In other words, would in real life (at least a large percentage of the time) circa 2011, Mr. Roper or Mr. Furley really care whether or not Jack was gay (or pretending to be such a thing) and living with two chicks as long he came through with the rent?

Well they didn't care if he was Gay because they let him move him. As for living with 2 chicks, that's another story. lol

Well they didn't care if he was Gay because they let him move him. As for living with 2 chicks, that's another story. lol

What I mean is that (in today's age unlike the 1970s) Jack wouldn't have to be so inclined to convince Roper or Furley that he's gay (thus, he can "be himself") since he's not married or is the brother to either one of his roommates in the first place.

I believe the premise is outdated.:o This entire show is difficult for me to watch. I used to love it as a kid and teenager, but now it seems so dumb. the characters and most of the stories are ridiculous.:crazy: I don't think it's held up well. A show for the time it was made! especially bad after Suzanne Somers was gone.

The premise became outdated even while the show was still on. During the early years Jack pretending to be gay worked because Mr. Roper was a prude and never would allowed a man to be a roommate to two single girls in his building. But Mr. Furley was supposed to be a 'man of the world' and wouldn't have had a problem with it, but yet Jack continued to pretend that he was gay.

The premise became outdated even while the show was still on. During the early years Jack pretending to be gay worked because Mr. Roper was a prude and never would allowed a man to be a roommate to two single girls in his building. But Mr. Furley was supposed to be a 'man of the world' and wouldn't have had a problem with it, but yet Jack continued to pretend that he was gay.
Furley was only ever a "man of the world" in his own imagination. He made it clear several times that if Jack wasn't gay or was ever converted to straight, he would be out on his rear end.

Anyway, I think the premise of the show was outdated even at the time of its premiere, and this was only part of the over the top humour of the show. Many college dorms had become coed before this, and Time magazine even ran an article about the popular trend of coed adult living in 1975. There were simply too many couples living together before marriage back then. Now, maybe if it had taken place in Utah...

The premise became outdated even while the show was still on. During the early years Jack pretending to be gay worked because Mr. Roper was a prude and never would allowed a man to be a roommate to two single girls in his building. But Mr. Furley was supposed to be a 'man of the world' and wouldn't have had a problem with it, but yet Jack continued to pretend that he was gay.

If I remember rightly (it's been a while since I've seen Season 4), Jack had to continue to keep up the gay act because R.F's brother Bart, who owned the building after buying it off the Ropers, had similar views to Mr. Roper.

Its dated (everything is to a degree). But I still consider this show a classic. The fact that Don Knotts joined the cast actually pushed it into automatic "classic" tv , IMO.

No doubt about that. The cast was spectacular, even before Don Knotts showed up, and this show has some of the best comedy around.

Mr Furley trying to turn "gay" Jack to the straight life is one of my favoite episodes :lol:

The show never gets old because it rarely makes reference to the time it was on the air. It's just a silly show with silly situations which makes for great TV watching.