Who's the Boss?: Micelli's Marauders

The 1986 movie Stewardess School, with
Cadorette, Sperber, and of course Judy Landers

Who's the Boss?: Micelli's Marauders
ABC
January 30, 1990
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Two of the friends that Angela met at the gym earlier in the season, Carol (Soap's Randee Heller) and Deb (Three's a Crowd's Mary Cadorette), return and are joined by another ABC sitcom veteran, Wendie Jo Sperber as Lori.  The "girls" are all on a volleyball team which Angela encourages Tony to coach.  He does but she feels neglected.  Then towards the end we find out that he took her for granted because he sees her as strong.  There's some weird flirting here, like when she says she wanted him to "whip" her, too, that is, whip her into shape, and when he says she's a babe when her shorts ride up.  (Adam I. Lapidus's other WtB script, "Allergic to Love," is also odd.)  Note that her friends see them as a couple, despite her disclaimers months ago.

This is the 1300th sitcom episode I've reviewed.  We will definitely hit 1400.

Who's the Boss?: Sex, Lies and Exercise Tape

Randee Heller in exercise garb

Who's the Boss?: Sex, Lies and Exercise Tape
ABC
November 21, 1989
Sitcom
DVD
B

Seth Weisbord wrote this story where Angela joins a health club and wants to befriend "the cool girls," two of whom are played by actresses I was pleased to see again at the time: Three's Company/a Crowd's Mary Cadorette as Deb and Soap's Randee Heller as Carol, both of whom would return later in the season.  Angela has bad memories of high school, as we know, so this influences her to first let the girls think that she's having an affair with Tony, and then to accept a date with Carol's brother.

Tony's reactions to the situation, including when Ernie, the short, gossipy water-man (Ralph P. Martin in the first of ten appearances), tells him rumors about Angela having an affair with an employee, are quite funny and revealing.  He does promise to cancel a date he made out of jealousy but then goes out with the woman anyway, yet I suppose I can cut him a little slack, since Angela did something similar when she went out with Mr. March.  On the other hand, that was much earlier in the series and in the relationship, so it does seem wrong of Tony to do this so soon after "Jamaica."  He redeems himself a little in the tag, where he appears as Angela's nerdy old crush.

Three's Company: Friends and Lovers

Three's Company: Friends and Lovers
ABC
September 18, 1984
Sitcom
DVD
B

Burditt, Ross, and West wrote this series finale, which morphs into Three's a Crowd at the end.  At least this time, Janet is given some more attention, although we still don't see much of Phillip.  And Terri's plan to move to Hawaii would drop out of syndication.  Still, it's easy to believe that the emotions were real (DeWitt was on the verge of tears for many reasons), and there are some good moments.  I never cared for Robin's Nest, but I like Cadorette as Vicky, and Mandan is always fun.  I enjoyed 3'saC at the time but haven't seen it since I think the late '80s.  Of course I would've liked Company to keep going, but I was mostly OK with it ending like this.  I might've felt differently had I known that Crowd would last only one season, but maybe not.  Note that Jack is too old-fashioned to live with someone non-platonically, but Terri convinces him he shouldn't lose Vicky.  And when he's nervous about his first night with Vicky in their apartment over the restaurant (now no longer just one room), she knows how to put him at his ease.

Henry Sutton, who was Mr. Graves on Bosom Buddies, plays the Minister.  Robert Clotworthy returns in the role of Phillip's relative Tony Williams.

Three's Company in its final season ranges from C to B+, but about half of the episodes earn B-, and that is the average.  So I don't think it ever jumped the shark, although it never topped the first season.

Three's Company: Cupid Works Overtime

Meet-cute and spin-off launcher.

Three's Company: Cupid Works Overtime
ABC
May 15, 1984
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Show creators Michael "Mickey" Ross and Bernie West co-wrote this episode with George Burditt.  (Don Nicholl died in the summer of '80, another reason Season Five was dramatic behind the scenes.)  I like how they acknowledge that Jack and Janet have a history in the apartment, as when she says they had a lot of fun there and he says, "Ain't dat the truth?"  However, it does bug me that less energy goes into establishing Janet's relationship, or even chemistry, with Phillip than went into some of her one-episode boyfriends.  I realize that the producers were eager to transition over to the sequel, and so the focus is mostly on Jack's relationship with Vicky Bradford (Cadorette), but I don't like seeing Janet short-changed like this, especially when her engagement should be a bigger deal.  This episode also introduces Robert Mandan as Vicky's father, James Bradford, and Mandan is basically in Chester Tate mode, without the lechery and deceit, i.e. he's pompous and he disapproves of his daughter's "low-class" boyfriend.

The version on DVD says to be continued next week, but it would in fact be the next Fall before this series wrapped up.