Why Did This Show Not Last? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

PrettyinPink55 · 04-11-2012, 01:48 AM

For the first time I've watched all of The Ropers episodes on Antenna TV and as opposed to Three's a Crowd, which just felt weird without the other main characters (roommates), this show actually worked. It was funny! Why didn't it survive? It had some great potential! I can't help but think that Norman and Audra got the bad end of the deal.

I much preferred Mr. Furley on Three's Company, but I still feel bad for them.

I don't understand why this show didn't last longer.

704Hauser · 05-10-2012, 03:44 AM

As you may know, The Ropers was a Top 10 hit in the Spring of 1979 when it aired in Three's Company's timeslot, ABC decided to move the still-establishing The Ropers to Saturday nights that fall, up against NBC's smash-hit CHiPs, and the ratings fell off the cliff.

The British show The Ropers was based off, George and Mildred, was actually more successful than Man About The House! And given that the scripts to The Ropers were essentially George and Mildred's scripts with minor amendments, I don't think the content of The Ropers was the reason it tanked in 1979-80.

Jude The Obscure · 07-08-2012, 05:31 PM

Exactly--it was the timeslot that did them in. ABC should have given them at least one full season behind 3's Co. Look how long ABC let Laverne & Shirley stay behind Happy Days!

Mr. Television · 07-08-2012, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

Exactly--it was the timeslot that did them in. ABC should have given them at least one full season behind 3's Co. Look how long ABC let Laverne & Shirley stay behind Happy Days!

Not to mention that the Saturday Timeslot had been a death slot for ABC for years. I'm not sure what they expected.

Jude The Obscure · 08-25-2012, 11:19 AM

Watching these episodes again shows me how the Ropers went beyond their Three's Company limitations--we actually see them more as humans with depth and poignancy. The episode where the Ropers try to adopt--the scene where Helen is visibly distraught is really effective and you actually see Stanley moved to action because of his wife being so hurt.

TVFactFan · 08-28-2012, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

Watching these episodes again shows me how the Ropers went beyond their Three's Company limitations--we actually see them more as humans with depth and poignancy. The episode where the Ropers try to adopt--the scene where Helen is visibly distraught is really effective and you actually see Stanley moved to action because of his wife being so hurt.

Yeah that episode aired I think last Thursday. You never saw that side of them on TC because it wasn't enough time

Jude The Obscure · 09-02-2012, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Yeah that episode aired I think last Thursday. You never saw that side of them on TC because it wasn't enough time

Very true--the show was much a farce in its early years, but later we saw emotional writing on TC--when Chrissy was in the hospital, when Janet was duped by that sleazeball choreographer, when Jack finally realizes Janet's marriage means she will not be in his life day to day...etc.

TVFactFan · 09-02-2012, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

Very true--the show was much a farce in its early years, but later we saw emotional writing on TC--when Chrissy was in the hospital, when Janet was duped by that sleazeball choreographer, when Jack finally realizes Janet's marriage means she will not be in his life day to day...etc.

I think that may have been the only serious Roper episode when helen was sad about the adoption

wiseguy182 · 04-03-2014, 07:13 AM

I actually liked the Ropers and thought it deserved a longer run, although I thought it was just ok initially and it's a bit of an acquired taste. I can see why it didn't last long. I think it was the Scrubs of its era, a show that didn't have a lot of laughs, but the ones it did were very big. I also think it was a bit ahead of its time. It was like Three's Company in that a lot of the comedy was physical as opposed to verbal jokes.

There are a couple of inherent flaws in The Ropers. First, all of the main character are, in essence, boring. The Ropers are a boring couple who never go anywhere or do anything. Their sex life is practically nonexistent. The Brookes are similar: Jeffrey is a boring stuffed shirt, Ann is the normal housewife, and David is a kid whose constantly bored because there are no other kids in the neighborhood. Jenny, the young lady who lived with them in the later episodes, is also relatively bland. That's not to say I dislike any of the characters, in contrast, I like them all. But they all led boring lives. They needed to be lead more active, exciting lives.

Being that they lived in a new neighborhood, the series had the potential to introduce all manner of zany characters to the Ropers. Los Angeles certainly wouldn't have a shortage of wackadoo characters. But where were they?

I actually think some of the best characters on this show were the recurring (but not regular) ones. Helen's mother, played by the wonderful Lucille Benson as an eternally confused, kindly elderly southern woman. Also enjoyable was Dena Dietrich as Helen's rich snob sister Ethel. I would have liked to seen more of them. (I was shocked to learn that Ethel was supposed to be older than Helen, IRL, Audra Lindley was 11 years older than Dena). Weird.

The other main flaw was that they seemed to really make Helen and Stan tamer than their time on Three's Company. A typical Three's Company episode would have some AWESOME zingers between the two. Usually, Stan would get in a wicked jab on Helen or her mother, and she would fire back with one about him or his performance (or lack thereof) in the bedroom. It produced some of the series best jokes. But The Ropers seemed to lack this.

I thought Jeffrey Tambor's physical comedy was just brilliant in this. I know this show is often thought of as one of the worst that ever existed, but I definitely don't feel it was. Perhaps it just got compared too much to its widely beloved parent show.

TVFactFan · 05-04-2014, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

I actually liked the Ropers and thought it deserved a longer run, although I thought it was just ok initially and it's a bit of an acquired taste. I can see why it didn't last long. I think it was the Scrubs of its era, a show that didn't have a lot of laughs, but the ones it did were very big. I also think it was a bit ahead of its time. It was like Three's Company in that a lot of the comedy was physical as opposed to verbal jokes.

There are a couple of inherent flaws in The Ropers. First, all of the main character are, in essence, boring. The Ropers are a boring couple who never go anywhere or do anything. Their sex life is practically nonexistent. The Brookes are similar: Jeffrey is a boring stuffed shirt, Ann is the normal housewife, and David is a kid whose constantly bored because there are no other kids in the neighborhood. Jenny, the young lady who lived with them in the later episodes, is also relatively bland. That's not to say I dislike any of the characters, in contrast, I like them all. But they all led boring lives. They needed to be lead more active, exciting lives.

Being that they lived in a new neighborhood, the series had the potential to introduce all manner of zany characters to the Ropers. Los Angeles certainly wouldn't have a shortage of wackadoo characters. But where were they?

I actually think some of the best characters on this show were the recurring (but not regular) ones. Helen's mother, played by the wonderful Lucille Benson as an eternally confused, kindly elderly southern woman. Also enjoyable was Dena Dietrich as Helen's rich snob sister Ethel. I would have liked to seen more of them. (I was shocked to learn that Ethel was supposed to be older than Helen, IRL, Audra Lindley was 11 years older than Dena). Weird.

The other main flaw was that they seemed to really make Helen and Stan tamer than their time on Three's Company. A typical Three's Company episode would have some AWESOME zingers between the two. Usually, Stan would get in a wicked jab on Helen or her mother, and she would fire back with one about him or his performance (or lack thereof) in the bedroom. It produced some of the series best jokes. But The Ropers seemed to lack this.

I thought Jeffrey Tambor's physical comedy was just brilliant in this. I know this show is often thought of as one of the worst that ever existed, but I definitely don't feel it was. Perhaps it just got compared too much to its widely beloved parent show.

I think the problem was TC fans only accepted them in the presence of the trio. So to see them alone for 30 mins was something TC fans could not focus on because you were never going to see Jack, janet, or Chrissy

On TC you knew that eventually while watching the ropers in their apt the scene would switch upstairs

Mace Dolex · 05-08-2014, 03:32 PM

Thanks to AntennaTV now I'm discovering the show, so far we're only three episodes in and at times it feels like I'm watching an extended episode of TC but the same kind of humor is still there although there isn't a youthful person among the cast that can entice the 18-35 crowd to watch unless you count the kid but nobody likes kids in sitcoms.

I'll be giving it a try since it's sandwiched between TC and Too Close For Comfort which I also like.

Another thing I noticed is that many guest stars that were on TC are popping up on The Ropers too.

TVFactFan · 05-08-2014, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

Thanks to AntennaTV now I'm discovering the show, so far we're only three episodes in and at times it feels like I'm watching an extended episode of TC but the same kind of humor is still there although there isn't a youthful person among the cast that can entice the 18-35 crowd to watch unless you count the kid but nobody likes kids in sitcoms.

I'll be giving it a try since it's sandwiched between TC and Too Close For Comfort which I also like.

Another thing I noticed is that many guest stars that were on TC are popping up on The Ropers too.

Yeah I noticed that too

Mace Dolex · 05-14-2014, 05:59 PM

Is it me or does The Ropers have one of the lousiest theme intros, I know many sitcom themes are corny even Three's Company's theme is probably seen corny to younger viewers.

I mean as soon as the Ropers theme starts with the trumpets it sounds like someone recorded their own farts.

TVFactFan · 05-14-2014, 06:53 PM

yeah the theme for the Ropers was kind of sad

Mace Dolex · 06-11-2014, 07:26 PM

Ok so AntennaTV seems to have run the entire series and here are my thoughts.

It's really bad, the characters of the Ropers are only needed in small doses as they were in Three's Company and the Brooks themselves are just boring although Jeffrey Tambor was wasted on the show.

It was impossible to get TC fans to follow the show since it featured mostly adults and the 18-34 crowd just couldn't relate if there was no Jack, Janet or Chrissy to hold an audience, they added a young girl to the show but she didn't bring anything to the show.

The plots for episodes were pretty weak too.

04-11-2012, 01:48 AM	#1
PrettyinPink55 Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 11, 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 24,601	Why Did This Show Not Last? For the first time I've watched all of The Ropers episodes on Antenna TV and as opposed to Three's a Crowd, which just felt weird without the other main characters (roommates), this show actually worked. It was funny! Why didn't it survive? It had some great potential! I can't help but think that Norman and Audra got the bad end of the deal. I much preferred Mr. Furley on Three's Company, but I still feel bad for them. I don't understand why this show didn't last longer.
	__________________ ♥♥♥

05-10-2012, 03:44 AM	#2
704Hauser Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 08, 2011 Location: Australia Posts: 366	As you may know, The Ropers was a Top 10 hit in the Spring of 1979 when it aired in Three's Company's timeslot, ABC decided to move the still-establishing The Ropers to Saturday nights that fall, up against NBC's smash-hit CHiPs, and the ratings fell off the cliff. The British show The Ropers was based off, George and Mildred, was actually more successful than Man About The House! And given that the scripts to The Ropers were essentially George and Mildred's scripts with minor amendments, I don't think the content of The Ropers was the reason it tanked in 1979-80.
	__________________ Who's that riding in the sun? Who's the man with the itchy gun? Who's the man who kills for fun? Psycho Dad, Psycho Dad, Psycho Dad.

04-03-2014, 07:13 AM	#9
wiseguy182 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 11, 2006 Location: Wendy's salad bar Posts: 7,030	I actually liked the Ropers and thought it deserved a longer run, although I thought it was just ok initially and it's a bit of an acquired taste. I can see why it didn't last long. I think it was the Scrubs of its era, a show that didn't have a lot of laughs, but the ones it did were very big. I also think it was a bit ahead of its time. It was like Three's Company in that a lot of the comedy was physical as opposed to verbal jokes. There are a couple of inherent flaws in The Ropers. First, all of the main character are, in essence, boring. The Ropers are a boring couple who never go anywhere or do anything. Their sex life is practically nonexistent. The Brookes are similar: Jeffrey is a boring stuffed shirt, Ann is the normal housewife, and David is a kid whose constantly bored because there are no other kids in the neighborhood. Jenny, the young lady who lived with them in the later episodes, is also relatively bland. That's not to say I dislike any of the characters, in contrast, I like them all. But they all led boring lives. They needed to be lead more active, exciting lives. Being that they lived in a new neighborhood, the series had the potential to introduce all manner of zany characters to the Ropers. Los Angeles certainly wouldn't have a shortage of wackadoo characters. But where were they? I actually think some of the best characters on this show were the recurring (but not regular) ones. Helen's mother, played by the wonderful Lucille Benson as an eternally confused, kindly elderly southern woman. Also enjoyable was Dena Dietrich as Helen's rich snob sister Ethel. I would have liked to seen more of them. (I was shocked to learn that Ethel was supposed to be older than Helen, IRL, Audra Lindley was 11 years older than Dena). Weird. The other main flaw was that they seemed to really make Helen and Stan tamer than their time on Three's Company. A typical Three's Company episode would have some AWESOME zingers between the two. Usually, Stan would get in a wicked jab on Helen or her mother, and she would fire back with one about him or his performance (or lack thereof) in the bedroom. It produced some of the series best jokes. But The Ropers seemed to lack this. I thought Jeffrey Tambor's physical comedy was just brilliant in this. I know this show is often thought of as one of the worst that ever existed, but I definitely don't feel it was. Perhaps it just got compared too much to its widely beloved parent show.
	__________________ "Dottie had said, in the event I got transferred that she was not interested in going with me. I wasn't expecting her to go with me. And wouldn't have even wanted her to I guess."

07-08-2012, 05:31 PM	#3
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	Exactly--it was the timeslot that did them in. ABC should have given them at least one full season behind 3's Co. Look how long ABC let Laverne & Shirley stay behind Happy Days!

08-25-2012, 11:19 AM	#5
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	Watching these episodes again shows me how the Ropers went beyond their Three's Company limitations--we actually see them more as humans with depth and poignancy. The episode where the Ropers try to adopt--the scene where Helen is visibly distraught is really effective and you actually see Stanley moved to action because of his wife being so hurt.

05-08-2014, 03:32 PM	#11
Mace Dolex Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 12, 2013 Posts: 2,666	Thanks to AntennaTV now I'm discovering the show, so far we're only three episodes in and at times it feels like I'm watching an extended episode of TC but the same kind of humor is still there although there isn't a youthful person among the cast that can entice the 18-35 crowd to watch unless you count the kid but nobody likes kids in sitcoms. I'll be giving it a try since it's sandwiched between TC and Too Close For Comfort which I also like. Another thing I noticed is that many guest stars that were on TC are popping up on The Ropers too.

05-14-2014, 05:59 PM	#13
Mace Dolex Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 12, 2013 Posts: 2,666	Is it me or does The Ropers have one of the lousiest theme intros, I know many sitcom themes are corny even Three's Company's theme is probably seen corny to younger viewers. I mean as soon as the Ropers theme starts with the trumpets it sounds like someone recorded their own farts.

05-14-2014, 06:53 PM	#14
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 98,982	yeah the theme for the Ropers was kind of sad

06-11-2014, 07:26 PM	#15
Mace Dolex Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 12, 2013 Posts: 2,666	Ok so AntennaTV seems to have run the entire series and here are my thoughts. It's really bad, the characters of the Ropers are only needed in small doses as they were in Three's Company and the Brooks themselves are just boring although Jeffrey Tambor was wasted on the show. It was impossible to get TC fans to follow the show since it featured mostly adults and the 18-34 crowd just couldn't relate if there was no Jack, Janet or Chrissy to hold an audience, they added a young girl to the show but she didn't bring anything to the show. The plots for episodes were pretty weak too.