Reviews

In this episode, the characters relay ways they have made money during the off-season. Most of the stories relayed are pretty dry and not very comical, especially Antonio's. I didn't find his off season experience very amusing and I think it was out of taste for the writers to try to present suicide in a comical way. That's not something anyone should joke about. I haven't seen the entire series yet so I don't want to say this is the worst episode of the series but it certainly is one of the driest. Definitely one of those filler episodes writers use when they've run out of original scripts and plot ideas.

I've often thought that Jennilee Harrison got an unfair amount of flack for her shortlived role as 'Cindy Snow' on Three's Company. She had to fill the BIG SHOES of Suzanne Somers who had departed the series early in the fifth season because of a pay dispute. Many found Cindy Snow's clumsiness unamusing and not the least bit funny. I myself however thought she was charming and felt that Jennilee Harrison merely suffered from a poor script.

It's episodes like this that show why I think so. Here, Jack takes refuge at Cindy's Aunt Becky's farm after Larry uses his name to take out another man's girlfriend. Larry totals the guy's car, infuriating the guy and threatening Jack's life (as Larry gave him Jack's name, not his own).

Cindy doesn't have that many lines in this episode but she makes the most of those that she does. She stands up very bravely to the angry boyfriend and has another great moment slamming the kitchen door in Jack's face.

This episode sets up the events that will follow in the season finale "Something Borrowed, Someone Blue." Daphne enters therapy after causing a four-car pile-up after days of frustration and anxiety from various sources.

By the time of this episode, it is well established that Daphne has feelings for Niles but she cannot admit to them herself. Her feelings remain on a very subconscious level. In this episode, her husband-to-be Donny Douglas throws her a bridal shower but, unfortunately, he has invited Daphne's boorish brother Simon. He quickly gets on his sister's nerves and Frasier's, causing Daphne to become agitated and stressed.

Jane Leeves is brilliant in this episode. For a character who is so typically calm and collected, it's great to see a different side of Daphne and watch her work through a legitimate psychological battle. The ending of this episode really gets you pumped for the two-part season finale that follows this.

This is the episode where it could be argued the series jumps the shark. Here, Maxwell and Fran FINALLY have their first date after four seasons of dramatic sexual tension. But it was that ~sexual tension~ that viewers liked about the show. Actually having Fran and Maxwell together as a couple made sense in terms of the progression of the series, but when they actually got together, the series never seemed to be the same. That, added with the repetition of the same jokes and plotlines that didn't always make sense to viewers, caused the show's eventual cancellation and end.

Elton John makes an appearance in this episode, which could be the only saving grace.

Season 8 of Three's Company really was hit or miss in terms of quality. Plotlines tended to be reused from earlier seasons, acting comes off dry or stiff in some cases, or genuinely the conflict at play just wasn't interesting. 'Alias Jack Tripper' is one of the exceptions. It is one of the best episodes of the Terri era of Three's Company and features a great guest starring role from Rita Wilson. Really superb. Feels like everyone involved in this episode really put their heart and soul into their performance.

This is part one of the two-parter series finale of Three's Company. In the previous episode, viewers are introduced to Jack's new girlfriend Vicki and her father James. Jack, Vicki, and James would be spun-off into Three's a Crowd, which was not successful in the least and was ultimately cancelled after one season.

The final episodes of Three's Company, starting with "The Heiress," fail to bring a proper conclusion to the series. Janet gets married after dating her boyfriend for what feels like only a month. Jack begins a new life with Vicki. As for Terri, it is mentioned briefly that she will be continuing her career as a nurse in Hawaii. Everything just seems rushed. Not the best send-off the series could have.

This is one of those dry episodes at the beginning of any series that essentially is fluff but is necessary to develop the plot. For instance this episode explores the tense relationship between Frasier and his father Martin, which does get better over time. It's not the most exciting episode but is still worth a watch.

There were several unlikable and highly annoying characters throughout Frasier's 11 seasons, Ann Hodges is one of them. She's Roz's friend who works in insurance and had a disastrous date with Frasier a few episodes prior.

After finding that his home insurance policy has elapsed, Frasier hopes to amend things with Ann by employing her to write up a new policy for him. Unfortunately, she slips and falls in his kitchen and, because of her overzealous shrieks about suing people who do her wrong, Frasier allows her to stay in his apartment. She is quite an annoyance immediately and an unpleasant house guest. It's hard to laugh at her because she is just unbearable.

Luckily, there is a great subplot involving Niles and Maris. We get to see housekeeper Marta again for the first time in several seasons, though this is her final appearance in the series. It, too, is Maris' final "appearance" in the series, bringing one of the greatest unseen tv characters' story to a satisfactory conclusion.

This episode is one of my most favorite of the entire series. We get stand-out performances from the entire cast, save for Peri Gilpin who, as Roz Doyle, has such a minor role you'd think she wasn't in the episode.

In this episode, Frasier remains out of work and, because he is home all day and frustrated with being unemployed, his relationship with Martin sours. They get on each other's nerves being around each other all the time. The solution they decide upon is Martin moving in with Niles temporarily, which Niles only agrees to because Daphne would be moving in too. But, with Niles' apartment so filled with stairs, Daphne announces she must tender her resignation because she is seemingly not needed for Martin's therapy anymore.

Of course, every character has different motives at play and things are going to go awry. There's so much to love about this episode.

This episode is one of the best of the series. Here, Daphne is trying to let down an old boyfriend who she believes has come to ask her hand in marriage. So as to dissuade him she tells him she is married to Niles and thus ensues every character rattling off lies about themselves.

This episode is so FUNNY and hilarious. One of the best examples of comedic misunderstandings and dramatic irony. Each character has their own motive for lying and it just falls together perfectly.

This episode finds Buchanan subjected to a flu epidemic with many students and teachers out sick. Because of that, a few of the academically enriched students are forced to have class with Kotter's Sweathogs. Of course, the two halves clash as the Sweathogs feel insecure and dumb around the smarter students who are able to answer all of Kotter's history questions correct.

It's a very fun episode with a lot of great interactions between the characters. Helanie Lembreck is a delight as Judy Borden and it's a shame her character wasn't given more of a role in the series. Ron Palillo is also a great talent as Horshack and its episodes like this where you can tell he really was feeling his character. Great episode, not a boatload of laughs but still very enjoyable.

The Ropers were spun off of Three's Company after the third season. This spin-off actually fared better than the later spin-off Three's a Crowd in 1984, lasting roughly two seasons versus TAC's one season.

I personally find the Ropers (the show) to be very funny and humorous. Sure, it didn't have the sexual innuendos or physical comedic value that its parent series did but it had plenty of misunderstandings to make it a pleasant watch.

Jeffrey Tambor excels as Jeffrey P. Brookes III, the snooty and high-brow real estate agent that ends up being the Ropers' neighbor. His wife Anne is very down-to-earth and genuine, making friends with Helen Roper instantly. But it's no surprise that Brookes and Roper wouldn't get along with Roper being very unsophisticated and Brookes the opposite. Roper and Brookes are funny to watch but they can't hold the series up by themselves.

Three's Company was obviously coming to an end with its eighth season in 1984. A few of the episodes had plots that were repetitive or reminiscent of earlier episodes in the series and the writing was getting dry and unsurprising.

Then came Three's a Crowd. The spin-off featured Jack living with his girlfriend Vicki in the apartment above his restaurant. Her father James takes over as landlord and owner of the building so as to keep a careful watch over his daughter and her boyfriend. James and Jack maintain a love-hate relationship that becomes pretty much the central conflict of the series.

While John Ritter is certainly a king of comedy, he cannot make the series a success alone and this spin-off is proof of that. Three's Company built its success off of the misunderstandings and relationships between the characters. But because there are essentially only four main characters - Jack, Vicki, James, and E. Z. - it was hard for Three's a Crowd to take off. Every episode seemed to entail some form of the fact that Jack and James do not see eye-to-eye. Vicki was not given enough of a role in the series either and seemed more like a side character (almost like the role Larry played in Three's Co.) than anything. The writing was just really low quality, almost as though the writers knew the series wasn't going to be successful. Three's a Crowd does alright for what it has available but the Ropers was by far the better spin-off.

This episode and part one are the best of the final season of Welcome Back, Kotter. Barbarino (John Travolta) is absent but Gabe Kaplan actually shows up in part two.

Horshack decides to marry Mary Johnson after learning that his mother has married a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City, which would've forced Horshack to move away from Brooklyn. But at his bachelor party, the Sweathogs rip Horshack just a little too much about living in poverty with Mary, causing Horshack to run away in fear putting the wedding on hold.

The jokes the Sweathogs make to Arnold may not be the nicest but they're better than the ones in the rest of the episodes of this final season. Gabe Kaplan is a warm presence and makes up for the absence of Barbarino. At the same time, Beau finally feels like a true member of the Sweathogs, fitting in and ripping jokes just as well as the rest of the gang.

Eddie Van Halen guests as caller Hank at the beginning of the show. It wouldn't be fair to rate this episode 10 stars just for that so here's my actual review.

This episode has Frasier battling with his ethics as he begins seeing the ex-girlfriend of a guest caller to his KACL show. Is it okay for him to pursue a relationship with this woman or is he violating his ethics? This episode is one of the best episodes of the first season but not laugh out loud funny. Pretty interesting concept, pretty good execution.

This episode is a lot more serious than most Happy Days episodes. After Al accidentally hits Fonzie in the head with a tray, Fonzie loses his sight. He spends the rest of the episode feeling sorry for himself and not willing to adjust to his new circumstances. Richie attempts to help Fonzie adapt but Fonzie refuses.

The writers behind Happy Days in the middle of the series were always looking for ways to allow Henry Winkler ('Fonzie') show off the full range of his acting chops. From the Season 5 episode where Richie almost dies after crashing his motorcycle to this one, Henry Winkler was given ample opportunity.

However, this one is more heartbreaking and difficult to watch. It can be seen as offensive to some, even. For many, blindness is a very real disability and something they can't escape from. The writers had an opportunity to show that being blind isn't a handicap or a reason to give up on life. But instead they let Fonzie handle it as a wimp. The coolest character on TV at the time couldn't handle being blind.