In the beginning of season 5, Fonzie's cousin Chachi Arcola moved to Milwaukee and quickly developed a crush on Joanie, often flirtingly using the phrase "Wah wah wah" in her presence. Another example was in the Season 5 two-parter Fonzie, Rock Entrepreneur, in which Joanie is about to run away from home when Howard and Marion refuse to let her join Leather Tuscadero's backup band on the road, but after a heart-to-heart with Leather, she is persuaded to stay at home. Case in point, in the Season 4 episode Joanie's Weird Boyfriend, Richie, Potsie and Ralph, along with Fonzie and Carmine Ragusa (from Laverne & Shirley) defend Joanie's honor against a troublesome gang called the Red Devils. The aggravation of parental suppression occasionally motivated Joanie to attempt more daring steps which, had it not been for Fonzie, Richie and the others, could have gotten her into significant trouble. By the middle of Season 5, after a heartfelt discussion about how she feels Howard and Marion still don't trust her, they finally agree to let her go out on her first date, at the end of which she gets her first kiss ( Joanie's First Kiss). Nevertheless, he still manages to help Joanie win the contest, and thus get her revenge and also win a bet she made with Jill that if she won she would be accepted on the squad (the other end of the bet would have been that Fonzie would have to get a crew-cut if they lost).Īs she got older she began taking after her best friend Jenny Piccalo and became more boy crazy, much to her parents' consternation. After being cut in the tryouts by an arrogant classmate named Jill Higgins (played by Charlene Tilton), Joanie is persuaded to compete against her in a dance marathon contest at Arnold's, and Fonzie is willing to be her partner after he gets back from working as a racing mechanic in Chicago earlier that evening, but his motorcycle breaks down on the way back home and he is exhausted from having to push it back on foot. In season 4's They Shoot Fonzies Don't They, Joanie becomes a cheerleader. It took some time, and some persuasion, for Howard and Marion to let their guard down with her, though they did it little by little as time went on. Howard and Marion were very protective of Joanie through her younger years, controlling almost every aspect of her life, right down to her choice of clothes.
In keeping with her lively nature, Joanie became the first character in the series to use the classic " Sit on it" putdown (she used it on Ralph in Fonzie Moves In, season 3). One example of this was when Marion was fitting Howard for a costume of Julius Caesar when he asked Joanie what she thought of his outfit she quipped, "No wonder they stabbed him", which earned the deadpan observation from Howard that, "She's getting such a fresh mouth, Marion". Joanie also had a very sassy personality and was quick to cast off barbs at others, even her own parents. One of the earlier recurring gags in the series involved Joanie, in which she was frequently ordered (usually by Howard or Marion, but also occasionally by Richie) to "go to your room" either as punishment for her attitude, or more often to keep her from hearing things not meant for her younger ears. Joanie was the quintessential adolescent girl from the 1950s in the earlier seasons she was more of a typical annoying "kid sister" type, a "mole" who was always wanting to peek in on Richie's makeout sessions, or get wind of any juicy gossip.