The fourth season of a series can sometimes be the danger zone. Even great shows have a tendency to, as the phrase goes, "jump the shark" as they begin to approach that one hundred episode milestone. Actors get restless, jokes get stale, and the same scenarios get repackaged as fresh, new episodes.

However, some shows have good enough talent to throw in a few so-so episodes and still remain a consistently funny experience. Though the fourth season of Laverne and Shirley had a couple of weak episodes, the show still remained one of television's best comedies. Laverne & Shirley entered its fourth season as the number one show in the Nielsen ratings.

In my review of Laverne & Shirley - The Third Season, I wrote that the strength of the show lay in Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams' gifts as physical comediennes. That still remains true in the fourth season. While the two don't have the quite the same type of physicality as Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance — Marshall and Williams allow for a bit more sexuality and rough contact style — the influence is definitely there. The other thing that made the pair work was their contrasting personalities. Shirley was the wide-eyed optimist, while Laverne had a tough cynicism; Shirley seemed hopelessly clueless while Laverne had some street smarts. No matter what type of person you were, as a fan your adoration went to whomever you identified with.

Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) made their first appearance on an episode of Happy Days. Like Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley was about life in the 1950s, but this time it's as seen through the eyes of two female Shotz Brewery workers in Milwaukee. Laverne & Shirley was about two roommates trying to find their way in life after high school. The girls worked as bottle-cappers at the brewery where their neighbors, Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) worked as truck drivers. Lenny and Squiggy really thought they were cool but they were really pretty square. However, their comic timing was great, and the pair got more screen time during Laverne & Shirley's fourth season.

Phil Foster played Laverne's father, Frank DeFazio. Wild-haired, loud, and with a tendency to gesticulate, Frank ran the Pizza Bowl and acted as a father-figure to both girls. Like Happy Days' Arnold's, the Pizza Bowl was a place for everyone to hang out, and Laverne could pick up extra cash working there. Legendary actress (and godmother of actor Jeff Bridges) Betty Garrett played Frank's girlfriend Edna Babish.