Anyone like Three's Company too?

[Grant]

I know, I know, it's cheezy and cheap, with lots of sexual jokes, but I like it. And, I rate the late John Ritter as being every bit as funny and inventive as Lucille Ball was. For those who never indulged, the running gag of the show was trying to keep a straight man, living with two attractive young women, IN the closet so the straight-arrow landlord and his sex-starved wife doesn't find out.

I just picked up the second season, and i'm enjoying it immensely. Every show was about a funny misunderstanding.

[Dave D]

It was great in the early years. Loved the "Mr Wormy" episode.....the guy that Jack saved from choking in the restaurant......who ends up being a "serial choker".....Chrissy was in her prime in that one! Suzanne Somers was so perfect in that role.

[Johnny C.]

John Ritter was an excellent manic/slapstick comic actor in the mid 70's, on the order of Larry Hagman from the mid 60's "I Dream Of Jeannie."

He made "Three's Company" funny, while the jiggly parts (provided by the blonde and the brunette) made it mandatory viewing for me, a 16 year old boy, at the time...

[-=Rudy=-]

I always went for Joyce DeWitt. :love:

They don't make 'em like this anymore. (The show. ;) )

[Parkertown]

Every show was about a funny misunderstanding.

That's all this show ever did! The MOST predictable show ever. But I watched it for my Priscilla Barnes fetish...HUBBA HUBBA! :love:

[beatlematt]

Three's Company, Barney Miller, Happy Days, Laverene and Shirley, What's Happening, Soap
ABC was only a comedy roll back in the 70's
Any of the above shows are better than Friends IMO.
On John Ritter's tombstone epitath is "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" WAY COOL!

[AKA]

I've tried to get into this show; really, I have. I just don't see what the fuss is about.

Sure, John Ritter was a great physical comic, and Suzanne Somers is easy on the eyes. But other than that, I just can't appreciate this sitcom.

[beatlematt]

Suzanne Somers was a good physical comedian too. Just watch the episode where she is handcuffed to John. Great duo physical comedy.

[ACK!]

The first three seasons. Once The Ropers left, it was never the same.

Suzanne Somers departure from the show was the final nail in the coffin.

I'm not saying I stopped watching, but it was just another show after those classic characters left.

[Grant]

That's all this show ever did! The MOST predictable show ever. But I watched it for my Priscilla Barnes fetish...HUBBA HUBBA! :love:

But the misunderstandings were hilarious!

You will be happy to know that from all accounts, and the cast members, Priscilla Barnes was a real sweetie who had a heart of gold. Hmmm...she never wore a bra.

But, I always went for Janet. She was very hurt that Suzanne Sommers always got the attention from the media instead of her and Ritter. At the end of the series, she got the shaft from the producers when they wanted to spin off Jack into a new show.

It's also a shame what they did to Norman Fell and Audrea Lindley. They wanted to come back after their spinoff failed, as they were promised, and they were denied.

[Grant]

The first three seasons. Once The Ropers left, it was never the same.

Suzanne Somers departure from the show was the final nail in the coffin.

.

Actually, the show did very well after they got rid of Sommers, didn't miss a beat. What killed it was that they finally ran out of steam. But it proved that the real star of the show was always John Ritter, not Sommers. If she and her manager/husband Alan Hamel hadn't gotten so greedy, who knows how long it would have run.

[ACK!]

But the misunderstandings were hilarious!

Hey Grant,

Which episodes did they have misunderstandings in? I must've missed those.

Chris

[guy incognito]

Classic lowbrow farce. As noted above, John Ritter was a superb physical comedian; it must have been a revelation to '70s audiences who were previously only familiar with his role as a minister on "The Waltons".

And who can forget Norman Fell's hilarious s**t-eating grins at the camera whenever his Mr. Roper got off a good zinger at his wife's expense? As much as I love Don Knotts, the show was never the same wthout the Ropers.

[ACK!]

There was a Friends episode much in the vein of Three's Company, which prompted Chandler to go "What would Jack and Chrissy do?" I wish I could remember the exact episode, but it was entirely appropriate, as I recall.

Just I wish I could recall the premise or the circumstances...!! :(

[soundboy]

There was a Friends episode much in the vein of Three's Company, which prompted Chandler to go "What would Jack and Chrissy do?" I wish I could remember the exact episode, but it was entirely appropriate, as I recall.

Hmmmm....I remember one time on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", Mathew Perry (Chandler) mentioned "Three's Company", "I just love the episode with the misunderstanding." Must be a big fan.

[ACK!]

I was just watching the season two DVDs and it's interesting that while Jack and Janet are pretty much in character, Chrissy is not quite as dumb as she would later become. She doesn't make the laugh-snort sound and she doesn't act quite as ditsy. I think I like her better this way. But it obviously worked, because that's what people remember.

And these episodes remind me of how great The Ropers were! They should never have left the show.

[Captain Groovy]

"Three's Company" is/was the best sitcom of all time without a doubt. Richard Kline ("Larry") is my hero.

JEFF!

[Grant]

I was just watching the season two DVDs and it's interesting that while Jack and Janet are pretty much in character, Chrissy is not quite as dumb as she would later become. She doesn't make the laugh-snort sound and she doesn't act quite as ditsy. I think I like her better this way. But it obviously worked, because that's what people remember.

And these episodes remind me of how great The Ropers were! They should never have left the show.

I agree! Norman Fell regretted that to his dying day. But, it wasn't his fault. He was lied to. After John Ritter, he was my favorite charachter on the show.

Don Knotts? I never liked him anyway, and never thought he was funny in the least.

[ACK!]

I agree! Norman Fell regretted that to his dying day. But, it wasn't his fault. He was lied to. After John Ritter, he was my favorite charachter on the show.

Don Knotts? I never liked him anyway, and never thought he was funny in the least.

In the book Come And Knock On Our Door, it states that there was a clause in the contract for The Ropers that if the show failed within one year of its debut, Stanley and Helen could return to the parent show.

However, the show premiered on March 13, 1979 and the final episode aired on May 15 1980. I don't know the exact date the show was cancelled, but it must've fallen somewhere outside the year stipulated in the contract and NRW productions held to the letter. Fell did try to come back, but was told "no."

Contractual or not, it was a sleazy thing to do and it deprived Norman Fell and Audra Lindley of a steady income for the next four years.

And I'm glad someone agrees with me about Don Knotts!!

[bartels76]

This show was no doubt my 1st favorite show on TV.

[Metralla]

I just can't appreciate this sitcom.
Neither can I, but I have a tremendously low affection for sitcoms in general. For me, sitcoms can be fun if you are with a group (friends, family etc) and watch the show regularly and get into it, with a lot of off-screen banter and joking going on. Otherwise, I find them all pretty mundane, and it takes a really special one to crack through.

[Grant]

In the book Come And Knock On Our Door, it states that there was a clause in the contract for The Ropers that if the show failed within one year of its debut, Stanley and Helen could return to the parent show.

However, the show premiered on March 13, 1979 and the final episode aired on May 15 1980. I don't know the exact date the show was cancelled, but it must've fallen somewhere outside the year stipulated in the contract and NRW productions held to the letter. Fell did try to come back, but was told "no."

Contractual or not, it was a sleazy thing to do and it deprived Norman Fell and Audra Lindley of a steady income for the next four years.


Thanks for the correction. I knew it was something contractual.

[ACK!]

Thanks for the correction. I knew it was something contractual.

No problemo, Grant. :righton:

[Sckott]

I always thought the stories behind the scenes were much more interesting...and tragic.

Don Knotts in anything is grrreat. He's a sharp charactor. Always was. Even behind a fake badge.

[ACK!]

I always thought the stories behind the scenes were much more interesting...and tragic.

And in the case of some shows, better than the shows themselves.