Joanie Loves Chachi 

The romantic adventures of Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola as they pursue music careers in Chicago.

Creators:

Lowell Ganz, Garry Marshall

Stars:

Scott Baio, Erin Moran, Al Molinaro

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Scott Baio	...	Chachi Arcola 17 episodes, 1982-1983
Erin Moran	...	Joanie Cunningham 17 episodes, 1982-1983
Al Molinaro	...	Al Delvecchio 17 episodes, 1982-1983
Derrel Maury	...	Mario Mastorelli 17 episodes, 1982-1983
Ellen Travolta	...	Louisa Arcola Delvecchio 17 episodes, 1982-1983
Winifred Freedman	...	Annette Mastorelli 17 episodes, 1982-1983
Robert Pierce	...	Bingo 17 episodes, 1982-1983
Art Metrano	...	Uncle Rico Mastorelli 16 episodes, 1982-1983

Storyline

This spin-off of Happy Days (1974) follows Chachi Arcola as he moves out and tries to succeed on his own with a rock band and a music career. In between holding down a job and keeping his girlfriend, Joanie Cunningham, happy, he must also deal with the often unwanted, but sometimes needed, advice and interference from his friends, relatives and neighbors.

---

Plot Keywords:

1960s | sitcom | happy days spin off | chicago illinois | character name in title | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Music

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jenny e Chachi

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions, Henderson Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (17 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

As with it parent series, Happy Days, the main characters of Joanie Loves Chachi had hairstyles and fashion tastes more appropriate for the early 1980s than for the early 1960s. In later episodes of the series, clothing obviously made of synthetic materials managed to creep in, even though it was a decade or so (the early 1970s) when such materials would become popular.

---

Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist (2004)

---

Soundtracks

You Look At Me
Written by James Patrick Dunne and Pam Phillips
Performed by Erin Moran and Scott Baio

User Reviews

You'll beg for "The Ropers" or "AfterM*A*S*H*" instead

Some show generate spinoffs. Others metastasize. "Happy Days"--itself a spin off from "Love, American Style"--generated everything from "Laverne and Shirley" to "Mork And Mindy" to the rarely-seen "Anson Williams, P.I.". "Joanie Loves Chachi" was the final, genetically damaged offspring of this long, inbred line.

The premise--and here I use the word "premise" in the broadest sense--is that our Chachi has left Milwaukee to start a singing career in that hotbed of the music industry, Chicago. Joanie went with him, of course, along with Al (who has opened a new restaurant to escape the long shadow of Pat Morita). Chachi and Joanie have a band with painfully zany characters. Chachi and Joanie sing and dance--usually several times--in each episode. Chachi and Joanie sing the theme song. The only minor technical problem with all this is that Chachi and Joanie can't sing a note.

Erin Moran and Scott Baio are as grating and unlikeable here as they were in "Happy Days," only here they're on screen for the entire 22 minutes. How the producers dreamed up a romance between these two is a mystery--they have no chemistry. It's like watching Al and The Fonz kiss. The spin off was clearly intended to breathe new life into the "Happy Days" franchise, but here the "sitcom hijinks" are as tired and threadbare as they were in the original's Richie-less last gasps. Also, the ethnic stereotypes would make any Italian cringe. They boycotted the Sopranos but not this?

To be fair, this show is such a relic of early 80s television cheese that it would have to have some retro entertainment value now, especially for those who were young enough to enjoy it the first time. The Fonz and the Cunninghams show up with alarming frequency, and kitsch/camp fans who loved master thespian Baio in "Charles In Charge" will find gold in his "singing teen idol" incarnation, especially since Leif Garrett never made a TV series. The Christmas episode in particular is amusing in retrospect. But viewing it without irony/unintended humor, "Joanie Loves Chachi" is difficult, bordering on painful, to watch. I knew Arthur Fonzarelli. Arthur Fonzarelli was a friend of mine. Chachi Arcola, you are no Arthur Fonzarelli.