THREE'S COMPANY (1977-84) was one of my favorite comedies growing up and one of the very few I still watch in re-runs. The comedy may be farcical and slapstick for the most part, but early in the series, the overt comedy was underscored with a sharp, witty edge full of puns and double-entendres. The early seasons of the show were actually more methodical and topical with an amazingly playful edge that you rarely would see in other shows of the time. The middle seasons had it's share of slow and unfunny episodes, while the later seasons enjoyed a rejuvenation.
The series starred the versatile physical comic actor John Ritter (who actually won a Lead Actor Emmy for this show) as Jack Tripper, a struggling yet gifted chef. Jack was a major ladies man and hornball, but he had a heart of gold and was the best friend to his roommates. In the series pilot, Jack needed a place to stay and so roommates Chrissy Snow (played by blonde bombshell Suzanne Somers, who displayed a surprising gift for comic timing and humor) and Janet Wood (wonderfully played by Joyce DeWitt). Chrissy, a secretary, was an early TV prototype for the "dumb blonde" role and, in my opinion, set the stage for the way the character is played in modern TV, for example, I see qualities of Chrissy in later famous TV "dumb" blondes, like Kelly Bundy or Phoebe Buffay. Janet, a floral shop employee, was the more level-headed, smart, less-but-still-attractive brunette and kind of the calm center of the show.
The roommates' original landlords were the Ropers, the strict, old-schooler Stanley (superbly performed by Norman Fell) and his sweet, sarcastic, sexually-repressed wife Helen (hilariously played by Audra Lindley. During the "Roper" seasons, I'd say that the show was more of an ensemble, with the Ropers being given equal screen time to the main trio, more often than not referred to as "the kids" by Mrs. Roper. The Ropers were almost surrogate parents to them, with Roper being the stern Dad and Helen being the loving and more tolerant Mom. A running gag for the entirety of the series was that Jack had to pretend to be homosexual in order for the landlords to get him to live with 2 girls. In these politically correct times, I doubt a show could get away with this now!
I'd say that Seasons 1-3 are the best seasons, with the stories usually consisting of "the kids" having the A plot and the Ropers having the B plot, with overlap from time to time. Then there are episodes where all 5 got to interact completely as the main plot. The Ropers left the show at the end of Season 3 and went onto their own doomed series that bore their last name, only coming back in a Season 5 episode for a guest spot. Early on, the show introduced a supporting character Larry Dallas (wonderfully performed by the reliable Richard Kline, a shady used- car salesman (is there any other kind!) and Jack's best friend, who lived a swinging single lifestyle. Kline was excellent at one-liners and punchlines and played off Ritter very well.
Season 4 introduced new landlord Ralph Furley (played by comic TV icon Don Knotts), ushering in an era or broader, wilder comedy. Knotts brought his brand of limbering, lumbering physical comedy to the table. Backstage drama also lead to Somers being fired from the show at the end of Season 4, so in Season 5, a new character, Chrissy's cousin Cindy Snow (played with wide-eyed gusto by Jenilee Harrison, a pretty good physical comedienne in her own right) was introduced as the new 3rd roommate. It was really around Seasons 4 and 5 that the show really suffered a creative crisis, and may have been doomed to end had it not been for the smart decision to demote Cindy to supporting status in Season 6 and introduce yet ANOTHER and FINAL 3rd roommate Terri Alden (refreshingly played by the underrated Priscilla Barnes), a nurse. Cindy was much better served as a recurring, supporting character in Season 6 and Terri complemented Jack and Janet more. I really wish that Harrison had stayed on in Seasons 7 and 8 in her supporting turn because I thought she had really found her comfort zone as a funny supporting character a la Mr. Furley and Larry who would pop in on the main trio from time to time.
I found Seasons 6-8 very entertaining, if less witty and risky as the early seasons. In these later seasons, the show really played up the physical comedy, with all characters getting to shine at various moments. In particular, Ritter was allowed to run wild and show off his physicality in full force. Especially in the later seasons, the show became a show about "misunderstandings", where every episode seemed to be about characters getting the wrong idea about situations or other characters and the writers and actors played these to the hilt, with great facial expressions and reactions.
The show also boasted some of the HOTTEST female characters I've ever seen, with Jack getting to date gorgeous women in about every other episode. And the ladies he got to live with weren't so shabby either!
"Three's Company" has a carefree, loose quality that I find enjoyable. It may be the level of shows like "Cheers" or "Seinfeld", but in it's own way, the show is iconic. A huge guilty pleasure!
The series starred the versatile physical comic actor John Ritter (who actually won a Lead Actor Emmy for this show) as Jack Tripper, a struggling yet gifted chef. Jack was a major ladies man and hornball, but he had a heart of gold and was the best friend to his roommates. In the series pilot, Jack needed a place to stay and so roommates Chrissy Snow (played by blonde bombshell Suzanne Somers, who displayed a surprising gift for comic timing and humor) and Janet Wood (wonderfully played by Joyce DeWitt). Chrissy, a secretary, was an early TV prototype for the "dumb blonde" role and, in my opinion, set the stage for the way the character is played in modern TV, for example, I see qualities of Chrissy in later famous TV "dumb" blondes, like Kelly Bundy or Phoebe Buffay. Janet, a floral shop employee, was the more level-headed, smart, less-but-still-attractive brunette and kind of the calm center of the show.
The roommates' original landlords were the Ropers, the strict, old-schooler Stanley (superbly performed by Norman Fell) and his sweet, sarcastic, sexually-repressed wife Helen (hilariously played by Audra Lindley. During the "Roper" seasons, I'd say that the show was more of an ensemble, with the Ropers being given equal screen time to the main trio, more often than not referred to as "the kids" by Mrs. Roper. The Ropers were almost surrogate parents to them, with Roper being the stern Dad and Helen being the loving and more tolerant Mom. A running gag for the entirety of the series was that Jack had to pretend to be homosexual in order for the landlords to get him to live with 2 girls. In these politically correct times, I doubt a show could get away with this now!
I'd say that Seasons 1-3 are the best seasons, with the stories usually consisting of "the kids" having the A plot and the Ropers having the B plot, with overlap from time to time. Then there are episodes where all 5 got to interact completely as the main plot. The Ropers left the show at the end of Season 3 and went onto their own doomed series that bore their last name, only coming back in a Season 5 episode for a guest spot. Early on, the show introduced a supporting character Larry Dallas (wonderfully performed by the reliable Richard Kline, a shady used- car salesman (is there any other kind!) and Jack's best friend, who lived a swinging single lifestyle. Kline was excellent at one-liners and punchlines and played off Ritter very well.
Season 4 introduced new landlord Ralph Furley (played by comic TV icon Don Knotts), ushering in an era or broader, wilder comedy. Knotts brought his brand of limbering, lumbering physical comedy to the table. Backstage drama also lead to Somers being fired from the show at the end of Season 4, so in Season 5, a new character, Chrissy's cousin Cindy Snow (played with wide-eyed gusto by Jenilee Harrison, a pretty good physical comedienne in her own right) was introduced as the new 3rd roommate. It was really around Seasons 4 and 5 that the show really suffered a creative crisis, and may have been doomed to end had it not been for the smart decision to demote Cindy to supporting status in Season 6 and introduce yet ANOTHER and FINAL 3rd roommate Terri Alden (refreshingly played by the underrated Priscilla Barnes), a nurse. Cindy was much better served as a recurring, supporting character in Season 6 and Terri complemented Jack and Janet more. I really wish that Harrison had stayed on in Seasons 7 and 8 in her supporting turn because I thought she had really found her comfort zone as a funny supporting character a la Mr. Furley and Larry who would pop in on the main trio from time to time.
I found Seasons 6-8 very entertaining, if less witty and risky as the early seasons. In these later seasons, the show really played up the physical comedy, with all characters getting to shine at various moments. In particular, Ritter was allowed to run wild and show off his physicality in full force. Especially in the later seasons, the show became a show about "misunderstandings", where every episode seemed to be about characters getting the wrong idea about situations or other characters and the writers and actors played these to the hilt, with great facial expressions and reactions.
The show also boasted some of the HOTTEST female characters I've ever seen, with Jack getting to date gorgeous women in about every other episode. And the ladies he got to live with weren't so shabby either!
"Three's Company" has a carefree, loose quality that I find enjoyable. It may be the level of shows like "Cheers" or "Seinfeld", but in it's own way, the show is iconic. A huge guilty pleasure!