Watched this show over the weekend....

[JSP]

for the first time in quite a while. I have to say I don't think I like this show as much as I used to. It really does seem more like an anti-sex show if you ask me. Everybody back then and these days only seemed to focus on Suzanne Somers' jiggling, but what they forget to say is that pretty much every episode there's a lot of moral judgment on sex going on. Like I saw the episode where Jack was being an escort to Lana and he was afraid the girls would find out, and guess what after they did? They said: "How could you Jack?" So judgmental. And then of course, it always seemed like whenever Janet and Chrissy went out on a date with a guy if the guy just wanted to make out with them that was being too "aggressive" and then of course it was Jack's job to beat the guy up and kick the "bad" guy out. This wasn't a very sexy show. In fact it was an unsexy show that encouraged women to remain virtuous and sort of warned them that men were only after one thing. The theme I get out the show is that "sex without being in a loving relationship is bad and men are bad for wanting sex without love". Guys never really come out looking good on this show I'm beginning to realize. I don't know why Christian Conservatives protested this show so much back in the day.....nothing really was going on. In fact Janet and Chrissy were frustratingly uptight. Not to mention Mr Roper and Mrs Roper and the lack of sex going on there! This show just doesn't seem like any fun at all to me these days, and annoyingly preachy and anti-male at times.

[JackJanetChrissy]

Great post, very thought-provoking. I think you may be reading too much into it. This show was a farce, literally. That particular form demands broad characterizations and ridiculous, improbable situations centered around a misunderstanding. Note: broad characterizations. And that touched everyone on this show. Mrs Roper, the love-starved wife; Mr. Roper, the sex-scared yet secretly sex-obsessed husband; Jack, the sex-crazed, nice single guy; Larry, the sex-crazed, sleazy single guy; Chrissy, the dumb/naive little-girl blonde; and Janet, the grown-up, sensible “straight-man” brunette.

As you can see, taken as mentioned above they are pretty broad and sort of repulsive characters. You mention the show being anti-men, but let's face it, having not one, not two, but THREE blonde women who are each in their own way silly or dumb or clutzy---that isn't what I would call exactly flattering to women. I could even argue that it's more anti-women than anti-men because of the repeated pattern that men (such as Jack and Larry) have sexual freedom whereas the girls are relegated to being virginal. Jack is highly sexed (and is having sex) and is still considered a “good” guy. Larry is highly sexed but chooses to treat men and women, friends and lovers, very poorly. The girls don't have this choice. If they had sex, no matter their intentions or circumstance, they would be automatically condemned and considered damaged goods.

However, as a woman I am willing to overlook such---admittedly---obvious shortcomings because that is what the farce format requires. This form of comedy goes back centuries, and part of its comedic strategy is the simplicity and reduction of characterizations. The anti-sex message you see is also indicative of the time it aired and may be a consequence of censorship.

Also, I would argue that although the show is guilty of sex-moralizing to a degree, that doesn't make anyone unlikeable. Larry is a perfect example. You can't get much more slimy than Larry, yet he is completely likeable. Because he brings a likeability and personality to his very broad characterization, he deepens the broad stroke with which he is painted.

Personally, I am relatively young (30) and I love TC because of its lack of in-your-face sexuality. TC came from a transitional time in America where everyone was having guilt-free sex but didn't constantly show/refer to it in television. Bukowski once said something like, “Talking about sex ruins the real thing,” and I agree. For its time, TC acknowledged sex more than any other show on the air, and now it seems so tame, but the reason it seems tame is because it did not exploit sex to the nth degree. The mystery is still there---who knows WHAT the girls were really doing on their dates, because nobody sees it!

The show was also really funny, which forgives a lot of things.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

As you can see, taken as mentioned above they are pretty broad and sort of repulsive characters. You mention the show being anti-men, but let's face it, having not one, not two, but THREE blonde women who are each in their own way silly or dumb or clutzy---that isn't what I would call exactly flattering to women. I could even argue that it's more anti-women than anti-men because of the repeated pattern that men (such as Jack and Larry) have sexual freedom whereas the girls are relegated to being virginal. Jack is highly sexed (and is having sex) and is still considered a “good” guy. Larry is highly sexed but chooses to treat men and women, friends and lovers, very poorly. The girls don't have this choice. If they had sex, no matter their intentions or circumstance, they would be automatically condemned and considered damaged goods.

Yep I agree there was a double standard....I can't believe how Conservative the show really looks this day and age. Hard to believe people protested it so much at the time.

The fact that the women characters couldn't be sexually liberated is what really held the show back in my opinion. But yeah, I guess they were just trying to push the envelope at the time, not TEAR it up completely.

It was a show these days that has antiquated ideals.....but like you said, it was a transitional time in our nation's history. People were doing things but couldn't talk about them still. Three's Company got the dialogue going.

And thanks for pointing out how anti-female this show was. It's clear behind the scenes stuff was sexist against women, but you're right some of the on-air stuff was too. The women had to worry about their reputations and the men didn't. There just were too many rules back then for men and women.

This show couldn't work today because no one has to worry about their reputations being ruined due to sex.

I still think the men had to behave themselves when it came to dating too. It was expected at the time the man was going to pay on the date, it was expected he was going to be a gentleman to the lady... men had rules too. This show would have portrayed the men that didn't follow the rules as being low-life pigs too. Jack couldn't be an escort and be socially acceptable any more than the girls could be prostitutes.

[JackJanetChrissy]

"I guess they were just trying to push the envelope at the time, not TEAR it up completely."

You got it! That is a great way to put it. I remember in an early episode there was a bit where Jack asked, "Whatever happened to the Sexual Revolution?" And Chrissy replied, "Your side lost!" But so many things in the show contradicted that.

Like many good shows, TC reflected what was happening in the real world, possibly without even realizing it. The push-pull power tensions between the sexes are repeatedly won and lost without much consistency in this show. Sometimes the girls seem really strong, then other times they sort of "lie down," so to speak, for the men. And sometimes the men seem to have the upperhand and other times they get their comeuppance.

One episode I really liked was in Season 1, "Jack the Giant Killer," where Jack doesn't stand up to a bully. For most of the episode he and the girls struggle with doing the right, sensible thing (avoiding violent conflict) versus the "manly" thing to do (defend someone's honor through a show of strength). Now it's my turn to read too much into it! lol...but I thought it was great to see the characters challenge both sides of that argument. And in the end, of course, Jack only stood up to the bully with the help of two shots of whiskey and outrageous lying, which points out the ridiculous nature of what it means to do the "manly" thing.

[Mace Dolex]

Another thing that is never mentioned and overlooked is the countless women both Jack and Larry dated, in the era of pre-AIDS back then were the guys having sex with their dates or just a little harmless kiss here and there?

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

Another thing that is never mentioned and overlooked is the countless women both Jack and Larry dated, in the era of pre-AIDS back then were the guys having sex with their dates or just a little harmless kiss here and there?

I think a lot of it was just talk. lol

[Mace Dolex]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

I think a lot of it was just talk. lol

Hmm maybe you're right since Jack was still old fashioned when he wanted to marry Vicki instead of trying to live together at first.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by JSP

for the first time in quite a while. I have to say I don't think I like this show as much as I used to. It really does seem more like an anti-sex show if you ask me. Everybody back then and these days only seemed to focus on Suzanne Somers' jiggling, but what they forget to say is that pretty much every episode there's a lot of moral judgment on sex going on. Like I saw the episode where Jack was being an escort to Lana and he was afraid the girls would find out, and guess what after they did? They said: "How could you Jack?" So judgmental. And then of course, it always seemed like whenever Janet and Chrissy went out on a date with a guy if the guy just wanted to make out with them that was being too "aggressive" and then of course it was Jack's job to beat the guy up and kick the "bad" guy out. This wasn't a very sexy show. In fact it was an unsexy show that encouraged women to remain virtuous and sort of warned them that men were only after one thing. The theme I get out the show is that "sex without being in a loving relationship is bad and men are bad for wanting sex without love". Guys never really come out looking good on this show I'm beginning to realize. I don't know why Christian Conservatives protested this show so much back in the day.....nothing really was going on. In fact Janet and Chrissy were frustratingly uptight. Not to mention Mr Roper and Mrs Roper and the lack of sex going on there! This show just doesn't seem like any fun at all to me these days, and annoyingly preachy and anti-male at times.

Did you enjoy the tag scenes?

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

Hmm maybe you're right since Jack was still old fashioned when he wanted to marry Vicki instead of trying to live together at first.

Jack was old-fashioned because he would get nervous when women were aggressive

[JSP]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Did you enjoy the tag scenes?

Jiggle is good.