1 9 7 7 – 1 9 8 4 (USA)
172 x 30 minute Episodes
Young single girls Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) found themselves in need of a roommate for their Santa Monica apartment and decided to settle for the man they found sleeping in their bathtub after a going-away party for their last roommate.
Jack Tripper (John Ritter) was harmless enough, but the problem was convincing everyone else of that.
Parents objected and humorous misunderstandings abounded, but Jack stayed. In addition to his other virtues, he was the only one of the three roommates that could cook.
His favourite ploy was to intimate that he was a homosexual, and therefore uninterested in the two sexy girls.
The landlady, Mrs Roper (Audra Lindley), who lived downstairs, worried less about what was going on upstairs than about the fact that nothing was going on in her love life with her husband, Stanley (Norman Fell).
Jack was studying for his chef’s diploma; Janet, the brunette, worked in a florist shop; and Chrissy, the frivolous blonde, was a typist.
Norman Fell and Audra Lindley left the series in 1979 for their own show (The Ropers), and were replaced by Don Knotts as the new landlord.
Suzanne Somers left the series in 1980 and Jack and Janet promptly found a new roommate in Cindy (Jenilee Harrison), who was introduced as Chrissy’s cute but clumsy cousin.
She moved out in 1981 and was replaced by a smart, vivacious nurse named Terri (Priscilla Barnes).
When Jack lost his roommates (Janet got married and Terri moved to Hawaii) he moved in with his new girlfriend, opened a restaurant and a new series began in 1984 called Three’s A Crowd.
British readers may find this plot-line familiar – Three’s Company was the American version of the UK 70s comedy classic Man About The House.
Jack Tripper
John Ritter
Janet Wood
Joyce DeWitt
Chrissy Snow
Suzanne Somers
Stanley Roper
Norman Fell
Helen Roper
Audra Lindley
Larry Dallas
Richard Kline
Ralph Furley
Don Knotts
Cindy Snow
Jenilee Harrison
Terri Alden
Priscilla Barnes
Frank Angelino
Jordan Charney
Mike the bartender
Brad Blaisdell
Lana Shields
Ann Wedgeworth