Was the addition Beverly Garland a JTS point? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

McGillicuddy · 06-09-2011, 07:25 PM

Was the marriage of Steve to Beverly Garland and gaining a new step-daughter the Jump-the-Shark moment for My 3 Sons? After all, it was getting away from the premise of having 3 sons. At one point Don Grady even left the show, and Steve ended up having 2 sons and a step-daughter!

1960'sTVfan · 06-09-2011, 08:25 PM

I wouldn't say it was a jump the shark moment, but as the shows run continued on, at a certain point the title My Three Sons wasn't really appropriate anymore.

The 12th and final season was probably the JTS point, the show had it's long run and it was over. Fred MacMurray however, was supposedly unhappy with the shows cancellation and tried to talk the CBS brass out of pulling the plug on the show.

old grouch · 06-10-2011, 09:32 AM

I kind of liked Beverly Garland as Barbara. Having Steve get married opened up some new story lines. However, Dodie was a little hard to take at times.

1960'sTVfan · 06-10-2011, 01:43 PM

Dawn Lyn was the actress playing the role of Dodie, she sure bears a strong resemblance to the late actress Debralee Scott.

gidgetgrape · 06-10-2011, 03:51 PM

It was a jump the shark moment for me. I really liked it when Katie was the only female in the house.

MickeyMac · 06-10-2011, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markway895

Was the marriage of Steve to Beverly Garland and gaining a new step-daughter the Jump-the-Shark moment for My 3 Sons? After all, it was getting away from the premise of having 3 sons. At one point Don Grady even left the show, and Steve ended up having 2 sons and a step-daughter!

Totally jump the shark moment. I coudnt stand that step daughter of his, and then Don Grady left. Never did like the last two seasons of this show.

McGillicuddy · 06-10-2011, 04:36 PM

Maybe they figured since Robbie & Katie had triplets, they represented "the 3 sons" in the last few seasons.

Kasey · 06-12-2011, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gidgetgrape

It was a jump the shark moment for me. I really liked it when Katie was the only female in the house.

My sentiments exactly! The B&W years with Bub are my favorite. When the show switched to color, I found S6 and S7 kind of dull. The move to California and the introduction of Katie were a nice breath of fresh air. S8 and S9 are the best of the color years IMO.

Once Barbara and the annoying Dodie arrived, it was over for me.

OH Nuts! · 06-24-2011, 04:40 PM

Not to me. She was a great addition. Steve's having a lady really seemed to round that family unit out. And she was greaat with Steve's kids. I remember this ep from long ago where Chip gets accused of cheating and the teacher ups and "convicts" him. But when Barbara goes to visit the teacher, and the teacher starts to stand firm, Barbara gets REALLY mad and reads the teacher to filth (well sorta). God I wish I could watch that ep again! It's stayed in my mind - even after nearly 40 yrs

biffbronson · 06-25-2011, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markway895

Was the marriage of Steve to Beverly Garland and gaining a new step-daughter the Jump-the-Shark moment for My 3 Sons?

In my view, Fred MacMurray was getting a little old for the endless one-episode romances that never led to anything, just a parade of beautiful guest actresses -- most of whom never returned. Beverly Garland was a wonderful choice to play the new wife.

And as far as Dodie is concerned, it was realistic that a widow her age would have at least one child. Her inclusion afforded the writers a chance to do stories on the blending of the families and the ironing out of the rough spots that came up. So I don't view the marriage as a JTS moment at all. The series had been becoming stagnant as far as Steve's character -- I mean did we really want to see him continuing with one-night-stand types of relationships at his age?

Quote:

After all, it was getting away from the premise of having 3 sons. At one point Don Grady even left the show, and Steve ended up having 2 sons and a step-daughter!

Not to mention some daughters in law! As a previous poster mentioned, Rob's 3 infant/toddler sons did shore up the Three Sons title. And while it's true that Don left the show, so had Tim Considine years earlier. Throw in the towel just because one actor decides to move on? I don't think so.

In the final couple of seasons, here are some of the quality actors who came on board in roles other than one-shots:

Ronne Troupe, as Chip's new wife Polly.
Norm Alden and Doris Singleton as the Williamses, Polly's parents
Anne Francis, as Cousin Fergus' new wife.

I look at the color seasons in this way:

1. Before Tina Cole came on as Katie, we had lots of episodes with Rob chasing after ridiculously beautiful young women, including ones played by Brenda Benet, Yvonne Craig and Sherry Jackson.

2. Before Beverly Garland came on as Barbara, we had lots of episodes with Steve having an eye for or being eyed by some ridiculously beautiful youngish women, including ones played by Susan Oliver and Vera Miles.

3. Before Ronne Troupe came on as Polly, we had lots of episodes again with Chip in a dating mode.

The show progressed beyond storylines based on the "single man" being eyed by or eyeing potential marriage material. This had included Uncle Charley as well -- there was practically a rotation of whose dating we would be looking in on...! The series did well to move on from where it was. I enjoyed those years as much as anyone, but I also loved the very late seasons. And finally, as far as Don Grady leaving, I'll take those three "new wife" actresses who remained over him any day!! (no disrespect really intended).

broadmoor · 06-27-2011, 10:29 PM

I like Beverly Garland way too much to ever associate her with any kind of "Jump the Shark" moment. I don't really know if M3S even ever had such a moment. I never really sensed it. It certainly changed and meandered around a bit in its 12-year run, but each little era has its merits. One of the biggest changes to me was the move to California in the fall of '67. I was somewhat inclined to dislike this move, yet even so, I couldn't, because that's when Tina Cole popped in to the cast, and she was such a delightful addition.

jehobden · 07-01-2011, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broadmoor

I like Beverly Garland way too much to ever associate her with any kind of "Jump the Shark" moment. I don't really know if M3S even ever had such a moment. I never really sensed it. It certainly changed and meandered around a bit in its 12-year run, but each little era has its merits. One of the biggest changes to me was the move to California in the fall of '67. I was somewhat inclined to dislike this move, yet even so, I couldn't, because that's when Tina Cole popped in to the cast, and she was such a delightful addition.

I think that the move to California had a lot to do with the change to a new studio at the start of S8. M3S had been filmed at Desilu through S7 and switched to CBS Studio Center (home of Gunsmoke, Gilligan's Island, and still very busy today) at the start of S8. This may have had something to do with the Paramount takeover of Desilu at about the same time. Paramount may have either kicked M3S out of the studio or raised the rent so high that the show changed studios. Leave It to Beaver is another show where the family's move coincided with a change of studios.

On the subject of M3S, is there anywhere, even on YouTube, where I could see S11 or S12 eps? All I remember from those seasons was seeing part of a S12 ep where Katie had the triplets in a tv commercial. I saw this at a college party back in the 80s, when the show was carried on Nick-at-Nite, but I couldn't hear the show due to party noise. I'd love to see even one of these, since the local syndicated reruns seem to be in an infinite loop from S6 to S10. Please let me know if you know anything here. Thanks!

McGillicuddy · 07-01-2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jehobden

I think that the move to California had a lot to do with the change to a new studio at the start of S7. M3S had been filmed at Desilu through S7 and switched to CBS Studio Center (home of Gunsmoke, Gilligan's Island, and still very busy today) at the start of S8. This may have had something to do with the Paramount takeover of Desilu at about the same time. Paramount may have either kicked M3S out of the studio or raised the rent so high that the show changed studios. Leave It to Beaver is another show where the family's move coincided with a change of studios.

On the subject of M3S, is there anywhere, even on YouTube, where I could see S11 or S12 eps? All I remember from those seasons was seeing part of a S12 ep where Katie had the triplets in a tv commercial. I saw this at a college party back in the 80s, when the show was carried on Nick-at-Nite, but I couldn't hear the show due to party noise. I'd love to see even one of these, since the local syndicated reruns seem to be in an infinite loop from S6 to S10. Please let me know if you know anything here. Thanks!

Another thing about the final season or 2, I remember Dawn Lyn (as Dodie) and Ronne Troupe (as Polly) added to the opening credits, during the original network run, yet I've never seen this final opening used in the syndicated reruns. If anyone has ever seen the closing credits of the final seasons, they didn't credit any of the principle cast (including Dawn and Ronne), anymore. And since they didn't use the proper opening credits for thise seasons, Dawn and Ronne were not credited at all.

biffbronson · 07-03-2011, 10:49 AM

Very good obsevations regarding credits for Ronne & Dawn. I don't think Hallmark Channel had the correct openings (around the years 2000-2001) for Season 12 at the least because I would have remembered seeing their names in the opens. I don't know if that applied to S11 also.

However, I'm sure they did have Fred MacMurray's little segment that preceded the animation, where he says "Hi! Welcome to our show [for Chevrolet]" with the sponsors name part chopped off. I like having that.

It's really a shame that the final two Seasons have become so tough to find. Personally I think Ronne Troupe is an underrated actress when looking back on her work (today). She would have had the lead on The Flying Nun series reportedly if things had gone her way, so that seems to indicate the studios realized her talent.

I also think Ronne was a great choice for Stanley/Chip -- they both had kind of a relaxed and easygoing feel much of the time, and Stan did a nice job in his character's calming Polly when something did upset her.

storrs19 · 07-03-2011, 12:24 PM

YouTube has a few episodes from the later years including two from Season 12. Just search for My Three Sons and scroll down. They are out there.

06-09-2011, 07:25 PM	#1
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	Was the addition Beverly Garland a JTS point? Was the marriage of Steve to Beverly Garland and gaining a new step-daughter the Jump-the-Shark moment for My 3 Sons? After all, it was getting away from the premise of having 3 sons. At one point Don Grady even left the show, and Steve ended up having 2 sons and a step-daughter!

07-03-2011, 12:24 PM	#15
storrs19 B&W TV Lover Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 07, 2003 Location: Louisville, Kentucky Posts: 742	YouTube has a few episodes from the later years including two from Season 12. Just search for My Three Sons and scroll down. They are out there.
	__________________ Bring back my B&W TV Shows !!

06-09-2011, 08:25 PM	#2
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,100	I wouldn't say it was a jump the shark moment, but as the shows run continued on, at a certain point the title My Three Sons wasn't really appropriate anymore. The 12th and final season was probably the JTS point, the show had it's long run and it was over. Fred MacMurray however, was supposedly unhappy with the shows cancellation and tried to talk the CBS brass out of pulling the plug on the show.

06-10-2011, 09:32 AM	#3
old grouch Member Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2010 Location: montana Posts: 1,877	I kind of liked Beverly Garland as Barbara. Having Steve get married opened up some new story lines. However, Dodie was a little hard to take at times.

06-10-2011, 01:43 PM	#4
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,100	Dawn Lyn was the actress playing the role of Dodie, she sure bears a strong resemblance to the late actress Debralee Scott.

06-10-2011, 03:51 PM	#5
gidgetgrape Forever Gidget Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 20, 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 3,503	It was a jump the shark moment for me. I really liked it when Katie was the only female in the house.

06-10-2011, 04:36 PM	#7
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	Maybe they figured since Robbie & Katie had triplets, they represented "the 3 sons" in the last few seasons.

06-24-2011, 04:40 PM	#9
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	Not to me. She was a great addition. Steve's having a lady really seemed to round that family unit out. And she was greaat with Steve's kids. I remember this ep from long ago where Chip gets accused of cheating and the teacher ups and "convicts" him. But when Barbara goes to visit the teacher, and the teacher starts to stand firm, Barbara gets REALLY mad and reads the teacher to filth (well sorta). God I wish I could watch that ep again! It's stayed in my mind - even after nearly 40 yrs

06-27-2011, 10:29 PM	#11
broadmoor Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 10, 2010 Location: texas Posts: 489	I like Beverly Garland way too much to ever associate her with any kind of "Jump the Shark" moment. I don't really know if M3S even ever had such a moment. I never really sensed it. It certainly changed and meandered around a bit in its 12-year run, but each little era has its merits. One of the biggest changes to me was the move to California in the fall of '67. I was somewhat inclined to dislike this move, yet even so, I couldn't, because that's when Tina Cole popped in to the cast, and she was such a delightful addition.

07-03-2011, 10:49 AM	#14
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,497	Very good obsevations regarding credits for Ronne & Dawn. I don't think Hallmark Channel had the correct openings (around the years 2000-2001) for Season 12 at the least because I would have remembered seeing their names in the opens. I don't know if that applied to S11 also. However, I'm sure they did have Fred MacMurray's little segment that preceded the animation, where he says "Hi! Welcome to our show [for Chevrolet]" with the sponsors name part chopped off. I like having that. It's really a shame that the final two Seasons have become so tough to find. Personally I think Ronne Troupe is an underrated actress when looking back on her work (today). She would have had the lead on The Flying Nun series reportedly if things had gone her way, so that seems to indicate the studios realized her talent. I also think Ronne was a great choice for Stanley/Chip -- they both had kind of a relaxed and easygoing feel much of the time, and Stan did a nice job in his character's calming Polly when something did upset her.