Three's Company: Like Father, Like Son

Three's Company: Like Father, Like Son
ABC
November 29, 1983
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This Staretski & Rips episode belatedly introduces Jack Tripper, Sr. (Dick Shawn, who had played himself on That Girl).  Ignoring the continuity errors, like that somehow Janet has never met him before, even though she's met Jack's mother, and of course the existence of Lee Tripper, there are some nice moments here.  Shawn and Ritter work well together, whether doing a silly folk song full of raspberries or having a more serious moment.  And I like how Jack's dad knows how to manipulate Mr. Angelino, who's yet again trying to change Jack's lease.  Not a great episode, but the best in the past few weeks.

Tom Lancaster returns as Jack's kitchen help Dan.  Fran Ryan's first of two 3'sC roles is the customer named Hilda.

Three's Company: Borrowing Trouble

Three's Company: Borrowing Trouble
ABC
May 10, 1983
Sitcom
DVD
B

This Ellen Guylas story closes out the season nicely with what must be one of the least sexual misunderstandings in the course of the show.  (There is a minor misunderstanding where Mr. Furley thinks Jack is offering money to a male date.)  Janet and Terri overhear part of a conversation between Jack and Mr. Angelino, making them think that Mr. A is going to close Jack's restaurant if he can't come up with the rent money of $800.  At this point, the rent on the apartment is $500, not much of an increase over the $300 of the early seasons.  Janet comes up with an implausible but funny scheme where Larry is a radio d.j. calling the apartment and giving away money.  Jack spends the money on a leather coat, pissing off the girls.  Then he hears from Mr. Furley that the girls need money, so he decides to give them the restaurant rent.  Friendship is as important as ever here, and I like the story Janet tells Terri about Jack selling cookies door to door when he was in cooking school, "...I gained twenty pounds."  Brad Blaisdell again plays Mike the Bartender and is allowed to wisecrack.

Three's Company in Season Seven mostly earns B-s (12 out of 22), but it does go as low as C and even C-, despite ultimately averaging out to B-.  This episode is a good example of what direction to take.  The cast, including Charney, works well together and it's easy to believe that they'd come back for a successful Season Eight.  However, there would be various factors, on and offscreen, that would change things.

Three's Company: Navy Blues

Three's Company: Navy Blues
ABC
May 3, 1983
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Staretski & Rips wrote this story that makes you wonder why Jack continues to trust his old Navy buddies.  This time, instead of a hostile blind man, it's charming Bill Martin (Rod McCary, who previously was Gregg Halliday, the guy pretending an interest in Janet's ferns).  He cons Jack into hiring him and then manipulates Angelino.  I can kind of see people falling for his lies, but it's a bit much to believe that he falls for Jack's lies.  Note, this surprisingly has some of Ritter's most serious acting on the show, moments where Jack is genuinely hurt, worried, or angry.  My guess is that by this point, although there's still some slapstick, Ritter wanted the character to grow up more, which would become more of an issue behind the scenes in the final season.  But this is only the penultimate episode of the penultimate season, so we're not quite there yet.

Patty Regan, who had three roles on That Girl, plays Marilyn Carmichael.

Three's Company: The Apartment

Three's Company: The Apartment
ABC
March 22, 1983
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Shelley Zellman story, Mr. Angelino is about to cheat on his wife with Daphne Smith (Ilene Graff).  He's chosen the small apartment over Jack's restaurant for the tryst, unaware that Jack is planning to sleep there.  So when his wife shows up, he pretends that Daphne is Jack's girlfriend.  And then Terri and Janet show up after the Angelinos leave, bringing blankets and for some reason a potted plant.  They catch Jack sitting on the bed, sharing a drink with Daphne.  Then both Daphne and Mr. Angelino show up at Jack's apartment.  I believe the apartment of the title is meant to be a reference to the Billy Wilder movie, although it's not nearly as dark and Daphne does not attempt suicide.  Graff gives a nice performance in what could be an unsympathetic role, and a very different one from her fembot-like one on Mork & Mindy  the year before.  Note that Jack tells Terri that she's "the reasonable one," which certainly wouldn't have happened with the previous blonde roommates.

Three's Company: The Brunch

Three's Company: The Brunch
ABC
December 7, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Things I like about this episode:

• Janet and Terri's "wholesome" outfits and how all the compliments on Janet's offend her;
• Earl Boen's performance as Reverend Gilmore, who I suspect is a belated parody of the sort of hypocritical clergymen who objected to the series early on (he's distracted by money);
• That it finds a way to work both Mr. Angelino (Jordan Charney) and Felipe (Gino Conforti) into the new setting of the bistro.

Things that bug me about this episode:

• There are too many cooks, on and off the screen, with Grossman & Burditt having written the teleplay based on a story they co-wrote with two men who have no other writing credits;
• When Jack sees Mr. Furley fighting with Felipe and then guzzling champagne, why can't he send him home?
• It's obvious that as soon as Larry comes in with a woman dressed like a stereotypical librarian that she's going to go wild in some way, but the pay-off isn't executed as well as the bits with the honeymooners.
• Miss Arlington (Irene Tedrow, who previously was Martha) skips out without paying, despite being rich, and no one notices.

Three's Company: Jack Gets His

Three's Company: Jack Gets His
ABC
November 9, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Staretski & Rips story, Jack gets his dream of six years: his own restaurant.  Unfortunately, he rents it sight unseen from Mr. Angelino and it's very run-down.  Also, he's turned down for a loan at the bank.  Luckily, Mr. Furley comes through with $800 for the first month's rent.  Note that while all of Jack's good friends are supportive, it's Janet who has the imagination and the belief in Jack to encourage him to hold on to his dream, and it does seem like she is the one he most shares what he's going through with.  The credits promise "Next Week: The Grand Opening," although the next episode has a slightly different title.

Anne Schedeen, who previously was Linda and Lisa, here plays another L-named character, Louise Prescott, the loan officer.  (Jack hits on her but she's not interested, financially or romantically.)

Three's Company: And Now, Here's Jack

Three's Company: And Now, Here's Jack
ABC
March 23, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Hank Bradford, who wrote one M*A*S*H episode, co-wrote this with Staretski & Rips.  Jack, who's working at Angelino's (who knows what order these episodes were written or shot), has a chance to appear on local TV to help promote the restaurant.  Thanks partly to bad advice from Larry and partly to the stage fright of himself and his roommates (manifested in different ways), it's a disaster.  Of course the home viewers love the chaos and Jack ends up with a raise, an uncharacteristically happy ending on the show.  This is the episode where Jack's notes end up on Janet's butt and he tries to follow it around the studio, with the line "...This is a great aspic!"  Note that Larry and Mr. Furley have some memorable shirts in this episode.

Frank O'Brien, who plays the Director, previously was a Waiter on the show.

Three's Company: A Friend in Need

Three's Company: A Friend in Need
ABC
February 16, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C

Things wrong with this episode:

• Felipe (Gino Conforti) is not Jack's friend, and yet when he shows up and asks Jack to cover for him at the restaurant (where he got the head chef job after Jack was fired), Jack is happy to. 
• And Felipe is going to give his new baby (due in a few days) Jack's name as one of his middle names.  (Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers gets top honors.)
• Jack getting fired from Angelino's seems like something we should've seen, especially since the last we heard, Jack was waiting around to go back to work after the remodeling.
• Terry Kiser returns, as mobster Mr. Canon, who loves Jack's cooking, so Angelino wants Jack to replace Felipe, and then Jack decides to get himself fired again, and there are so many things wrong with this scenario that only on 3'sC would it sound at all plausible.
• Janet goes down to the restaurant with Larry (see below) to have Jack arrested for not supporting her as his wife, and then before we know it, we have Canon dismissing domestic abuse.  (Beating the nonexistent kids is definitely played for laughs, and he thinks Jack not respecting Janet's mother is worse than beating Janet black & blue.)
• Felipe's like and dislike of Jack turns on a dime in this episode.

Things right with this episode:

• By this point in the series, any addition of Larry is welcome, and he does a great little scene as the all too bribable detective, with a follow-up in the tag.
• It's not as good as the "God forgot to wind it" material, but Kiser does his best with things like his reactions to a heavily peppered plate of linguini.
• Felipe's oversized suits and some of the Spanglish.

Three's Company: Boy Meets Dummy

Three's Company: Boy Meets Dummy
ABC
December 1, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Ellen Guylas wrote this episode where Jack flirts in the restaurant kitchen with Mr. Angelino's daughter Francesca (Christina Hart, who was Roper's niece in the first season), before he finds out who she is and how protective Mr. Angelino is.  Jack tries to back off, but she's still interested, so he tells her he's married.  She wants to meet his wife, so Jack tries to get Janet or Terri to pretend to be the wife, but before either gets home, he uses Terri's CPR dummy.  This would be the best episode of the season so far, with Terri used well for humor and the plot for the first time, but Felipe annoys me both as a stereotype and as a troublemaker.  (He makes a bad situation worse at every opportunity, and yet Jack won't let Mr. Angelino fire Felipe.)  Note that Jack makes a reference to the ill-fated Susan B. Anthony dollar, whose minting was halted that year.

Three's Company: Jack Bares All

Three's Company: Jack Bares All
ABC
October 6, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C-

This is the first one-hour episode of the series, as well as the introduction of Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden.  As such, it's a shame that Staretski & Rips couldn't do a better job of writing.  Yes, some blame goes to Powers's direction and Barnes's performance, but they're doing the best they can with what they were given.  And I did try to watch this episode objectively (including with director commentary) but these are the issues that remain:

• Terri is an unsympathetic character for most of the episode.  My issue is not really with the scene where she initially annoys Jack, since he's being unsympathetic there, while she's trying to act as a professional, albeit a somewhat snarky professional.  It's actually worse when Terri tries to make up with Jack and further offends him, and here is a good example of the subpar writing.  Even though Janet must've (or should've) told her that it's a platonic living arrangement, Terri acts seductively when she goes into the kitchen.  (Powers says on the commentary that he wanted a Marilyn Monroe style.)  And then, very un-Marilyn, she teases Jack about cooking, saying real men don't.  Now, wouldn't Janet have told her that Jack is a chef?  Beyond that, wouldn't it have come up that Jack is in the ER because he's a chef?  (Not to mention he's wearing an apron and Felipe is also dressed for the kitchen.)  And then when Furley tells Terri that Jack is gay, Terri makes things even worse by apologizing, trying to act tolerant but questioning why he'd have served in the Navy.  OK, it's 1981, but that doesn't make this good character development, or good plot progression.
• Jack is also, as I said, unsympathetic through part of the episode.  He's more justified than Terri, but he did ask Janet to find a roommate while he was busy.  Instead of either insisting on not living with Terri, or trying to communicate with her, he lets Larry talk him into a scheme of vengeance that's a lot more spiteful, and less funny, than what the two of them did at Eleanor's party.
• Larry is unsympathetic through most of the episode.  As he was the previous year, he's trying to move a girlfriend in, this time Didi (Shell Kepler, who'd previously played Larry's girlfriend Luanne, who he also lied to about his profession).  As I asked then, what is the point of this, when we know Larry's relationships are short-term?  And then he seems very taken with Terri (a crush that would continue), but he nonetheless wants her out and Didi in.  So he comes up with the scheme and persists in it, even though everyone onstage (and in the studio audience) is appalled.
• Janet is relatively sympathetic, although it's wrong of her to try to gloss over Jack's anger at Terri.
• Cindy is OK, although it gets annoying that she keeps saying both that she's only going to be ten minutes away (at UCLA, studying to be a veterinarian) and that she'll miss everyone but will visit often (at one point coming back just to say that and to hit Jack with a door).
• Other than his homophobic comments, Mr. Furley is fine this episode.  He is, perhaps willfully, blind to hints at the party that Jack is straight (as in Terri's impersonation of Jack, and Janet's of Larry), but it's not for the first time.
• Felipe is annoying, but that's usually a given.  (Mr. Angelino has decided to give Jack "one more chance.")

So what's to like?  Well, Ritter's dead-on impression of Knotts (and Knotts's reaction) for one.  Also, while I don't think the moment is earned, the way that Jack and Terri make up would pass for sweet on a better episode.  And there are some ensemble moments that are good, like the adding-words-for-a-sentence game.  But this is not how I wanted the sixth season kicked off thirty-five years ago or now.

Bobby F. Ellerbee had played Don on What's Happening!! and his role as Dr. Cooper is, as far as I can recall, the first speaking one for a black actor on 3'sC.  Although she's not credited, Sheila Rogers, who'd previously played Punkin Randall's mother, here first appears in the role of Desk Nurse Marge Andrews.

Three's Company: The Not-So-Great Imposter

Three's Company: The Not-So-Great Imposter
ABC
January 13, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

This Baser & Weiskopf episode is mostly notable for introducing two significant recurring characters, although it's also entertaining as a stand-alone.  Jordan Charney, who earlier was the beardless Mr. Layton, makes his first of eleven appearances as Frank Angelino.  I think he's a more interesting and (relatively) complex character than Dean Travers, since you can to some degree sympathize with him trying to deal with "crazy chefs."  Gino Conforti, who had repeatedly played a restaurant owner or at least manager on That Girl, here makes his debut as assistant chef Felipe Gomez.  He would annoy me sometimes in his five later episodes, but here we can see the anger behind his smiling surface.

Jack poses as acclaimed chef David Miller.  Janet, as audience surrogate, says he'll never get away with it, but Jack tells her to just go with it.  Angelino places an ad saying that his restaurant has Miller, which brings all sorts of people looking for him.  I like how it's structured, including that one person we don't see reading the ad is the sister of some girl Miller took advantage of.  This allows for her to surprise Jack and us by tossing Jack around the room, to Felipe's delight.  Note that Harrison's overacting (she was very inexperienced her first season) actually serves a purpose, when she steps forward and proclaims, "He's David Miller," at just the wrong moment.  And her eyes are as wide as Mr. Furley's would be when she walks in and sees Jack trying to get something from Janet lying down on the couch (his cookbook).

Britt Leach, who had played Davy Jones's manager on The Brady Bunch, has his first of three 3'sC roles here, as the Husband.  Jillian Kesner, who's the Sister, would be Judi Marino on Mork & Mindy.  

Three's Company: Jack Moves Out

Three's Company: Jack Moves Out
ABC
May 8, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B-

I probably would've gone with a C+ on this Wayne & Burditt episode if, one, Jack hadn't apologized to the girls, and two, Larroquette didn't do so much with his small role of the Cop.  As for the main plot of Jack getting a job as live-in chef for Larry's boss, only to have the boss's wife (Cynthia Harris, who was Diane Nugent on The Bob Newhart Show) hit on him, it's mainly notable for a couple reasons.  One is that the show is never very good about handling the topic of sexual harassment, especially when Jack is the victim.  The other is that the producers must've really liked Charney, because they'd give him a fake beard and make him Jack's boss Mr. Angelino.

Paul Kent has his first of two 3'sC roles, Alvin Morrell.  Amusingly, Frances is played by an actress named Janet Wood.