Goodbye, John! Thanks for the company

"John Ritter of Three’s Company’ dead at 54 – bannered the Sunday edition of this paper.

This made me hark back to those days before cable – when local productions had to compete with foreign programs on primetime television.

One of the most popular canned series from the US back then was Three’s Company and fans of this program surely still remember its format. Two girls – the brunette Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and the frivolous blonde Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers) – take in a male roommate, the aspiring chef Jack Tripper (John Ritter) into their Santa Monica apartment. For their landlord Stanley Roper (Norman Fell) to approve of this setup, Jack has to pretend to be gay.

Three’s Company premiered in the US in 1977, but was shown in the Philippines (on GMA 7) only in 1979.

On its first year on American television, it landed in the 11th slot in the annual ratings chart. But in the year that followed, it came in second in the race. It remained there the following year, but fell to the No. 13 slot in the 1980-81 ratings game. (It was back in the Top 10 in the succeeding years.)

While it provided viewers all over the world with so much fun and laughter, there was so much sulking and probably even backstabbing among the cast members in the backstage drama that accompanied practically their every taping.

Problems in the show began when Suzanne Somers eclipsed her co-stars in terms of popularity and began demanding for more perks and a bigger salary. Naturally, this started a feud among them – with John and Joyce on one side and Suzanne all alone in the battle. The quarrel became so ugly that Suzanne’s dressing room had to be moved to another side of the studio – with her interacting with her co-stars only during the actual take. Later, she would just be seen on the phone calling her roommates from Fresno where she is supposedly taking care of her ailing mother.

Ms. Somers was eventually taken out of the show and replaced by Jenilee Harrison, who was cast as Cindy Snow, Chrissy’s clumsy cousin.

Prior to this, Ropers-Stanley and his sex-starved wife, Helen (Audra Lindley) – were removed from the show and were given their own, The Ropers, which sadly was taken off the air only after a year despite its fine performance in the ratings game (it tied with Happy Days in the 4th slot in the 1979 chart).

Jenilee (she would later become a fitness guru) didn’t stay long in the show either. Priscilla Barnes, who played the nurse Terri Alden, was her replacement.

In the show, Jack Tripper eventually earned his chef’s diploma and was able to open his own restaurant, Jack’s Bistro, which became the trio’s hangout (aside from the Regal Beagle downstairs).

But toward the end, Jack’s roommates, Janet and Terri, got married and moved elsewhere and Jack ended up living in with his girlfriend, the flight attendant Vicky Bradford (Mary Cadorette), in an apartment above Jack’s Bistro. This was in the spin-off Two’s a Crowd, which went on the air for only a year.

Three’s Company was on primetime television for seven years. Here in the Philippines, it became so popular that it inspired so many local versions – one of which was Doon Po sa Amin, a Channel 4 sitcom that starred Cherie Gil, Bambi Arambulo and Lloyd Samartino.

Even at home, my siblings and I were so crazy about Three’s Company that when our toy terrier gave birth to three pups, we named them Jack, Janet and Chrissy.

On a recent visit to LA, I spent much time there watching reruns (what a way to spend a vacation!) of old American sitcoms – one of which was Three’s Company.

Sad to say, the episodes of Three’s Company already look dated and, yes, silly. Its success obviously hinged on the energetic performances of the cast performances – particularly John Ritter, whose comic style was physical, even bordering on slapstick.

After Three’s Company, his career waned, but got another shot in the arm with the success of 8 Simple Rules... For Dating My Teenage Daughter, which is still airing and, in fact, paid tribute to him, immediately after he died Sept. 11 of an undetected heart ailment.

John Ritter surely wasn’t the greatest comedian in the history of American entertainment. But he definitely was one of its finest comedic talents. And now, the star of that beloved sitcom Three’s Company is gone.

Goodbye, John. Thanks for the company.