30 years ago an effects-heavy, character-driven, cultural zeitgiest spectacle lit up the imaginations of people everywhere. No, I'm not talking about that tiny space movie called Star Wars, but about the era-defining, pop-culture phenomenon which was Three's Company.
"Come on knock on our doooor/We've been waiting for yooooou." That's how the immensely catchy theme song started. It tended to stick in your head and nearly drive you batty with the surpy-smooth vocals and sing-songy beat. By the summer of '77 nearly every TV watcher in the country was practically banging down the door to catch a glimpse of the often-tired, always-cliched, and instantly old-fashioned TV threesome of Jack, Janet and Chrissy. The laughs were cheap, the action stagey, and the dialogue rote, but somehow these three magical creatures wormed there way into our hearts for eight solid seasons.
Jack was the lone male in an apartment with one hot blonde (Chrissy) and one brunette toad (Janet). In order for him to share the apartment with females, he must pretend he's gay so the landlord, Mr Roper, doesn't think any hankypanky is a-happening. Jack was actually a man about town; perpetually dating hot little numbers he picked up at that seedy Regal Beagle, but rarely actually bedding them. Jack was prone to falling and getting into trouble. Luckily he had his best friend Larry there, always willing to throw Jack under the bus.
Chrissy was the classic dumb blonde: hot but stupid, just the way God intended. Basically she was a 5 year old girl stuck in a woman's body. A body that nearly every male character on the show lusted after, but never had. But Chrissy was smarter than your average (stuffed)bear and she time and again proved just how valuable a friend she was. So valuable, in fact, that she moved back home after just five seasons never to be heard from again.
Janet, on the other hand, was like the aged old hag trying desperately to get everyone's attention. She tried to get the world to revolve around her, but the world wasn't havin' any of it! Those large, pleading eyes spoke volumes of the inner-turmoil the actress was under. Those large, pleading eyes were also ringed with gobs of eyeliner and mascara--so much, in fact, she looked a little like a giant raccoon caught going through the garbage. Sometimes I think she really was. Her hairstyle changed a few times early on, but soon became the mullet we all retched in horror at for years after.
Each episode dealt with almost exactly the same situation (a misunderstanding happens, zany hijinks ensue), but packaged in a different way. Usually someone overhears a conversation already in progress and gets the wrong idea. Double entendres were as common as the laugh track. Almost every episode saw a pratfall from Jack, Mr Roper mugging for the camera, Chrissy forgetting the simplest of instructions, or Janet stomping around on those elephant legs of hers nearly causing the collapse of the entire set.
Yes, Three's Company changed the television landscape forever. It paved the way for low-brow, easily digestible, dumbed-down comedy for the simpleton (Chrissy!) that we still see to this very day. Without it, the world would never had had the opportunity to thumb their noses at it's two spin-offs, The Ropers and Three's a Crowd. 3's C, you will live on forever in our hearts and minds, and on TVLand. First three seasons: B-, each season thereafter: varying degrees from C+ to D-.
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