Three's Company

[Crimson]

She disrupted production, lied quite a bit (according to Joyce) and alienated pretty much the entire cast and crew. They were all sick of her at the end. Suzanne tells of a story where she ran into the show’s wardrobe master on the street one day years after the show ended. And he crossed the street to avoid talking to her.

I sometimes wonder if there's more to the story than what we've heard because the reactions to Suzanne's shenanigans were just so overwrought. Sure, she disrupted production for a period of time, but they also carried on just fine without her. Sure, she told some lies but, as far as I know, none of them were personal or malicious about her co-stars. Annoying stuff but hardly seems worthy of holding a grudge for decades.

 

[ClassyCo]

I sometimes wonder if there's more to the story than what we've heard because the reactions to Suzanne's shenanigans were just so overwrought. Sure, she disrupted production for a period of time, but they also carried on just fine without her. Sure, she told some lies but, as far as I know, none of them were personal or malicious about her co-stars. Annoying stuff but hardly seems worthy of holding a grudge for decades.

People, whether celebrities or not, are childish.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I sometimes wonder if there's more to the story than what we've heard because the reactions to Suzanne's shenanigans were just so overwrought. Sure, she disrupted production for a period of time, but they also carried on just fine without her. Sure, she told some lies but, as far as I know, none of them were personal or malicious about her co-stars. Annoying stuff but hardly seems worthy of holding a grudge for decades.

Mostly agree. Yes, Suzanne Somers did not negotiate well, and there was a distraction, but the response by the Production team, Ritter and DeWitt seemed way out of proportion. She is not the first actor/actress who evet complicated production in a contract negotiation.
It took a while, but Suzanne Somers eventually found success again on television. DeWitt never seemed to have much visibility after Three's Company, and she didn't seemed to blame Ritter for not being in the next show. Maybe DeWitt didn't like the fact that Suzanne Somers continued to gain roles, at least after a while.

 

[ClassyCo]

DeWitt never seemed to have much visibility

The only thing I've seen her in outside of THREE'S COMPANY is the Reelz reality show HOLLYWOOD HILLBILLIES. They saw her at a restaurant and one of the ladies recognized her.

Maybe DeWitt didn't like the fact that Suzanne Somers continued to gain roles, at least after a while

Suzanne, I've seen her in STEP BY STEP and her cameo in SERIAL MOM, but that's it. Don't think I've seen her in anything else.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

The only thing I've seen her in outside of THREE'S COMPANY is the Reelz reality show HOLLYWOOD HILLBILLIES. They saw her at a restaurant and one of the ladies recognized her.


Suzanne, I've seen her in STEP BY STEP and her cameo in SERIAL MOM, but that's it. Don't think I've seen her in anything else.

The short-lived She's the Sheriff and the infomercials.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Suzanne, I've seen her in STEP BY STEP and her cameo in SERIAL MOM, but that's it. Don't think I've seen her in anything else.

SHE’S THE SHERIFF is another one I just thought of but that was such a blink and you’ll miss it type show really.

The short-lived She's the Sheriff and the infomercials.

Looks like we had the same thought and typed it the same time

 

[ClassyCo]

The short-lived She's the Sheriff and the infomercials.

In 2002, SHE'S THE SHERIFF was ranked number 44 on TV GUIDE's "50 Worst TV Shows of All Time".

 

[DallasFanForever]

In 2002, SHE'S THE SHERIFF was ranked number 44 on TV GUIDE's "50 Worst TV Shows of All Time".

I believe it. I vaguely recall watching it when it was on but for the life of me I can’t remember anything about it other than Suzanne wearing a sheriff’s uniform.

 

[Sarah Danner]

I liked Jenilee Harrison more than Priscilla Barnes on there anyway. Seems Jenilee wanted to be there and Priscilla not. Too bad they couldn't cut the cord with PB and allow JH to remain. I was pleased she landed the role on Dallas a few years later.....only to be killed off......twice.

 

[ClassyCo]

I liked Jenilee Harrison more than Priscilla Barnes on there anyway. Seems Jenilee wanted to be there and Priscilla not. Too bad they couldn't cut the cord with PB and allow JH to remain. I was pleased she landed the role on Dallas a few years later.....only to be killed off......twice.

Jenilee was just filler. She was hired to absorb some of the scripts they had already written with Suzanne. They might've tweaked the stories some, but they wanted to cut costs wherever they could.

Priscilla Barnes tested for Cindy Snow, or so I've read, but they didn't think she was a good fit. Once all the old Suzanne scripts were shot with Jenilee, they decided to bring the more experienced Priscilla aboard and replaced Jenilee -- well, they demoted her, then axed her entirely.

Priscilla has said how overwhelmed she was when she got hired. She was flooded with voicemails and invitations to be on every talk show or magazine cover imaginable. She felt smothered and like there was so much pressure on her without her having done anything to deserve it.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I liked Jenilee Harrison more than Priscilla Barnes on there anyway. Seems Jenilee wanted to be there and Priscilla not. Too bad they couldn't cut the cord with PB and allow JH to remain. I was pleased she landed the role on Dallas a few years later.....only to be killed off......twice.

I liked the whole “clumsy” aspect of Cindy and how she was always injuring Jack somehow. I felt they played off each other very well.

 

[ClassyCo]

I liked the whole “clumsy” aspect of Cindy and how she was always injuring Jack somehow. I felt they played off each other very well.

Jenilee Harrison has said that she and John Ritter wore pads under their clothes because there was so much physical comedy involved in their scenes together.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Jenilee Harrison has said that she and John Ritter wore pads under their clothes because there was so much physical comedy involved in their scenes together.

I wasn’t aware of that but I definitely believe it. Those scenes were always fun to watch. Of course they were a little predictable as you knew poor Jack would always get the worst of it.

 

[Sarah Danner]

I never understood why they couldn't just pair up Jack and Janet for Three's A Crowd. They were the last two left from the original main bunch. The two of them could've hooked up, moved away and the "crowd" could've been Larry (Richard Kline) who moved in with the couple because he needed a place to stay. Or they could have had Macon McCalman reprise his role as Janet's father. Or recast him with Robert Mandan if they felt the need for a "name actor".

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Jenilee was just filler. She was hired to absorb some of the scripts they had already written with Suzanne. They might've tweaked the stories some, but they wanted to cut costs wherever they could.

Priscilla Barnes tested for Cindy Snow, or so I've read, but they didn't think she was a good fit. Once all the old Suzanne scripts were shot with Jenilee, they decided to bring the more experienced Priscilla aboard and replaced Jenilee -- well, they demoted her, then axed her entirely.

Priscilla has said how overwhelmed she was when she got hired. She was flooded with voicemails and invitations to be on every talk show or magazine cover imaginable. She felt smothered and like there was so much pressure on her without her having done anything to deserve it.

For someone who landed such a major role on a show with large ratings, Priscilla Barnes' comments seem odd.
Maybe the inevitable comparisons to Suzanne Somers played a part.
Maybe the leap to such a visible role was difficult for her.
Still, arole so many actresses would have wanted

 

[DallasFanForever]

I never understood why they couldn't just pair up Jack and Janet for Three's A Crowd. They were the last two left from the original main bunch. The two of them could've hooked up, moved away and the "crowd" could've been Larry (Richard Kline) who moved in with the couple because he needed a place to stay. Or they could have had Macon McCalman reprise his role as Janet's father. Or recast him with Robert Mandan if they felt the need for a "name actor".
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I’m kind of torn on this one. I do agree with what you say because Jack and Janet had a lot of history to draw from plus the actors had great chemistry. But ultimately I kind of viewed them as more of a brother-sister type relationship than I did as a couple and I’m afraid because of that it might not have worked. Of course that’s just my opinion though.

I really didn’t mind Vicki at all and no disrespect to the actress but had Three’s a Crowd been Jack & Janet’s show instead it would’ve had a better chance of making it given their history.

 

[Chris2]

Agreed that Jack and Janet were like brother and sister - I wouldn’t have bought a romance.

For TAC, Jack needed a spunkier, sexier partner. Vicky was sweet and dull.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Agreed that Jack and Janet were like brother and sister - I wouldn’t have bought a romance.

For TAC, Jack needed a spunkier, sexier partner. Vicky was sweet and dull.

I think another problem was Vicky and Jack met at the very end of the show. I understand why things were done this way but they had so little history together that there was no time for fans to get vested in them, and this carried over into the spinoff. They literally just had that one episode together where they met on the plane before the show ended. Perhaps it was doomed to fail no matter who Jack ended up with considering the way it was done.

 

[Crimson]

My bigger problem with Jack + Janet is that it doesn't seem enough of a change to warrant a spin-off -- it's THREE'S COMPANY MINUS ONE.

I wonder if this could have worked: Terri moves out (since Priscilla was unhappy anyway) and Larry moves in. Premise stays the same, but now it's Janet with two male roommates. And no matter what, the Ropers should have moved back into the building even if they were only seen sporadically as guest stars.

 

[Chris2]

I think that setup could have worked a few years earlier, like when they were looking to replace Suzanne. But by the time they got to season 8, that group of people was looking awfully old to still be living together. Originally the actors were in their late 20s playing seven or eight years younger. But now the actors were in their mid 30s (Richard Kline was actually 40 when the show ended). They were getting closer to middle age and what was funny for younger characters didn’t work as well anymore.