'Three's Company' Hasn't Aged Well and Here's Why

Three's Company is still hilarious, and essentially harmless.

Wait until the writer/AI finds out about Bosom Buddies. Talk about problematic.

Giving this "think piece" clicks will only send this author's bosses a message that their takes are popular, resulting in even more of these takes from the same author in the future.

I hope that was written by Chat GPT, otherwise there are no excuses.

R2 it will give their bosses the knowledge people are interested in these topics but doesn’t mean people agree with it. In most cases, many people don’t and understand it’s a show of its time.

It was written by Sean Pagnotti. Most official sites still have real people writing for them. And even if they didn’t they would need human editors to look over what AI wrote.

But some people are not happy with his new piece.

R3 easy to find out it was written by a human.

[quote]A man pretending to be gay so he can live with two women. What could go wrong?

What could go wrong? You mean the entire premise of the sitcom - to explore in a humorous fashion the pitfalls in such a situation?

Yes, believe it or not, there was a time when it was socially unacceptable to have this type of living arrangement.

What I find humorous is that these people are so lacking in historical perspective that they'd write such drivel.

"Three's Company" was and will always remain garbage.

Sean Pagnotti has spoken, again, at R8 .

I mostly blame media, cultural, and gender studies professors for teaching and rewarding this maudlin "criticism" that is essentially typing.

Maybe Jack should've pretended to be a woman instead.

Another Three’s Company thread?

It was barely good when Suzanne was in the cast then it turned into unabashed shit every season after she was fired.

Amazon Prime just posted all nine seasons of “Dynasty”.

The earlier shows with Blake struggling with son Steven being gay are laughable now.

John Forsythe kept saying the word “homosexual” as if it were a curse word.

But that is how things were r14. And honestly still are all around the world but we pretend everything is 100% changed.

R15 are you a retired shut in?

R16 no. I live in the real world where things like racism and homophobia are still very real.

People like you who think homophobia disappeared overnight while racism never dies are idiotic. Uneducated, like I keep saying.

^^Simmer down

R18 go take some college courses and get out of your moms place.

[quote]The earlier shows with Blake struggling with son Steven being gay are laughable now.

[quote]John Forsythe kept saying the word “homosexual” as if it were a curse word.

But that's exactly what things were like 40 years ago.

"I won't let my grandson be raised by those gays!"

R19 go shop for your casket

R20 exactly. These Gen Z/Millennial morons really think the world was a big ball of acceptance. Like I said, it’s strange to me they think homophobia is a thing of the past (it isn’t) while racism never goes away. Make it make sense.

r23 the really aggravating thing is that they can't appreciate a piece of entertainment in the context of the time it was made. It's because they have no frame of reference or real knowledge of history about anything from before they were born. And that's a failure of our educational system. Viewing anything from the past in the context of 2023 is ridiculous but they have no clue.

R24- I’ve watched a documentary on Netflix called Lenox Hill. It’s about a hospital on the upper East side of Manhattan. There’s a black OB/GYN shown in the documentary. She looks at a photograph of the doctors and nurses at the hospital taken around 1920 and then says oh there are no African American doctors in the hospital then. SHe is so ignorant of the past. In 1920 New York City population was literally 98% white yet she considers it a travesty of justice that they were no black doctors on staff at that time.

r25 exactly. NYC 100+ years ago was very white. Yes there were black people in NYC back then but not nearly as many as now. People are pretty ignorant of basic demographics of the past.

BTW Lenox Hill is a great series. I loved Dr. Macri, the ER doctor.

Black people in NYC were always being pushed out r26. Everytime they built an area the whites would come burn it down or knock it down and build a bridge or highway etc. over it so they can’t live there. In the 1920s they finally “allowed” black people to have Harlem as long as they stay up there.

People never tell the full awful story of what black people went through.

There just were not that many black people there. There really still aren’t in the United States, a little over 1/10th of the population. Why is “representation” a must now?

Gen Z is so incredibly ignorant and arrogant. Such a dangerous combination.

The hipster douche “author” will be going after The Golden Girls next. Watch out, DL!

R26- I enjoyed the series as well. I’ve watched it more than once. You’re referring to the Latina ER doctor 👩‍⚕️?

I like her too.

The irony will be how awful these fascists will look in retrospect to future generations.

'Three's Company' was awful to begin with, and John Ritter was hugely overrated in it.

For some reason people watched it, but I'll never understand why.

It was a mindless “Jiggle Show” like Charlie’s Angels and The Love Boat. Made ABC a ton of money so 60 year old men can see some bouncing boobies.

R33 tits

Charlie’s Angels was an action show.

Remember "Soap", another sitcom that tried to be progressive and add a gay character? Except Billy Crystal's character got pregnant, so that may veer into trans territory.

You'll note these hot takes rarely say shit about the sexism.

They have no context, they have so much history available to them at their fucking fingertips, but they want to believe the world has always been as it meets them today.

R38- What they are doing is trying to impose 21st century sensibilities on the late 20th century while simultaneously being TOTALLY ignorant of the past.

Three's Company was actually considered quite progressive in its day. Conservatives hated that show.

it sucks because the writing was crummy.

R37, Billy Crystal was never pregnant on Soap. You're thinking of that Joan Rivers abomination Rabbit Test.

Mr Ed was problematic too. Really never addressed animal rights, especially as one was talking.

R14 I rememer in the pilot episode (or could be the 2nd or 3rd) Blake told Steven about his "sickness" called "faggotry" it was near the pool table

Can anyone verify this?

I look forward to Gen Alpha or the one after it being incredibly irreverent.

It’s actually one of the most timeless sitcoms there is - especially the Furley more slapstick years. It’s immensely popular with millennials - more than any other 70s show by far. (Not sure about gen Z - probably not)

There are certain types of sitcoms that just never go away and are always popular, mindless shows you can watch or even just use as pleasant background noise. Three’s Company is one of those. Along with sitcoms like I Love Lucy, The Golden Girls, and Friends, they’re the type of shows that most people just like.

R30 actually The Golden Girls has been targeted by Gen Z numerous times, with Hulu even going ahead and removing an episode because of “blackface”. They eventually reinstated it quietly but they took it down because of cries of racism.

The Golden Girls has been targeted as racist and homophobic numerous times over the years.

They’re also CONSTANTLY targeting Friends now.

R47 that’s exactly right . And that’s not a bad thing. The one smart thing Suzanne Somers may have said is that TC was “the original show about nothing.” And it was - it would even often end in the same manner Seinfeld ended - not with any neat resolution but with basically a gag. I think people appreciate it - I sure do. And Ritter was not overrated.

Stanley’s flame hasn’t aged well! 🙄

Lucy loved Threes Company which is about as prestigious as u could get.

I second John Ritters great talent.

Gen Z doesn't even care about or watch these shows. Someone is just trying to shift the cancel culture blame.

r47 you're right. Three's Company still holds up. It's a funny show that's good for a half hour of laughs and you can just sit down and have fun with it. It never pretended to be anything more than that and that's a big reason why it's still so popular.

R53, It had very cheap looking production values.

I would include Seinfeld in that bubble of shows that just never go away because it also doesn’t, but that one is more limited to the states. Seinfeld isn’t very popular overseas. I remember reading Seinfeld’s humor wasn’t understood in most foreign markets, whereas shows like Friends and How I Met Your Mother were massive overseas because they were less satirical and sarcastic and more generic humor.

Threes Company is not only still relevant within pop culture in the states but it’s still a show played all around the world.

I have to say that Joyce has aged very well. She looks fabulous for 73.

So the author is just going to completely ignore that Three's Company was an American version of a British TV show - Man About the House?

They literally bought the rights and copied the show.

Such a stupid and pointless article.

Ritter was most definitely not overrated for his work on Three's Company. He's masterful at slapstick. And Jack Tripper with most other actors would've worn thin and been obnoxious.

R57 the original British show has no relevance to Americans. That show never aired here and the average person wouldn’t know Threes Company was based off that.

My mother never liked John Ritter because she just isn’t into his slapstick type humor. She’s never liked that type of humor. Same reason she never liked Jim Carrey

I have no pony in this race because I don't give a shit about Three's Company, but - believe it or not - some forms of popular entertainment in the past are no longer acceptable. And every generation will move those goal posts. And that is largely a good thing.

Unless freak shows, blackface, bear-baiting and elephant rides are your go-to.

R59 - yes, I know dummy. I'm saying that the plotline was already a developed show. The author is acting like this was an American creation - none of it was.

To ignore this part of the show's history and development is inexcusable if you're going to criticize so many setup points.

R47 I agree with you.

There is a massive bubble of sitcoms that were hits. But within that is a bubble of sitcoms that were hits and still slightly relevant, with the others being mostly forgotten. But then there is another smaller bubble of sitcoms that were hits and are still popular years later. Shows like I Love Lucy, Friends, Threes Company and The Golden Girls are the perfect examples of those shows that just keep going like a machine, worldwide. Seinfeld and The Honeymooners are great examples of shows that don’t die in the states but hold little to no relevancy outside the USA, whereas shows like Threes Company, The Golden Girls, How I Met Your Mother and Friends are still played on TVs all the time all over the world.

Cheers is another one that just always stays around and is relevant

[quote] My mother never liked John Ritter because she just isn’t into his slapstick type humor. She’s never liked that type of humor. Same reason she never liked Jim Carrey.

She call down to the basement to tell you that R60?

Shows like this, Charlie's Angels and yes even One Day at a Time routinely would have women in tight t-shirts with no bra and pointy nipples. You couldn't get away with that today on network tv (I'm not talking about streaming/cable channels), the Xtian fundie losers would have a stroke. Even shows from the 90s like Friends were much more risque with sex jokes.

Joyce really does look great for her age. Ritter was a bit overrated, although the show was generally centered around him. Suzanne's meteoric rise and fall during those years is fascinating.

Suzanne did it to herself.

I saw a clip of Suzanne talking about how she and John used to laugh at Joyce for acting like such a thespian on the set of 3's Co.

R68 Yes, no one said otherwise

[quote] but - believe it or not - some forms of popular entertainment in the past are no longer acceptable. And every generation will move those goal posts. And that is largely a good thing.

I would agree, but does that mean that we are bad people for liking a show that we grew up watching?

Never liked it as a kid and I loathe it as an adult.

R69 was that before or after John Ritter called her at the hair salon?

[quote] younger Millenials

Oh, dear.

[quote] but - believe it or not - some forms of popular entertainment in the past are no longer acceptable. And every generation will move those goal posts. And that is largely a good thing.

That’s subjective and groupthink. No, entire generations don’t agree on anything. Modern progressive thinking = Maoism.

[quote] Make it make sense.

Honey, no. I’m embarrassed for you.

[quote] You couldn't get away with that today on network tv (I'm not talking about streaming/cable channels), the Xtian fundie losers would have a stroke.

Did you miss the Billboard, Grammy, and American Music Awards, hon? They dress like strippers.

[quote] They eventually reinstated it quietly but they took it down because of cries of racism.

No, Hulu took it down themselves. No one was crying over it, in fact, black Twitter was mocking them for it.

[quote]They eventually reinstated it quietly but they took it down because of cries of racism.

No, Hulu decided to take it down themselves. No one was crying over it, in fact, black Twitter was mocking them for it.

[quote]Shows like I Love Lucy, Friends, Threes Company and The Golden Girls

Three's Company does not belong in that list, and also all these stupid threads about Three's Company are just karma farming exercises for an OP who is trying to keep from getting banned because he gets FFed so much elsewhere.

If any of you have watched the Netflix documentary Lenox Hill the black OB/GYN her husband he is totally gay he’s probably trolling for cock on grinder all the time. Her husband looks gay from outer space.

R80 hey stupid uneducated one living off his mom, this is actually my first thread on Threes Company, and your OPINION on the show doesn’t change its status in pop culture. Retard. Go get a job.

R57 don't forget Sanford and Son was a version of Steptoe and Son.

Junk dealers in London became Junk dealers in Watts.

Gotta love Quincy Jones' theme in the latter.

Another article that lists Threes Company as a show that has not held up well over time.

“Three's Company, starring Jon Ritter, Joyce DeWitt, and Suzanne Somers, ran from 1977 to 1984. This sitcom was considered a major milestone and was one of the most popular TV shows of its time. Unfortunately, there are way too many problematic elements in Three's Company and it's aged badly.

Three's Company relied on sexist and homophobic tropes, with its basic premise revolving around a man pretending to be gay for "comedy" reasons. Three's Company featured very little racial diversity, which was par for the course during the 1980s. Coupled with its misogynistic jokes, the show hasn't stood the test of time.”

Well, not every show could be [italic]The Mod Squad.[/italic]