Wouldn’t it have made more sense for Lana to be Mr. Furley’s wife?

[TVLegend]

That way it would have been understandable as to why Jack kept turning her down and it also would have been funny to see her constantly trying to get out of going to bed with Mr. Furley because he doesn’t satisfy her. Does anyone agree with me?

[ClarenceAlabama]

Originally Posted by TVLegend

That way it would have been understandable as to why Jack kept turning her down and it also would have been funny to see her constantly trying to get out of going to bed with Mr. Furley because he doesn’t satisfy her. Does anyone agree with me?

Your idea is much better than what they came up with.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TVLegend

That way it would have been understandable as to why Jack kept turning her down and it also would have been funny to see her constantly trying to get out of going to bed with Mr. Furley because he doesn’t satisfy her. Does anyone agree with me?

Nah. Thats just duplicating the Ropers. It would be like replacing Chrissy with another dumb blonde or replacing Cindy with another clumsy blonde.
The shtick of Furley was in his mind he was a ladies man and always pursuing the ladies.
Why do an imitation of the Ropers? They could have let Don go and brought back the Ropers.
But this thread brings up a good point. There was a giant vacuum on the show when the Ropers left. They tried having a goofy landlord and an older sexually frustrated neighbor to sort of replace Helen's woes. None of it worked as well as the Ropers IMHO.

[TVLegend]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Nah. Thats just duplicating the Ropers. It would be like replacing Chrissy with another dumb blonde or replacing Cindy with another clumsy blonde.
The shtick of Furley was in his mind he was a ladies man and always pursuing the ladies.
Why do an imitation of the Ropers? They could have let Don go and brought back the Ropers.
But this thread brings up a good point. There was a giant vacuum on the show when the Ropers left. They tried having a goofy landlord and an older sexually frustrated neighbor to sort of replace Helen's woes. None of it worked as well as the Ropers IMHO.

I mean, it wouldn’t exactly be duplicating The Ropers. Mrs. Roper never chased after Jack or tried to get out of sleeping with Mr. Roper. Actually, if they wrote Furley and Lana as a married couple I might have preferred “The Furleys” over The Ropers. I just wish they could have done more with Lana. Her character was a highlight of Season 4 IMO.

[Dianne3]

The biggest question about Lana is why she disappeared with no explanation.

The next biggest question is why Lana was added.
Quite a few people speculate that the reason the Ropers never returned was that there were 2 actors to pay compared to 1 for Mr. Furley. However, a lot of people forget that originally when the Ropers left, the were replaced by 2 actors - Lana and Mr. Furley.

[JumpSteady]

I think the reason they made Furley a bachelor, the logic being they could come up with funnier storylines and Don Knotts said he wanted to be a bachelor.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by Dianne3

The biggest question about Lana is why she disappeared with no explanation.

The next biggest question is why Lana was added.
Quite a few people speculate that the reason the Ropers never returned was that there were 2 actors to pay compared to 1 for Mr. Furley. However, a lot of people forget that originally when the Ropers left, the were replaced by 2 actors - Lana and Mr. Furley.

The Lana character was added to replace an older sexually frustrated woman (Helen Roper). The Lana character was very popular with the series but John Ritter hated the character. He believed it conflicted with his character Jack who was always chasing skirts and women. Why would Jack deny the sexual advances of an attractive older woman. Ritter went on the record protesting the character. The actress who played Lana also wanted more depth to the character. If you notice in a few episodes she comes in for one quick scene and then leaves. She asked to leave the show if her character was not developed. But the nail in the coffin came right after A Camping We Will Go was filmed and aired. Lana and Jack are the stars of the episode and Janet and Chrissy have no real purpose in the episode and Suzanne and Joyce had a fit and protested with the writers, producers, and directors. Their protest worked. The actress who played Lana said after that episode she sensed a big change and her role was substantially reduced until it faded completely. Ritter hated the character. Suzanne and Joyce were jealous of the character. The character had no where to go except good-bye.

[TVLegend]

Originally Posted by JumpSteady

I think the reason they made Furley a bachelor, the logic being they could come up with funnier storylines and Don Knotts said he wanted to be a bachelor.

Well I don’t see how they came up with funnier storylines with Furley as a bachelor. He hardly ever made me laugh on the show. Could you imagine how much funnier it would have been if Lana and Mr. Furley were laying in bed and Mr. Furley tried to fool around with Lana and she came up with all kinds of excuses to get out of it? I think that would have been hilarious. But to each their own I guess.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TVLegend

Well I don’t see how they came up with funnier storylines with Furley as a bachelor. He hardly ever made me laugh on the show. Could you imagine how much funnier it would have been if Lana and Mr. Furley were laying in bed and Mr. Furley tried to fool around with Lana and she came up with all kinds of excuses to get out of it? I think that would have been hilarious. But to each their own I guess.

But that would have been the Ropers 2.0.
Why do a cheap imitation? Get the real thing. Like I said, it would be like replacing Chrissy with another dumb blonde or replacing Cindy with another clumsy blonde.
Furley being a bachelor gave writers full liberty. There are countless scenes and scripts about Furley chasing women he could never get. It was sort of his kryptonite. When Janet needed Furley to take him to a French restaurant, she tells him its the biggest pick up joint in town. There were countless jokes like this.
If they were going to replace the Ropers with another couple just like the Ropers would make no sense when they could have just brought back the Ropers.

[Dianne3]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

The Lana character was added to replace an older sexually frustrated woman (Helen Roper). The Lana character was very popular with the series but John Ritter hated the character. He believed it conflicted with his character Jack who was always chasing skirts and women. Why would Jack deny the sexual advances of an attractive older woman. Ritter went on the record protesting the character. The actress who played Lana also wanted more depth to the character. If you notice in a few episodes she comes in for one quick scene and then leaves. She asked to leave the show if her character was not developed. But the nail in the coffin came right after A Camping We Will Go was filmed and aired. Lana and Jack are the stars of the episode and Janet and Chrissy have no real purpose in the episode and Suzanne and Joyce had a fit and protested with the writers, producers, and directors. Their protest worked. The actress who played Lana said after that episode she sensed a big change and her role was substantially reduced until it faded completely. Ritter hated the character. Suzanne and Joyce were jealous of the character. The character had no
ere to go except good-bye.

Thanks. I did read somewhere vaguely that it was because of her airtime compared to the other females, but didn't have any details.