Friday, December 5, 2008

Spin Offs: The Ropers


I'm bittersweet about the Ropers honestly, mostly because while I do find Norman Fell hilarious and always have, it probably wasn't the wisest idea to take these two out of Three's Company and expand the "Roper Verse".

Just like "Three's Company" was based on a British Counterpart, (called "Man About the House") , "Ropers" was based on "George and Mildred" which is essentially the same thing. Both Ropers move to an upscale condo, both have yuppie neighbours and both Mr. Ropers don't want anything to do with sex with their wives.

The show was also my first introduction to actor Jeffery Tambor, who would later pop up in two of my favorite comedy series of all time.

My big problem with the show is likely that it removed the Ropers from "Three's Company" and they were replaced by Don Knott's Mr Furhley character. While the Ropers had some subtle charm, Knotts just went all "Cheaplaffs" for Furhley and the show became more cartoonish than it had to be.

I can't believe I just wrote a long ramble on the Ropers, I need some friends...

5 comments:

wee67 said...

This show makes me realize something about TV in my youth- It didn't matter whether or not a show was really that good. I would watch it. I remember never really liking this show, but I watched regularly. In all honesty, I never really liked Three's Company. But I do know that almost every plotline involved someone overhearing PART of someone else's conversation and then misinterpreting it in a sexual way.

I watched A LOT of bad TV. TV is my friend.

wee67 said...

ANd what was the other show with Tambor that you loved? I'm assuming one is 'Arrested Development.'

Video Zeta One said...

I agree with wee67 in that many of these shows from the 70s of which we remember so fondly and watched incessantly were actually horrible. WGN recently replayed some Ropers reruns, and I was ready for some nostalgic bliss... only to change channels midway through. What a disappointment. I had such fond memories. It was horrible.

Anyone watch the Mork reruns on the Sci-Fi channel? Same deal. Mork was hilarious to the 7 year old me... not the 38 year old jaded and cynical me.

I still laugh at Three's Company though. My favorite episode is the one where there's a some sort of misunderstanding.

Plaidstallions said...

Larry Sanders was the other Tambor show I liked, he had other shows but those two I never changed the channel on.

rob! said...

considering how much good work Tambor has been involved with since, he obviously had a taste for sophisticated comedy.

imagine how depressed he must have been, having to read the lines of the weekly "Ropers" scripts.

(he guested in one episode of M*A*S*H around this time, so it wasn't all bad for him, i guess)