The Ropers

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The Ropers is a 1979 Spin-Off of the popular ABC sitcom Three's Company, the Americanized version of the British series George and Mildred (which itself was a spinoff of the show on which Three's Company was based, Man About the House. Confused yet?).

Helen and Stanley Roper (Audra Lindley and Norman Fell) sell their apartment complex and move into a townhouse in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Cheviot Hills, ending up living next to snobbish real estate salesman Jeffery P. Brookes III, his wife Ann and young son David.

Tropes used in The Ropers include:
  • The Alleged Car: The Rustcovered Ropermobile. In the pilot Stanley has to drive it backwards all the way from the apartment to the condo.
  • Hey, It's That Guy!: Hey now!, Stanley Roper bought his condo from George Bluth Sr.!
  • Hot Mom: Ann Brooks
  • Instrumental Theme Tune
  • Luke, You Are My Father: One episode has a 30 year old man announce this to Stanley.
  • Puppet Show: Stanley and Jeffery plan one for David's birthday party.
  • Non-Nude Bathing: In the first regular episode, Stanley thankfully leaves on his bathrobe as he tests his bubble bath water temperature.
  • Poorly-Disguised Pilot: The pilot episode (which borrows heavily from the George & Mildred pilot) is syndicated as a Three's Company episode.
  • Required Spinoff Crossover: Larry from Three's Company shows up in the season 1 episode "Opportunity Knocks", while Jack, Janet and Chrissy appear in season 2's "The Party".
  • Screwed by the Network: This series, and its stars. Norman Fell was very nervous about leaving the security of a hit primetime show and insisted that a clause be added to the contract that he and Lindley could return to Three's Company if The Ropers was cancelled within a year. After a very successful six episode Spring tryout airing after the parent show, the show was moved to the 8pm Saturday night slot where it instantly fell in the ratings. Fell felt that ABC intentionally dragged its feet in cancelling the show in order to keep from having to fulfill its promise to return the characters to Company, which had by this time successfully replaced the two landlord characters with one, Don Knotts as Ralph Furley.
  • Slobs Versus Snobs
  • Spin-Off
  • Syndication Title: Originally syndicated as Three's Company's Friends: The Ropers, the show regained its original title and theme song when aired on Antenna T.V. in 2011.
  • Trans-Atlantic Equivalent: An adaptation of the British George and Mildred.
  • You Look Familiar : Jeffery Tambor played many one-shot guest roles on Three's Company both before and after The Ropers.
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