Mabel King, Ernest Thomas, and Fred 'Rerun' Stubbs are back in this three-disc compilation from the 1977-78 sophomore season of What's Happening!, a sitcom revolving around the inner-city life of Roger 'Raj' Thomas, his family, and pals. Living with his mama (King) and bratty sister Dee (Danielle Spencer), high-school senior Raj (Thomas) gets into plenty of mischief with buddies Rerun and Dwayne (Haywood Nelson) and a throng of guest stars in this 22-episode set. The season opener 'Rerun Gets Married' finds the R-Man steered towards helping a Mexican new girl (Irene Cara) gain citizen status through a marriage of convenience; Raj and Mama wrongly believe Dee's got problems when a school counselor (Tim Reid) gets the story skewed in 'It's All in Your Head'; chum Shirley (Shirley Henderson) gives up her soda shop waitress work for an office job but receives overtly bigoted treatment from her new coworkers (including Ellen Travolta) in 'Nothing Personal'; and the gang meets celebrities such as Wolfman Jack (when they visit The Gong Show in 'Going Going Gong') and The Doobie Brothers (in the two-part bootlegging debacle 'Doobie or Not Doobie'). Featuring a couple of so-so duds, this second set nevertheless includes many fine episodes, such as 'Dee's First Date,' 'The Play's the Big Thing' (with Dwayne's sidesplitting, upbeat rendition of 'Handy Man'), and the season finale 'The Apartment,' in which Mama wears out her welcome at Raj and Rerun's post-graduation crib. Recommended. (J. Williams-Wood)
What's Happening!! The Complete Second Season
Columbia TriStar, 3 discs, 548 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95
What's Happening!! The Complete Second Season
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