March 15, 1977
Three's Company first aired.
It is based on the British sitcom Man About the House.The
story revolves around three single roommates: Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers), and Jack Tripper (John Ritter), who all platonically live together in a Santa Monica,
California apartment
building owned by Stanley Roper (Norman Fell) and Helen Roper (Audra Lindley). Following Somers' departure in late 1981, Jenilee Harrison joined the cast as Cindy Snow, who was soon replaced by Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden. After Norman Fell and Audra Lindley left the
series for their own sitcom, Don Knotts joined the cast as the roommates' new
landlord Ralph Furley.The
show, a comedy of errors, chronicles the escapades
and hijinks of the trio's constant misunderstandings, social lives, and
financial struggles, such as keeping the rent current, living arrangements
and breakout characters. A top ten hit from 1977
to 1983, the series has remained popular in syndication and through DVD releases.
After
crashing a party and finding himself passed out in the bathtub, cooking school
student Jack Tripper meets Janet Wood, a florist, and Chrissy Snow, a
secretary, in need of a new roommate to replace their departing roommate
Eleanor. Having only been able to afford to live at the YMCA,
Jack quickly accepts the offer to move in with the duo.
However,
due to overbearing landlord Stanley Roper's intolerance for co-ed living
situations, even in a multi-bedroom apartment, Jack is allowed to move in only
after Janet tells Mr. Roper that Jack is gay. Although Mrs. Roper figures out
Jack's true sexuality in the second episode, she does not tell her husband, who
tolerates but mocks him. Frequently siding with the three roommates instead of
her husband, Mrs. Roper's bond with the roommates grows until the
eventual spinoff The Ropers.
Jack
continues the charade when new landlord Ralph Furley takes over the apartment
complex because Mr. Furley insists that his hard-nosed brother Bart (the
building's new owner) would also never tolerate such living situations. March 15, 1977
Eight Is Enough First Aired.
The
show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote
a book by the same title. The show centers on a Sacramento,
California,
family with eight children (from oldest to youngest: David, Mary, Joanie,
Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas). The father, Tom Bradford, was a
newspaper columnist for the fictional Sacramento Register. His wife
Joan (Diana Hyland) took care of the
children. Hyland was only in four episodes before falling ill; she was written
out for the remainder of the first season and died five days after the second
episode aired.
The
second season began in the fall of 1977 with the revelation that Tom had become
a widower. Tom fell in love with Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, (Betty Buckley) a schoolteacher who came to the house to tutor
Tommy who had broken his leg in a football game. They were married in one of the
series' TV movie broadcasts on
November 9, 1977. The role went to Buckley after being approved by network
chief Brandon Tartikoff, who felt the character of
the sympathetic teacher she had played in the 1976 film Carrie would also be great
for the series. In another TV movie event in September 1979, David and
Susan were both married in a double wedding. As the series progressed, Abby got
her Ph.D. in education and started a job counseling students at the local high
school, oldest sister Mary became a doctor, while second-youngest son Tommy
became a singer in a rock-and-roll band.
March 19, 1977
The Last Show (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
The
168th
episode and series finale of the television sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and was written by Allan
Burns, James L.
Brooks, Ed
Weinberger, Stan Daniels, David Lloyd and Bob Ellison. It was first broadcast on CBS on March 19, 1977. The
episode won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series."
In executive producer Allan Burns' "Outstanding Comedy Series" acceptance
speech at the 29th annual prime time Emmy Awards, he stated, "We kept putting off writing that last show; we frankly didn't want to
do it. I think it said what we wanted it to say. It was poignant, and I believe
The Mary Tyler Moore Show was, in the long run, important for many women."Plot
summary
The new owner of WJM-TV
is firing people left and right, and wants to do something about the Six
O'Clock News' low ratings. Surprisingly, Lou, Mary, Murray, and Sue Ann are
fired, but the person widely perceived as the cause of the Six O'Clock News'
low ratings, Ted, is retained.
Mary takes the news
particularly hard. To cheer her up, Lou arranges for old friends Rhoda and
Phyllis to fly to Minneapolis for a surprise visit at Mary's apartment.
After their final news
broadcast together, in which Ted gives a sincere but comical sendoff to his
colleagues on the air, the Six O'Clock News' staff, along with Georgette,
gather in the newsroom to say goodbye to each other. The memorable and oft
parodied scene culminates in an emotional huddle, during which nobody wants to
let go, and, needing some tissues, the group shuffles en masse toward a
box on Mary's desk. After final goodbyes, everyone exits the newsroom singing
"It's a Long Way to Tipperary." Finally, a very
emotional Mary looks back, then bucks up and smiles before turning off the
lights and closing the door.
March 15, 1977
Three's Company first aired.
The
show, a comedy of errors, chronicles the escapades
and hijinks of the trio's constant misunderstandings, social lives, and
financial struggles, such as keeping the rent current, living arrangements
and breakout characters. A top ten hit from 1977
to 1983, the series has remained popular in syndication and through DVD releases.
After
crashing a party and finding himself passed out in the bathtub, cooking school
student Jack Tripper meets Janet Wood, a florist, and Chrissy Snow, a
secretary, in need of a new roommate to replace their departing roommate
Eleanor. Having only been able to afford to live at the YMCA,
Jack quickly accepts the offer to move in with the duo.
However,
due to overbearing landlord Stanley Roper's intolerance for co-ed living
situations, even in a multi-bedroom apartment, Jack is allowed to move in only
after Janet tells Mr. Roper that Jack is gay. Although Mrs. Roper figures out
Jack's true sexuality in the second episode, she does not tell her husband, who
tolerates but mocks him. Frequently siding with the three roommates instead of
her husband, Mrs. Roper's bond with the roommates grows until the
eventual spinoff The Ropers.
Jack continues the charade when new landlord Ralph Furley takes over the apartment complex because Mr. Furley insists that his hard-nosed brother Bart (the building's new owner) would also never tolerate such living situations.
March 15, 1977
Eight Is Enough First Aired.
The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book by the same title. The show centers on a Sacramento, California, family with eight children (from oldest to youngest: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas). The father, Tom Bradford, was a newspaper columnist for the fictional Sacramento Register. His wife Joan (Diana Hyland) took care of the children. Hyland was only in four episodes before falling ill; she was written out for the remainder of the first season and died five days after the second episode aired.
The
second season began in the fall of 1977 with the revelation that Tom had become
a widower. Tom fell in love with Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, (Betty Buckley) a schoolteacher who came to the house to tutor
Tommy who had broken his leg in a football game. They were married in one of the
series' TV movie broadcasts on
November 9, 1977. The role went to Buckley after being approved by network
chief Brandon Tartikoff, who felt the character of
the sympathetic teacher she had played in the 1976 film Carrie would also be great
for the series. In another TV movie event in September 1979, David and
Susan were both married in a double wedding. As the series progressed, Abby got
her Ph.D. in education and started a job counseling students at the local high
school, oldest sister Mary became a doctor, while second-youngest son Tommy
became a singer in a rock-and-roll band.
March 19, 1977
The Last Show (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Plot
summary
The new owner of WJM-TV
is firing people left and right, and wants to do something about the Six
O'Clock News' low ratings. Surprisingly, Lou, Mary, Murray, and Sue Ann are
fired, but the person widely perceived as the cause of the Six O'Clock News'
low ratings, Ted, is retained.
Mary takes the news
particularly hard. To cheer her up, Lou arranges for old friends Rhoda and
Phyllis to fly to Minneapolis for a surprise visit at Mary's apartment.
After their final news broadcast together, in which Ted gives a sincere but comical sendoff to his colleagues on the air, the Six O'Clock News' staff, along with Georgette, gather in the newsroom to say goodbye to each other. The memorable and oft parodied scene culminates in an emotional huddle, during which nobody wants to let go, and, needing some tissues, the group shuffles en masse toward a box on Mary's desk. After final goodbyes, everyone exits the newsroom singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary." Finally, a very emotional Mary looks back, then bucks up and smiles before turning off the lights and closing the door.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
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