The original Pilot for 3's Company

[samurainoir]

No Janet. No Crissy. John Ritter is David.

http://uploadsociety.com/video_v144166

[LonnieFisher]

That was cool. Mr. Roper was George instead of Stanley.

[PNGwynne]

The writing on this was pretty sharp, more than I recall from the series. Gelbart was was involved...and I wonder how close this was to the British version.

[Bruce Banner]

That was interesting. Love watching early unaired pilots and comparing them to the aired versions.

Mr. Roper was George instead of Stanley.

The character's name was also George Roper in the British show Three's Company was based on.

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

That was great! Very sharp wit. My sister loved this show, and would have loved to watch that with her. I'll have to email her the link.

[samurainoir]

The writing on this was pretty sharp, more than I recall from the series. Gelbart was was involved...and I wonder how close this was to the British version.

Ah! yes, that's right, I forgot about that. Explains a great deal, I was thinking the dialogue was a bit more theatrical and had more rhythm than the regular show did (where they seem to continually pause for the laughter, in the Joke-set-up-laugh way that sitcoms do).

[palitoy]

[samurainoir]

Oh wow... found the original episode to Man about the House for comparison! Looks like it tracks pretty close.
So was this because there was a writer's strike that year? I know the genesis of the show Dear John was because of the 80's writer's strike and the rules allowed for remakes using the original british scripts.

EDIT:
Oops, looks like Brian posted the same things just minutes before me!

I'm kind of fascinated how Three's Company followed the spinoffs of the British show as well, with the british version of the Roper's spinning off into their own show, just like The Roper's, and Three's A Crowd spinning off when Three's Company ended, with the same premise as Robin's Nest, the spin-off after Man About the House ended.

[samurainoir]

Three's Company aired bathtub scene for further comparison

[samurainoir]

fell down a youtube rabbit hole.

[Mongoose1983]

No Janet. No Crissy. John Ritter is David.

http://uploadsociety.com/video_v144166

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing! I loved the reruns of the show back in the early 80's on Friday nights. John Ritter was a great actor, RIP. He did one fantastic movie in the late 80's, Skin Deep. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when watching it. My two favorite scenes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKrUxqUDfBk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0mTbs7lI8

[great_chandel]

I am a massive "Three's Company" fan. I dare say, there are not many more out there who have more knowledge and/or is a bigger fan than myself. Slapstick comedy is a lost art. No one did it better than John Ritter (aside from The Three Stooges).

With that being said, I read, several years ago (twice), Come and Knock on Our Door: A Hers and Hers and His Guide to "Three's Company" by Chris Mann. It is one of the best no-holds-barred book I have ever read. Outlining the in-front and behind the scenes true story of all involved was pretty eye-opening. It is a fantastic book.................

[samurainoir]

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing! I loved the reruns of the show back in the early 80's on Friday nights. John Ritter was a great actor, RIP. He did one fantastic movie in the late 80's, Skin Deep. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when watching it. My two favorite scenes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKrUxqUDfBk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0mTbs7lI8

Such an underrated movie! I won't post it to keep it family friendly, but I remember back in the day, nothing made me laugh harder than the glow in the dark condom scene.

Rewatching 3's Company episodes has been a great joy these past few days. It gets labelled as low-brow, but laughter is laughter, and it feels like as we get older, laughs are harder and harder to come by.

Yeah, given how risk averse production companies are these days, I don't think anyone would allow a star to do all the physical things that John Ritter did on 3's Company these days. It really is a lost art.