Haunted and Happy

For Activity #1: "Get Happy", I watched "Haunted", season 2, episode 6. I chose this episode of all the ones I found because I really like Halloween. (I actually went back and watched a variety of other episodes because I was surprised at how much I liked it.) Since i'm a calendar girl, I didn't really learn anything about my character specifically but I did learn a lot about the show in general to help me get into character.

Some of the things I learned were that the whole show is really light-hearted and silly, like when Ralph says to Potsie: "your brain is haunted". It doesn't make much sense but in context it's pretty funny, light-hearted and shows how the teo guys can just tease each other. I also found that Richie is easily scared as he shows when he runs out of the Simpson house so fast he pushes his sister into the driver's seat. Despite how easily he's scared though, Richie really just wants to fit in and because of how much he wants it, he ends up being really brave. Richie's initial fear also provides a way of showing that Fonzie knows his friends really well and gives great advice, always trying to steer them in the right direction. He knows Richie well enough that without even looking at him, as soon as Richie says he isn't scared, Fonzie says "I could tell you're lying" just like that. That led perfectly to an example of his great advice "you got nothin' to fear but fear itself." which although was actually said by someone else, is a great thing to tell Richie at that point because it gives him confidence.

I also learned a lot about the Cunningham family. For example, it's really obvious that Richie and Joanie have a very typical brother/ sister relationship. They love and support each other but try not to show it by hiding it with a lot of teasing. Joanie also admires her brother and doesn't want to let him know she's afraid. When they're at the Simpson house, she goes from saying "If I get my head chopped off Richie Cunningham, I'mma tell mum on you!" to "you're gonna have trouble eating with your heart in your mouth!" She really is scared but she teases her brother to tell him that she's really brave and not a scared little girl. Another thing about the Cunningham family is that Richie and his dad are really relaxed with each other, they can just sit and chat. Very few teenagers would have the following conversation with their parents: "Why were you at the Simpson house anyways?" "We're having a party there on Saturday." "Oh okay, have fun." It's no problem for Mr. Cunningham to be okay with a party at some abandoned house because his son told him about it beforehand and they have a trust that has clearly been earned.

After all that, my two favorite characters of the episode are Joanie and Mrs. C. Mrs. C. has a rather difficult job with her two kids, especially when Joanie's friends are over and everyone is having different problems. As any good mother though, she is very good at adapting to these situations which is commendable. When everyone is rushing around she has the following conversation with her two children:
"I think you all look very cute." (Mrs. C)
"We'll get more candy if we look scary." (Joanie)
"Well you look scary *gasp*" (Mrs. C)
"mom, does this look silly?" (Richie)
"No! It looks very scary." (Mrs. C)
"I don't wanna look scary, I wanna look cute!" (Richie)
The poor woman has to deal with her children's different situations and keep straight what to tell which kid and she's pretty good at it (after all, she's had a lot of practice). My favorite scene with Mrs. C though is when she's just trying to get everyone out the door and her only reaction to her children's squabbles is to at one point turn to Joanie and say: "Leave him alone Joanie or he'll belt you." and then leaves them to sort out their differences.

All in all, I really enjoyed the episode and can't wait to start rehearsals!