Inspired by the two-parter We're In The Army Now, best friends Laverne and Shirley enlist in the army hoping to find some cute hunks in the process. But once they start they realize how hard they actually have to work to get by, and are constantly bossed around by badly-tempered Sgt. Squealy.
Right off the bat, this is a very strange concept for a L&S spin-off. If you look aside the fact that it doesn't make sense for them to want to join the army again, the idea of a talking pig being the main supporting character is so bizarre I don't know how to describe it.
Is the show without its merits? Of course not. It's always a delight to hear the voices of Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, and without their talent this project wouldn't lend as much credibility. There's also a dated cheesy charm to it, with puns and jokes that are very cheap but still make you chuckle. The absurdist nature of the events can be entertaining if you don't get bombarded too much with them. The most memorable episode is the one where Laverne, Shirley and Squealy take residence at a castle and Laverne turns into a werewolf at night. There's not much of a mystery, but it's still very Scooby-Doo in tone which makes it energetic and fun, even if sometimes you're left with a "What the hell am I watching?" kind of look on your face.
I have my problems with Sgt. Squealy, but Ron Palillo clearly has a good time voicing him, and can occasionally result in amusing moments.
The animation isn't the best, but being a lowbudget Hannah Barbera production I can look that aside.
Unfortunately, the most glaring issue are Laverne and Shirley themselves. Although Penny and Cindy play them wonderfully as always, there are times where it feels like the people behind it never watched the original show. For example, Shirley is dumber than bricks. She's more than just a little clumsy, she's borderline Squiggy dumb in the weakest episodes. We also don't get many of those classic trademarks like her love for animals or the amusing quips about her friend's promiscuity like "smut mountain". In fact, her portrayal is closer to her original appearance in the Happy Days introduction.
As for Sgt. Squealy, while I admit being amused by him at first he gets old after a while. You know he's gonna complain about the girls being lazy, you know he's gonna bring up Sergeant Turnbuckle, you know he will complain every time the tiniest mistake is made. Honestly, there are episodes where he's so annoying I'm begging for him to shut up. The parts where he shows he has a heart and consider Laverne and Shirley valuable are appreciated, but too few and far inbetween.
You also miss the other characters a lot watching it. It feels weird not having Lenny, Squiggy, Carmine or Frank being there. Lenny & Squiggy in particular were so much fun they often upstaged the girls whenever they appeared. I don't know what the process behind the scenes were, but surely they could at least have asked Michael McKean and David Lander if they wanted to reprise their roles?
And finally, the plots range from decently acceptable to incoherent supervillain world domination hijinks. I get we're talking about a Hannah-Barbera show, but you sorely start to miss the down-to-earth stories and moments where the characters are allowed to breathe and talk to each other like real people. The wackiness was only part of Laverne & Shirley, not the whole sum of its parts.
I know I'm sounding quite negative, but it's definitely not a total trainwreck. I simply expect a bit more when it comes to these characters.
