Raise a glass at the Regal Beagle
"Three's Company" looks goofy enough in memory, basing almost every plot on Roper or Furley overhearing something and completely taking it out of context, but the writers get credit for making their slapsticky situations feel real. And Ritter gets the most credit, for carrying the whole goofy enterprise on his broad shoulders. His Jack was never cruel, never a jerk. You could write a book about the show's attitudes towards gays and women, but you never got a sense that any of that came from Ritter.Gael Fashingbauer Cooper: Test Pattern — Raise a glass at the Regal Beagle
Comments
does anyone understand this comment about the "shows attutudes toward women and gays"?
Posted by: j | September 15, 2003 2:04 PM
Hmm. Women were degraded as eye candy, being gay was fodder for big laffs and homophobia was condoned. (There was always controversy about Jack's supposed homosexuality, if I remember correctly.) Of course, this is typical of plenty of mass media, not just Three's Company. And the last I saw of the show was years ago on daytime TV, after getting home from school, so I'm no expert.
Posted by: nedlog | September 15, 2003 3:04 PM
as i recall; janet and mrs. roper were the smartest characters on the show and generally the only ones who knew what was going on. (Until nurse terry came on board as the intelligent blonde and moved jack into third place intellectually)
mr. roper was the only "homophobic" character and even he didn't mind so much as didn't wish to be around. many recurring and one off characters were occasionally "convinced" of jacks homosexuality without negative repercussion (aside from keeping jack from "getting any") and considering homosexuality was just entering the national discussion at the time, i think it was brave of the producers to work it into the programme at all, much less in a predominantly neutral tone. i even have a vauge recolection of jack hitting a guy at the beagle for making some homophobic remark (i'll try to confirm)
Posted by: j | September 15, 2003 3:16 PM
Part of the whole premise of the show was that Jack told the Ropers that he was gay in order to get the apartment. Otherwise they wouldn't have let him live with two women. That's why Mr. Roper is always making cracks about it, not because he's figured something out. I think quite a few episodes centered on Jack, who was actually straight, being able to have a normal sex life without the Ropers (or Mr. Firley) being able to find out.
Posted by: LionIndex | September 15, 2003 4:18 PM