Was Season 8 (1983-84) always intended from the start, to be the final one

[TMC]

Or did ABC and the producers decide midway (after concluding that the ratings were dropping drastically and weren't going to get any better) that it was time to end Three's Company and rework the show into Three's a Crowd? I do wonder if this could shed some light on why the final episodes of Three's Company felt so rushed and underwhelming.

I mean, had they known right from the jump that Season 8 was going to be the last year for Three's Company, then maybe theory, they could've taken more time to develop Janet's relationship with Phillip rather than wait until like two episodes prior to the finale. And maybe they could've been more gradual and organic in developing Jack's relationship with Vicky, unless of course, they didn't want to "give too much away" if Three's a Crowd was on the horizon.

[ClarenceAlabama]

Originally Posted by TMC

Or did ABC and the producers decide midway (after concluding that the ratings were dropping drastically and weren't going to get any better) that it was time to end Three's Company and rework the show into Three's a Crowd? I do wonder if this could shed some light on why the final episodes of Three's Company felt so rushed and underwhelming.

I mean, had they known right from the jump that Season 8 was going to be the last year for Three's Company, then maybe theory, they could've taken more time to develop Janet's relationship with Phillip rather than wait until like two episodes prior to the finale. And maybe they could've been more gradual and organic in developing Jack's relationship with Vicky, unless of course, they didn't want to "give too much away" if Three's a Crowd was on the horizon.

Three's Company was a top ten show for 6 years in a row going into season 8, so I'm going to guess things changed once they saw the ratings go down during season 8....

I think it would have been better if they never married Janet off to Phillip. Nobody cared about Phillip. They should have just focused on Jack moving out... The first episode was Jack moving in and the last should have been Jack moving out.

This way Janet and Terri could finally have their own bedrooms.

[Mace Dolex]

Not sure really many sitcoms that carried over from the 1970's were either cancelled or on the way out, keep in mind many hour long dramas were getting more popular and The Cosby Show wouldn't premiere until September 1984.

But yeah they should have developed Janet and Philip's relationship a bit more.

Originally Posted by ClarenceAlabama

They should have just focused on Jack moving out... The first episode was Jack moving in and the last should have been Jack moving out.

I like that idea and in the final scene as Jack is opening the door one last time we see Suzanne Somers as Chrissy Snow at the front door jokingly saying that she's moving in.

And with that the show cuts to a freeze frame with the audience applauding and the credits roll.

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by TMC

Or did ABC and the producers decide midway (after concluding that the ratings were dropping drastically and weren't going to get any better) that it was time to end Three's Company and rework the show into Three's a Crowd? I do wonder if this could shed some light on why the final episodes of Three's Company felt so rushed and underwhelming.

I mean, had they known right from the jump that Season 8 was going to be the last year for Three's Company, then maybe theory, they could've taken more time to develop Janet's relationship with Phillip rather than wait until like two episodes prior to the finale. And maybe they could've been more gradual and organic in developing Jack's relationship with Vicky, unless of course, they didn't want to "give too much away" if Three's a Crowd was on the horizon.

To discuss this topic we need to first clear up some misconceptions about season 8, so let's start there.

Three's Company may no longer have been a top ten series, but it was still doing very well in season 8 considering everything, remarkably well. Six of the first nine season 8 episodes finished in the top 30 with three finishing in the top 20. In addition, there was special programming on the weeks it did not finish in the top 30. For example, a two part miniseries (The Gambler) which premiered on a Monday and Tuesday night ranked 1 and 2 in the Nielsen rating the week Company finished in 45th place. Another bad week for Three's Company was the night The A Team ran a two-part story back to back on a Tuesday evening. On top of that the lead-in series to Three's Company was the now floundering Happy Days, the one time ratings juggernaut was no longer a top 40 show, and many weeks it was not even a top 50 series. My point, Three's Company was doing very well going into December of 1983, this was at the point Joyce found out that the replacement series was already set to go. The network would have had no reason after the season started to be looking to end the series, so what happened must have happened prior to the start of the season.

The reasons why most things happen in the Three’s Company universe sooner or later trace back to John Ritter and his needs, and I have no doubt that’s the case in this instance. Jack was by this point in time the entire focus of the series, the series was about Jack dealing with the people and issues in his life, his two female roommates, his landlord, his restaurant and his best friend. Ritter could command top dollar for his efforts and I think the evidence suggests that’s exactly what he did. The cost of continuing the series within the current structure was therefore unsustainable. It became necessary to cut the budget in other areas to be able to afford John’s services. Cutting Joyce and Don, Barnes and Kline was the solution that the production company and the network arrived at. When seen in this light the seemingly illogical casting of inexperienced newcomer Mary Cadorette makes a little more sense, it was a budget correction, two female characters were removed and replaced by just one who would be at a much lower salary. Robert Mandan had a long resume but was certainly not in the same category as Knotts and so there would be an additional saving. Three’s a Crowd can be seen more as a rebranding than a new series, it is essentially the 9th season of Three’s Company. The show is still all about Jack Tripper, his restaurant, his live-together girlfriend instead of female roommates, and a difficult to get along with would be in-law instead of a landlord . Plainly speaking there really isn’t enough of a difference between Three’s Company and Three’s a Crowd.

That gets us to the last comment:

“they could've taken more time to develop Janet's relationship with Phillip rather than wait until like two episodes prior to the finale”

The production team just wanted to move on with as little fuss as possible. I’m sure they knew as did the network the finish the audience wanted (Jack and Janet getting together), and the audience wasn’t going to get that ending. If the producers thought they could get away with it they wouldn’t even have spent the time they did on the Phillip and Janet relationship. Janet, Furley, Terri were part of the past, the producers wanted the audience to be focused on Jack and what happened next in his life.

[Mace Dolex]

^ In a way Three's A Crowd was just a discount Three's Company.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by ClarenceAlabama

Three's Company was a top ten show for 6 years in a row going into season 8, so I'm going to guess things changed once they saw the ratings go down during season 8....

I think it would have been better if they never married Janet off to Phillip. Nobody cared about Phillip. They should have just focused on Jack moving out... The first episode was Jack moving in and the last should have been Jack moving out.

This way Janet and Terri could finally have their own bedrooms.

Come to think of it, I too don't entirely get why Janet and Terri had to leave too. I mean, Three's Company admittedly, is first and foremost, Jack's tale and journey. So, it would make sense if the series ended with him no longer needing to live with two women. They could've done what the series finale of Family Ties later did (where Alex finally moved out of the Keaton household in Columbus, Ohio and on to New York City) and call the last episode "Jack Doesn't Live Here Anymore". I guess what I'm trying to say, is that the producers could've come up with a more organic way to wrap Janet's story arc up without rushing her into a marriage with a guy that we the audience barely know or care about.

Plus, the whole thing about Terri moving to Hawaii just came out of the blue with absolutely zero build up. Terri is the newest roommate, so you would think that she would have the least amount of urgency or incentive to want to leave. What exactly is in Hawaii that she doesn't already have (besides presumably, her own place to stay) in Santa Monica?

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by TMC

Come to think of it, I too don't entirely get why Janet and Terri had to leave too. I mean, Three's Company admittedly, is first and foremost, Jack's tale and journey. So it would make sense if the series ended with him no longer needing to live with two women. They could've done what the series finale of Family Ties later did (where Alex finally moved out of the Keaton household in Columbus, Ohio and on to New York City) and call the last episode "Jack Doesn't Live Here Anymore". I guess what I'm trying to say, is that the producers could've come up with a more organic way to wrap Janet's story arc up without rushing her into a marriage with a guy that we the audience barely know or care about.

And plus, the whole thing about Terri moving to Hawaii just came out of the blue with absolutely zero build up. Terri is the newest roommate, so you would think that she would have the least amount of urgency or incentive to want to leave. What exactly is in Hawaii that she doesn't already have (besides presumably, her own place to stay) in Santa Monica?

People always look at Jack as being the MAIN star of the show, but I don't know if it's meant to be like that, I think it's supposed to be an ensemble. Just like people look at Dorothy as the main character of the Golden Girls