of an apocalyptic war breaking out at any moment take center stage in this episode, where Howard ponders purchasing a bomb shelter for his family's protection. Richie's friends quickly learn about the shelter and ask if, in the event of war, they can stay too.