credit: www.amazon.com
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: October 3, 2006
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 21
Running Time: 550 Minutes
MSRP: $29.98
Creator:
Brian Cooke & Johnnie Mortimer
Cast:
John Ritter..”¦”¦..Jack Tripper
Joyce DeWitt..”¦”¦..Janet Wood
Priscilla Barnes..”¦”¦..Terri Alden
Richard Kline”¦”¦”¦.Larry Dallas
Don Knotts..”¦”¦..Ralph Furley
The show:
“Come and knock on our door!” A classic theme for a classic show. When Three’s Company first went on the air in 1977 a classic comedy was instantly born. The chemistry between Jack Ritter, Joyce Dewitt and Susan Summers was perfect and the show was the exemplar of the situation comedy. After the fifth season Summers had had enough and thus Priscilla Barnes was brought in as Terri.
Some shows, like Seinfeld, knew when it was time to end and get out before the act got stale. Unfortunately Three’s Company didn’t know how to do this. Ideally, when Summers left the show should have ended. That’s not to say anything bad about Barnes; she was fine, but there was really no replacing Summers.
In this, the last season of the show, the humor was running very thin. There are humors moments, but they are few and far between. The ridiculous situations are still at a peak, but without the humor to back them up the situations just get completely out of hand and annoying. From Janet thinking Jack is dating a hooker to Jack getting entered in a woman only cooking contest, there are more groans than laughs.
The biggest laughs in the show come from Ritter, the king of physical comedy himself. However, DeWitt and Barnes have their moments too. Don Knotts, the incorrigible Mr. Furley, always pops his head in for a snicker or two as well as Richard Kline, the slimy Larry. But they all just seem to be repeating the same jokes over and over.
There’s no denying this was one of the classic comedies of the 70’s, however this season is not the one to watch. A few of the episodes are okay, but to watch several in a row is down right torture. It gets really painful there towards the end, although I will give the show this; they actually give the show a proper ending and it leads right into the spin-off Three’s A Crowd. For better or for worse.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Jack, Be Quick
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
The Money Machine
Out On A Limb
Alias Jack Tripper
Hearing Is Believing
Disc Two:
Grandma Jack
Like Father, Like Son
The Odd Couples
Now You See It, Now You Don’t
The Charming Stranger
Janet Shapes Up
Disc Three:
Itching For Trouble
Baby, It’s Cold Inside
Look What I Found
Jack’s Tattoo
Jack Takes Off
Forget Me Not
Disc Four:
The Heiress (a.k.a. The Inheritance)
Cupid Works Overtime
Friends And Lovers (2 part episode)
The DVD:
VIDEO: How does it look?
(Presented with a 1.33:1 full screen aspect ratio)
For being over 20 years old these episodes look really nice. Nare a blemish to be found.
AUDIO: How does it sound?
(Dolby Stereo)
The sound here is just fine as well. No real problems to speak of.
Extras:
Bloopers: (20 min.) These are some pretty good bloopers, you can tell this cast had a real good time making this show. John Ritter is really funny in these.
John Ritter: Working With A Master: (25 min.) Interviews with John’s wife and one of the directors of the show inner cut with many clips from the show. They cover, his ability to make guest stars feel at home and his choreography. They also talk about when he won the Emmy and show the footage, which is really neat.
Usted Habla Three’s Company?: (2 min.) This is a clip of an episode with Janet dubbed in Spanish. Why this is here I’m not sure, it’s kinda funny”¦ I guess.
Best Of Jack Janet, Terri, Larry, & Mr. Furley: (12, 12, 9, 11 & 12 min.) These are little montages for each of the characters. They really are the best of the season but if you’ve just watched the season, then watching these is kind of redundant. I guess these would be good if you wanted a laugh without watching a whole episode.
The Inside Pulse
There’s no denying that Three’s Company is one of the all time classic sitcoms, however this season is below par compared to previous ones. This is really only for hard-core fans of the show. I would suggest everyone else going back and watching better seasons.
