Three's Company (1977 to 1984)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by jason88cubs, Sep 5, 2020.

  1. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    yeah they realized it wasnt working and cut her scenes down and she quit, it was tee thin a part, she existed only to leer at jack (and get leered at by furley....i think) she's a good actress tho
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2020
    Grand_Ennui and Grant like this.
  2. Captain Paul

    Captain Paul Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    And looking at the other photo from a few pages ago she clearly has no shape. No accounting for taste I guess..
     
  3. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    We're talking about people like they are slabs of meat now, and face it. we're men, right? But, I just happen to prefer women with more womanly curves, and some cushion for the pushin'!:whistle: More to grab onto.

    I've read studies where they found that men in certain cultures prefer women with wider hips because it signifies the ability to bear children. I've also read that wealthier men prefer skinnier women, and less-financially successful men like larger women. I've also read that it's a Black thang!:p
     
    Stuart S, zebop and OldSoul like this.
  4. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I worked on the show, and everybody was shocked and disappointed that she left abruptly in a dispute over money. In fairness to Valerie, she had taken a pay cut to do the show in the first place with the understanding that if the ratings were good, she'd be given a sizable raise. They did OK in the ratings, she asked for the raise, it didn't happen, and she stopped showing up for work. They fired her, replaced her (soon after) with Sandy Duncan, the ratings didn't change too much, and Valerie sued them... and eventually won. Note that both Harper and also executive producer Tony Cacciotti walked out because of money disputes, and they both eventually got a big pay-out from Lorimar.

    Lorimar was a very, very cheap outfit during that era and there were all kinds of problems over there. I don't think the show was a lot worse with Sandy Duncan, but it wasn't the same, and Harper was a really, really good actress who was very well-liked and had great chemistry with the rest of the cast. Those of us who worked on the show in post had no clue this was going to happen and were dumbfounded when suddenly they did a couple of "serious" episodes explaining that her character had died in a fatal car wreck, which is pretty rough for a sitcom.

    It's pretty rare nowadays that an actor walks out of a show in some kind of dispute. I can recall filling in occasionally to work on Criminal Minds, and I was dumbfounded when Mandy Patinkin abruptly left because he felt the show was basically too gross and too grim and downbeat. In his case, it was totally a moral issue, but I think he should have gotten a clue from the pilot that that show was not going to be a fun, upbeat, happy police show. Agents and actors are a lot smarter today than they were 30-40 years ago, so incidents like the ones that affected Suzanne Somers and Valerie Harper won't happen as much today, because the contracts are a lot more iron-clad, and I think the SAG-AFTRA rules are stricter.
     
  5. Panther

    Panther Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Wasn't there some minor kerfuffle over John Ritter's scrotum being visible in, like, one frame of one episode once?
     
    OldSoul likes this.
  6. Grand_Ennui

    Grand_Ennui Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI
    Yes.
     
  7. milankey

    milankey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, Ohio, USA
    I guess I'm curious but I refuse to Google "John Ritter's scrotum" :shh:
     
    Scowl, MikaelaArsenault and Daryl M like this.
  8. Panther

    Panther Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    You mean, regarding John Ritter's scrotum, you aren't willing to touch it?
     
    MikaelaArsenault, VU Master and Grant like this.
  9. OldSoul

    OldSoul Don't you hear the wind blowin'?

    Location:
    NYC
    No one noticed until the '90s, I think. It was found by a fan. It's hardly his scrotum...really just some of the skin slipping out of his shorts. At least, that's what I recall.
     
  10. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Just use DuckDuckGo. :laugh: No one has to know! :D

    Hey, we don't judge! :p Whatever turns him on!

    And, why was he looking?:laugh: Oh, that's right, we don't judge. :)
     
    OldSoul likes this.
  11. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    The opinion of a grown man resorting to name-calling matters not one bit to me. That's just kindergarten-grade reactionary nonsense of the same caliber as YouTube comments which is obviously more to your level.
     
  12. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    You can find your answer in post #76 linked here for your convenience :)

    Three's Company (1977 to 1984)
     
  13. zebop

    zebop Well Known Stranger

    Priscilla Barnes was OK, I was more much attracted to Joyce DeWitt.
     
    kevinsponge, mr. steak and Grant like this.
  14. Jack Lord

    Jack Lord Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I admit to loving the show back in the day. Still do. It is just a silly farce that makes me laugh.

    I was a dorky 7th grader when it premiered and thought Jack Tripper, the fallible ladys man, was really cool. The funniest characters were Mr. Roper and Larry- clearly the heir to Ed Norton and the forefather of Cosmo Kramer. I think Don Knotts was pretty good too.

    It's just a silly show. Silly, albeit very, very funny at times.
     
  15. jason88cubs

    jason88cubs Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Us
    Without a doubt it was a silly show and without John Ritter it likely bombs. To me Ritter was the only reason to watch those last few seasons.
     
  16. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Though I would agree that Ritter was the star of the show, and the most talented, I am kind of surprised that people equate the girls' roles to bit parts. Just watch an episode. Besides the point that was already made, that the show was called "Three's Company", you just have to watch almost any episode. The show was about all three of them, not just Jack. The others got as many lines and as much screen time as he did. Therefore, I can understand them wanting roughly equal pay, and I can understand Somer's saying "eff this" if she was continually marginalized by the people behind the show. So she may have decided to play hard ball with them, win or lose.

    That's just speculation though. I haven't read or listened to much behind the scenes stuff, but clearly as is demonstrated in this thread that doesn't make anyone an authority. You guys are just reading and watching biased accounts of what took place. So there will likely always be doubt, unless some things have a lot of consensus around them. And even then.

    It would be interesting to see what would have happened if both Janet and Chrissy had left the show, as people seem so certain that Jack was all it needed. Well, I guess that did happen with Three's a Crowd, and that didn't turn out too well. Different show though, and a different time, following a show that had a good run. So it's maybe not fair to say Ritter needed DeWitt and Somers/Barnes. But it does at least somewhat highlight the fact that a successful show cannot just be about one character. It's about an entire cast, and it's about funny dialog and scenarios for all the characters.

    Also, I see more than enough curves on Barnes' body. I prefer fit and toned personally. :wiggle:
     
  17. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    Well, to be fair, TV history is loaded with shows that had a single top "star of the show" who wasn't named in the title. A good overall cast and great supporting characters are always important too, of course.
     
  18. Reid Smith

    Reid Smith Forum Resident

    Location:
    N Ky/Cincinnati
    I enjoyed the show when it first aired and still enjoy watching it some evenings on Antenna TV.Sure many of the episodes had the same theme,jumping to conclusions and misunderstandings,but they are still funny.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvaoDmyQUO0
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2020
  19. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Cheers is another good example. Ted Danson was always the central figure in the show. The characters of Diane and Coach left but it's only when Ted Danson decided to not do another season that the show was ended.
     
    Billy Infinity and Steve Litos like this.
  20. dharmabumstead

    dharmabumstead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    Great band! I saw John Ritter's Scotum with the Melvins and Slayer back in 2012.
     
    Joseph.McClure and Dudley Morris like this.
  21. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    So what shows have had the star leave and continued on (with at least some success)? Two and a Half Men is one that comes to mind.

    The problem with John Ritter or Ted Dansen as examples of this is that those are just hypothetical; neither actually happened and so we simply don't know.

    It is hard to imagine Cheers without Sam, and hard to imagine Threes Company without Jack*. Harder for me to imagine Sam missing I think. But there are endless options for taking a show in a different direction. I believe that success is possible if the right choices are made.

    * I wonder, if this thread existed in 1982, would many of us say the same about Chrissy?
     
  22. Anthology123

    Anthology123 Senior Member

    Has anyone seen the UK show that Three's Company was based upon, Man About The House? I've only seen 1 or 2 episodes that played on PBS years ago.
    Any comments from the UK members who have seen both?
     
  23. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    That's true, but it would have been harder to end the show when Coach left (after 2 or 3 years) or when Diane left (after 6 or so). By the time Dansen decided to leave, there was probably a lot less gas left in the tank for all involved. But yeah, sounds like if Dansen was still into it they would have continued, no matter who else may have left.

    And I wonder, if Sam left after 3 years, when I imagine the show was really catching on, if they would have continued. Fill his spot with the biggest name or most charasmatic actor you could find. A lot of these decisions I think would depend on when in the life of a show that an actor leaves.
     
    George Co-Stanza likes this.
  24. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    According to Wikipedia ; "By the end of its final season, the show had a run of eight consecutive seasons in the top ten of the Nielson Ratings; seven of them were in the top five."

    The actors all said Ted Danson was a natural involuntary leader. He didn't try to but had a knack for getting people in his corner so everybody followed his lead. As long as he stayed, the rest of the actors stayed. Mid-point every season, the producers would ask Ted whether he wanted to do another season. Once he said he was done, no one fought it. The producers tried to spin-off a couple of characters with extremely different results ; Carla and Frasier.
     
  25. Imagine being asked to write a reboot of the show. THAT was Hell.
     
    Vidiot likes this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine