Despite being regularly ridiculed by critics in the late 1970’s, the popularity of “Laverne & Shirley” couldn’t be denied as the sit-com’s fourth season finished the year atop of the television rankings. Perfecting a broad, slap-stick comedy shtick, Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) certainly hit their stride in the series’ fourth installment, and for light, escapist fare, it still remains amusing today. Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) return as foils for the girls in season four as does Laverne’s pops, Frank DeFazio (Phil Foster), their landlady, Edna Babish (Betty Garrett), and Shirley’s on-again/off-again boyfriend, Carmine Ragusa (Eddie Mekka); Laverne even tries to woo a young Jay Leno in one episode (“The Feminine Mistake”). There are no special features on this four-disc, 23-episode set, but getting the opportunity to watch a classic farcical comedy in its prime brings a lasting value to this collection.
Click to buy “Laverne & Shirley: The Complete Fourth Season”
