Something Three's Company was missing

[JackJanetChrissy]

...MUSIC. Did any of you ever notice that? Most sitcoms have transitional or background music. Even All in the Family had background music for the first season (none after that).

I think that's one of the reasons I love Three's Company. I always have thought incidental music is so cheesy. It is unnatural and gives a show a very "produced" quality to it. Three's Company seemed a lot more real and down-to-earth without it.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

...MUSIC. Did any of you ever notice that? Most sitcoms have transitional or background music. Even All in the Family had background music for the first season (none after that).

I think that's one of the reasons I love Three's Company. I always have thought incidental music is so cheesy. It is unnatural and gives a show a very "produced" quality to it. Three's Company seemed a lot more real and down-to-earth without it.

The first pilot written by Larry Gelbart had music when it was going to a commercial break.

This seemed to be a common thing at the time. Play a brief musical piece before fading to black.

Three's saved money there by having the audience applaud to indicate a commercial break was ahead.

Yeah, I have to admit, the music isn't really needed. Better without it.

[TerriFan]

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

...MUSIC. Did any of you ever notice that? Most sitcoms have transitional or background music. Even All in the Family had background music for the first season (none after that).

I think that's one of the reasons I love Three's Company. I always have thought incidental music is so cheesy. It is unnatural and gives a show a very "produced" quality to it. Three's Company seemed a lot more real and down-to-earth without it.

In a sitcom, the only real purpose for incidental music is to indicate a transition. The overall purpose of music is to set the mood, which 3'sC didn't need. A fade transition indicates a passage of time, which is why it wasn't used as much in early episodes, and when it was, music would have been completely out of place. I have to agree, the show worked better with no music because it didn't clutter the sound, especially in settings where music would be normal, like the Regal Beagle or any of the restaurants.

[JackJanetChrissy]

Yes, it is interesting to me how different Three's Company seems from other sitcoms. It really is presented much like a live stage play, with the only incidental sounds and cues coming from the live studio audience. There were also zero exterior shots before scenes to indicate where the scene was taking place.

For example, in Rhoda (and nearly all the later Miller-Boyett productions like Full House, Perfect Strangers, and Family Matters), we always see an exterior shot of their apartment building before we see them inside.

The absence of these audience "cues" contributes to a feeling of closeness to the characters, as the at-home viewing audience isn't treated like an audience. We are dropped in right there with the characters, with no reminder that "hey, you're watching a television show." I wonder if a show like that could survive today.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

For example, in Rhoda (and nearly all the later Miller-Boyett productions like Full House, Perfect Strangers, and Family Matters), we always see an exterior shot of their apartment building before we see them inside.

The absence of these audience "cues" contributes to a feeling of closeness to the characters, as the at-home viewing audience isn't treated like an audience. We are dropped in right there with the characters, with no reminder that "hey, you're watching a television show." I wonder if a show like that could survive today.

First off, about Rhoda, I really thought for that show the exterior shots setting up the scenes were ahead of their time for the 70s. I just get the feeling Rhoda would work just fine as a mid-80s or even mid-90s show. Anytime before the pre-world wide web era, anyway. Lots of nice of scenes of New York! Even some location shots every now and then.

Three's Company didn't need them. It was just a different show from Rhoda, but by no means better or worse. Rhoda and Three's are still my two favorite sitcoms from the 70s.

I find it weird how no sitcoms these days are videotaped anymore. Some say videotape is an outdated form of recording, but I really prefer the look of videotape over film. Like we've acknowledged, the videotaped look gave Three's Company a stageplay feel to it. Nothing wrong with that. I just like videotape because it has a more natural look to it. It looks more like the characters are in the room with you that way.

Game shows and soap operas these days are still videotaped though.

[JackJanetChrissy]

I agree with you, JSP---videotape makes them look like they are in the room with you. That's a good way of putting it.

[visaman666]

No video tape, everything is digital these days.

[TerriFan]

Originally Posted by JSP

I find it weird how no sitcoms these days are videotaped anymore. Some say videotape is an outdated form of recording, but I really prefer the look of videotape over film. Like we've acknowledged, the videotaped look gave Three's Company a stageplay feel to it. Nothing wrong with that. I just like videotape because it has a more natural look to it. It looks more like the characters are in the room with you that way.

Game shows and soap operas these days are still videotaped though.

This is why tape is the only way to go with comedy. Still, in the dramatic arts, there's always an exception, and it was Cheers. But this was taken to mean the format was better. That's when they changed the entire sitcom format, leading to shows like Seinfeld. Since Cheers, the only show it's worked for is How I Met Your Mother.

Tape is used so it looks more real and connects with us so we laugh harder; film is used so it seems more distant and we are more objective, so it's used in drama. This is why the sitcoms of the pre-Seinfeld era are so much better than most of what's on today and it's still used for daytime shows.

[TerriFan]

Originally Posted by visaman666

No video tape, everything is digital these days.

It's still recorded on a digital tape, about a third the size of an audio cassette, and the raw footage has better resolution than tape. It's then transferred to computer for exiting. One if the last things they do is add a filter called "film grain" to give it the appearance of film before it's trasferred to disc. Most editors always do this.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by visaman666

No video tape, everything is digital these days.

All I know is it looks like the game shows and soaps are videotaped.

Even if it's digital, it has the look old videotape used to. Watch a current episode of "Let's Make A Deal" or "The Price Is Right".

Now, why they don't record sitcoms with that same format I don't know. They want to film everything these days.