Repetitive Plots

[LittleRickyII]

The last three episodes I have seen have had the same plot. In the last episode I saw prior to tonight Jack and Janet mistake Cindy's father for a kidnapper and try to save Cindy. Tonight I tuned in and in the first episode Jack and Janet mistake Terri's date for a psycho killer and try to save Terri. In the next episode, Jack and Janet mistake a cop for a burglar/killer and try to save themselves. And another that comes to mind, Jack and Janet mistake a ventriloquist neighbor for a killer.

[Mace Dolex]

There's also in season 1 when the kids are trying to hide a dog from Mr. Roper and in season 8 the kids are trying to hide three kittens from Mr. Furley.

[opus]

Yeah, which is that Three's Company episode where someone misunderstood something they overhead?

[Mace Dolex]

Originally Posted by opus

Yeah, which is that Three's Company episode where someone misunderstood something they overhead?

There were many episodes like that.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by opus

Yeah, which is that Three's Company episode where someone misunderstood something they overhead?

No, I don't think that ever happened.

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

There's also in season 1 when the kids are trying to hide a dog from Mr. Roper and in season 8 the kids are trying to hide three kittens from Mr. Furley.

That's one repetition that even John Ritter acknowledged. Can we think of more?

Something I've also noticed is a lot of plot devices are lifted from I Love Lucy, like Jack getting stuck on a ballet bar (which John Ritter also acknowledged as coming from I Love Lucy, which he said was a tribute); getting locked in a freezer; getting stuck together in handcuffs. Sometimes it seems like it's I Love Lucy plus sexual innuendo. Of course, Lucille Ball was a fan of the show and a fan of John Ritter, so I guess she was cool with all that. But I'm not sure if her writers were as it was their ideas.

[JackJanetChrissy]

The two I get confused are both great episodes, but kind of similar--- "Upstairs, Downstairs, Downstairs" (the one where Jack has to entertain two dates, the French girl in Larry's apartment and a girl in his apt) and "Double Date" (the one where he pretends he is sick and has to entertain two dates).

Other similar plots include
- "The Crush" (little girl loves Jack) and "Jack's Bad Boy" (little boy hates Jack)

- "Chrissy Come Home" (where Jack and Janet pretend to be married for Chrissy's dad) and "Janet's Secret" (where Jack and Janet pretend to be married for her parents)

- "And Baby Makes Two" (where Jack and Chrissy think Janet is advertising for fathers) and "And Baby Makes Four" (where Jack and Janet think Cindy is pregnant) and also "Jack Be Quick" (a woman wants to hire Jack to father her baby)

-"The Rivals" (where Chrissy takes away a guy Janet wanted to date) and "The Dates of Wrath" (where Terri takes away a guy Janet wanted to date)

-"Jack the Giant Killer" (where Jack doesn't stand up to a bully at the Regal Beagle) and "Macho Man" (where Terri uses karate to save Jack from a bully at the Regal Beagle)

-"The Lifesaver" (the kids think they have a new apartment to move to but it doesn't pan out and "Paradise Lost" (the kids think they have a new apt but it doesn't work out)

-"Some of that Jazz" (where Janet learns her dance instructor/love interest is a sleazebag) and "Star Struck" (where Terri learns her soap opera bf is a total sleazebag)

-"The Fast" (a bet involving Jack staying away from women) and "Jack's Double Date" (a bet involving Jack staying away from women)

-"A-Camping We Will Go" and "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not" both feature camping in a cabin, and "She Loves Me, She Loves me Not" and "Black Letter Day" feature the misunderstanding originating in a newspaper/magazine article that make the roomies believe one of them is in love with the other.

-"Lee Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother" and "Doctor in the House" and "Like Father, Like Son" all feature Jack trying (and failing) to impress his male family members....I think Jack had some family issues, ha ha

- "Father of the Bride" (Cindy tries to be rid of a pushy admirer and Jack pretends to be her brother) and "The Odd Couples" (Terri wants to be rid of an admirer and Jack and Janet pretend to be French houseguests)

As you can see, most of the repeated plots start appearing in season 7 and 8. I'm sure there are more, but these are what I came up with off the top of my head.

[LittleRickyII]

Wow, that's quite a list! Could this just be an indication that perhaps American network television requires too much product from its television series? Consider that there were 174 episodes of Three's Company. The original British version, Man About the House, produced an average of only 13 episodes a year over just three years for a total of 39. It's a similar thing comparing other series, such as All in the Family and its original British version, Till Death Us Do Part, and the U.S. and British versions of The Office. I would say that the perception by some that the British versions are better may be because the BBC doesn't crank out so many episodes every year, and retires a show before they get to the point where they're trying to get blood from a stone. Sometimes the premise of a show only enables a certain number of original ideas; after that, they do whatever they can to keep going . So a show like Three's Company after a while finds itself copying plots from shows like I Love Lucy, and then repeating itself as well.

[JackJanetChrissy]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

Wow, that's quite a list! Could this just be an indication that perhaps American network television requires too much product from its television series?

Thanks! Yes, I think you're right. It's too bad, really; I think Three's Company could have been great up until the end, but it seems like the writers got lazy for the last two seasons (especially in Season 8). If the actors hadn't been so good, the show would have tanked way before that. I think John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt really did keep it hanging on.

The British have the right idea--they know when to end something. But Americans, of course, are all about that money and merchandising and will bleed a successful series dry before giving up. I remember Family Matters was on ABC for 8 years, and when ABC cancelled it, one of the other networks picked it up for another year, I guess to see if they could wring anything else from it.

[Mace Dolex]

Wow that list is great, I guess seeing the show for so long the repetitive similar plotlines didn't really bother me since I was so focused on the great comedic timing from the cast.

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

Something I've also noticed is a lot of plot devices are lifted from I Love Lucy, like Jack getting stuck on a ballet bar (which John Ritter also acknowledged as coming from I Love Lucy, which he said was a tribute); getting locked in a freezer; getting stuck together in handcuffs. Sometimes it seems like it's I Love Lucy plus sexual innuendo. Of course, Lucille Ball was a fan of the show and a fan of John Ritter, so I guess she was cool with all that. But I'm not sure if her writers were as it was their ideas.

I've never seen a single episode of I Love Lucy so I also never knew of those different "homages" to it, but still I think John Ritter was a gifted physical comedic actor that like you said didn't matter if he was copying somebody else, I mean if Lucille Ball was ok with it then why stop it, right?

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

I've never seen a single episode of I Love Lucy so I also never knew of those different "homages" to it, but still I think John Ritter was a gifted physical comedic actor that like you said didn't matter if he was copying somebody else, I mean if Lucille Ball was ok with it then why stop it, right?

Never seen a single episode of I Love Lucy? I didn't know that was possible. I'm guessing you're very young? Although youth is not necessarily a factor. There is a guy, Jimmy Sheridan, who recently wrote a book -- Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything Left to Know About America's Favorite Redhead -- and he's only 26 years old.

If you're of my generation it's pretty much impossible not to have seen I Love Lucy because it was in constant reruns all over the country (several hours a day in NY City). But even since cable, it was on constantly throughout the '70s and 80s on TBS (as was The Lucy Show), and it ran non-stop on Nick-at-Nite and TVLand for more than a quarter century starting in 1994. I think it ended its run on TVLand in 2010 or 2011. But these days, you can catch it on the Hallmark Channel (it's on three hours a day, 7 days a week, 5 AM to 8 AM ET); MeTV (weekday mornings at 7:30); and on the new Decades TV (their schedule varies daily). And of course, as my signature indicates, CBS continues to put I Love Lucy on the air in prime time. They ran I Love Lucy three times during the current 2014-15 season. It's the only TV show from the past that gets prime time exposure on a major network. And it's 64 years old! So that should tell you something. It's the grandaddy of all sitcoms and invented the three-camera live audience filming technique used right up to this day, including on sitcoms like Three's Company.

I Love Lucy, along with The Honeymooners, Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family, Cheers and Seinfeld and a few others are essential TV. You can't get through life without seeing these shows. They are all iconic. But for the uninitiated, I would not recommend seeing a first season episode of I Love Lucy as your first experience. It was very early TV and they were still trying to sort things out. That first season is very clumsy and most of those episodes I don't like. But from the 2nd season on, it's complete brilliance. A similar thing with Mary Tyler Moore: it took until the third season for that show to develop into the comedy classic it is today. The first two seasons of MTM, it was a "cute" show, but not very funny. The last five years it was consistently hilarious.

Right now on either Hallmark or MeTV is a good time to catch I Love Lucy for a first timer. They're beginning the story arc where the Ricardos and Mertzes go to Hollywood. There are many classic episodes in that part of the series. You need to watch these shows to understand where John Ritter got his inspiration, as well as the Three's Company writers (not to mention the Laverne & Shirley folks). Of course all the tripping over the couch and running into doors, that's pure John Ritter. I think maybe his inspiration for that was the Three Stooges. And yes, I love the Stooges, too.

[LittleRickyII]

One other observation: Besides the many Lucy sight gag and plot similarities, the Ropers in several ways seem like a reincarnation of Fred and Ethel Mertz.

Bonnie, if you're around here I would be interested in your take on all this.

It also just occurred to me, Mace's comment above about the S1 episode where the trio is hiding a cat, and S8 where they're hiding a dog -- this is another plot right out of I Love Lucy ("Little Ricky Gets a Dog"), and a later plot where Lucy and Ethel try to hid a horse in the house.

[JackJanetChrissy]

I think similar shows have similar, repeating plotlines. Most 1980's action series had almost identical plots---international forces stealing nukes, gang members with hearts of gold, a "race against time" medical episode, a small town harassed by bikers or street-racers (or a small town with corrupt cops), a jewel heist, a man vs nature episode....the list goes on. Just like if you compare mystery/sci-fi shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 1950s, The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits---they all involve doppelganger episodes, man vs machine episodes, and apocalyptic episodes.

So it makes sense that "zany comedies" like Lucy and Three's Company would share plots (the washing-machine episode in Lucy is similar to TC's "Roper's Car" too). I guess it is inevitable.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

So it makes sense that "zany comedies" like Lucy and Three's Company would share plots (the washing-machine episode in Lucy is similar to TC's "Roper's Car" too). I guess it is inevitable.

That's very true. I need to look out for "Roper's Car." I don't recall that one right offhand. Maybe this needs to be a separate thread: Lucy plots (and sight gags) used on Three's Company. It seems, though, that the Lucy/3s Company similarities are structural, too, not just the plots. Jack is always scheming with Richard or Janet, usually about getting a girl, in the same way that Lucy was always scheming, usually with Ethel and sometimes with Ricky, and mostly about getting in the show. Jack seems like a male Lucy in many ways. And like I mentioned above, the Ropers seemed like another version of the Mertzes. But Three's Company added a new twist with the sexual innuendo, although there was that one episode where Lucy and Ethel ended up in a single man's hotel room trying on lingerie (which is a bit surprising that it got on the air in the '50s).

[JackJanetChrissy]

In Roper's Car the trio buy Mr. Roper's junker only to find it'll cost more to repair it than they paid for it. Roper's car salesman tells him he could've gotten three times as much, so Roper wants it back from the kids. But as soon as he buys back the car he finds the car is worth zero, and neither group gains anything.

In the Lucy washing machine ep, Lucy sells Ethel her washing machine, but Ethel finds it breaks down as soon as she gets it in her house. Lucy finds out she could sell the washer for a lot more money than she had, and wants it back, but in the end the washer falls off the balcony and is destroyed.

[Mace Dolex]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

Never seen a single episode of I Love Lucy? I didn't know that was possible. I'm guessing you're very young? Although youth is not necessarily a factor. There is a guy, Jimmy Sheridan, who recently wrote a book -- Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything Left to Know About America's Favorite Redhead -- and he's only 26 years old.

If you're of my generation it's pretty much impossible not to have seen I Love Lucy because it was in constant reruns all over the country (several hours a day in NY City). But even since cable, it was on constantly throughout the '70s and 80s on TBS (as was The Lucy Show), and it ran non-stop on Nick-at-Nite and TVLand for more than a quarter century starting in 1994. I think it ended its run on TVLand in 2010 or 2011. But these days, you can catch it on the Hallmark Channel (it's on three hours a day, 7 days a week, 5 AM to 8 AM ET); MeTV (weekday mornings at 7:30); and on the new Decades TV (their schedule varies daily). And of course, as my signature indicates, CBS continues to put I Love Lucy on the air in prime time. They ran I Love Lucy three times during the current 2014-15 season. It's the only TV show from the past that gets prime time exposure on a major network. And it's 64 years old! So that should tell you something. It's the grandaddy of all sitcoms and invented the three-camera live audience filming technique used right up to this day, including on sitcoms like Three's Company.

I Love Lucy, along with The Honeymooners, Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family, Cheers and Seinfeld and a few others are essential TV. You can't get through life without seeing these shows. They are all iconic. But for the uninitiated, I would not recommend seeing a first season episode of I Love Lucy as your first experience. It was very early TV and they were still trying to sort things out. That first season is very clumsy and most of those episodes I don't like. But from the 2nd season on, it's complete brilliance. A similar thing with Mary Tyler Moore: it took until the third season for that show to develop into the comedy classic it is today. The first two seasons of MTM, it was a "cute" show, but not very funny. The last five years it was consistently hilarious.

Right now on either Hallmark or MeTV is a good time to catch I Love Lucy for a first timer. They're beginning the story arc where the Ricardos and Mertzes go to Hollywood. There are many classic episodes in that part of the series. You need to watch these shows to understand where John Ritter got his inspiration, as well as the Three's Company writers (not to mention the Laverne & Shirley folks). Of course all the tripping over the couch and running into doors, that's pure John Ritter. I think maybe his inspiration for that was the Three Stooges. And yes, I love the Stooges, too.

That's a very good write-up there Little Ricky, just to put it in perspective I'm 39 years old and yeah it might seem weird how I never seen a single ILL episode but my tastes were different than others, maybe I should catch up on reruns to discover the show.

And it isn't because the show is in B&W because just like you I absolutely love The Three Stooges too.