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Come and knock on my door.....
#1
Come and knock on my door.....
Of Sitcoms/God and false perceptions......

.I recently stumbled on a TV station that specializes in shows from the 70s and 80s of all types. Well after a few reruns of Three's Company this past week, it gave me insight as to my, back then subconscious skepticism. Misdirection is a common tactic in script writing, in comedies, dramas and action shows and cop shows. I know that now, but I didn't back then. But how we fall for a script on a show, in real life can be understood in how we think we see what we see and we find out they really are not what they think they are. In a very evolutionary sense.

We are pattern seekers, and that stems from prior life we evolved from. But life doesn't always have the time to slow down and check what we observe, evolution is always seeking survival so our brains evolved to gap fill. Sometimes the guess we make works even if that guess isn't based on anything real, but simply pans out to our advantage. The antelope does not always have time to assess if the African plain tall grass is mere wind swaying, or a lion stalking them. Some times that guess can also lead us to injury or death.

God belief is gap filling. It is an argument from ignorance. It is nothing more than the human desire, for the comedy to end well in 30 minutes, or the cop drama to end with the bad guy getting arrested.
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#2
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
I. Love. That. Show.

My favorite as kid. I still watch marathons on TVLand. You may be on to something. I definitely get warm fuzzies when I watch it. I always assumed it's simple nostalgia, but I suppose it could be deeper...a want for nice, tidy, predictable endings where everything work out in the end? Maybe.

Although, I don't really care for the episodes with Terry. Cindy was just okay. 
Jack, Janet, and Chrissy were gold.
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#3
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
Ritter was a physical comic genus. But along with other shows, and even ones I didn't like like like Scooby Doo, did really shape the skepticism I could not place my finger on growing up. Threes Company's motif was always based on misunderstanding.

I loved Mr Furley. I identified with him as a kid and teen. Always wanted to fit in, tried too hard, always awkward, wanted to be brave but wasn't, but still a decent guy.

I was in love with Cindy, she was the hottest lady on that show. I loved how she always injured everyone unintentionally.
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#4
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
(November 17, 2015 at 5:56 pm)Thena323 Wrote: I. Love. That. Show.

My favorite as kid. I still watch marathons on TVLand. You may be on to something. I definitely get warm fuzzies when I watch it. I always assumed it's simple nostalgia, but I suppose it could be deeper...a want for nice, tidy, predictable endings where everything work out in the end? Maybe.

Although, I don't really care for the episodes with Terry. Cindy was just okay. 
Jack, Janet, and Chrissy were gold.

No it was not deep. I don't think the writers were into evolutionary science. I was using media to show how we can latch onto a guess, and be wrong. Even today's shows do that. Misdirection is a staple in show scripts. Law And Order does it. I just watched last night an episode of "Scorpion" where I thought at first the good guys would go bad, but not being privy to the script writers, of course it did not turn out that way.

It was merely a lesson that things are not always what they seem. Only scientific method can weed out our personal bias.
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#5
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
You made these words come to my mind

I like that show where they solve all the murders
An heroic point of view
It's got justice and vengeance too
At least so the story goes
I like that story, makes a satisfying case
But there's a messy point of view
That's sadly just as true
For so many among us
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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#6
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
As a kid, the pattern was apparent to me and my siblings as well.  Every single episode surrounded the basic plot device of mishearing/misunderstanding. The pattern did make it very easy to follow, as it does with most half-hour sitcoms. We just thought John Ritter was hilarious. Still do (his performances anyway).

We hated the spin-off "Three's a Crowd" where the roomates have moved on a Jack marries some bore...much less falling. I think it go canceled fairly quickly.
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#7
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
(November 17, 2015 at 6:50 pm)Brian37 Wrote:
(November 17, 2015 at 5:56 pm)Thena323 Wrote:


No it was not deep. I don't think the writers were into evolutionary science. I was using media to show how we can latch onto a guess, and be wrong. Even today's shows do that. Misdirection is a staple in show scripts. Law And Order does it. I just watched last night an episode of "Scorpion" where I thought at first the good guys would go bad, but not being privy to the script writers, of course it did not turn out that way.

It was merely a lesson that things are not always what they seem. Only scientific method can weed out our personal bias.

I was actually thinking more on the lines of psychology. It was probably employed in the development of television shows at some point.
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#8
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
(November 17, 2015 at 7:12 pm)Thena323 Wrote: As a kid, the pattern was apparent to me and my siblings as well.  Every single episode surrounded the basic plot device of mishearing/misunderstanding. The pattern did make it very easy to follow, as it does with most half-hour sitcoms. We just thought John Ritter was hilarious. Still do (his performances anyway).

We hated the spin-off "Three's a Crowd" where the roomates have moved on a Jack marries some bore...much less falling. I think it go canceled fairly quickly.

I thought Threes A crowd had potential, I think they should of skipped the dad as a character, kept Jack's boss when he was working at the prior place before he brought Jack's Bistro and at first the Italian guy owned the building till his girlfriend's father bought the building., the Italian guy was his boss, I also like the assistant Felipe who hated that Jack took the top spot. They should have kept the assistant on even Three's Company.
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#9
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
I think I recall the Ropers having a spin-off as well. Can't remember anything about it, though.
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#10
RE: Come and knock on my door.....
(November 17, 2015 at 9:12 pm)Thena323 Wrote: I think I recall the Ropers having a spin-off as well. Can't remember anything about it, though.

I didn't like the Ropers at first even in the original, but have grown to like them. I like how Mrs Roper always complained about how cheap Mr Roper was and how she never got any sex.

I think that spin off failed because the concept of their neighbors sucked.
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