Three's Company was basically a farce comedy, so maybe Suzanne Somers was directed to be more oblivious, to make it work the way that the producers wanted.
In any case, the show was never as good without her IMHO.
I agree, the show wasn't as good without Suzanne Somers. It injured the chemistry, even if the off-camera situation was better.
I never cared for the Janet character - too self-righteous/judgmental for the first 4-5 years of the show.
Janet was never supposed to be the "funny" character, or at least that's how it came off. She could drop a one-liner and dabble in some physical comedy, but she was basically the straight-woman to Jack, Chrissy, and the rest of the cast pretty much. They do let her relax a little as time lingered on, which I guess can be conjured up to the show's longevity and rotating "blonde roommate" scenario.
As a side note, once Joyce Dewitt got her hair cut before the start of Season 4, I found her to be far prettier than Suzanne Somers. If I'm being honest, even the short-running Ann Wedgeworth was prettier than Suzanne to me.
Priscilla Barnes seemed like she was playing a generic character/plot device - she was whatever the show needed to make the script work.
There were apparently a lot of issues surrounding Priscilla Barnes once she joined the show. As I stated above, she felt the immediate attention she received was unwarranted and it scared her. She wasn't prepared for the fame, but she should've known that was going to come by joining a "hot" show like THREE'S COMPANY, especially when she was the second replacement in a year's span of time. Likewise, there were evidently numerous reasons Terri was kept more in the background and basically there to help the title make sense in the final seasons.
Don Knotts is a terrific comedic actor, but I preferred the Jack/Chrissie/Janet/Mr and Mrs Roper years
Don Knotts was the perfect successor to Norman Fell and Audra Lindley, and if I do say so myself, I didn't really miss the Ropers once they were gone. Of course, I loved their chemistry with one another and the three roommates, but Knotts slid into the cast and fit in so easily. His type of comedy was tailor-made for the show.
There's a story surrounding all of that, too, but you probably already know it. Norman Fell didn't want to do THE ROPERS spinoff, but was pressured into doing it by Audra Lindley, the producers, and the network. Still very reluctant, Fell only agreed to the spinoff if the producers gave him the guarantee he could return to THREE'S COMPANY if THE ROPERS failed. The producers told him if the spinoff failed to go beyond a single season, he could return to the parent show. This is where they got Fell and used this agreement against him. When THE ROPERS failed after a season-and-a-half, Fell asked to return to THREE'S COMPANY. The producers told him that wasn't going to happen because the spinoff had ran longer than the designated time frame. Also, the cost-cautious producers realized that Don Knotts was single-handedly filling a vacancy previously held by two actors.
But, as I say, you probably know all of that.
Richard Kline was a good supporting actor who worked well with the cast, and he had a larger role after Suzanne Somers departed
Richard Kline's Larry is a bit of a creep, but I think that's the "point" of his character. He is quite funny and a good counterpoint to Jack.
I disagree about Jenilee Harrison on Dallas - I thought she showed a lot of growth as an actress. I wouldn't say it was an Emmy worthy performance, but it was better than I expected.
While I can see your points, I'm just not a fan of Jenilee on DALLAS. But, to each their own.
By season 4, maybe Suzanne Somers had become a little too popular for the rest of cast's liking. Yes, she did mess up the contract negotiations, but I always thought that the cast was too unforgiving for too long a period.
Suzanne was the celebrity of the show. She's the one that got all the publicity, the magazine covers, the interviews. She was the breakout star. I'm sure that rubbed some people the wrong way, but as you've said, she overplayed her hand when it came to her contract negotiations in 1980. Somers herself later said, "Never think you're no replaceable."
John Ritter certainly had other successes, but Joyce DeWitt not so much (Sour Grapes?)
Of course, Suzanne Somers eventually reclaimed her career
John had success on the big and small screens, while I think Joyce pretty much said she was fine with semi-retirement after eight years on a network sitcom. And, yes, Suzanne rebounded with the thigh master and STEP BY STEP.
