The Three's Company Finale Still Bothers Fans To This Day

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/843770/the-th...s-to-this-day/

Three's Company was too focused on setting up a spin-off to end properly



"Three's Company" said goodbye to the world in a long form fashion. "Friends & Lovers," along with two previous episodes, "Cupid Works Overtime" and "The Heiress," serve as a four-part conclusion to the show — and an attempted launching pad for "Three's a Crowd," the show's spin-off. To do this, the happy home of the three roommates had to be deconstructed.

To wit, the show's last few episodes see Jack fall in love with stewardess Vicky Bradford (Mary Cadorette), the daughter of a protective and rich executive, as Janet finds romance with art collector Phillip Dawson (David Ruprecht). While Janet and Phillip marry in the gang's apartment in the first part of the finale, Jack fails to convince Vicky to accept his proposal — she's too emotionally scarred by her parent's terrible divorce to say yes — so they instead agree to share an apartment together. Terri, meanwhile, declares she's moving to Hawaii. The roommates move out with Mr. Furley's help, and Jack and Vicky settle into their respective new digs. Very little of the final episode focuses on either Janet or Terri, with Terri's story in this final long storytelling arc being remarkably minimal.

That final scene of the show tries very hard to make viewers care about Jack and Vicky's future, but the flat chemistry between the characters draws a negative reaction, and Vicky's dad (Robert Mandan) comes off as abrasive in an unentertaining way. Ratings for "Three's a Crowd" would later back up this notion. While the roommate's futures seem bright as they move toward the sunset, fans proved to be reluctant to follow them into it.

Three's a Crowd never replicated Three's Company's success



Fans of the show roundly consider the show's series finale to be a disappointment and a major shark jump, especially its final scene. For example, IMDb user nickb-22813 states that "Mary Cadorette's portrayal of Vicki's explanation of why she's afraid to get married comes off fake and unreal. Plus, the comedic chemistry between her and Jack just is not there."

Contemporary viewers on message boards such as Lipstick Alley, Sitcoms Online and Primetimer express their dislike of the show's finale, calling it rushed, with posters naming everything from Jack and Vicky's insta-relationship, to Phillip and Janet's sudden marriage, to the way Terri's storyline feels like an afterthought, to the obvious way the episode's plot sets up its spin-off. Some hoped that Chrissy would return for some form of closure, and that the roommates would stay together. Many fans even stated that they hoped the show would pay off Jack and Janet's ever-simmering attraction to one another in the show's final episodes, instead of pairing them off with new people ... which certainly would've been more satisfying, since they were the two characters who stayed in the show from the beginning to the end.

The "Three's Company" finale haunted "Three's a Crowd" when it debuted on ABC in 1984. Clearly, fans didn't seem to want to see Jack Tripper in a committed relationship — well, unless it was with Janet — or maybe they too just thought Ritter's chemistry with Cadorette was nonexistent. Either way, unlike "Three's Company," it drew middling ratings (per Rating Graph) and only lasted a single season of 20 episodes before being cancelled in 1985. It proved a sad coda to a series that did so much for ABC.

[TVFactFan]

Three's Company never had a finale to transition to Three's a Crowd

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Three's Company never had a finale to transition to Three's a Crowd

But that's what the finale was all about.

A transition to Three's a Crowd!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

But that's what the finale was all about.

A transition to Three's a Crowd!

Transition Hour to close out the remaining Three's Company characters

[DEH55]

The producers of that show never really cared about the fans, characters and even cast other than John Ritter. So it shouldn't be surprising that the shows last episode was lame.

[Mr. Television]

They even let the fans rott by not showing the final in May but waiting until September a week before TAC premiered.

[Dude111]

The last episode I saw of Threes Company was Jack in bed with Chrissy I think and then it ended........

Very sad..........

[TMC]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

But that's what the finale was all about.

A transition to Three's a Crowd!

ALL NEW! Here is the close to Three's Company's Season Finale Cliffhanger in 1984. The show would start a ninth season in September and immediately changed it's title after its season premiere. Also included are a trailer for Finders Keepers and plugs for Honda. Then it's a preview for the upcoming season and finale a promo for ABC Sports.

[BestTVever]

I agree it was a quick send off to transition to the spin off. However at least there was an ending. There are countless other sitcoms that ran longer that had no send off like The Jeffersons, etc. Good Times also had a quick send off. There is no good way since its a sitcom and supposed to be funny. Alice also had a quick rather abrupt ending for a 10 year run. But I would rather have a bad ending compared to no ending at all when a sitcom gets cancelled and there was no ending in the script.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

I agree it was a quick send off to transition to the spin off. However at least there was an ending. There are countless other sitcoms that ran longer that had no send off like The Jeffersons, etc. Good Times also had a quick send off. There is no good way since its a sitcom and supposed to be funny. Alice also had a quick rather abrupt ending for a 10 year run. But I would rather have a bad ending compared to no ending at all when a sitcom gets cancelled and there was no ending in the script.

The biggest sitcom travesty was the Jeffersons not having a finale to tie up loose ends. Same with Gilligan's Island! No finale there either.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

I agree it was a quick send off to transition to the spin off. However at least there was an ending. There are countless other sitcoms that ran longer that had no send off like The Jeffersons, etc. Good Times also had a quick send off. There is no good way since its a sitcom and supposed to be funny. Alice also had a quick rather abrupt ending for a 10 year run. But I would rather have a bad ending compared to no ending at all when a sitcom gets cancelled and there was no ending in the script.

It was quick because they were setting everything up for Three's a Crowd.

[thejasoomian]

I enjoyed quite a few episodes of the 8th season of Three's Company. The ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked a few more episodes with Janet and Phil before they said their I do's. But overall, I was happy. I thought Janet or Jack should have been the last one to turn the lights out, not Terri. They got that wrong in the TV Movie along with some other stuff that I won't go into. Having seen shows like "Who's The Boss" that went on far too long to the point where they are bringing in useless characters like Billy. I am glad Three's Company went out like it did. The second part of "Friends and Lovers" where Jack and Vicky go back to the apartment for bedtime is some of the funniest stuff I ever saw John Ritter do. I remember watching it all those years ago and really laughing MAO. Instead of Jack working his line " hey, how about tonight" to girls, he had one there ready to go and he was nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by thejasoomian

I enjoyed quite a few episodes of the 8th season of Three's Company. The ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked a few more episodes with Janet and Phil before they said their I do's. But overall, I was happy. I thought Janet or Jack should have been the last one to turn the lights out, not Terri. They got that wrong in the TV Movie along with some other stuff that I won't go into. Having seen shows like "Who's The Boss" that went on far too long to the point where they are bringing in useless characters like Billy. I am glad Three's Company went out like it did. The second part of "Friends and Lovers" where Jack and Vicky go back to the apartment for bedtime is some the funniest stuff I ever saw John Ritter do. I remember watching it all those years ago and really laughing MAO. Instead of Jack working his line " hey, how about tonight" to girls, he had one there ready to go and he was nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

should have been Janet since she was there the longest

[Mace Dolex]

I was just 8 years old when I saw the finale and I didn't put much thought into it, my dad watched the show so I was getting into it too via reruns. I just accepted the trio went their separate ways and Mr. Bradford would be Jack's antagonist, that's it life moves on.

Regarding Three's A Crowd I enjoyed the series and found it a better spin-off than The Roger's. John Ritter was giving it 100% always, the character of EZ Taylor was always funny and while Vicki was the straight man I wasn't watching the show for her but for Jack.

[ClarenceAlabama]

Originally Posted by DEH55

The producers of that show never really cared about the fans, characters and even cast other than John Ritter. So it shouldn't be surprising that the shows last episode was lame.

The producers screwed over The Ropers, then Chrissy, then Cindy, then Lana, and finally Janet, Terri, and Mr. Furley.

I read they offered Larry a supporting role on Three's a Crowd but he turned it down, because another show offered him to star in his own sitcom that ended up not getting picked up.

The Ropers and Cindy should at least been invited to the wedding during the finale.