When the What’s Happening sitcom series launched back in the mid 70’s, it immediately avoided the heavier weightier social issues of the day and instead relied on a more lighthearted formula that separated it from more social conscious sitcoms like Good Times.

The series follows high school friends Raj (Ernest Thomas), Dwayne (Haywood Nelson), Rerun (Fred Berry), Shirley (Shirley Hemphill), Dee (Danielle Spencer) and Mama (Mabel King) for three seasons are now available in a single package and is called the “compact package” because it is pretty small considering it contains three seasons spread over 9 discs.

While it would take a lengthy composition to dissect 65 episodes of the sitcom, it will take considerable less to talk about some of the most memorable ones that fans of the show will no doubt look forward to seeing.

In season one a few episodes stand out. In “Saturday's Hero,” Reruns’ ego gets way to big after he is recruited for the football team and turns into the high school snob, that is until he has to go to his friends for help in writing a speech for one of his classes.

Another memorable episode in the first season was “The Maid Did It.” In this story  Mamas’ boss accuses her of stealing a diamond and she loses her job. In the the season finale “Puppy Love,” Raj’s family think he is about to become .

Some of the guest stars for season one included Helen Martin, Teddy Wilson, Thalmus Rasulala, and Dick Van Patten.

Season Two brought even more laughs with episodes such as “Rerun Gets Married,” “Going, Going, Gong,” and “Doobie or Not Doobie.” The season finale is “The Apartment” in which Raj and Rerun  graduates and moves into an apartment. The significance here is that it sets up the third and final season in which the apartment will be the main setting. Guest stars showing up for season two included Irena Cara, Tim Reid and The Doobie Brothers.

“Disco Dollar Disaster,” “Raj Moves Out” and “No Clothes Make the Man” are the more memorable episodes in season three. Guest stars for season three include Nancy Morgan (the wife of John Ritter at the time), Chip Fields (mother of Kim Fields), Hal Williams and Betty Bridges (mother of Todd Bridges).

The Last Word

While the current package of  What’s Happening is a basic redo of the earlier packages, this one will certainly save space and look good on the shelf. It is a good deal if you don’t already have the earlier releases.