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

[TMC]

https://collider.com/threes-company-...box=1684764844

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

If one were to make a list of classic sitcoms from the 1970s, Three's Company would be found among its rankings. The show premiered in 1977 and starred John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt, and Suzanne Somers, and completed its production after 8 seasons in 1984. The show was received so well during its time that it was nominated for five Emmys, one of which they won, and received two spin-offs. Its popularity remains in such positive favor that syndication of the show could be found on stations like IDC and even Nickelodeon during its former Nick at Nite block.

While making note of such an audience and critical reception, it's worth acknowledging that, similar to shows like Friends, it's entirely a product of its time and hasn't aged gracefully. Now, this writer will be the first to fess up as a lover of comedy in all of its forms and Three's Company has plenty of funny moments. I would even go so far as to say that the world wouldn't have been graced with the talents of its main trio on such a large scale without the series and the show opened several comedic doors for television's later generations of writers and actors. In that same thought, however, it's also likely that the show wouldn't get far were it to be pitched today.

The Premise Is Problematic Today

The centric plot line of Three's Company focuses on Jack Tripper (Ritter) becoming roommates with two women, Chrissy Snow (Somers) and Janet Wood (DeWitt) following their former roommate's going-away party. In simplest terms, Jack had been spending his nights at the local YMCA, crashed the party, and woke up in the girls' tub. After getting to know him and finding out he can cook, they offer him their spare room. Certainly, there's nothing questionable about a bunch of twenty-something men and women cohabitating according to even the 1970s standards, but their landlords — originally the Ropers, Stanley (Norman Fell) and Helen (Audra Lindley), and later, Ralph Furley (Don Knotts) — weren't so open-minded. To circumvent any objections they had towards a young man living with two women, the three say that Jack is homosexual as a cover story. This doubles as a running gag throughout the series where, despite Jack being quite the ladies man, he must pretend to be gay whenever Roper or Furley are present — lest they kick him out due to their personal beliefs.

To be fair, the idea itself is inherently funny, just as any cover story one must maintain has the potential to be, and it's clear there's no true malice involved within the writing. If any were to be seen, the majority is from the landlords as both Roper and Furley spent most of the show jabbing at Jack's perceived sexuality with slurs like "fairy" and "Tinkerbell." Clearly, the role of the landlord was meant to be disliked and an antagonist to some degree, but using someone's sexuality as a punchline repeatedly is incredibly distasteful to contemporary standards. We can think about this in a similar vein as the jokes involving Chandler Bing's (Matthew Perry) homophobia in Friends. Yes, it could be seen as funny for its time, but even watching the reruns today, there's a strong sense that the fans are squirming as the laugh track forces the punchline.

The Show Is Loaded With Cringe Factors

True to its times in this manner as well, Three's Company was loaded with in-your-face dirty jokes and innuendo. This ranges from Jack constantly hitting on his roommates and anyone he finds attractive to Larry practically setting the inspirational groundwork for successor characters like Family Guy's Glen Quagmire (Seth MacFarlane). There were even some promotional posters with hints of innuendo laced within them such as those with Jack smiling while feeding Chrissy and Janet salad via a split salad tosser. Of course, this seems harmless on the surface as Jack has a culinary degree and even owns a bistro by the series' end, but there's an equally unfunny and uncomfortable feeling that's present within the picture, and it must be acknowledged.

Admittedly, this is the least reason for anyone to criticize the show. Without Three's Company pushing comedic boundaries, we wouldn't have some of today's most highly-rated shows. With that said, watching an episode like "And Now, Here's Jack," where Jack is invited to promote Angelino's, the Italian restaurant he works at, on a television talk show, can be rough. The episode didn't need any of the crude humor as there was plenty of room for jokes about Jack, Terri, and Janet nervously navigating their first time on television. Yet, we only get a hint of it amidst moments like Furley making the same, tired gay slurs five years into the show's lifespan, evoking the weird uncle at a holiday gathering who thinks they're being edgy as the room rolls their collective eyes. While they're giving us laughable scenes like Terri Alden (Priscilla Barnes) freezing up and Janet stuttering, writers are still handing their audience the same jokes from the male gaze toward them by six seasons in, despite their cast being fully capable of executing anything better.

Let's Talk About "...And Justice For Jack"

If there's any specific reason outside the premise that Three's Company is utterly hard to watch today, it's Season 5, Episode 2 of the series. "...And Justice For Jack" can be a difficult one to get through. In summary, Jack is hired by a woman to be a line cook at her diner. On his first day, he gets relentlessly groped and hit on by her in between customer orders. This makes him uncomfortable and unable to do his job and after addressing it with her, she fires him. After discussing his grievances with Janet, she convinces him to take his old boss to court. This ends with the case being dismissed after the judge recognizes him as a "woman-chasing playboy" despite the truth behind his statements. Upon this accusation, Furley jumps up from his bench to defend Jack due to the overarching homosexual cover story, only for Jack to stop him from finishing his sentence and drop the case.

Within its 20-minute run time, "...And Justice For Jack" reaffirms everything that dates the show's humor as well as what makes it problematic. The dialogue not only goes through the hetero-centric humor typical of Jack and Larry, but it also applies the homophobic landlord slurs that are natural to the show's ebb and flow at this point. The worst part of this is that it now enforced that Jack would rather lose his case against his former employer than have his homosexual cover story on any form of an official record. Whatever potential this episode to speak about sexual harassment or even have Jack simply roll with his cover story, as he had been up to now, for the sake of the greater good was thrown out without a second thought.

None of this is to say that Three's Company doesn't have its place within television history, nor is it to discredit its fandom. Everyone is entitled to the things they like and there is certainly still an audience for the series as there was a reboot movie in the works as recently as 2016. What this writer is saying is that, much like the "Jiggle TV" era in which it was created and of which it held the spirit, it's incredibly flawed and problematic in retrospect and as an audience, we've grown past it.

[rusty spike]

Disagree

I think it's a very fun show and people can enjoy it. It was a show that my parents and grandparents could enjoy (and they were prudes!).

If I choose to wear 2023 viewing specs then NOTHING is funny and I am offended at everything. Context, context, context...

[BestTVever]

Wow this Sean guy is a stiff shirt with no sense of humor. The show holds up brilliantly.
Its frustrating when people dont understand comedy.
Its shocking to me that people dont get the irony of "And Justice for Jack"
He was sexually harassed at work. For probably the first time Americans saw that a man can be sexually harassed. He gets fired and he sues for sexual harassment. The ending is that he "asked for it" because of what he wore, etc. That is exactly what women were told and still told to this day. People cant see the story the episode was trying to get across with humor? In the end poor Jack was treated like any woman was treated back in the day for complaining about being sexually harassed at work. It was brilliant and ahead of its time.

The entire premise of the show was based on misunderstandings or sexual innuendos. It was hysterical and I still watch it every day.

[ClarenceAlabama]

The show isn't for everybody... It's only for people with a good sense of humor.

[stevea]

Here's what the title of his article should have been:

Three's Company Hasn't Aged Well--Because I Don't Like it

[TVFactFan]

Well the show is dated but its still fun to watch what the differences between then and now

Phone
TV
Cab instead of Uber
clothes
No computer to email resume

[Lyverbe]

The funniest part of reruns is about the money like tonight's episode when Larry asks Jack to lend him $5. FIVE dollars!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Lyverbe

The funniest part of reruns is about the money like tonight's episode when Larry asks Jack to lend him $5. FIVE dollars!

i know u cant buy **** with 5 dollars in 2023

[biffbronson]

Yeah, I remember one of my friends getting $5 on his birthday in the late '70s and spending it all on a huge stack of baseball cards.

It was a great cast, Jack and the Ropers were funny, Chrissy & Janet were great eye candy, and the scripting was good. That all holds up fine for me.

[tcr1701]

It's always interesting when so-called writers use the word "problematic" when describing something of the past. It's low grade "journalism" trying to make an article go viral to garner fame for the author (15 minutes of it at most). The humor in Three's Company for the most part holds up quite well today. It's just a silly comedy to make you forget real life problems for half an hour...or about 18 minutes with modern butchered editing in order to show the same commercials over and over. Now that is really "problematic" to me.

[Alex Cooper]

I thought the author did find TC to be funny, groundbreaking, and well done; and was pointing out that this episode would not likely be made today.

[TMC]

Here's another article that lists Three's 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.”

[ClarenceAlabama]

Originally Posted by TMC

Here's another article that lists Three's Company as a show that has not held up well over time.

Click the link of the writer of the article and look at the photo. That says it all.

Every show is not not made for every audience.

[DEH55]

Well the show is a bit homophobic and really sexist. And Jack grabs and kisses numerous women. That's sexual assault today. So in that sense there are cringe worthy aspects of the show. And the sets are really cheap looking. So some parts don't hold up well.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by TMC

Here's another article that lists Three's Company as a show that has not held up well over time.

They couldn't even spell John's name right and I'm supposed to take him seriously.