Official Synopsis:
Starring Ernest Thomas as Raj, Fred Berry as Rerun, Haywood Nelson as Dwayne, Danielle Spencer as Dee, and Shirley Hemphill as Shirley, What’s Happening!! was created by Eric Monte (TV’s “Good Times”) and executive produced by Bud Yorkin (TV’s “Sanford and Son”). What’s Happening!! is set in urban Los Angeles and centers around Raj, Dwayne and Rerun, three best friends whose numerous get-rich-quick schemes never fail to land them in trouble. Based on Monte’s critically acclaimed movie, Cooley High, the show debuted in 1976 for a limited four-week run on ABC. It instantly won over viewers with its talented cast and signature phrases like Rerun’s “Hey Hey Hey!” and Dee’s “Oooh, I’m gonna tell Mamma” and became a solid top-ten hit that lasted for three seasons.

  
Our Take:
As one of two of Sony’s inaugural complete series sets in space-saver packaging, What’s Happening!!: The Complete Series is a pretty nice package. In it, you get all 65 episodes of What’s Happening!! (all three season’s worth) on nine discs, all packaged in a DVD case that’s only about an inch and a half thick. With a suggested retail price of $59.95 (and you have to imagine you can easily get it for under 50 bucks on sale somewhere), this is the kind of innovation I like to see from a studio. Not only is the packaging great for people like myself who have run out of room for their DVD’s, but it really is a pretty good bang for your buck and a nice way for fans to get the entire series in one shot. Frankly, I’d like to see this approach used more often, and I’d especially like to see it in some shows that haven’t been previously collected on DVD. All three seasons of this show are already available on DVD, but this would be a great way to release a short-lived series onto DVD in one fell swoop.

As for the show itself, well, let’s just say that What’s Happening!!: The Complete Series is definitely one for the fans. I remember watching the show when I was really young, but I was a kid and I’d watch anything back then. Unfortunately, it hasn’t aged all that well, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. What I like about What’s Happening!! is that, while earlier African-American-based sitcoms such as The Jeffersons and Good Times focused mostly on familial comedy, the focus of What’s Happening!! is squarely on the friendship between Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun. Sure, Raj’s family plays a large part too, but this was a show about friends having a good time, and that I like.

There are no extra features included in this set, but there weren’t any in the original season collections, either, so you don’t lose anything in the transition.

Fans of What’s Happening!! that don’t already own the individual season sets should be very pleased with this release. Ultimately it’s simply a re-release of existing material, but I’m impressed that Sony at least tried to do something a little bit different and value-oriented, rather than simply shoving all three existing DVD sets into a box and slapping a premium price tag on it.

Overall Picture:
Show: C
DVD: B

- Mike Spring

Editor