What is most interesting about the characters in the first season of Happy Days was the fact that there were radically different than the lovable and memorable characters they would later evolve into. But, we often forget how they were introduced...

Ritchie: The early incarnation of Ritchie is somewhat of a serious version of Dobey Gillis. Honest and good hearted, he was the "everyman" kid we all knew or, in some cases, were. He was an honest kid from an nice home who was slowly discovering what it was to be a man. Never dull or trite, Ritchie was an interesting character to watch.

Howard: Howard was not the buffonish dad of later episodes as much as he was a more down to earth and loving dad with a somewhat humorous bent. The character grounded the character of Ritchie to his family everytime Ritchie's endeavors in the real world left him falling flat on his face.

Marion/Joanie: No real characters to speak of. Pretty much peripheral characters.

Ralph Mouth: Under Donny Most's hilarious portrayal in later seasons Ralph would become one of televisions most memorable character. Here, he is little more than a second Potsie with less screen time.

Potsie: The character of Potsie is an interesting one from the perspective of how he would later change in subsequent years. Instead of the clowning, dopey singer we get a conniving, sniveling, dare it be said, darker version of Potsie. He is the loud mouth who is always leading Ritchie down the wrong road....usually with poor results.

The Fonz: Ah, superstardom was a couple years away. Here he is little more than a peripheral character that they weren't sure what to do with. BUT...Henry Winkler's amazing charisma is on display right from th get go. You could see that he was soon to upstage the rest of the cast. Also, it is funny to note he doesn't wear a leather jacket.

Arthur: Arthur? Whose Arthur? Look at the name of the diner in the first episode. It ain't Arnold's. It's called Arthur's!