Three's Company: Season 5

Description

Product description Ah, the simple pleasure of flagrant sexual innuendo! Three's Company, a 1970s sitcom about a guy pretending to be gay so his prudish landlord will let him live with two female roommates, became a top-rated show thanks to jokes and allusions that se desertcart.com Ah, the simple pleasure of flagrant sexual innuendo! Three's Company, a 1970s sitcom about a guy pretending to be gay so his prudish landlord will let him live with two female roommates, became a top-rated show thanks to jokes and allusions that seem startling explicit even now. Such nudge-nudge wink-wink ribaldry would never have made it on the air were it not for star John Ritter, whose charisma was demonstrated most clearly in the show's rocky fifth season. Ritter's co-star Suzanne Somers, her ego swollen from sex symbol celebrity, demanded more money than her co-stars and swiftly got axed (though she still appears in the opening credits for the rest of the season). Her replacement Jenilee Harrison never developed the same chemistry with the other two actors, yet the show maintained its high ratings--proving how much the show rode on Ritter's shoulders (though one positive side effect of Somers' departure is that co-star Joyce DeWitt got more to do, as she was a fine comedienne in her own right). Three's Company was the most farcical show on American television, taking silly scenarios--for example, Jack Tripper (Ritter) finds himself obliged to cook three different dinners in three apartments; or, in order to date his landlord's sexy niece, Jack pretends to have a twin brother named Austin--and pushing them until getting in and out of a room became a fight with the laws of physics. When Chrissy's cousin Cindy (Harrison) joined the cast, her character's clumsiness multiplied the slapstick (one particularly elaborate bit traps Jack in an ironing board). The cocktail of physical mayhem and an endless parade of tight-fitting short-shorts and skimpy nighties (19-year-old Harrison, a former professional cheerleader, was the season's main eye-candy) could have felt lewd and sleazy (imagine, with a shudder, if upstairs neighbor Richard Kline had been the show's star)--but somehow, no matter how craven or lecherous Jack behaved, Ritter remained likable and even inexplicably innocent. Three's Company's scripts weren't always comic gold--over the 22 episodes in this season, sexual misunderstandings pile up like bodies in a WWII movie--but Ritter dependably squeezed out laughs without ever seeming desperate. His relaxed persona, combined with sharp comic timing, made him one of the most enduring television personalities of all time. This box set also features interviews with the producers and with Harrison; nothing surprising gets said, but Harrison--after some ill-advised face-lifts and collagen injections--looks like a frightening caricature of Angelina Jolie. --Bret Fetzer Review: Great Season With New Characters That Are Just Dynamite - 5-01 Upstairs Downstairs Downstairs: Jack promises to cook the girls a dinner while at the same time going on a date with a girl Larry hooked him up with. 5-02 And Justice for Jack: When Jack does not reciprocate his female boss' come ons, she fires him. 5-03 A Hundred Dollars a What?: Chrissy's high school friend turns out to be a hundred dollars a night hooker. 5-04 Downhill Chaser: In order to impress his new girlfriend who is an avid skier, Jack pretends to be into skiing as well and goes on a skiing trip with her. 5-05 A Crowded Romance: Jack and Larry are both dating the same girl and don't know it. 5-06 Room at the Bottom: Too embarrassed to admit that he was hired as a busboy, Jack tells his friends that he just landed a job as chef in a prestigious French restaurant. 5-07 Chrissy's Cousin: Trying to fill Chrissy's spot in the apartment now that she is gone, everyone introduces a potential new roommate to the apartment until Chrissy's cousin Cindy shows up. 5-08 Jack to the Rescue: When Janet and Jack find out about all the non-secretarial work Cindy is asked to do at her job they decide to help her stand up to her boss. 5-09 The Not-So-Great Imposter: To get a new job, Jack assumes the identity of a famous chef not knowing that a lot of people have it in for that person. 5-10 Jack's Other Mother: After helping an old lady carry her groceries up the stairs, Jack suddenly finds himself with a new mother who smothers him with affection and becomes an interfering nuisance in all aspects of his life. 5-11 Make Room for Daddy: Jack gives dating advice to his date's widowed father in the hopes of winning his approval of their relationship. When he uses that advice on Janet, Jack is not too thrilled. 5-12 Janet's Secret: Jack agrees to pretend to be Janet's husband when her parents pay an unexpected visit. 5-13 Father of the Bride: Cindy is hounded by an eccentric millionaire who wants to marry her and won't take "no" for an answer. 5-14 Furley Versus Furley: The trio allows Mr. Furley to move in with them after Janet inadvertently causes his ruthless brother Bart to fire him from his job as building manager. 5-15 In Like Larry: Jack becomes fed up with his roommates after another fight, and Larry agrees to swap apartments. 5-16 Teacher's Pet: Dean Travers gives Jack his dream opportunity to teach a night school basic cooking class. However, it quickly turns into a nightmare when he refuses the advances of Travers' flirtatious niece. 5-17 And Baby Makes Four: Cindy becomes concerned with the welfare of a waitress at the Reagle Beagle who is a single mother-to-be. Cindy's limited explanation of the situation causes her roommates to conclude that she is pregnant. 5-18 Night of the Ropers: Mrs. Roper pays the trio an unexpected visit after having a falling out with Stanley, and they suggest that she spend the night in her old apartment since Mr. Furley is away. 5-19 Double Trouble: Jack poses as his heterosexual identical twin brother by donning a cowboy hat and speaking with a drawl in order to take Mr. Furley's visiting niece out. 5-20 Dying to Meet You: Jack inadvertently becomes involved in a spat between a girl and her insanely jealous boyfriend who believes Jack is trying to steal her. 5-21 The Case of the Missing Blonde: Jack and Janet think Cindy was kidnapped after arriving home late one night from seeing a horror movie and discover Cindy isn't home. 5-22 Honest Jack Tripper: Jack decides to be honest from now on no matter what. A decision that ends up creating many more problems than it solves. Review: Hurricane Cindy passing through... - There are 4 discs in this set. I've been watching Three's Company ever since I was a kid and to this day it is still one of my favorite shows, if not THE favorite. I still always have to catch the reruns on TVLand. I, like so many others, always preferred the Chrissy or Terri episodes over the Cindy ones, that is until I recently re-watched this one episode on TVLand where Cindy moves in and it made me laugh out loud. So to desertcart I came to buy this DVD set for this specific reason. For that one episode where Cindy moves in -- It has got to be one of John Ritter's funniest episodes because Cindy ends up putting Jack through so much, and there is Jack tripping over things and being knocked everywhere by Cindy's clutziness... Showing John Ritter for what he was awesome at - physical comedy. Not to mention Joyce Dewitt (Janet) is funny in these episodes too. So why do so many people knock it? It's hilarious! But then again when is Three's Company not funny. Still makes you laugh after all these years!! *(Just as a sidenote, in my opinion the other of John's funniest episodes ever would have to be when Jack takes tranqs for a plane ride but that is found on another dvd set not this one.)