The final episode betrayed the characters - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JackJanetChrissy · 02-25-2018, 08:41 PM

I know it's been discussed before, but here are some things I noticed about the finale that went against everything we ever learned about the characters:

1) Janet settled for getting married without her parents being there, despite her being very close to them.

2) Only strangers were invited to the wedding. Her sister Jenny, her brother, The Ropers, Cindy, Chrissy, friends from the Regal Beagle or from her work, Bob and Carol...none of them were there.

3) I know Janet sort of "matured" as the show went on, but can you imagine Season 2 or 3 Janet giving Philip the time of day? He seemed kind of square and humorless for progressive Janet.

4) Jack would NEVER have interrupted his best friend's wedding to talk to a girl. That was so selfish and not like Jack at all.

5) The timeline is unbelievable. There were only two weeks between Janet's engagement and her wedding, which seems so rushed and very un-Janet like. Plus, let's say Janet took a week for her honeymoon before moving out of Apt 201. That means Terri had only three weeks (from the time she knew Janet was engaged) to find a new job and apartment in Hawaii, which is insane. And Jack and Vicki had only known each other for TWO WEEKS before he asked her to marry him?!

None of that makes any sense for the characters as we knew them. I know the finale was setting up the spin-off and that's why it was a botched rush job, but still. No wonder the audience did not get on board for TAC.

70s show watcher · 02-25-2018, 09:00 PM

you hit the nail on the head as to why i have never really liked the final ep of tc it just seemed rushed and in many respects illlogical

Dude111 · 03-01-2018, 08:11 PM

Yea they did Rush thru like they wanted the show to end..... Its sad....

I remember Jack laying in bed with a girl and it ended

Dianne3 · 03-03-2018, 04:25 PM

It's more than the characters that were betrayed, the audience was all well.
That is the biggest reason TAC failed, it was doomed to by the way TC ended.

As for Janet's wedding, I can understand Chrissy not being there. But everyone else mentioned should have been there.

RoseColoredBoy · 03-04-2018, 05:30 PM

i could be completely wrong but i think the ending was setting up threes a crowd show because they had that show planned before threes compan ended and that why the ended was jack and his girlfriend moving in together and ended on like a cliff hanger with his gf dad buying the resturant.

Dianne3 · 03-05-2018, 04:50 PM

RoseColoredBoy - You are not wrong. TC's ending was setting up TAC.
That was the problem. We invest years watching TC and expect to see closure. We want to see the characters we spent years watching and not Vicky.

Retro4Life · 03-05-2018, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dianne3

It's more than the characters that were betrayed, the audience was all well.
That is the biggest reason TAC failed, it was doomed to by the way TC ended.

As for Janet's wedding, I can understand Chrissy not being there. But everyone else mentioned should have been there.

Yes, but while there were issues with Somers, there were no in-universe animosities between Janet and Chrissy. So even if she couldn't show up, somebody should have mentioned her a la "she sent a beautiful bouquet but couldn't get away from work" or "was out of the country" or something.

Mr. Television · 03-05-2018, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Yes, but while there were issues with Somers, there were no in-universe animosities between Janet and Chrissy. So even if she couldn't show up, somebody should have mentioned her a la "she sent a beautiful bouquet but couldn't get away from work" or "was out of the country" or something.

They were more concerned with the spin-off than the fans. That's why they changed the airing of the last episode at the last minute and moved it to September. I can't think of another long running show who's final was moved to a week before the tv season began.

Retro4Life · 03-06-2018, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

They were more concerned with the spin-off than the fans. That's why they changed the airing of the last episode at the last minute and moved it to September. I can't think of another long running show who's final was moved to a week before the tv season began.

I had forgotten that (if I ever knew it at all).

I have to say that while I liked most of the Three's Company seasons, I didn't watch a lot of the last year. And while I always liked Jack, having him without the girls (roommates) just didn't appeal to me. I think I watched maybe a couple episodes of Three's a Crowd and it just didn't click. The whole appeal was the chemistry between Jack and the girls, and the goofy situations they got into. Without that, it just didn't matter to me.

JackJanetChrissy · 03-07-2018, 01:29 AM

I know the final episode was launching TAC, but there's no excuse why the writers/producers could not have done it better.

Rumors that TC was ending and spinning off had been burbling since the beginning of Season 8 and they knew for sure (and told the cast) in November of '83, halfway through Season 8. They had an entire half of a season to set up the TC ending/spinoff, but for some reason they waited until the last minute, and it was sloppy.

I think they wanted to hide the spin-off from Joyce DeWitt as long as possible because they knew she'd be upset that Janet would not be in it (which she was, understandably). But she's a pro. So they should've just told her earlier and done it right.

Dianne3 · 03-07-2018, 05:33 PM

When a show treats their actors like crap, eventually that will translate into treating their audience like crap.

I think TC took the audience for granted because except for the final season, TC was a top 10 hit.

Sacha61 · 03-08-2018, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

I know it's been discussed before, but here are some things I noticed about the finale that went against everything we ever learned about the characters:

1) Janet settled for getting married without her parents being there, despite her being very close to them.

2) Only strangers were invited to the wedding. Her sister Jenny, her brother, The Ropers, Cindy, Chrissy, friends from the Regal Beagle or from her work, Bob and Carol...none of them were there.

3) I know Janet sort of "matured" as the show went on, but can you imagine Season 2 or 3 Janet giving Philip the time of day? He seemed kind of square and humorless for progressive Janet.

4) Jack would NEVER have interrupted his best friend's wedding to talk to a girl. That was so selfish and not like Jack at all.

5) The timeline is unbelievable. There were only two weeks between Janet's engagement and her wedding, which seems so rushed and very un-Janet like. Plus, let's say Janet took a week for her honeymoon before moving out of Apt 201. That means Terri had only three weeks (from the time she knew Janet was engaged) to find a new job and apartment in Hawaii, which is insane. And Jack and Vicki had only known each other for TWO WEEKS before he asked her to marry him?!

None of that makes any sense for the characters as we knew them. I know the finale was setting up the spin-off and that's why it was a botched rush job, but still. No wonder the audience did not get on board for TAC.

Very, very, very well said!

Jinxey · 05-20-2018, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

I know it's been discussed before, but here are some things I noticed about the finale that went against everything we ever learned about the characters:

1) Janet settled for getting married without her parents being there, despite her being very close to them.

2) Only strangers were invited to the wedding. Her sister Jenny, her brother, The Ropers, Cindy, Chrissy, friends from the Regal Beagle or from her work, Bob and Carol...none of them were there.

3) I know Janet sort of "matured" as the show went on, but can you imagine Season 2 or 3 Janet giving Philip the time of day? He seemed kind of square and humorless for progressive Janet.

4) Jack would NEVER have interrupted his best friend's wedding to talk to a girl. That was so selfish and not like Jack at all.

5) The timeline is unbelievable. There were only two weeks between Janet's engagement and her wedding, which seems so rushed and very un-Janet like. Plus, let's say Janet took a week for her honeymoon before moving out of Apt 201. That means Terri had only three weeks (from the time she knew Janet was engaged) to find a new job and apartment in Hawaii, which is insane. And Jack and Vicki had only known each other for TWO WEEKS before he asked her to marry him?!

None of that makes any sense for the characters as we knew them. I know the finale was setting up the spin-off and that's why it was a botched rush job, but still. No wonder the audience did not get on board for TAC.

or.....ELEANOR

Smartboy · 05-20-2018, 09:22 PM

But, at least Larry was invited. So they did make some effort to have somebody that the audience was familiar with there.

JackJanetChrissy · 05-22-2018, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smartboy

But, at least Larry was invited. So they did make some effort to have somebody that the audience was familiar with there.

Larry was a part of the regular cast. I meant a lot of people that we met throughout the series who were close to Janet (but who were no longer regulars on the show) were not in attendance.

02-25-2018, 08:41 PM	#1
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	The final episode betrayed the characters I know it's been discussed before, but here are some things I noticed about the finale that went against everything we ever learned about the characters: 1) Janet settled for getting married without her parents being there, despite her being very close to them. 2) Only strangers were invited to the wedding. Her sister Jenny, her brother, The Ropers, Cindy, Chrissy, friends from the Regal Beagle or from her work, Bob and Carol...none of them were there. 3) I know Janet sort of "matured" as the show went on, but can you imagine Season 2 or 3 Janet giving Philip the time of day? He seemed kind of square and humorless for progressive Janet. 4) Jack would NEVER have interrupted his best friend's wedding to talk to a girl. That was so selfish and not like Jack at all. 5) The timeline is unbelievable. There were only two weeks between Janet's engagement and her wedding, which seems so rushed and very un-Janet like. Plus, let's say Janet took a week for her honeymoon before moving out of Apt 201. That means Terri had only three weeks (from the time she knew Janet was engaged) to find a new job and apartment in Hawaii, which is insane. And Jack and Vicki had only known each other for TWO WEEKS before he asked her to marry him?! None of that makes any sense for the characters as we knew them. I know the finale was setting up the spin-off and that's why it was a botched rush job, but still. No wonder the audience did not get on board for TAC.

02-25-2018, 09:00 PM	#2
70s show watcher Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 20, 2008 Location: between point place and studio 8 h Posts: 4,548	you hit the nail on the head as to why i have never really liked the final ep of tc it just seemed rushed and in many respects illlogical

03-01-2018, 08:11 PM	#3
Dude111 Forum Legend Join Date: Nov 05, 2013 Posts: 35,867	Yea they did Rush thru like they wanted the show to end..... Its sad.... I remember Jack laying in bed with a girl and it ended

03-03-2018, 04:25 PM	#4
Dianne3 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 07, 2002 Posts: 1,056	It's more than the characters that were betrayed, the audience was all well. That is the biggest reason TAC failed, it was doomed to by the way TC ended. As for Janet's wedding, I can understand Chrissy not being there. But everyone else mentioned should have been there.

03-04-2018, 05:30 PM	#5
RoseColoredBoy Member Forum Cub Join Date: Mar 04, 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 2	i could be completely wrong but i think the ending was setting up threes a crowd show because they had that show planned before threes compan ended and that why the ended was jack and his girlfriend moving in together and ended on like a cliff hanger with his gf dad buying the resturant.

03-05-2018, 04:50 PM	#6
Dianne3 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 07, 2002 Posts: 1,056	RoseColoredBoy - You are not wrong. TC's ending was setting up TAC. That was the problem. We invest years watching TC and expect to see closure. We want to see the characters we spent years watching and not Vicky.

03-07-2018, 01:29 AM	#10
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	I know the final episode was launching TAC, but there's no excuse why the writers/producers could not have done it better. Rumors that TC was ending and spinning off had been burbling since the beginning of Season 8 and they knew for sure (and told the cast) in November of '83, halfway through Season 8. They had an entire half of a season to set up the TC ending/spinoff, but for some reason they waited until the last minute, and it was sloppy. I think they wanted to hide the spin-off from Joyce DeWitt as long as possible because they knew she'd be upset that Janet would not be in it (which she was, understandably). But she's a pro. So they should've just told her earlier and done it right.

03-07-2018, 05:33 PM	#11
Dianne3 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 07, 2002 Posts: 1,056	When a show treats their actors like crap, eventually that will translate into treating their audience like crap. I think TC took the audience for granted because except for the final season, TC was a top 10 hit.

05-20-2018, 09:22 PM	#14
Smartboy Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 06, 2007 Location: South Orange, NJ Posts: 4,231	But, at least Larry was invited. So they did make some effort to have somebody that the audience was familiar with there.