Did John Ritter get what he wanted?

[Schmo]

ABC wanted to renew Three’s A Crowd for a half-season. John essentially responded “give me another full season or I’m done”. So ABC pulled the plug. Could that have been what he wanted all along?

[cbikle]

Maybe. If he was getting tired working with the network and/or producers and wondering what else out there was available to him, I could see his mindset being'screw it, I've got little too lose' and calling ABC's bluff.

I'd also be curious to know what projects Ritter had to pass on while doing Three's Company.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by cbikle

Maybe. If he was getting tired working with the network and/or producers and wondering what else out there was available to him, I could see his mindset being'screw it, I've got little too lose' and calling ABC's bluff.

I'd also be curious to know what projects Ritter had to pass on while doing Three's Company.

But Ritter NEVER did anything NEARLY as big as TC ever again. I'm sure John knew he caught lightning in a bottle AND he knew how 99%+ of actors NEVER have a hit show!

So WHY would he turn down 13 more episodes at $50K each?? By then he probably got a raise due to seniority so it was probably OVER $650,000 he turned down!

I'm sure he knew it was extremely unlikely he'd have such a iconic character like Jack Tripper again & he never did!

[TV Guy]

I think respect was a factor for Ritter, and sometimes that outweighs the dollars (in addition to his TAC salary, he also had profit participation in the reruns, unlike his deal for TC). I remember him saying that the executives at ABC who championed TC had left, and the new ones didn’t appreciate the show. He didn’t want to be strung along worrying about whether the show would be renewed at midseason for the back nine episodes. “I’m too old for this.”

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Schmo

ABC wanted to renew Three’s A Crowd for a half-season. John essentially responded “give me another full season or I’m done”. So ABC pulled the plug. Could that have been what he wanted all along?

But not in the fall of 85 It was going to be in spring of 86 I would have said no too. The half season offer gave off the vibe that they no longer had confidence in the show

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

But Ritter NEVER did anything NEARLY as big as TC ever again. I'm sure John knew he caught lightning in a bottle AND he knew how 99%+ of actors NEVER have a hit show!

So WHY would he turn down 13 more episodes at $50K each?? By then he probably got a raise due to seniority so it was probably OVER $650,000 he turned down!

I'm sure he knew it was extremely unlikely he'd have such a iconic character like Jack Tripper again & he never did!

Because it wasnt a full commitment. That's like my job telling me will reduce your hours to part-time after a full-time schedule.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

But not in the fall of 85 It was going to be in spring of 86 I would have said no too. The half season offer gave off the vibe that they no longer had confidence in the show

It's better than nothing. I bet he knew it was VERY unlikely he'd ever have a character as big as Jack Tripper and, alas, he NEVER did!

Plus he could've asked ABC if he could've sought other projects in the fall if he wanted to.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

It's better than nothing. I bet he knew it was VERY unlikely he'd ever have a character as big as Jack Tripper and, alas, he NEVER did!

Plus he could've asked ABC if he could've sought other projects in the fall if he wanted to.

The show should have came back with Felipe and no explanation to what happened to EZ and Mr. Bradford

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

The show should have came back with Felipe and no explanation to what happened to EZ and Mr. Bradford

Definitely Felipe instead of EZ, he was pretty bad. At least compared to Felipe.

But you need Mr.Bradford as the foil/rival to Jack & as the landlord & Vicki's father!

[TVFactFan]

Maybe they should have had Jack and Vicky move into an actual house

Kind of weird that a two income household cant get a house

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Maybe they should have had Jack and Vicky move into an actual house

Kind of weird that a two income household cant get a house

But then you kill off one of the stars of the show & also kill off a lot of storylines.

Remember, this a sitcom not real life. In real life TC would've never last 8 years because Jack, Janet, & Chrissy would've all gotten places on their own within a year or 2.

Jack and Vicki living In a house by themselves would've been boring as hell and cancelled after a few episodes. It made perfect for Jack to live over the restaurant so he was close to his work.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

But then you kill off one of the stars of the show & also kill off a lot of storylines.

Remember, this a sitcom not real life. In real life TC would've never last 8 years because Jack, Janet, & Chrissy would've all gotten places on their own within a year or 2.

Jack and Vicki living In a house by themselves would've been boring as hell and cancelled after a few episodes. It made perfect for Jack to live over the restaurant so he was close to his work.

He was in his 30's, was young anymore and was settled down. Was he going to live in a apt forever? lol

[Schmo]

I think Ritter hung onto the Jack Tripper character too long.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by Schmo

I think Ritter hung onto the Jack Tripper character too long.

Jack Tripper is one of the most iconic characters in TV history! Even Lucille Ball's favorite!

He should've held onto Jack as LONG as possible because he never had such a breakthrough hit ever again!

[SledgeBarone]

Considering that Ritter was willing to do the awful, syndicated "Three Apartments" concept after this, I think he made a mistake by playing hardball against ABC.