Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company'

I was thrilled when they were going to air this movie. Yes, I do agree it basically was the E! True Hollywood Story of a few years ago, but it was exceptionally well done nonetheless.

The acting was good on all parts. I was a little annoyed by the actor who played Don Knotts/Mr.Furley but other than that all of the other actors were more than outstanding in their roles.

The few problems I had with the show other than the above mentioned Don Knotts actor were these: Richard Kline/Larry Dallas not even mentioned. Did they think no one would notice this, or did they just have too much already and could not figure out how to place him in any of it. He was missed.

I also had quarks with the set as well, and the scenes where the Suzanne Somers character complained that her "Tag-On" scenes were just four lines. Recent episodes on Nick-at-Nite that have re-run show that they were NEVER that short.

And the shot of the final episode being taped. Teri Never wore her nurses uniform in the final Three's Company episode. That was way too cheesy.

Other than that it was nicely handeled and I liked that it showed Alan Hamel and the producers of the show to be more of the villains than Suzanne Somers.

One final thought. And this goes back to one of my quirks with the actual show. Will anyone ever really acknowledge that Ann Wedgeworth/Lana Shields was ever on the show?????? I know she was only on for maybe half a season but jeez-louise. Give a older lady/tramp a break. Long Live Lana!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw this 2 hour special last night on NBC and it was really good. The actors they used looked and even sounded exactly like them. It was the story, narrated by Joyce DeWitt(the original Janet)about what went on in the lives of John Ritter, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt during the seasons of filming Three's Company. Although it was a hit show, behind the scenes there was nothing but betrayal, jealousy, anger, greed and a race for stardom. Not to mention what happened when Suzanne Somer's greed took over her and what the company went through and also the struggles which kept John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt's relationship closer then ever. All of the actors did a great job especially the one who played Janet (that lady who does all of the Glad bags commercials with the funny voice. I finally got to see her do something else than those commercials and she was great). It's a great movie especially if you're a Three's Company fan!!

I loved Three's Company when it was on, but this movie does not give it it a very good treatment. The whole movie comes off as very rushed with the series development and the first season all revealed within the first thirty minutes and then a segue straight into the Suzanne Somers travesty when her head became bigger than her chest. In fact, the movie has an eerie quality as if it was filmed by the crew from Sixty Minutes, but then, this is a ABC series being done by NBC. The pace was way too fast like a recreation from America's Most Wanted on steroids. The set didn't look very good; it looked like it was built as a high school set. In fact, it looked a lot better when it was recreated on that episode of "Eight Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter." They should have borrowed that set. And the background Seventies motif in the "real-world" was too awful. Did it really look like that back then ? Bret Anthony pulls off a fair John Ritter impression, but he just lacks the charm and panache of the original; there will never be another Ritter. The slapstick was just bad; Ritter does it better. Judy Taylor was a passable Suzanne, but then I never saw the fuss in Somers; I thought she was way over-rated. I loved Melanie Deanna Moore ! She is just too adorable and perfect for Joyce. Nice to see her in something else besides those glad commercials. I just didn't buy the young guy playing Don Knotts and couldn't believe they omitted Richard Kline entirely. I thought Company was best when it was around Kline, Ritter and Knotts and they dropped the tired husband and wife routines. There were brief parts with Priscilla Barnes, and my favorite roommate Jenilee Harrison is just barely given a scene. Some of the behind the scenes quotes I know were lifted from real life. Brian Dennehy looks and acts like the Skipper from Gilligan's Island corrupted by Hollywood; he just has one obnoxious producer scene too many. On a whole, I'd say the movie was fair, but I'm glad I watched it, but I do believe it could have been done much better.

"Three's company" was on my favorite shows as a young kid ,although now I think that so many misunderstandings make the situations unbelievable and grotesque. Also, over the years I had the chance to watch the much better and much subtle original - "Man about the house" Any how, this film presents the behind-the-scenes happenings on the "Three's company" set, from what I believe to be a Joyce DeWitt point of view. True, Suzanne Somers was hired for her looks and not her talent/brains (not to say that she doesn't have one or the other or both), and it seems as though she did manage to drive everyone crazy, but lets face it - she only did what many other TV stars do - take advantage of their success while it is still there (and TV success usually lasts only a few years). Actually, I believe the one member of the cast without whom there would have been no show is John Ritter. Both girls could have been easily replaced by other actress'. This film shows to little of Ritters' talent.

It is sobering to see that a show that exemplified the mindless, 70s sex revolution with it's, at the time, envelope pushing innuendo and double entendres, was fraught with deception, greed and betrayal behind the scenes.

The actors chosen to portray the various performers of "Three's Company" are very good, most notably the ones chosen to portray John Ritter/Jack Tripper and Joyce DeWitt/Janet Wood. The actress who played Suzanne Sommers/Chrissy Snow did a wonderful job playing the conflicted yet easily swayed by her husband star who ends up becoming a pariah of the set of the show after unreasonable contractual demands and skipping out on tapings. The performances of the network brass, show's producers, and Sommer's husband, Alan Hamel are excellent also. The supporting cast, the Roepers, Mr. Furley and Cyndi Snow, are also represented. Priscilla Barnes/Teri is merely an extra with no lines and Larry is nowhere to be found. It would be interesting to see how the rest of the cast and crew were affected by the contractual warfare that became very personal between Sommers and the producers. Joyce DeWitt took on a role as a producer of this film and narrates the film. Although this was not necessary, I suppose it lent a bit of authority since DeWitt was obviously there when all of these things were happening. But one wonders if this also could mean that the movie is slanted by representing DeWitt as the Saint who is just doing her job who gets wronged by Sommers, the Producers and Ritter who keeps plans of him getting a spinoff that doesn't include Janet from her. But the facts speak for themselves and one can see that this could all be very well true.

One can say that Sommers is painted in a bad light but it does evoke sympathy for her when she begins to wonder if she has gone too far and is killing her career but is easily sold on the idea by her slick talking husband who is an unsuccessful actor who's claim to fame are local supermarket commercials. Sommers quickness to believe this man is revealed when she talks about humiliating herself early in her career to help pay her son's hospital costs by dressing as a squirrel and passing out nuts and when she says that she wanted to become the next Farrah not Liberace in one of the films funnier (unintentionally lines). Ritter is portrayed as a nice guy who loses patience with Sommers antics but also as a passive, milquetoast who gives in too easily to the producers' offer of his own spinoff at the expense of the other cast members.

The bottom line is that what energy or magic the series had early on in it's run, was spoiled by the lack of appreciation for the actors by the producers, avarice of Sommers and "her people," Alan Hamel and the constant tinkering that was designed to spite Sommers. In the end, everyone seemed to lose and seems embittered by the whole experience. Ritter and Sommers did not seem to want part of this project and DeWitt seems to be gritting her teeth to this day in the segments where she narrates the goings on.

All in all, this is one of the more interesting, well made TV movies about a TV show because it deals with what made the show work and ultimately what ruined it, the best and worst of human nature.