Iconic 1970s Sitcom ‘Happy Days’ Escapes Censorship by Standards Council

Don Most, Ron Howard, Barbara Marshall, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, and Anson Williams attend Garry Marshall Theatre's 3rd Annual Founder's Gala honouring the original "Happy Days" cast at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 13, 2019. Photo by Rachel Luna/Getty Images

“Happy Days,” an iconic American sitcom set in the 1950s that aired from 1974 to 1984, has escaped the Canadian censors.

In a decision released Dec. 14, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) said an episode of the popular TV show titled “All the Way” aired by an Ontario station on Aug. 22 did not violate any Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) code provisions.

The show, which centred on the middle-class Cunningham family, starred Henry Winkler as “Fonzie” and Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham along with Tom Bosley and Marion Ross, among others.

The council had received a complaint from a viewer about the episode that aired on CHCH-DT, an independent TV station based in Hamilton.

“All the Way” was the first episode of the series and aired 48 years ago, noted the council, which said that at the time “the program was considered comedic content for the entire family.”

In this particular episode, the teenage character Richie plans to go out on a date with classmate Mary Lou. The council provided a transcript of the sections of the episode that the complaint focused on, in which two boys discuss high school dating and kissing and question whether an Eskimo could become president.

A viewer complained to the station alleging that the episode was “sexist and demeaning to women,” contained “extremely racist remarks against Indigenous communities,” and “objectified women as sexual objects.”

Retro TV

On various stations including CHCH-DT, the show is referred to as “retro programming,” “classic TV,” or “legacy content.”

CHCH-DT responded to the complainant on Sept. 28 saying that the content was “a reflection of the time it was produced” and that a “viewer’s discretion statement” would be added prior to any future airings.

The complainant then filed a request for ruling from the council on the same day, maintaining that the episode should not be aired at all and stating, “Things that were quite common then should be forbidden now.”

The council noted that the broadcaster’s response to a complaint is assessed in all decisions and that in this case, the broadcaster responded in a “courteous, thoughtful, and thorough manner” as required and in doing so, “fulfilled its obligations of responsiveness and nothing further is required.”

“The CBSC has stated many times that it is not a censor board. Therefore, as explained above, to breach the applicable codes the content must reach the level of ‘abusive or unduly discriminatory’ or ‘unduly negative’ material about an entire identifiable group before a breach will be found,” the decision stated.

“There is no doubt that viewed with today’s lens there are moments that could make viewers feel uncomfortable, but these juvenile comments and jokes were, as stated earlier, a sign of the times and did not reach a level of a breach under the various code clauses detailed above.”

The council, in deciding “Happy Days” could continue to be aired, referenced a 1994 decision on the adult cartoon “Beavis and Butt-head.” In that case, the Beavis character used the term “slut” to describe a female fictional character on the drama program “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and the council ruled that the short 47-second clip had nothing to do with insulting women in general. Rather, “it was a comment about a specific person in a specific program,” the council said.

“The Simpsons” adult cartoon has also had complaints about chauvinistic content. However, again the council ruled that it was not in violation of any CAB code because the show treated the character in an unattractive way.

Dozens of cases were considered in making the “Happy Days” ruling, and ultimately, the show and its popular lead character, “The Fonz,” will live to air another day.