Would TC succeed in contemporary television? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JackJanetChrissy · 07-24-2014, 08:02 PM

I got to thinking about this....one of the things that is so charming about TC is its innocence, both the innocent nature of the show (by today's standards) and also the innocence of the audience that is required for the farce format.

In today's world of reality, cynical, mockumentary television where everything is scrutinized for the slightest inconsistencies, how would TC stack up? Could a straight farce--where the audience must overlook the absolute improbability of certain situations, and the setting is limited to one or two places--even exist in today's TV lineup?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a TC reincarnation, but I'd want it to stay very true to the original. I think that would be hard nowadays.

JSP · 07-24-2014, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

I got to thinking about this....one of the things that is so charming about TC is its innocence, both the innocent nature of the show (by today's standards) and also the innocence of the audience that is required for the farce format.

In today's world of reality, cynical, mockumentary television where everything is scrutinized for the slightest inconsistencies, how would TC stack up? Could a straight farce--where the audience must overlook the absolute improbability of certain situations, and the setting is limited to one or two places--even exist in today's TV lineup?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a TC reincarnation, but I'd want it to stay very true to the original. I think that would be hard nowadays.

There would be revolting in the streets if they tried to bring back "Three's Company". It's one of those shows that has lingered in the hearts and minds of people through generations. They couldn't do it again even if they did it as a straight farce. If they tried again people would get hostile and say "don't mess with our show!" The death of John Ritter is still a sensitive subject. It has to be one of the saddest deaths of our time and I don't think they'll ever bring it back just out of respect for John. Or at least all of the original fans and their offspring like me will have to die out first! And I'm in my 30s so I have a long way to go hopefully.

JSP · 07-24-2014, 09:27 PM

New Three's Company would go over as well as New Coke did.

JackJanetChrissy · 07-24-2014, 09:28 PM

You have a good point. I actually think I am curious to see what a redo would be like, but I have a strong feeling I wouldn't like it. Just because of what you said---it's not John and Joyce and Suzanne....you can't mess with perfection.

But take that part out of the equation---let's say the original TC was on the air today, never aired before. Would it survive? That's what I want to know.

Bonniegirl · 07-24-2014, 09:38 PM

I don't think it would go over that big. Maybe it could be funny, but nothing special because these days male and female room mates would not be a big deal. Jack wouldn't have to pose as a gay man, and it would just be yet another sitcom about 20 somethings, that we already have enough of these days.

Funny , I was thinking the other day, when the girls parents in TC came over it was awkward that Jack lived there and they had to make excuses. These days parents would be happy if their daughters had a platonic male roommate for safety reasons. And they would believe it was platonic too, because of the high cost of living, if a person was cool, had a job and money , and they got along well, male or female would be a good roommate. Or even if they were living together and sleeping together, Oh well, don't have to be married these days!!!

So the show would not be anything unique or special these days!!

JackJanetChrissy · 07-24-2014, 09:45 PM

I didn't even think about the living arrangement, but Bonniegirl you are right. I wonder if any configuration of male/female roommates would shock today.

However, I do think it's still hard for people to believe that heterosexual men and women can platonically co-habitate. I think parents today would almost prefer knowing their daughter is living with a romantic partner than to always be *wondering* about what is going on.

Mr. Television · 07-24-2014, 09:52 PM

It's funny how innocent the show seems nowadays. At the time it really was controversial. I generally don't like remakes. They are never as good as the original. I dread the new Matthew Perry Odd Couple series.

JSP · 07-25-2014, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonniegirl62

I don't think it would go over that big. Maybe it could be funny, but nothing special because these days male and female room mates would not be a big deal. Jack wouldn't have to pose as a gay man, and it would just be yet another sitcom about 20 somethings, that we already have enough of these days.

Funny , I was thinking the other day, when the girls parents in TC came over it was awkward that Jack lived there and they had to make excuses. These days parents would be happy if their daughters had a platonic male roommate for safety reasons. And they would believe it was platonic too, because of the high cost of living, if a person was cool, had a job and money , and they got along well, male or female would be a good roommate. Or even if they were living together and sleeping together, Oh well, don't have to be married these days!!!

So the show would not be anything unique or special these days!!

Yep with no social taboos there's no point to a Three's Company existing. I see more unmarried couples living together than married. Good luck trying to tell them they're "living in sin" these days. You can't have misunderstandings on a modern Three's Company because no one would have a reason to lie, hide, or explain anything. If a stranger walks into an apartment and sees two girls and a guy living together, we would consider it none of our business to inquire about what's going on. And it isn't our business.

This makes for a more free society, but it also means you can't make a good TV show about this anymore.

king of comedy · 07-25-2014, 07:01 AM

It wouldn't be such a big deal anymore. Times have changed and it wouldn't work well today. TC fitted its' time and the concept is so dated.

JackJanetChrissy · 07-25-2014, 07:55 AM

JSP, you are exactly right. We are living in a post-taboo era. What do we say when everything's been said?

TC also had a very optimistic feel to it. From the few modern shows I watch, there is very little of that anymore. Everything is gritty and skeptical with children saying lines that belong to a jaded smoker/coffee-drinker 40-year-old. There was something fun and light and sweet about TC that you don't see anymore.

TVFactFan · 07-26-2014, 03:03 PM

Maybe if Janet and Chrissy walked around the apt with their panties and no brawl

king of comedy · 07-26-2014, 08:49 PM

Don't forget Terri!!

JackJanetChrissy · 07-27-2014, 07:03 AM

Thanks for being gross.

JSP · 07-27-2014, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Maybe if Janet and Chrissy walked around the apt with their panties and no brawl

I don't mean to shift this thread into a direction I know the thread creator didn't want to go, but since you got it started, let's go there. If there's one thing about the 1970s that I love it's the whole women didn't wear bras on TV back then. Hard to believe but it seems women have gotten more uptight these days. Pretty sure if a female character wore a shirt but no bra on a show these days the celebrity gossip blogs would be complaining about it! The women would be complaining the loudest.

There's definitely a big "women should not be treated as sex objects" vibe going on these days.

It was weird because feminism and women's rights seemed very big in the 1970s, but at looking at TV at the time and in comparison with today it becomes clear just how little control women had over TV at the time and it was still very much a Boy's Club then. Things have definitely changed in the 2010s.

These days it actually does seem like women have more control over everything, and these days our society seems to be going out of the way to make sure women AREN'T sexy on TV. Good for feminists as they are redefining society to a way that benefits their ideals more, but bad for us guys who are just looking for some eye candy on TV.

JackJanetChrissy · 07-27-2014, 03:40 PM

I thought TVfactfan was referring to women walking around in nothing but panties. Don't worry, TVfactfan, there's a channel for you....maybe one day you'll have cable.

As for the braless women, do you really need people to be braless to see them as eyecandy? I mean in this day and age of people having sex (mostly unclothed) on every other episode of any given TV show, that's really an issue?

I think you are a victim of the mindset from which you "congratulate" women for freeing themselves. You want women to walk around braless for the view but maybe not be overtly sexual---you know, how it was in 1970s TV....yeah, that's totally freedom. WTF.

Women would complain about other women walking around braless on today's sitcoms because it would be seen as exploitative. Unlike the swinging 70s, contemporary women generally do not walk around braless in every day public life, so to put that on-screen would be an obvious ploy to play the "eye candy" card. I am a fan of braless status but guess what, I know that if I go out in public the men are just staring at my boobs, and I don't feel like I want to attract that attention.

In some ways women's lib has come a long way, but in many other ways we are still waiting for men to be decent and acknowledge equality. During the women's movement in the 70s I think women did feel like they were making some marked progress and felt freer to make statements physically (i.e., go braless). But now we have less freedom to do that, because now we realize that it's less a statement for women and more an excuse for men to look at tits.

So congratulations. You screwed your own game.

07-24-2014, 08:02 PM	#1
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	Would TC succeed in contemporary television? I got to thinking about this....one of the things that is so charming about TC is its innocence, both the innocent nature of the show (by today's standards) and also the innocence of the audience that is required for the farce format. In today's world of reality, cynical, mockumentary television where everything is scrutinized for the slightest inconsistencies, how would TC stack up? Could a straight farce--where the audience must overlook the absolute improbability of certain situations, and the setting is limited to one or two places--even exist in today's TV lineup? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a TC reincarnation, but I'd want it to stay very true to the original. I think that would be hard nowadays.

07-24-2014, 09:52 PM	#7
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,128	It's funny how innocent the show seems nowadays. At the time it really was controversial. I generally don't like remakes. They are never as good as the original. I dread the new Matthew Perry Odd Couple series.
	__________________ Sonny

07-24-2014, 09:27 PM	#3
JSP Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 19, 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,735	New Three's Company would go over as well as New Coke did.

07-24-2014, 09:28 PM	#4
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	You have a good point. I actually think I am curious to see what a redo would be like, but I have a strong feeling I wouldn't like it. Just because of what you said---it's not John and Joyce and Suzanne....you can't mess with perfection. But take that part out of the equation---let's say the original TC was on the air today, never aired before. Would it survive? That's what I want to know.

07-24-2014, 09:38 PM	#5
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,576	I don't think it would go over that big. Maybe it could be funny, but nothing special because these days male and female room mates would not be a big deal. Jack wouldn't have to pose as a gay man, and it would just be yet another sitcom about 20 somethings, that we already have enough of these days. Funny , I was thinking the other day, when the girls parents in TC came over it was awkward that Jack lived there and they had to make excuses. These days parents would be happy if their daughters had a platonic male roommate for safety reasons. And they would believe it was platonic too, because of the high cost of living, if a person was cool, had a job and money , and they got along well, male or female would be a good roommate. Or even if they were living together and sleeping together, Oh well, don't have to be married these days!!! So the show would not be anything unique or special these days!!

07-24-2014, 09:45 PM	#6
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	I didn't even think about the living arrangement, but Bonniegirl you are right. I wonder if any configuration of male/female roommates would shock today. However, I do think it's still hard for people to believe that heterosexual men and women can platonically co-habitate. I think parents today would almost prefer knowing their daughter is living with a romantic partner than to always be wondering about what is going on.

07-25-2014, 07:01 AM	#9
king of comedy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 31, 2012 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,140	It wouldn't be such a big deal anymore. Times have changed and it wouldn't work well today. TC fitted its' time and the concept is so dated.

07-25-2014, 07:55 AM	#10
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	JSP, you are exactly right. We are living in a post-taboo era. What do we say when everything's been said? TC also had a very optimistic feel to it. From the few modern shows I watch, there is very little of that anymore. Everything is gritty and skeptical with children saying lines that belong to a jaded smoker/coffee-drinker 40-year-old. There was something fun and light and sweet about TC that you don't see anymore.

07-26-2014, 03:03 PM	#11
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,015	Maybe if Janet and Chrissy walked around the apt with their panties and no brawl

07-26-2014, 08:49 PM	#12
king of comedy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 31, 2012 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,140	Don't forget Terri!!

07-27-2014, 07:03 AM	#13
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	Thanks for being gross.

07-27-2014, 03:40 PM	#15
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	I thought TVfactfan was referring to women walking around in nothing but panties. Don't worry, TVfactfan, there's a channel for you....maybe one day you'll have cable. As for the braless women, do you really need people to be braless to see them as eyecandy? I mean in this day and age of people having sex (mostly unclothed) on every other episode of any given TV show, that's really an issue? I think you are a victim of the mindset from which you "congratulate" women for freeing themselves. You want women to walk around braless for the view but maybe not be overtly sexual---you know, how it was in 1970s TV....yeah, that's totally freedom. WTF. Women would complain about other women walking around braless on today's sitcoms because it would be seen as exploitative. Unlike the swinging 70s, contemporary women generally do not walk around braless in every day public life, so to put that on-screen would be an obvious ploy to play the "eye candy" card. I am a fan of braless status but guess what, I know that if I go out in public the men are just staring at my boobs, and I don't feel like I want to attract that attention. In some ways women's lib has come a long way, but in many other ways we are still waiting for men to be decent and acknowledge equality. During the women's movement in the 70s I think women did feel like they were making some marked progress and felt freer to make statements physically (i.e., go braless). But now we have less freedom to do that, because now we realize that it's less a statement for women and more an excuse for men to look at tits. So congratulations. You screwed your own game.