Bursting onto the television landscape in Spring 1977, Three's Company quickly skyrocketed in the ratings - cracking the top 8 every season except its last. Sporting a plethora of quirky characters and fresh writing talent that explored modern day issues, the show held its own as one of the funniest programs on TV. Picking up where All In The Family left off, Three's Company delved into the social taboos of its day, dealing with subjects such as homosexuality, racism, sexual harassment, and of course, unmarried men and women living together But the true success of Three's Company stemmed from the comic talents of John Ritter and Suzanne Somers who became instant stars as a result of their respective roles on the show In Three's Company, John Ritter plays the role of Jack Tripper, a young cooking student in San Diego who wants to move into an apartment with his two female friends - the far more mature Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and the blonde and ditsy Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers). But the three friends face the possible wrath of landlord Stanley Roper (Norman Fell), an old-fashioned guy who would never allow such an arrangement. With the aid of Roper's wife Helen (Audra Lindley), the three manage to convince Stanley that Jack is gay (when he is, in fact, a notorious ladies man). Jack's friend Larry (Richard Kline) also fashions himself a player on the local singles scene, and he makes regular appearances on the show. Following Season 3, Stanley and Helen left the show in pursuit of their own spin-off titled The Ropers. Don Knotts (of Andy Griffith Show fame) was brought in to play the new landlord, Mr. Furley - a nave, loud-mouthed ditz who tripled the hilarity of every scene in which he appeared The Three's Company (Season 1) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "A Man About the House" in which roommates Janet Wood and Chrissy Snow throw a going away party for their roommate Eleanor. In search of another roommate to lower the rent burden, the two run across Jack Tripper passed out in their bathtub. At first, the two women are apprehensive about Jack becoming their third roommate, but since they can't cook and he's in cooking school, they agree. The only problem is convincing their old-fashioned landlord Stanley Roper to allow a man to live with two women. They convince him by telling Stanley that Jack is gay Other notable episodes from the shortened Season 1 include "And Mother Makes Four" in which Chrissy attempts to conceal from her mother that a man is one of her roommates, and "Roper's Niece" in which Mr. Roper sets Jack up with his promiscuous niece in order to see if Jack is really gay Below is a list of episodes included on the Three's Company (Season 1) DVD: Episode 1 (A Man About the House) Air Date: 03-15-1977 Episode 2 (And Mother Makes Four) Air Date: 03-24-1977 Episode 3 (Roper's Niece) Air Date: 03-31-1977 Episode 4 (No Children, No Pets) Air Date: 04-07-1977 Episode 5 (Jack the Giant Killer) Air Date: 04-14-1977 Episode 6 (It's Only Money) Air Date: 04-21-1977 Britt Gillette |
