Faced with a contract holdout by star Suzanne Somers, the producers thought they could solve things by replacing her with Jenilee Harrison, who joined the hit ABC sitcom in Season 5 as Chrissy’s equally airheaded cousin Cindy Snow.

But the roommate swap didn’t take: Harrison, a former NFL cheerleader with little acting experience, couldn’t keep up with the show’s frantic pace and stuck out like a sore thumb. The show rebounded a season later, though, by bringing in Priscilla Barnes as nurse Terri, making her the third roommate and showing Cindy the door.

https://tvline.com/lists/worst-tv-characters-cast-additions-the-office-buffy-gilmore-girls/wosrt-tv-characters-late-additions-cindy-snow-threes-company/

It was probably because of the type of character she was that made her stick out like a sore thumb. Tall, Clumsy and Goofy:lol::lol::lol::lol:

She was not that bad and her chemistry with Jack was priceless.

She was not that bad and her chemistry with Jack was priceless.
I agree. She was stepping into the biggest shoes of the biggest star on the biggest TV show ever. Without having experience she did wonderful. I much prefer season 5 to season 6 or 7. Nothing against Priscilla, its just the show was getting stale. Season 5 had some great scripts. I hated season 6 when Cindy would come for a few lines and leave. I supposed they tried to be nice to her since she was being fired. The story was it had nothing to do with her acting ability. They thought she was too young for all the sexual jokes. They actually cut back on the sexual innuendo stuff until Priscilla was brought in. Once the sex jokes resumed as usual, the ratings improved some. I think the decline of ratings had nothing to do with Cindy but Chrissy missing.

IMHO, Suzanne and Jenilee knew how to be funny compared to Priscilla. Priscilla did try her best but I don't believe she had it. Pretty? Yeah, she sure was (like the episode she's in a bikini from beginning to end) but I have always found Jenilee to be funnier.

Jenilee Harrison's biggest problem was John Ritter! Everything that happened on this series benefitted John at the expense of everyone else. The Ropers were getting over, they had to go. Somers was getting over, she had to go. Somers situation could have been resolved by the production company but that wasn't happening because satisfying Ritter was their priority, he was the star of the show. Harrison did a good job, there is no reason she couldn't have replaced Somers except one, Ritter didn't want it.

Comedy is about contrasts, the Terri character was basically a blond Janet effectively the two characters were interchangeable making it virtually impossible for Barnes to get her character over. Ritter didn't want the competition.

IMHO, Suzanne and Jenilee knew how to be funny compared to Priscilla. Priscilla did try her best but I don't believe she had it. Pretty? Yeah, she sure was (like the episode she's in a bikini from beginning to end) but I have always found Jenilee to be funnier.

I agree with this! Suzanne in seasons 1-3 and Jenilee in season 5 were both very funny.

Jenilee had amazing chemistry with John and good chemistry with the other guys in the cast, but didn't have much with Joyce. The age difference between them probably didn't help. It didn't seem like they were "best friends". Jenilee's chemistry with the rest of the cast made up for it and the episodes were super funny.

The only bad casting Three's Company ever did was Lana, Vikki, and Mr. Bradford.

IMHO, Suzanne and Jenilee knew how to be funny compared to Priscilla. Priscilla did try her best but I don't believe she had it. Pretty? Yeah, she sure was (like the episode she's in a bikini from beginning to end) but I have always found Jenilee to be funnier.
Priscilla had never done comedy before. The show had major reservations about that. She did fine but her lines were not always the funny ones. They went the other direction. Instead of a dumb blonde or a clumsy blonde, they went with a smart, professional nurse. Janet was always the serious one. They relied on Jack to be the silly one.

Season 5 is one of my favourite seasons.

With Chrissy gone, you no longer had the Chrissy doing something stupid episodes where Jack and Chrissy come to her rescue.

Some of the show's better plots were in season 5.

I don't agree with people blaming Cindy for the ratings. The ratings drop was because Chrissy was gone so abruptly. By the time Terri came on the following year, the audience was both aware what was going on behind the scenes and they had time to get used to a new roommate.

Season 6 was okay, but after Jack's Bistro in Season 7, TC was repeating plots. Since Terri gets credit for the ratings by some viewers, than why the dramatic ratings drop in Season 8? I also did like Terri.

I disagree about Jenilee Harrison being the worst cast addition, that belongs to Priscilla Barnes, no offense to Priscilla, she was dull and boring on the show but to be fair to her, Priscilla really hated being on the show and tried to get out of her contract but producers would not let her get out of her contract because they did not want to look for another replacement

Season 5 is one of my favourite seasons.

With Chrissy gone, you no longer had the Chrissy doing something stupid episodes where Jack and Chrissy come to her rescue.

Some of the show's better plots were in season 5.

I don't agree with people blaming Cindy for the ratings. The ratings drop was because Chrissy was gone so abruptly. By the time Terri came on the following year, the audience was both aware what was going on behind the scenes and they had time to get used to a new roommate.

Season 6 was okay, but after Jack's Bistro in Season 7, TC was repeating plots. Since Terri gets credit for the ratings by some viewers, than why the dramatic ratings drop in Season 8? I also did like Terri.

I agree! The Suzanne Somers scandal was happening and some of her fans decided not to watch after she left. The ratings drop was from #2 to #8. They were still a top ten show.

Jenilee did a great job especially under those unfortunate circumstances.

I disagree about Jenilee Harrison being the worst cast addition, that belongs to Priscilla Barnes, no offense to Priscilla, she was dull and boring on the show but to be fair to her, Priscilla really hated being on the show and tried to get out of her contract but producers would not let her get out of her contract because they did not want to look for another replacement

Priscilla was playing the part the way she was directed to play it. John Ritter wanted the show to be about his character, John was making the producers a lot of money and they bought into that request to keep him happy. Priscilla hated being on the show because she had no way of distinguishing her character from Joyce's character. Essentially the show turned into Jack and the girls, Jack and the landlord, Jack and best friend, Jack and the restaurant. Everyone was there to serve the Jack character.

She was stepping into the biggest shoes of the biggest star on the biggest TV show ever.

:rotflmao:

:rotflmao:
Why is that funny? Suzanne was on more magazine covers than any TV star at the time. The show was one of the most popular TV shows at that time. Her fame was the reason why she wanted a bigger paycheck. For her to be fired from a #1 show and replaced with someone with little or no acting experience was shocking. Yet, IMHO it worked fairly well. She had tremendous pressure since there was no replacing Chrissy, yet she developed Cindy fairly well.

I'm assuming that the issue with Cindy is that while she and Jack played well off each other (in terms of physical comedy), two klutzes on one show may have been a bit overkill. Also, Cindy's character may have been too young and that in return, likely caused the viewers to dislike Jack's comments toward her. Jennilee Harrison apparently said that when she first met John Ritter, he joked "Who am I supposed to be? Her father?"

I agree! The Suzanne Somers scandal was happening and some of her fans decided not to watch after she left. The ratings drop was from #2 to #8. They were still a top ten show.

Jenilee did a great job especially under those unfortunate circumstances.

I too don't understand how Cindy was a bad cast addition. I agree that I think that Jenilee Harrison (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8HBQvqEz5Y) did an admirable enough of a job considering that she was a novice actress at the time and joined the show at an extremely difficult time given the whole stuff behind the scenes with Suzanne Somers.

Maybe I thought that even though Cindy's main character trait was probably her clumsiness and naivety, she was none the less, a genuinely nice girl. Plus, she seemed like a real person unlike what Chrissy was becoming towards the end of Suzanne Somers' time on the show.

This is why I don't think that Chrissy's abrupt departure was the show's jump the shark moment because her character was already something of an unbearable caricature at that point. By the third season (https://jacksonupperco.com/2015/06/23/the-ten-best-threes-company-episodes-of-season-three/), the Chrissy Snow character was an utter buffoon, complete with facial contortions (https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTudPJvZmyjsuqiOXRNfjWS3k-ov5136D_IjQ&usqp=CAU), and Suzanne Sommers looked ridiculous with that bleach blonde hair and those bizarre ponytails (https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhHPO7C2Dn3ta1eYTHKuBQD8zfY5-Avw75AA&usqp=CAU).

I disagree about Jenilee Harrison being the worst cast addition, that belongs to Priscilla Barnes, no offense to Priscilla, she was dull and boring on the show but to be fair to her, Priscilla really hated being on the show and tried to get out of her contract but producers would not let her get out of her contract because they did not want to look for another replacement

Cindy kind of had a genuinely goofy charm about her that made her endearing. I kind of get why people (https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/11dhs0e/jenilee_harrison_as_the_annoying_cindy_on_threes/) may be turned off (https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/qlpbix/cindy_on_threes_company_is_the_worst/) by her (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=397930) but on the same token, you can also say that Jenilee Harrison made great foil for John Ritter in his physical comedy/slapstick routines. She was athletic and could do the physical/clumsy schtick quite well. Also, her tall height was a good contrast to the stumpy Joyce DeWitt.

Jenilee Harrison's biggest problem was John Ritter! Everything that happened on this series benefitted John at the expense of everyone else. The Ropers were getting over, they had to go. Somers was getting over, she had to go. Somers situation could have been resolved by the production company but that wasn't happening because satisfying Ritter was their priority, he was the star of the show. Harrison did a good job, there is no reason she couldn't have replaced Somers except one, Ritter didn't want it.

Comedy is about contrasts, the Terri character was basically a blond Janet effectively the two characters were interchangeable making it virtually impossible for Barnes to get her character over. Ritter didn't want the competition.

They also really didn't know what to do with Cindy's character after a short while. It seemed like for the first five episodes with her, she actually had a pretty substantial role instead of being placed squarely on the sidelines of the action. It does make you wonder if they were were originally written for Chrissy and retooled for Cindy.

They also really didn't know what to do with Cindy's character after a short while. It seemed like for the first five episodes with her, she actually had a pretty substantial role instead of being placed squarely on the sidelines of the action. It does make you wonder if they were were originally written for Chrissy and retooled for Cindy.

I always wondered why they made it that she left the apartment to live at UCLA. That made it difficult for her to be around a lot.

They should of had her leave for UCLA and then Terri moves in. After that it's revealed something went wrong with her housing at UCLA so she comes back, but since Terri already moved in, her father talks Mr. Furley into geting her another apartment in 301, so she lives in the same building like Larry and Mr. Furley.

I would have loved to see her in more scenes with Furley. Their scenes together were always funny.

I always wondered why they made it that she left the apartment to live at UCLA. That made it difficult for her to be around a lot.

They should of had her leave for UCLA and then Terri moves in. After that it's revealed something went wrong with her housing at UCLA so she comes back, but since Terri already moved in, her father talks Mr. Furley into geting her another apartment in 301, so she lives in the same building like Larry and Mr. Furley.

I would have loved to see her in more scenes with Furley. Their scenes together were always funny.

she did go to UCLA before Terri moved in right at the start of season 6

she did go to UCLA before Terri moved in right at the start of season 6

I know, that's what I was saying. They made her move away which made it harder to include her in the show.

She was not that bad and her chemistry with Jack was priceless.

Based on the comments (https://web.archive.org/web/20140404234656/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3111823-threes-company/page-3#entry2598082) in the old Television Without Pity forums, the issue with Cindy is that her character was less believably stupid (if that makes any sense) than Chrissy. In other words, Cindy/Jenilee Harrison (https://web.archive.org/web/20140407131600/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3111823-threes-company/page-8#entry14026284) seemed to be trying too hard to seem dumb whereas Chrissy (https://web.archive.org/web/20140404234656/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3111823-threes-company/page-3#entry2640658)/Suzanne Somers seemed to be more natural. Also, Chrissy managed a kind of sweet innocence about the world whereas with Cindy, she may have come across (https://web.archive.org/web/20140406110256/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3111823-threes-company/page-4#entry5908418) as simply uncaring and incurious regarding the world around her.

...the issue with Cindy is that her character was less believably stupid (if that makes any sense) than Chrissy. In other words, Cindy seemed to be trying too hard to seem dumb

I agree to this. The other day, I was watching the scene where Cindy is giving hell to Jack with the ironing board. It was obviously way too much. Can't blame Jenilee because she's not the one who wrote the scene but she was nevertheless a victim.

I agree to this. The other day, I was watching the scene where Cindy is giving hell to Jack with the ironing board. It was obviously way too much. Can't blame Jenilee because she's not the one who wrote the scene but she was nevertheless a victim.

I thought that was one of Cindy's funniest scenes. It was always funny when she did physical scenes with Jack.

Since she was supposed to be goofy and clumsy and the show was a farce, I think she did fine in her scenes.

I never understood the Terri love. She was good in season 6, but season 7 & 8 she didn't bring much laughs.

I agree with this! Suzanne in seasons 1-3 and Jenilee in season 5 were both very funny.

Jenilee had amazing chemistry with John and good chemistry with the other guys in the cast, but didn't have much with Joyce. The age difference between them probably didn't help. It didn't seem like they were "best friends". Jenilee's chemistry with the rest of the cast made up for it and the episodes were super funny.

The only bad casting Three's Company ever did was Lana, Vikki, and Mr. Bradford.

Lana was a far worst character than Cindy. Lana was completely one dimensional. She was just some horny cougar who aggressively and quite creepily pursued Jack. It very obvious why they dropped her like bad habit when it became apparent that there was really no where for her character to go beyond her one-note schtick. It seemed like they only added her because the show felt that they needed an older and more "mature" woman to fill Mrs. Roper's spot.

Lana was a far worst character than Cindy. Lana was completely one dimensional. She was just some horny cougar who aggressively and quite creepily pursued Jack. It very obvious why they dropped her like bad habit when it became apparent that there was really no where for her character to go beyond her one-note schtick. It seemed like they only added her because the show felt that they needed an older and more "mature" woman to fill Mrs. Roper's spot.

True but Lana did bring a few episodes/scenes to the show. Not only people get tired of seeing the same characters over and over again, but writers are also stuck with the same characters trying to come up with new ideas. Adding Lana should have been a warm welcome for them.

I loved Lana. She stole the show on "A camping we will go." Of course it got old after awhile and they never developed her character. It was ridiculous how they met her hiring an escort who she thought was gay (for a moment).
Mrs Roper had some of the funniest moments with her comments about a lack of sex life.

Filling Chrissy's shoes would be impossible if they just hired another dumb blonde. I thought it worked fairly well making her clumsy but not dumb. She was never trying to be the star of the show which was refreshing. For someone that never acted before she did great,

We should have seen the inside of lana's apt atleast once

We should have seen the inside of lana's apt atleast once
Absolutely. She should have been a developed character instead of her barging in just chasing Jack. However her addition came at an awkward time with the Suzanne drama. If they developed her character and showed her apartment would take more time away from the girls. Mr Furley was already given the time that the Ropers would have been given. Adding another female would really have created problems which eventually did happen. The girls complained Lana got too much time after A Camping We Will Go.

Absolutely. She should have been a developed character instead of her barging in just chasing Jack. However her addition came at an awkward time with the Suzanne drama. If they developed her character and showed her apartment would take more time away from the girls. Mr Furley was already given the time that the Ropers would have been given. Adding another female would really have created problems which eventually did happen. The girls complained Lana got too much time after A Camping We Will Go.

we saw THREE other characters apartment that was only see ONE TIME but not lana's who was on the show for 2 months lol

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