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And yet, she was the funniest female.
And yet, she was the funniest female.
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While I don't disagree, that would have been exceedingly rare for actors in the 70s/80s. I think O'Connor only got a salary bump after his AITF walkout. Production companies were desperate to keep actors from sharing backend profits. While the trio banding together might have worked, I think it's just as likely that all three would have been fired and three younger characters would have moved into Furley's building.
I look at it this way. Let’s say I’ve been working for a company for eight years, and in the last year, sales have dropped off. Management has decided that they’re going to revamp the product offering, and that will involve some of my colleagues leaving. They’ve confidentially shared the news with me and asked me to continue. I’m not going to tell people that their jobs are ending; that’s the job of management. And my manager would be angry with me if I took it upon myself to spread that news, leaving them to deal with the fallout.
But I appreciate your perspective. And It’s possible John viewed them as colleagues first, and Joyce viewed themselves as friends first, and that’s why she was upset with him. I never saw anything in the press that showed John being super tight with his former colleagues after the show over, FWIW. None of them ever appeared with him on his other series.
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...and maybe part of the reason Three's A Crowd was DOA was because the producers over-estimated the audience's willingness to follow Ritter/Jack to a new setting without DeWitt, Barnes, Knotts, etc. Struggling spin-offs often send in actors from the "mother ship" to help remind viewers of that old magic, but the way those others were 'discarded' made it highly unlikely they would want to reprise their roles in guest shots on TAC. Heck, they may have secretly enjoyed watching TAC go down in flames.
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It certainly didn't help that TC was already in decline. I haven't seen TAC in ages, but even looking at a cast photo there's an obvious problem. That cast just wasn't very good. Whatever flaws TC had, every iteration was stacked with likeable, fun actors playing endearing characters. Mary Cadorette was pleasant at best, and Robert Mandan reminds me of Gale Gordon, always kind of unlikable on screen. That worked fine on SOAP but when 2/3 of a cast is unremarkable or unlikeable, it's not off to a good start.
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THREE'S COMPANY had, according to Wikipedia, dropped to 33rd place by its eighth (1983-84) season. But how objective could the producers be to think the THREE'S A CROWD spin-off sequel could work? It was coldly unappealing in its shiny mid-'80s way, and even the title suggests an exclusionary rejection of the original show (i.e., everybody but Ritter).
Let's face it, though, THREE'S COMPANY was never the most sophisticated of material. And the behind-the-scenes people who were providing that material were presumably the same ones making the decisions about if, what, how, and when -- so could we be surprised that the spin-off tanked?
Of course, who knows how long THREE'S COMPANY could have continued had they not attempted the sequel?... Ninth seasons tend to see a creative upswing. I think it could have run 11 seasons, until 1987, before closing shop.
And I never even really liked it all that much!
Let's face it, though, THREE'S COMPANY was never the most sophisticated of material. And the behind-the-scenes people who were providing that material were presumably the same ones making the decisions about if, what, how, and when -- so could we be surprised that the spin-off tanked?
Of course, who knows how long THREE'S COMPANY could have continued had they not attempted the sequel?... Ninth seasons tend to see a creative upswing. I think it could have run 11 seasons, until 1987, before closing shop.
And I never even really liked it all that much!
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I tend to agree. I still liked the first 3 seasons best, with Jack, Chrissie, Janet, Mr & Mrs Roper
Don Knotts is always great, but the humor had gone too far over the top at that point
Richard Kline's role expanded and that worked well
But the show was never as funny or as good again without Suzanne Somers, despite the contract fiasco
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For me, I have the strongest fondness for the early Season 4 episodes that feature Lana and introduce Mr. Furley into the ensemble. I personally think that Mr. Furley worked better as part of the group, while the Ropers, who were quite funny, served best as a B-plot that wasn't always brought into the main story of the episode. But, that's just my opinion.
My fondness for those early Season 4 episodes comes from my discovering the show on TV Land many years ago and those being the first episodes I saw. If memory serves, one of the very first episodes I watched was "A-Camping We Will Go", and it remains my favorite. It's a hilarious episode and practically sums up what it takes to have a top-tier THREE'S COMPANY episode.
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She and her agent might have stood a chance there had her husband Alan Hamel had kept out of the negotiations. He was doing commercials for Aplha Beta (a grocery store) at the time but he sure did move in on her career once it was going.
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The "banding together" idea might've gotten the lead trio -- Ritter, DeWitt, and Somers -- a raise, but I seriously doubt it would've gotten them what Suzanne was seeking. She was requesting $150,000 per episode and 10% ownership of the show, which was a drastic increase from what she was already getting. John had it in his contract that he made more than Suzanne and Joyce, and the two girls had a "favored nations" clause in their contract, stating the two of them shared the same per episode salary. As producer Ted Bergmann stated, that would've put them at somewhere around $500,000 in just salary obligations for the three leads (excluding salaries for Don Knotts, Richard Kline, the guest stars, etc.) before they even started writing a script. THREE'S COMPANY was successful, but it wasn't that successful.
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I think Three's A Crowd could have worked had the show spent the last season setting up the spinoff by showing Jack meeting Vicki during the season and start dating, Janet meeting Phillip (they were adorable together in the few episodes I saw them in together), while Terri could have been shown getting restless at her job and figuring out if she wanted to stay in Calfornia or move.
So not only was behind the scenes not a healthy place, but the show bought the changes on in such quick succession that the audience didn't have time to adjust.
Watching the pilot episode of Three's a Crowd, I understood the addition of EZ.. a surfer dude with talents in the kitchen. An male 80s version of Chrissy Snow
So not only was behind the scenes not a healthy place, but the show bought the changes on in such quick succession that the audience didn't have time to adjust.
Watching the pilot episode of Three's a Crowd, I understood the addition of EZ.. a surfer dude with talents in the kitchen. An male 80s version of Chrissy Snow
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You know, I've never seen THREE'S A CROWD, and I've never really had a strong desire to so. From what I gather, the show was basically an attempt by ABC to keep John Ritter on their lineup in some form of a sitcom. The issue is THREE'S COMPANY had limped into exhaustion by its final season, which something even Ritter himself later admitted. Ritter said the show started "ripping off themselves", or something similar, when relaying the similarities between a first season and final season episode premise.
I honestly don't know how any of them thought THREE'S A CROWD was going to work. John Ritter was a very good physical comic and was quite good delivering a punchline, but ABC should've shaken things up and given him something entirely new to do. I understand their desire to keep him in a sitcom and their decision in building on the established THREE'S COMPANY brand, but the show had just worn itself out. He needed something new to move forward.
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I was too young to see TAC.. but I watch it on Tubi (a US streaming site).. and it's a charming show.. but it's limiting in terms of doors. You only have four main cast members (Jack, Vicky, Vicky's dad, and EZ) so the avenues to explore comedy are more limited vs in Three's Company where the three girls, Ropers/Furley, Larry, and Jack could provide plenty of avenues to explore.
I believe because the UK version had a spin off with the UK's version of Jack ( think it was called Robin's Nest), people at the network thought the USA should have one. I would have done it at least one to two seasons earlier before TC had started to grow stale.
Suzanne admitted that 150K was a starting point in the negotiations, and that she hoped they’d end up somewhere in the middle. A independent production company could not afford the deficit financing that six-figure salaries for the leads would have entailed. What the lead trio needed to negotiate was back-end points (profit participation) as Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams did a few years earlier. And they would have gotten it had they banded together. There was no way Taffner and associates would have risked the golden goose that was about to lay those huge syndication eggs. They could have afforded to give the trio a half percentage point each.
They should have spun off Three’s a Crowd a year earlier than they did, before the parent show dropped so drastically in the ratings. People were tiring of Three’s Company and the leads seemed too old to be living together at that point. Add to that the poorly-drawn new characters and the miscasting, and you’ve got a flop on your hands. Ritter never had to carry Three’s Company the way he did Three’s a Crowd, because he had a strong ensemble in the original series.
They should have spun off Three’s a Crowd a year earlier than they did, before the parent show dropped so drastically in the ratings. People were tiring of Three’s Company and the leads seemed too old to be living together at that point. Add to that the poorly-drawn new characters and the miscasting, and you’ve got a flop on your hands. Ritter never had to carry Three’s Company the way he did Three’s a Crowd, because he had a strong ensemble in the original series.
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I don't think John Ritter ever would have agreed to a group negotiation. I also wonder if Somers' husband was the more prominent one in the negotiations.
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I've never found Priscilla to be the funniest. Why do you think so? I do remember her being "smarter" and more sarcastic than Suzanne or Jenilee had been. Terri wasn't the "dumb blonde" Chrissy and Cindy were presented as.
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Yes, PB was a capable addition to the cast, but not funny. Suzanne Somers had that comedy the best of the three.
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Priscilla Barnes was probably the best actress on the show, but she wasn't as naturally funny. When she came on, she was the "straight" and Joyce became more spastic.
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I was watching the 2 part episode that introduced Terri onto the show.. and her character was a lot more sarcastic and looked as though she could call out Jack when he acted goofy.. but eventually they seemed to not do anything with her character other then be the logical and pragmatic one.. without Joyce Dewitt's facial expressions and line reading. Priscilla was more comedic on Jane the Virgin when she played Petra's OTT mother Magda.
Meanwhile, Jennilee Harrison wasn't funny either despite her best attempts at playing naive in a goofy way... but man she and John Ritter were a great physical comedy team. In season 6, Cindy the Maid was a pretty good showcase for her and I think she worked better in a supporting/recurring character way like Larry/Furley.
Suzanne was adorable, sweet, and intelligent in a naive way in season 1 to 2, season 3 was a perfect balance of a goofier Chrissy that still had the sweet warmth of season 1/2.. while season 4/5 was a Chrissy that I was surprised could wake up, dress herself, and go to work.
Sometimes Suzanne would do things in her career that kind of worked against her such as this one interview with a writer that worked on She's the Sherriff where Suzanne wanted the character to be written/presented like a Lucille Ball type of character while the writer stated that if they wrote the lead character like that.. it would hurt the show because no one would take her seriously as a sheriff. Suzanne won out, and it didn't work for the show or character.
Suzanne in one interview talked about Step by Step where she said she had to reign it in and not go for the joke/punch line because she was playing a sitcom mom.. but I will say that Carol Foster was quite a memorable sitcom mom for a 90s family friendly sitcom.. and she and Patrick Duffy had great chemistry and could banter back at one another with ease. That was where I noticed Suzanne getting the laugh was in scenes opposite Patrick Duffy while she played the mom aspects more straight.
Meanwhile, Jennilee Harrison wasn't funny either despite her best attempts at playing naive in a goofy way... but man she and John Ritter were a great physical comedy team. In season 6, Cindy the Maid was a pretty good showcase for her and I think she worked better in a supporting/recurring character way like Larry/Furley.
Suzanne was adorable, sweet, and intelligent in a naive way in season 1 to 2, season 3 was a perfect balance of a goofier Chrissy that still had the sweet warmth of season 1/2.. while season 4/5 was a Chrissy that I was surprised could wake up, dress herself, and go to work.
Sometimes Suzanne would do things in her career that kind of worked against her such as this one interview with a writer that worked on She's the Sherriff where Suzanne wanted the character to be written/presented like a Lucille Ball type of character while the writer stated that if they wrote the lead character like that.. it would hurt the show because no one would take her seriously as a sheriff. Suzanne won out, and it didn't work for the show or character.
Suzanne in one interview talked about Step by Step where she said she had to reign it in and not go for the joke/punch line because she was playing a sitcom mom.. but I will say that Carol Foster was quite a memorable sitcom mom for a 90s family friendly sitcom.. and she and Patrick Duffy had great chemistry and could banter back at one another with ease. That was where I noticed Suzanne getting the laugh was in scenes opposite Patrick Duffy while she played the mom aspects more straight.
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Priscilla Barnes was honestly a strong addition to the cast, at least initially. But, as previously stated, Barnes herself felt so overwhelmed by the swarm of publicity she received by getting the THREE'S COMPANY job that it ended up hindering her. To top it off, she apparently went to the producers and asked for a release from her contract, but they were determined to hold her to her three-year deal. They were perfectly fine with sidelining her for those final three seasons, though. Priscilla as Terri could be funny, but I just don't see her as funny as the earlier blonde roommates. Which, to be fair, that might not be Priscilla's fault, but the continuous decline in the show itself.
I'm divided here. I thought Jenilee Harrison was very pretty and brought a young freshness to the show that could be humorous and, when executed right, quite funny. The problem was Jenilee was very young (perhaps too young for the show), and the writers and the producers never saw her as a permanent replacement. Jenilee was merely recruited to finish out Season 5. The producers were pretty obvious that they just wanted a "replacement character" that could help use up some of the scripts they had already written for Suzanne as Chrissy, which was both a cost-saving and time-saving decision. Indeed, if memory serves, some scripts merely crossed out "Chrissy" and penned in "Cindy" and called it a day.
I will say, though, that Cindy worked very well in a secondary character compacity. It must've been awkward for Jenilee and Priscilla, too. The replacement working with the one she's replacing... and then Cindy's just gone after Janet's mean to her in the episode where Janet decides blondes do really have more fun when she wears a wig. Anyway, poor Jenilee got a sour deal, I'd say, but she wasn't bitter. She ended up on DALLAS, and seems to have been fulfilled outside of show business, too.
Early Suzanne was best. Still, the show was never quite the same without her.
I've never seen SHE'S THE SHERIFF, and based on the reviews, I don't think I've missed very much. Suzanne was supposed to go into THE SUZANNE SOMERS SHOW on CBS when she walked out on THREE'S COMPANY, but that never bore fruition. ABC caught wind of the emerging sitcom over on their rival network, CBS, and threatened to sue if Suzanne's new TV character resembled "Chrissy Snow" in any way. So, CBS bucked under the pressure and eventually scrapped their deal with Suzanne.
Much like Farrah when she left CHARLIE'S ANGELS, Suzanne upset the wrong people when she decided to overplay her hand and leave THREE'S COMPANY. Her career immediately went on the wane, and it suffered for a few years as a result. It was as if the industry was popping her hand for leaving the show that made her a household name.
I recall watching STEP BY STEP (a BRADY BUCNH redo for the 1990s) when it was in reruns on ABC Family back when I was young. It was never really a favorite, but it was in the same rotation with FULL HOUSE and FAMILY MATTERS, all TGIF shows, so I watched them all.
I will say, though, that STEP BY STEP was better than the most. Suzanne and Patrick Duffy shared good chemistry together.