History YMMV / HappyDays

** Fonzie's nephew and imitator Spike, Joanie's first boyfriend, and Fonzie's TomboyWithAGirlyStreak love interest Pinky both appear in under five episodes but are among the show's most popular recurring characters.

* SignatureScene: Even if you have never seen the show or even the specific scene in question, you are almost certainly aware of the fact that Fonzie jumped over a shark on a jet ski, due to that moment [[JumpingTheShark entering the culture criticism lexicon]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

** Before Chachi, in early seasons Fonzie had another younger cousin named Spike who completely disappeared after season 4. Chachi is introduced in season 5 in a similar role, but is eventually PromotedToLoveInterest and ends up becoming a main character until the end of the show. It helps that Chachi was very popular with teenage girls and was also a different character from his cousin, while Spike just acted like a mini-Fonzie, even wearing the same clothes.
** Arnold was the owner of the Drive-In in season 3, is replaced by Al in seasons 4-9, and eventually comes back after Al's departure in season 10. Both characters were well-liked and it's hard to tell which of them is more popular.

%%* TheScrappy: Roger, and really anyone introduced in season 8 and beyond.

* CommonKnowledge: People think Fonzie's SignatureMove is saying his iconic {{Catchphrase}} “Ayyyyy!” while [[HasTwoThumbsAnd lifting his two thumbs]], while he indeed did both gestures regularly, he has only ever both at once only ''one time''.

* CommonKnowledge: While people think Fonzie's signature gesture is saying his iconic {{Catchphrase}} “Ayyyyy!” while [[HasTwoThumbsAnd lifting his two thumbs]], he in fact has only ever done so once.

* CommonKnowledge: While Fonzie did say his iconic {{Catchphrase}}, “Ayyyyy!”, and regularly [[HasTwoThumbsAnd lifted his thumbs]], he never actually did both at once.

* CriticalDissonance:
-->'''[[http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/63511/happy-days-the-fifth-season/ Justin Remer]]''': Typically, when something [[JumpingTheShark jumps the shark]], it not only loses touch with what made it appealing in the first place, it also starts to wane in popularity. The odd thing that makes ''Happy Days'' the exception to its own rule is that the show didn't start to decline in popularity at this point. The shark-jumping episode was a hit.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The theme from Season 3 onward has a chorus that seems heavily inspired by the intro and closing of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kato7EMyhWY Can't We Be Sweethearts]]" by the Cleftones.

* HarsherInHindsight: Joanie and Chachi's romance was irrevocably ruined after Scott Baio's insensitive statement that Erin Moran deserved her early death because of her drug addictions (she actually died of cancer). Baio later admitted his statement was made in a moment of misinformation and grief, and he didn't truly mean it that way, to some, the damage was still done.