"Three's Company" remains one of the silly for smart folks programs that I still enjoy all these years after the episodes first aired. To buy them on disc and not need syndication anymore is kind of kicking out the middleman who's been in the television picture for a very long time. One good thing about the disc packages is we finally get to see the not one, but two pilots that were shot before Suzanne Somers came aboard. The late, great Larry Gelbart wrote one of them, so thinking this show is a monument to stupidity is overlooking the enormous talents who worked on both sides of the camera.
The sadly lost too early and dearly missed John Ritter ruled the roost, in laugh getting at least, on "Three's". Joyce DeWitt was the rhythm section of the band, playing the "sensible" one who was also capable of screwing up big time on occasion. And one of the medium's best loved figures ever, Don Knotts, had to fill in for both Ropers after they left. This is one of the plots written while Cindy, Chrissy's cousin, was living with J&J and Jenilee Harrison did very well with the usually one note material she was given. Here, Somers was still out of the picture until the before end credits segment. Her contract "negotiation" sent shock waves through the biz and sent a message to anyone who thought they were bigger than their show.
The two Js return late one night from a film that scared the bejesus out of Janet and set off on a paranoid but amusing ride as they try to find their missing roommate. Mr. Furley and Larry Dalliapoulos (I'm guessing that's how the name he changed to "Dallas" was spelled) are drawn into the mystery and Jack and Janet end up with misunderstanding egg on their faces for the umpteenth time.
Tell the truth, you didn't really miss Chrissy here, did ya? I'd tired of her annoying act a long time earlier and wish a fresher face like Cheryl Ladd was cast in that role in the first place. Suzanne can be a resourceful comedy actress, but this kind of dumb blonde joke as a part didn't really give her respect as a performer. "Step By Step", where her and Patrick Duffy got to update "The Brady Bunch", was a much better vehicle for her and that character was many things, but dumb wasn't one of them.
The sadly lost too early and dearly missed John Ritter ruled the roost, in laugh getting at least, on "Three's". Joyce DeWitt was the rhythm section of the band, playing the "sensible" one who was also capable of screwing up big time on occasion. And one of the medium's best loved figures ever, Don Knotts, had to fill in for both Ropers after they left. This is one of the plots written while Cindy, Chrissy's cousin, was living with J&J and Jenilee Harrison did very well with the usually one note material she was given. Here, Somers was still out of the picture until the before end credits segment. Her contract "negotiation" sent shock waves through the biz and sent a message to anyone who thought they were bigger than their show.
The two Js return late one night from a film that scared the bejesus out of Janet and set off on a paranoid but amusing ride as they try to find their missing roommate. Mr. Furley and Larry Dalliapoulos (I'm guessing that's how the name he changed to "Dallas" was spelled) are drawn into the mystery and Jack and Janet end up with misunderstanding egg on their faces for the umpteenth time.
Tell the truth, you didn't really miss Chrissy here, did ya? I'd tired of her annoying act a long time earlier and wish a fresher face like Cheryl Ladd was cast in that role in the first place. Suzanne can be a resourceful comedy actress, but this kind of dumb blonde joke as a part didn't really give her respect as a performer. "Step By Step", where her and Patrick Duffy got to update "The Brady Bunch", was a much better vehicle for her and that character was many things, but dumb wasn't one of them.
