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Cool out and return to the days of tight pants, afro picks, and... empty wallets. What's Happening was the African American answer to Happy Days and featured a theme almost as catchy as Quincy Jones's bouncy number for Sanford and Son (this time by the great Henry Mancini). The popular L.A.-based sitcom premiered in 1976 during the height of the disco craze and the action centers around bespectacled teenager Raj (Ernest Thomas, the show's Richie Cunningham) and fun-lovin' pals Dwayne (Haywood Nelson) and Rerun ("'cause every summer he gotta go back to school to repeat what he did all winter"; played by Fred Berry). The boys are kept in check by Raj's hardworking single mother, Mrs. Thomas (Mabel King), bratty kid sister Dee (Danielle Spencer), and sassy waitress Shirley (Shirley Hemphill). (Sadly, King and Hemphill passed away in 1999; Berry in 2003.) When not in school--and the show takes place largely outside the halls of academia--the gang hangs out at the soda shop, "bumps" to the latest grooves, and trades quips with local cuties, like Debbi Morgan's Diane. That's about it. Of course, the trio does get into (minor) trouble each week and learns a valuable lesson before the end of each episode, but What's Happening mostly revolves around the fun they would conjure up out of the tiniest of budgets. Consequently, money--or the lack of it--figures prominently throughout the series. If What's Happening wasn't as groundbreaking as Good Times or as acerbic as The Jefffersons, it was directed at a slightly younger, more innocent audience. Kids throughout the nation came to rely on Raj, Dwayne, and especially the beret-and-suspender-sporting Rerun for all the latest catch phrases (like "Hey, hey, hey!") and funky moves. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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