Have any of you seen Man About the House (British version of Three's Company)?

[JackJanetChrissy]

Just wondering if you've seen it and how it measures up to Three's Company in the humor department....

[DJM77]

I saw an episode that aired on TV Land years ago. All I really remember about it was that the script from the episode was one of the ones that Three's Company ended up using.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

Just wondering if you've seen it and how it measures up to Three's Company in the humor department....

A couple of episodes. Since Three's Company borrowed the scripts, the humor was similar, but I still prefer Three's Company. Better atmosphere, I guess.

[eleri]

Depends on which season. Season 1 of TC jars on me because they took the scripts from MATH, but they switched it so that Jack was romantically interested in the floopy blonde. In MATH, Robin Tripp has a serious thing for the sarcastic brunette that lasts the entire series, while the blonde is the side-kick/comic relief. He's actually pretty devastated when the brunette gets married in the final episode. When they changed it, they had American Chrissy going back and forth between original Chrissy and original Jo's dialogue, which threw the character development for Chrissy and Janet off balance.

Seasons 2 and 3 of TC are a lot like MATH, but minus the romance and plus some gay jokes. In MATH, Mr. Roper finds out that Robin is straight by the end of Series 1 or 2, and he decides to accept it.

Season 4 is far inferior to MATH. I think they were struggling to write their own scripts, and Chrissy's character development went completely off the deep end.

Season 5 is still inferior, although the writing was getting better. The big problem was that Cindy was a bad concept for a main character.

When Terri entered the picture, they seemed to hit their stride. It was much more wildly farcical than MATH. They had found their own brand.

[Smartboy]

Originally Posted by eleri

Depends on which season. Season 1 of TC jars on me because they took the scripts from MATH, but they switched it so that Jack was romantically interested in the floopy blonde. In MATH, Robin Tripp has a serious thing for the sarcastic brunette that lasts the entire series, while the blonde is the side-kick/comic relief. He's actually pretty devastated when the brunette gets married in the final episode. When they changed it, they had American Chrissy going back and forth between original Chrissy and original Jo's dialogue, which threw the character development for Chrissy and Janet off balance.

Seasons 2 and 3 of TC are a lot like MATH, but minus the romance and the gay jokes. In MATH, Mr. Roper finds out that Robin is straight by the end of Series 1 or 2, and he decides to accept it.

Season 4 is far inferior to MATH. I think they were struggling to write their own scripts, and Chrissy's character development went completely off the deep end.

Season 5 is still inferior, although the writing was getting better. The big problem was that Cindy was a bad concept for a main character.

When Terri entered the picture, they seemed to hit their stride. It was much more wildly farcical than MATH. They had found their own brand.

I find a lot of these observations and comparisons to be quite interesting. Having watched some "Man About the House", I can tell that some of the early "Three's Company" episodes were copied almost word for word. The writers simply took a story that was already created and Americanized it. However, there is one particular episode that sticks out in my mind that I find questionable. This is the one in which Chrissy is dating a respected gourmet. I thought it was hilarious when, at the end of the episode Mr. Roper thinks that this man and Jack are interested in each other romantically! However, I would say that this episode, as a whole, is loosely based on the English episode in which the blonde is dating a man who turns out to be Jewish. Prior to the time that they learn that he is Jewish, Robin cooks the two of them a dinner that includes bacon, ham and pork. The fact that I think that the latter is based on the former is because in both cases, a women who cannot cook tries to take credit for cooking a meal that was really prepared by her male roommate. Any thoughts anyone?

[Latka Gravas]

I recently saw the first episode of "Man About the House" - for the first time. It was amusing, and nice to see the UK show that "Three's Company" was based on.

It was interesting how the script for EP01 was extremely similar to the first episode of "Three's Company". Though, the two shows are completely different in vibe/tone. I probably prefer Three's Company, but would still like to see the rest of MATH.

Some differences include:

-The blonde in MATH is not as ditzy as Chrissy Snow in TC.

-I found Mrs. Roper in MATH much more attractive than her counterpart in TC

I would be interested in getting the DVD set of MATH, but can only find it available in the Region 2 format - which I can't see (I'm in the U.S.)

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

There is NO way the Jack Tripper character in the British version is anywhere NEAR as funny as John Ritter!!

[thejasoomian]

Originally Posted by Latka Gravas

I recently saw the first episode of "Man About the House" - for the first time. It was amusing, and nice to see the UK show that "Three's Company" was based on.

It was interesting how the script for EP01 was extremely similar to the first episode of "Three's Company". Though, the two shows are completely different in vibe/tone. I probably prefer Three's Company, but would still like to see the rest of MATH.

Some differences include:

-The blonde in MATH is not as ditzy as Chrissy Snow in TC.

-I found Mrs. Roper in MATH much more attractive than her counterpart in TC

I would be interested in getting the DVD set of MATH, but can only find it available in the Region 2 format - which I can't see (I'm in the U.S.)

The first season of MATH is avaliable in the Region 1 format. But not the complete series.

[thejasoomian]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

There is NO way the Jack Tripper character in the British version is anywhere NEAR as funny as John Ritter!!

I agree with you. While MATH has it's moments , it's nowhere as funny as 3's Company.

[thejasoomian]

Originally Posted by eleri

Depends on which season. Season 1 of TC jars on me because they took the scripts from MATH, but they switched it so that Jack was romantically interested in the floopy blonde. In MATH, Robin Tripp has a serious thing for the sarcastic brunette that lasts the entire series, while the blonde is the side-kick/comic relief. He's actually pretty devastated when the brunette gets married in the final episode. When they changed it, they had American Chrissy going back and forth between original Chrissy and original Jo's dialogue, which threw the character development for Chrissy and Janet off balance.

Seasons 2 and 3 of TC are a lot like MATH, but minus the romance and plus some gay jokes. In MATH, Mr. Roper finds out that Robin is straight by the end of Series 1 or 2, and he decides to accept it.

Season 4 is far inferior to MATH. I think they were struggling to write their own scripts, and Chrissy's character development went completely off the deep end.

Season 5 is still inferior, although the writing was getting better. The big problem was that Cindy was a bad concept for a main character.

When Terri entered the picture, they seemed to hit their stride. It was much more wildly farcical than MATH. They had found their own brand.

^^ Very well stated ! I'll co-sign all of the above.

I have the complete MATH series on DVD. You can buy it on Ebay fairly cheap nowadays. If you have a multi-region dvd player a complete series package is available in region 2 format .

I really like Paula Wilcox as Chrissy Plummer. I think she does a great job in the role. It took me awhile to get use to her eyebrows (think Ruth Wilson) . The Robin and Chrissy romance is more played out during the show's run. The ending scene (which I won't spoil) was done before the similar scene done in MASH's final episode.

[thejasoomian]

Man About The House 1 & 2 Region 1 USA

https://www.amazon.com/Man-About-Hou...vies-tv&sr=1-3