Themes: Faltering Friendships, Work Ethics, Rise and Fall Stories
Main Cast: Joyce DeWitt, Brian Dennehy, Bret Anthony, Judy Tylor, Melanie Deanne-Moore
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
Plot
In the tradition of the previous "backstage" TV movies about such iconic series as Batman, The Partridge Family, Gilligan's Island, and The Brady Bunch, this NBC effort promised to give the lowdown on the long-running (1977-1984) ABC sitcom Three's Company. In truth, there is little in this film that was not already common knowledge when it first aired on May 12, 2003, but it's still fun to see a cast of attractive actors portraying another cast of attractive actors. In case anyone needs reminding, Three's Company was the popular tickle-and-tease comedy series based upon the British Man About the House, in which a virile young heterosexual man was forced to pose as a homosexual so that he could remain the roommate of two sexy young ladies. It was perhaps the quintessential "jiggle" sitcom, thanks primarily to its well-endowed co-star Suzanne Somers (here played by Judy Tylor). Because of its risqué (but basically inoffensive) content, Three's Company was turned down by both NBC and CBS before ambitious ABC CEO Fred Silverman (played by Brian Dennehy) decided to take a chance on the property. The rest, as they say, is history, with Three's Company not only setting ratings records but also establishing a whole new threshold for what was and wasn't acceptable in network prime time. Inevitably, the show collapsed under its own weight, especially after the revolving-door cast changes which followed in the wake of the acrimonious defection of Suzanne Somers, but it was fun while it lasted. For the record, the other Three's Company stars were the multi-talented John Ritter (played by Bret Anthony) and the underrated Joyce DeWitt (Melanie Deane-Moore). The actual Joyce DeWitt also appears as herself in this movie, serving as narrator and sidelines commentator. Though the film often pulls its punches regarding the original series' backstage intrigues and legal entanglements, there is enough authentic detail remaining to satisfy the casual sitcom buff. Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company was filmed under the title Three's Company Revisited. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
As Boogie Nights rip-offs go, this dramatized tale of the back-stabbing, double-dealing, and lowest-common-denominator-pandering on and off the set of Three's Company makes for a pretty decent evening of boob-tube navel gazing. Director Jason Ensler is careful not to overestimate the importance of the critically derided late-'70s slapstick sitcom -- even if the film's executive producer and Company co-star Joyce DeWitt shows up for some documentary interviews to tearfully remind us of the power of laughter. For the most part, Ensler keeps the proceedings buoyant and light, pushing along the tale with snappy editing, a well-selected soundtrack, and spot-on period detail. His performers manage to mimic their real-life counterparts to a tee as they add an extra layer of down-to-earth humanity, particularly the John Ritter stand-in, Bret Anthony. Though the bulk of the movie is devoted to Suzanne Somers-bashing -- and rightfully so -- Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company manages to hint at an even greater theme, one uncommon to TV movies-of-the-week: the ephemeral nature of TV stardom. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Daniel Roebuck - Ted Bergman; Michael Simms - Don Taffner; Wallace Langham - Jay Bernstein; Christopher Shyer - Alan Hamel; Jason Schombing - Jeff Kline; David Lewis - Ira Denmark; Gregg Binkley - Don Knotts; Lyle Baraniuk - Richard Kline; Terence Kelly - Norman Fell; Barbara Gordon - Audra Lindley; Gary Hudson - Tony Thomopolous; Fred Ewanuick - PA; John Bluethner - Director #1; Frank Adamson - Director #2; Elizabeth Crawford - Actress; Anne Ross - Priscilla Barnes; Jon Ljungberg - Security Guard (backstage); Ernesto Griffith - Security Guard (lot); Greg Rogers - CBS Executive #1; Sam Katz - CBS Executive #2; Matt Kippen - Suzanne's Assistant; Rebecca Gibson - Silverman's Assistant; Brian Drader - Photographer; Marina Stephenson-Kerr - Art Director; Evan Roitenberg - NBC Executive; Tom Anniko - Rev. Wildmond; Yorick Parke - Sitcom Actor; Ingrid Torrance - Mary Cadorette; Colin Cunningham - Joyce's Boyfriend
Credit
Jason Ensler - Director, Sandra Montiel - Editor, Stanley M. Brooks - Executive Producer, Scott W. Anderson - Executive Producer, Greg Gugliotta - Executive Producer, Gord Wilding - Production Designer, Damien Ganczewski - Producer, Elisa Bell - Teleplay By
The movie jumps from the second season to the fifth, covering the time when troubles were emerging from Suzanne Somers. It then jumps to season eight to cover the end of the series. The original script focused more heavily on the negative side of the production of the show before Joyce DeWitt's involvement added focus on the good times. [1]. DeWitt was helped by John Ritter, who saw the final cut of the movie before he died. Suzanne Somers was also contacted, but gave little input.
The research of the movie was mostly done by Chris Mann from his book Come and Knock on Our Door. He was tricked by one of the two producers and has never been credited for his indirect work on the project[2].
Key events
The movie occasionally displays dates at the bottom of the screen to tell the viewers at the current time period. These are the shown dates and their related events.
Date
Event
November 1975
American producer Donald L. Taffner and partner Ted Bergmann try to sell the idea to make an American version of the BBC-TV show Man About The House to various TV stations.
January 1976
New ABC programming chief Fred Silverman looks for a risque TV show and finds Three's Company.
January 28, 1977
Taping of the first show (this also being the third pilot).
Somers gets a sue threat from ABC about using her Chrissy character in Vegas.
April 2, 1981
Somers is fired from ABC.
May 1982
Because of the ABC sue threat, Somers learns that her CBS deal is canceled because her character of Chrissy can't be used.
November 1983
Hamel fails to convince the producers that Suzanne would be perfect to play Jack Tripper's wife in the Three's a Crowd spin-off.
February 17, 1984
Final taping of the show.
Events discrepancies
The movie is known to be inaccurate in many places. It is important to realize that some mentioned events are not exactly how it really was.
The show's title "Three's Company" was coined by Gary Markowitz, one of the first two writers who wrote the pilot[3]. However, the producers use this name while pitching the show to the networks, long before the pilot was made.
After Suzanne Somers was cast, it seems as if the three actors are meeting for the first time on the night of the taping when they should have spent a week of rehearsals together.
Suzanne mentions to John and Joyce during a rehearsal that she had her 11-year-old son when she was 17. Her son Bruce Jr. was born on November 8, 1965[4] and that actually means she had him when she was 19 since she was born on October 16, 1946. Also, if what she first said was true, it would have meant that the current year would have been 1974 or 1975 (1946+11+17), and Three's Company didn't start until 1977. She couldn't have had this conversation with them.
At the same time Suzanne misses the first day of taping, Ted Bergmann tells Don Taffner that Fred Silverman has "jumped ship to NBC". Actually, Silverman left for NBC in January 1978, long before the Suzanne contract renegotiation problems began in October 1980.
During the first season wrap party, everyone seems to know the show is a big hit. However, all six episodes of the first season were taped before the show premiered. Nobody could have known how well the show would be received.
The episode Suzanne first missed the taping of was "A Crowded Romance", an episode that Don Knotts did not appear on. However, Bergmann briefly talks to Knotts, fully costumed backstage, just a few minutes before filming was supposed to start.
After the missed tapings, we see the actors receiving a blue and a pink copy of the scripts; one if Suzanne shows up and one if she doesn't. When Suzanne comes in the room, she receives both copies as well. She should have only been given the copy with her in it, not both of them.
After the producers proposed the spinoff to Audra Lindley and Norman Fell, it actually took Norman Fell at least six months to sign on. In the movie, he agrees in less than two minutes.
As a narrator of the movie, Joyce DeWitt says that Three's Company was filmed on Fridays, something Jenilee Harrison confirmed in the interview of the fifth season DVD release of the show. However, Taffner and Ritter are said to hold the audition for Jack's fiancé on a Friday when Joyce suddenly comes in. Taffner asks her "What are you doing here?" to which she replies "I like to come in the day before and set up my dressing room", which would mean the show would tape on Saturdays, which is inaccurate.
As mentioned above, the shows were taped on Fridays and the dates that are said to be when Somers missed the tapings of the show are Tuesday (October 21, 1980) and Sundays (November 2 & 9, 1980).
The Three's A Crowd spinoff was not developed until after season eight began and the ratings started to fall. In the film, John Ritter was proposed the idea right after season seven ended.
Vicky is stated to be Jack's fiancé, yet she turned down Jack's proposal in the Three's Companyseries finale, and became his girlfriend/live-in roommate.
In the movie, Jack turns off the light and closes the door to apartment 291. In the actual series finale, Terri is the one who turns off the light, and the door has the number 201.
