Three's Company
From Free net encyclopedia
←Older revision | Newer revision→
Template:Infobox television Three's Company is an American sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1984 on ABC.
Contents |
Basic description
The show was a remake of the British sitcom Man About the House and revolved around two women and a man sharing an apartment together. Jack Tripper moved into the apartment that Chrissy Snow and Janet Wood were sharing together after they found him sleeping in their shower after a party. To be allowed to stay in the apartment, Jack let the landlord, Stanley Roper (and subsequently, Ralph Furley), believe he was gay. Stanley's wife Helen knew that Jack was not gay from the second episode on, but didn't mind. Ralph, who tried on several occasions to "persuade" him, didn't find out Jack wasn't gay until the last episode, when he took credit for "curing" him. Stanley never found out, frequently calling Jack "one of the girls".
The show was set in Santa Monica, California, and usually focused on three sets: the trio's apartment, the landlord's apartment and the local pub/restaurant called "The Regal Beagle." In later seasons, "The Regal Beagle" was seen less frequently, as "Jack's Bistro" became the setting for many scenes.
Summary
The series revolved around sexual double entendres, misunderstandings and Jack's clumsiness. A typical episode would have Jack going in to get a tattoo removed but Janet walks in and hears Jack and Larry discussing a friend's vasectomy so then she thinks that Jack is having a vasectomy and tries to talk him out of it. Usually by the end of the episode, everything has been cleared up. This use of misunderstandings attracted many fans, including Lucille Ball, who hosted a retrospective during the series run.
Spinoffs
Three's Company spawned two spinoffs, The Ropers, revolving around Jack's former landlords, and Three's a Crowd, the further adventures of Jack as he settles down. Neither was as popular and both were swiftly cancelled. These spin-offs were based on, respectively, the Man About the House spin-offs George and Mildred and Robin's Nest. Unlike their US counterparts these had been very successful, both ultimately having a longer run than Man About the House.
Trouble on the set
Suzanne Somers became a popular star through her role as dumb-blonde Chrissy Snow in the series. She eventually caused friction on the set in 1980 when, after demands for a heavily increased salary were not met, she went on strike and was absent for several taping days. Eventually co-stars Joyce DeWitt and John Ritter refused to work with her because of this, but, unwilling to fire the actor for fears her absence would cause ratings to decline, the producers of the series retained Somers, who was still under contract, to appear in just the one-minute tag scene of select episodes. According to scripts she had returned to her home town, and in the tag scene she would be seen on the telephone talking to one of the roommates (usually Janet) who would recount that episode's adventures to her. Somers' scenes were taped on separate days from the show's regular taping; she did not appear on set with any of the show's other actors. This arrangement continued for one season, but after her contract expired it was not renewed and she disappeared from the series. Somers was replaced by Jenilee Harrison as Chrissy's cousin, Cindy.
End of the series
Towards the end of the series, promos were released hinting that Jack and Janet would be married. However, in the last episode Janet married another man, Phillip; Terri moved for a job in Hawaii; and Jack moved out to live with his new girlfriend, Vicky. This led to the one-season spinoff series Three's a Crowd.
The first six seasons of Three's Company have been released on Region 1 DVD. Interestingly, repeats of the series continue to air in the Los Angeles television market more than twenty years after the series ceased production. Repeats of the series currently air on KCAL-TV.
Cast
Image:Ssommers2.jpg Image:Three's company 9.jpg
- John Ritter as Jack Tripper (entire run), the clumsy culinary student and swinging bachelor who has to pretend he's gay so he can live with two female roommates. Later in the series he runs his own restaurant named "Jack's Bistro." (Billy Crystal auditioned for this role.)
- Joyce DeWitt as Janet Wood (entire run), the down-to-earth brunette who worked at the "Arcade Florist." (Ann Reinking auditioned for the role)
- Suzanne Somers as Chrissy Snow (1977-1981), the ditzy blonde who was a typist. (Loni Anderson auditioned for the role).
- Jenilee Harrison as Cindy Snow (1980-1982), Chrissy's somewhat ditzy (and catastrophically clumsy) cousin and her replacement in the apartment. She later became a veterinary student at UCLA.
- Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden (1981-1984), Cindy's replacement, a (usually) non-ditzy, intelligent blonde nurse who seemed to be the show's answer to complaints about their portrayal of blondes.
- Norman Fell (1977-1979) as Stanley Roper, the hard-nosed landlord who seemed obsessed with Jack's sexuality. He became known for breaking the fourth wall after making a wisecrack.
- Audra Lindley (1977-1979) as Helen Roper, the landlord's wife, who was always friendly to the "kids" in the apartment and frustrated that her husband never wanted to have sex. Unlike her husband, she knew that Jack was not gay from the start but didn't mind.
- Richard Kline as Larry Dallas (entire run), the womanizing neighbor who was a used car salesman.
- Don Knotts as Ralph Furley (1979-1984), Mr. Roper's replacement, the goofy, flamboyantly dressed landlord who was running the place for his brother Bart. Mr. Furley often fancied himself a lothario but always struck out with the ladies.
- Ann Wedgeworth as Lana Shields (1979), the neighbor who pursued Jack, and in turn was pursued by Furley.
Occasional roles:
- Paul Ainsley as Jim (1977-1981), a bartender at "The Regal Beagle."
- Brad Blaisdell as Mike (1981-1984), a bartender at "The Regal Beagle."
- William Pierson as Dean Travers (1977-1981), the dean of Jack's cooking school.
- Peter Mark Richman as Rev. Luther Snow (1978-1979), Chrissy's minister father.
- Emmaline Henry as J.C. Braddock (1978-1979), Chrissy's boss.
- Jordan Charney as Frank Angelino (1981-1983), Jack's short-tempered boss.
- Gino Conforti as Felipé Gomez (1981-1982), Jack's jealous co-worker at "Angelino's."
- Sheila Rogers as Marge Andrews (1981-1984), a desk nurse at Terri's place of work, "Wilshire Memorial Hospital."
- David Ruprecht as Phillip Dawson (1984), Janet's art dealer boyfriend/fiancé.
- Mary Cadorette as Vicky Bradford (1984), Jack's stewardess girlfriend/soon-to-be roommate.
- Robert Mandan as James Bradford (1984), Vicky's unapproving father.