Three’s Company – Season Three

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: B-     Episodes: B

 

 

By 1978, Three’s Company was one of the biggest hits on television and was on its way to TV immortality.  If anything, the comic timing became tighter and the scripts continued to be as clever as ever.  Season Three is one of the most memorable seasons of any situation comedy in TV history, with the following shows over four DVDs:

 

1)     Double Date

2)     Good Old Reliable Janet

3)     The Love Diary

4)     The Fast

5)     Helen’s Rendezvous

6)     My Sister’s Keeper

7)     Chrissy & The Guru

8)     Larry’s Bride

9)     Chrissy’s New Boss

10)  The Crush

11)  The Kleptomaniac

12)  The Party’s Over

13)  Eleanor’s Return

14)  The Older Woman

15)  Stanley’s Hotline

16)  The Catered Affair

17)  The Best Laid Plans

18)  The Harder They Fall

19)  The Bake-Off (Commentary track)

20)  An Anniversary Surprise (with Ruta Lee as Mrs. Dawson, the real estate woman)

21)  Jack Moves Out (John Larroquette as The Cop)

22)  Triangle Troubles

 

 

Even reading some of the titles should give you an idea of which show is which, though the titles never appeared (and still d not in any of the copies here) on any of the broadcast copies of the shows.  This has always been the case with just about all the situation comedies ever made, though they usually have them in most cases, especially for Emmy consideration.  This is one of those rare TV seasons where everything seems to work pretty much all the time.  It is amazing how well this season holds up, and though its production time is over a quarter-century ago, it somehow stays fresh in ways most of the sitcoms made ever since and especially today could not put a patch on.  Though there were not as many name guest stars this season, they got some great character actors who did not get better roles later.

 

Sadly, this is the last season for The Ropers, who sell the building in the episode An Anniversary Surprise.  Their Ropers spin-off followed and sadly did not work out like it should have.  That means this was the last time the classic line-up would have this great run.  Suzanne Somers’ departure would follow, but the show would still find ways to reinvent itself.  The classical era had still come to an end.

 

The full frame image is once again from the NTSC analog videotape the show was shot on and the DVD’s MPEG-2 decoding shows its limits as much as all the other shows from this period of time would.  With that said, it does not look bad, though it reminds us how young color videotape still was at the time.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also good enough, with all the jokes still clear enough.  This set has extras on DVD 4, including another good audio commentary on The Bake-Off by series scholar Chris Mann that can only be accessed through the extras section.  There are also featurettes on highlights on the four main characters for the season, a second pilot where Joyce DeWitt had been cast, a new blooper reel, another remembrance of John Ritter, three promos Ritter did for syndication including for the TBS network, and new interviews with Richard Klein and Dave Powers, introduced by DeWitt.  Anchor Bay has compiled yet another set worthy of a great show.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo