The Unauthorized Story of Three’s Company: Behind the Camera

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Chances are you’ve seen more than your fair share of Three’s Company reruns and didn’t really “get” them. Apparently, in the late ’70s and early ’80s, portraying a man and two women living together “in sin” (re: not married) was uproariously hilarious—a lot like The Unauthorized Story of Three’s Company. A tabloid account of what tore the sitcom’s three stars apart over it’s rise and fall, this quick, made-for-TV movie wastes no time in filling each scene full of scandals, temper tantrums, and contract squabbles. Framed around reflections from the real Janet (Joyce DeWitt), other notable contributions come from a fuming Brian Dennehy as ABC president Fred Silverman, a hot Suzanne Somers (Jud Tylor) using the ThighMaster for the first time, and the worst Don Knotts since the man himself. Behind the Camera is worth a look if you want a brisk glance at a show that changed TV forever. Well, a show that changed John Ritter’s life forever. OK, a show that changed the way we look at late-night infomercials selling thigh-muscle-enhancing products forever.

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