Fish and the Fins

"Fish and the Fins"
Richie, Potsie and Ralph are forced to join the hoards of fans who wish to meet Rocky Roads from the rock band Johnny Fish and the Fins, whom Richie actually knows from summer camp, that they wish to talk to about getting free tickets to his Milwaukee concert in "Fish and the Fins" in Season 2 (ep.#20).
Series	Happy Days
Season	2
Episode	20
Overall	36
Written by	Phil Mishkin
Directed by	Frank Buxton
Gueststarring:	Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids Georganne La Piere Marjorie Bennett Borah Silver Shelley Sparlock Hank Stohl
Productioncode	2x20
Airdate	March 11, 1975
Previous episode:	"Fonzie Joins the Band"
Next episode:	"Richie's Flip Side"

"Fish and the Fins" is the twentieth episode of the second season of Happy Days, also the 36th overall episode in the series. Written by Phil Mishkin, the episode, which was directed by Frank Buxton, premiered by ABC-TV on March 11, 1975.

Synopsis

No one believes Richie when he says he knows a member of the group Johnny Fish & The Fins (Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids).

Storyline

Richie invites Potsie and Malph over to watch Afternoon Bandstand on TV, where they see Johnny Fish and the Fins performing; Ralph asks Richie if he knows Rocky Rhodes, the piano player, which Richie does (mentioning that they were buddies when they were nine, and that his real name is Angelo Coletti). When the show's host announces that Johnny Fish and the Fins are coming to do a concert in Milwaukee, Potsie and Ralph beg Richie to get tickets to see the show.

Later at Arnold's, Richie tells Ralph and Potsie that he "sort of" saved Rocky's life one summer at camp when he kept him from drowning. Moments later, a girl named Corrine comes to the table and, saying she heard about Richie getting tickets, wants to go to the concert with him; before Richie can say anything else, Corrine accepts his invitation and tells him to pick her up at eight, then leaves. But as soon as she leaves, Fonzie comes to the table and tells Richie he wants three seats on the aisle. Ralph comes up with a plan for him, Potsie and Richie to meet Rocky and the rest of the band at the hotel where they're staying, but Richie is very reluctant. Potsie and Ralph drag Richie to the hotel, where a crowd of girls (and an elderly woman) are already clamoring at the door to the band's room. Potsie and Ralph persuade Richie to try and get past the guard at the door by telling him to tell the band that "Freckles" (his nickname when he was younger) is there, but to no avail.

Later, a discouraged Richie laments to Marion that he is afraid of letting everyone down. Marion remembers Rocky/Angelo and was good friends with his mother, and decides to put a call through to the hotel to talk to Angelo. She has no trouble getting through and after a quick catch-up, asks Angelo for tickets to the upcoming show. Richie mentions he will need at least ten tickets, and Angelo agrees to have them sent over right away. Later, when Richie shows off the tickets to the others, Corrine is disappointed when she notices the seats are in section "LL", up in the balcony of the Civic Center (she had given up a date with someone else who had seats in the fourth row from the stage). When Richie accidentally blurts out that Angelo told Marion that they were the best tickets he could get, Potsie and Ralph both want Richie to admit that he doesn't know Angelo, but when he insists he is telling the truth, they walk away.

That evening, Angelo pays a visit to the Cunningham house and asks for a favor: with all of the randomity surrounding them, none of the band members can get any rest, and Angelo asks if he and the band can hide out at their house for a couple of days, which Marion quickly agrees to. Richie is excited about finally being able to prove to his friends that he knows a member of Johnny Fish and the Fins, but then Angelo makes him promise not to tell anyone, to which he reluctantly agrees.

Over the next two days, Richie has to endure heckling from everyone, particularly Corrinne, Ralph and Potsie. When Richie later confides in Angelo about his situation, he agrees to call Corrine to try and straighten things out, but she thinks Richie is trying to put one over on her and hangs up on Angelo.

The night of the concert, everyone is at the Civic Center, and the band comes out on stage. But before they begin, Angelo (as Rocky) announces that they are dedicating their first song to Richie, even revealing to everyone that he let them stay at his house and agreed to keep it secret despite all the trouble it caused, earning Richie pats on the back from Potsie and Ralph, and a thumbs-up from Fonzie. While the band performs, Corrine comes up to the balcony and sits down next to Richie claiming that she believed him all along, but her fickleness puts Richie off and he sends her away, saying she's sitting in someone else's seat.

The next day at Arnold's, Ralph and Potsie are still a little irritated at Richie, but Fonzie defends Richie's actions and then says to him, "What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me." But Richie is ready to make it up to them all with a large basket full of souvenirs from the band, which Fonzie quickly takes to, hawking them to everyone else.

Fun Facts

The song the band performed on the show,Young Blood , was written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Doc Pomus, and was originally recorded by the Coasters in 1957. Their version was a Top 10 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 and topped the Billboard R&B Chart the same year. The song was later covered by the Beatles in 1963, and later still by the hard rock band Bad Company, who made it a Top 20 hit again in 1976.

In this episode, Rocky calls Marion "Mrs. C.", which would later be used by Fonzie throughout the rest of the series.

Gallery

Cast

Starring

• Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham
• Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli
• Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham
• Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham
• Anson Williams as Potsie Weber
• Erin Moran as Joanie Cunningham
• Don Most as Ralph Malph

Guest starring/Recurring cast

• Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids as Johnny Fish & the Fins
  • Sam "Flash" McFaden (guitar vocals)
  • Kris "Angelo" Moe (piano, vocals)
  • Linn "Spike" Phillips III (guitar, vocals)
  • Dwight "Spider Dumas" Bement (saxophone)
  • Warren "Butch" Knight (bass, vocals)
  • Wally Stewart (drums)
• Georganne La Piere as Corrine
• Marjorie Bennett as The Lady
• Borah Silver as Guard
• Shelley Sparlock as Girl
• Hank Stohl as Announcer

External links

• "Fish and the Fins" at the Internet Movie Database