Three's Company: The Matchbreakers

Three's Company: The Matchbreakers
ABC
January 12, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This is the second of two 3'sC stories written by Bryan Joseph.  (In '77 he adapted a Man About the House episode into "Alone Together.")  Sophisticated Marsha Whitewood (Ruta Lee, who had been Mr. Roper's real estate agent when he sold the building) starts dating Mr. Furley after he tells her he owns the building.  The trio worry that she's a gold-digger, which indirectly leads to Larry dressing up as "Mrs. Furley," the ex-wife.  He does more with drag than Jack did in "Jack on the Lam," although I'm unclear where he got the wardrobe and wig that quickly.  (From a girlfriend?  That must've been an interesting conversation.)  And Lee gives a good performance.

Note that Mr. Furley worries that he's not macho enough and then, thanks to the trio, that he's too macho.  Machismo, as we saw on Bosom Buddies the previous week, was viewed ambiguously at that time.  (In a different way than now I mean, when the term is used less often for one thing.)